Development of Tangential Learning in Video Games Dept. of CIS - Senior Design 2013-2014∗ Tyler Brown Harmony Li Anh Nguyen [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Univ. of Pennsylvania Univ. of Pennsylvania Univ. of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia, PA Cory Rivera Angela Wu [email protected] [email protected] Univ. of Pennsylvania Univ. of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia, PA ABSTRACT standpoint. Tangential learning is the process by which people educate It is worth noting that not all entertainment games are themselves on a topic when it is presented in a context that completely devoid of educational value; many such games, they enjoy. It is known to be a very effective method of in- especially those set in historically accurate settings, may dependent learning, and if used properly could replace many encourage the player to look up further details on informa- current methods of independent study as a means of educat- tion presented in the game that is not directly related to the ing children and young adults. player's progression through the game. Nor, for that matter, We present a video game, World of Alchemy, that utilizes are educational games completely devoid of entertainment tangential learning to educate its players on high school level value; they could hardly be called games otherwise. Yet, chemistry, unlike previous educational games that have been the fact remains that many gamers, especially older play- targeted at elementary school students and therefore have ers, will generally ignore educational games, and may even addressed very basic topics, such as introductory arithmetic ignore educational aspects of entertainment-focused games. and logic. World of Alchemy has a greater focus on ensuring Older players can be encouraged to learn even while play- players enjoy themselves than previous educational games ing games that they find entertaining through a process without sacrificing its educational components. We target known as tangential learning. We define tangential learn- players with very basic knowledge of high-school level chem- ing as the process by which people educate themselves on a istry and focus on puzzle-based gaming which will improve topic when it is presented to them tangentially during other both the educational and enjoyment aspects of the game. activities they enjoy. In the context of video games, this From our studies, we have seen that shifting focus to older means presenting the player with an entertaining game that audiences, secondary education topics, and enjoyment in game- includes information the game designer wishes to introduce play has promise as a supplemental game system to augment to the player, while giving the player substantial in-game in-classroom learning. rewards for acquiring that information. To achieve this goal we have implemented a chemistry-based game we call World of Alchemy, which focuses on adventure-style, puzzle-based 1. INTRODUCTION gameplay to facilitate our learning objectives. Historically, it has been easy to separate games into an Targeted for players with a high-school level chemistry \educational"category and an\entertainment"category. Ed- background, World of Alchemy allows players to construct ucational games have tended to be aimed at young children and decompose compounds at will, manipulating their ba- and focused on simple topics like arithmetic, geography, and sic elements through an easy to use crafting interface and logic. These games are typically played on school computers inventory. Compounds can be further combined into more as part of a teacher's regular lesson; it is uncommon to see high-level items like clay pots or metal sheets. These items young children enjoying these games on their own time, and and compounds are then used to solve chemically-accurate even less common to see older children and young adults puzzles, which are presented to the player through a three- playing these games. Older players tend to recognize the dimensional \dungeon" adventure. narrow focus on education in these types of games and ignore them in favor of games which focus on the player's enter- 2. RELATED WORK tainment instead. Entertainment games, on the other hand, This section explores related work in the field of educa- are regularly enjoyed by players of all ages. These games tional video games, with a special emphasis on chemistry- typically focus on graphics and gameplay, putting the en- based games. Section 2.1 focuses on what tangible educa- tertainment of the player above all else. Unlike educational tional benefits games can have, such as self-motivated learn- games, however, this category often offers no benefit to the ing or tangential learning. Section 2.2 examines why games player beyond entertainment; for this reason, games in this marketed explicitly as educational software are historically category are often viewed as frivolous from an educational not as successful as other consumer games. And section ∗Advisor: Stephen H. Lane ([email protected]). 2.3 discusses notable games developed specifically as learn- ing games, with a particular emphasis on chemistry-oriented games and the failings of some notable educational games games that may have some overlap with this project. [3]. The main point they make about poor educational games is that they tend to focus on just facts and lists of fea- 2.1 Learning in Video Games tures, rather than developing actual gameplay. These types Kurt Squire and his colleagues studied learning via the of games try to market themselves towards some ambiguous game Civilization III [6]. For reference, Civilization games definition of academic curricular standards, and often fea- are strategy games that focus on building up civilizations ture rote memorization in drill-and-practice exercises. The (e.g. Romans, Mayans, etc) from the Stone Age to the Mod- most successful educational games are those that are ac- ern Era and beyond. Players encounter other civilizations tually intellectually challenging, and these games focus on during play, and have to manage economic pacts, political al- actual problem-solving and creativity, rather than appealing liances, and military conflicts with these other civilizations. to some nebulous idea of academic advancement. Player en- Subjects in this study were fifth and sixth graders with below joyment is also an effective component for learning games. average scores in social studies. By playing the game and Thus a balance is necessary when designing a learning game. collaborating with their peers, the participants were gradu- By focusing solely on fun activities the learning opportuni- ally exposed to many historical concepts, such as the names ties may be wasted, and if the game focuses solely on being of certain historical military units and various landmark his- educational it may bore the player, hampering the learning torical inventions like agriculture or writing. By the end of process or even causing them to abandon the game alto- the study, most participants had developed a greater appre- gether. ciation for history and had acquired much better grades in their social studies courses; all received As while previously 2.3 Notable Learning Games for Chemistry having Bs and Cs. One of the participants even began to During the course of our research we have found that there study his preferred civilization outside of game times, read- were not many successful chemistry-based games, especially ing history books about them for his own enjoyment. Even when compared to mass-market history- or physics-based though Civilization is a popular consumer game, it managed games, such as the Civilization series or Kerbal Space Pro- to expose the players to a variety of real-world concepts, like gram. Generally these chemistry games tended to be simple costs of prolonged military engagements, as well as the his- quiz or memorization affairs, or featured chemistry as a very torical facts scattered throughout the game and available tangential component. We did come across a few notable in the in-game \codex". While these students had typically chemistry games, namely Legends of Alkhimia, Elemental, fared poorly in class-based instruction, the direct experi- and Foldit. ence, challenge, and fun provided by the game allowed them Legends of Alkhimia is a chemistry-based adventure game to explore these concepts directly in their own way, which where puzzle solutions are derived by working on compounds yielded real-world learning benefits, as indicated by their within the game's chemistry lab interface [5]. Alkhimia com- improved social studies grades. Player motivation to beat municates laboratory practices and the process of scientific the game and continuous tangential exposure to real-world inquiry quite well. This game seems to be at about the same topics combine to make a very effective model for learning. granularity of knowledge that we want to work on, but we Merrilea J. Mayo analyzes the benefits of games over tra- have focused more on how specific elements and molecules ditional classroom education, and how these concepts might interact with each other, as opposed to laboratory practices. be applied to education in science, technology, engineering, Our design also tries to be more accessible to less chemistry- and mathematics [4]. In her analysis she describes how mo- oriented audiences. tivation and participation are key differences between learn- Elemental is an atom assembly game developed at the ing something in a game versus learning it in a traditional UK's Bournemouth University [1]. Players have to \shoot" lecture. A game provides instant feedback and immersion subatomic particles into a circular game area that resembles in a given scenario, whereas students in a classroom tend an atom and then \catch" them in their appropriate atomic to sparingly interact with the material. Player control over region, with the goal of creating elements with progressively learning tasks are also cited as another important factor; higher atomic numbers.