Fun, Play and Games:
What Makes Games
Engaging by Marc Prensky (2001)
Facilitated by: Kristen Elmer
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Marc Prensky is an internationally acclaimed speaker, writer, consultant, and
designer in the critical areas of education and learning. He is the author of Digital
Game-Based Learning (McGraw-Hill, 2001),and Don't Bother Me Mom -- I'm
Learning (Paragon House 2005), the founder and CEO of Games2train (whose clients
include IBM, Nokia, Pfizer, the US Department of Defense and the LA and Florida
Virtual Schools) and creator of the sites www.dodgamecommunity.com and
www.socialimpactgames.com .
Marc has created over 50 software games for learning, including the world's first
fast-action videogame-based training tools and world-wide, multi-player, multi-team
on-line competitions. He has also taught at all levels. Marc has been featured in
articles in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, has appeared on CNN,
MSNBC, PBS, and the BBC, and was named as one of training's top 10 "visionaries"
by Training magazine. He holds graduate degrees from Yale (Teaching) and Harvard
(MBA). (http://www.marcprensky.com/)
WHO IS MARC PRENSKY?
“Computer and videogames are potentially the
most engaging pastime in the history of
mankind” (Prensky, 2001)
Games are:
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Fun, giving us enjoyment
Play, giving us intense involvement
Rules, giving us structure
Goals, giving us motivation
Interactive, giving us doing
Adaptive, giving us flow
Outcomes and Feedback, giving us learning
Win States, giving us ego gratification
Conflict/Competition/Challenge/Opposition, giving us adrenaline
Problem-Solving, sparking creativity
Interaction, giving us social groups
Representation and Story, giving us emotion
“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing”
–Dale Carnegie
What is fun?
Amusement, something amusing, mockery
 Make fun of somebody or something, poke fun at somebody or
something
 A cheat or trick; a hoax, a practical joke
 To make fun of, or poke fun: to ridicule
 “On one hand fun is amusement, but on the other
hand it is ridicule, or cheat or trick, or even sexual”
(Prensky, 2001, p. 3).
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Fun: The Great Motivator
“Fun in a positive sense is not passive, and can include a real
exertion, as in sports or other competitions”
 “HARD FUN”
 The word fun cannot mean enjoyment, pleasure, amusement and
ridicule.
 This is seen in the resistance by business people and educators to
new learning approaches based on the connection to fun.
 Training and Learning can be related to the opposite of fun, pain.
 “No pain, no gain!”
(Prensky, 2001, p. 4)
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Question to think about: How do you define fun? What do you
associate with the word fun? How often is training/learning
viewed as positive fun (enjoyment and pleasure) or negative fun
(painful).
Think about any of your current training or learning experiences.
Fun Continued…
“People with the notion that learning cannot and should not
be fun are clearly in an archaic mode” – Mark Bieler
What is the relationship between fun and
learning?
 Fun helps to create relaxation and motivation in
the learning process. Relaxation allows the
learner to take things in more easily, and
motivation allows them to put forth effort
without resentment.
Fun and Learning
“Play is our brain’s favorite way of learning things” –Diane
Ackerman
What is PLAY?
 Play is something one chooses to do
 Play is intensely and utterly absorbing
 Play promotes the formation of social groupings
(Prensky, 2001, p. 6)
Play: The Universal Teacher
“Play is the original way of learning things”- Danny Hillis
How does play influence learning?
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“Play has a deep biological, evolutionary important,
function, which has to do specifically with learning”
(Prensky, 2001, p. 6).
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“Play is one of the cultural universals, something every
single culture does” (Prensky, 2001, p. 6).
Play and Learning
“Great adults are driven to [play] too”-Danny Hillis
People often separate their career or work from play.
 Scientists or artists consider their work to be so creative and fun that it can
be seen as play.
 The best trainers and teachers try to make learning fun and playful.
 The Media Lab at MIT has a research division that investigates play and
learning called the epistemology and learning group – the group focuses
mostly on children’s learning, but many of their play oriented constructivist
ideas are being extended to adults though computer games such as Roller
Coaster Tycoon (Prensky, 2001, p.9).
 In an important paper “when play is productive” by Starbuck and Webster,
play is defined as having 2 common elements. “Playful activities elicit
involvement and give pleasure” (Prensky, 2001, p. 9).
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Question: Is it possible to “play” at work and still be productive?
What limitations/barriers can cause people to feel like they can’t
“play” at work?
Play and Work
“Epistemic games are
computer games that
can help players learn
to think like
engineers, urban
planners, journalists,
architects and other
innovative
professionals”
http://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=hKyzsEytkQc
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“not just at set of
technologies that were
going to set out into the
world, what we are
designing is experienceslearning experiences for
kids”
Question: What do you
think about this learning
environment? Have you
seen anything like this
before?
Epistemic Games Research Group
“One of the most difficult tasks men can perform…is
the invention of good games”-Carl Jung
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Game is a word of many meanings and implications
Games are a subset of both play and fun.
Games can be negatively defined as mocking or jesting,
illegal and shady activity or positively defined as fun and
games.
Games involve rules, contest, rivalry and
struggle.
Games: Adding the Structure
6 Structural Factors in a Game:
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Rules
Goals and Objectives
Outcomes & Feedback
Conflict/Competition/Challenge/Opposition
Interaction
Representation or Story
What makes a Game a Game?
Rules
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Rules differentiate games from other kinds of play
Organized play (in other words, rule-based)
Rules impose limits, forcing us to take a specific path to reach
goals and ensure that all players take the same path
Rules make things both fair and exciting
Rules become more important as we get older
In computer games, rules are built in the game
“Metagaming” is a term that computer game designers use to
describe not playing by the rules, but manipulating the rules and
circumstances surrounding the game of your advantage.
Magic, The Gathering card game was designed with the concept
of metagaming.
http://www.wizards.com/magic/TCG/newtomagic.aspx?x=mtg/tcg/newtoma
gic/learntoplay
Goals or Objectives
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“Goals differentiate games from other types of play, as well
as from other non-goal-oriented games” (Prensky, 2001, p.
12).
In a game, reaching your goals plays a big role in
motivating you.
The goals are often cited in the rules
Outcomes and Feedback
Refers to how you measure your progress against the
goals.
 Feedback lets us know how we are doing in the game.
 Feedback can come in the form of a score or other ways.
 Through feedback we learn how the game works, how to
succeed, how to get to the next level and win.
 Too much or too little feedback, can lead to the player
becoming frustrated
(Prensky, 2001, p. 13)
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Conflict/Competition/Challenge/
Opposition
Refers to the problems in a game you are trying to solve.
 It is important to keep the level of challenge or opposition
in tune with the players skill level, which is called balancing
the game.
 Even cooperative games involve some kind of conflict or
problem for the team to solve.
(Prensky, 2001, p. 14)
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Interaction
Refers to 2 aspects:
1. The Interaction of the Computer and the Player
(Feedback)
2. The Inherently Social Aspect of Games
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Play promotes the formation of social groupings
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Computer games are actually bringing people into a
closer social interaction, although its not face to face.
(Prensky, 2001, p. 15)
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Representation
Refers to the game being about something for example,
chess is about conflict.
 Representation also includes the element of fantasy
(Prensky, 2001, p. 15)
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What is “Flow”?
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Mental State of intense concentration
Difficult tasks become easy
Whatever you are doing becomes enormously pleasurable
“In the flow state the challenges presented and your ability to solve
them are almost perfectly matched, and you often accomplish
things that you didn’t think you could, along with a great deal of
pleasure” (Prensky, 2001)
Question: Can you think of a time where you have experienced this state
of flow? Have video games or computer games ever evoked this?
Toys
 Interactions that have neither goals nor objectives
 Played with, explored
 Open-ended
Stories or Narratives
 Another possible type of computer interaction
 Example is the ‘Living Books’ Series for Children
 Narratives are engaging because they stimulate our
emotions
Tools
 Interactive programs that are used to make other things
(word processor or spreadsheet)
 Tools can be included in games either as an integral part of
the game play or as supplements.
Other types of Interactivity
besides Games
“Games and computers are one of the greatest marriages out there”Eric Goldberg
Why do people prefer to play digital games?
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they take care of the boring stuff (rules, details)
Typically faster and more responsive
Funs things that digital games can do that other games cannot
Capable of more, better and far more varied graphics
Can be played with others and against the computer
The whole world is available as potential players
Can generate and allow huge numbers of options and scenarios
Can deal with infinite amounts of content
Can play at differing levels of challenge
Can be updated instantly
Can be customized to and by the desires of each player
Can be modified and added to, making the player part of a creative team
Question: Would you prefer a digital game over a traditional board game? Are there
any advantages to playing non-computerized games?
Digital Games
Circa (2000) computer games fall into 8 genres:
Action Games (Super Mario, Sonic, PacMan, Missle Command, Doom, Quake,
Duke Nukem, Half-Life)
 Adventure Games (Zork, Myst, Riven, Zelda, the Ocarina of Time)
 Fighting Games (Mortal Kombat, Virtua Fighter)
 Puzzle Games (Tetris, Devil Dice)
 Role Playing Games (Ultima, EverQuest)
 Simulation Games (Sim City, The Sims)
 Sports Games
 Strategy Games (Civilization, Roller Coaster
Tycoon)
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Which genre do you prefer? It can be
Challenging to try a game you may not
think your good at…you may surprise
yourself!
Game Taxonomy- Categories of
Games
“Game designers have a better take on the nature of learning
than curriculum designers”- Seymour Papert
Game Designers are:
 Not just nerds with ponytails and t-shirts
 They are the most talented and creative people of our
generation!
 Are often unknowns
Computer Game Design
“Computer-based training designers could learn a lot from the people
who build computer games”- Bob Filipczak
6 Elements found in every successful game throughout
history:
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Balanced
Creative
Focused
Character
Tension
Energy
The Principles of a Good Game
Design
Processes used to create good games include:
A Clear Overall Vision
2. A Constant Focus on the Player Experience
3. A Strong Structure
4. Highly adaptive
5. Easy to learn, hard to master
6. Stays within the “flow state”
7. Provides frequent rewards, not penalties
8. Includes Exploration and Discovery
9. Provides mutual assistance – thing helps solve another
10. Has an interface that is very useful
11. Includes the ability to save progress
1.
Other Important Digital Game
Design Elements
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The distinction between the way a game plays and how it
looks
Games gradually become more and more graphically
detailed
Some games don’t have complicated graphics, but they
have a good rule structure (they are considered classic
games, Tetris)
Eye Candy vs. Game Play
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Some people are very specific in the types of games that
they like, while others like more of a variety.
Games are extremely age and culture specific.
We often gravitate to the games we learned at an
impressionable age.
Knowing as much as possible about your intended audience
is crucial to successful game design.
(Prensky, 2001, p. 26).
Digital Game Preferences: Culture
and Individuals
Adults and Games
Adults sometimes shy away from learning new games
 Involves too much effort and practice
 Embarrassed to not be good at something
 Old hand-held games from the 70’s are being sold for $$$ (Frogger and
Ms PacMan)
http://www.freefrogger.org/welcome.html
http://www.pacmangame.info/ms_pacman.html
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Age is no barrier to learning and playing computer games
 When one realizes what a particular game is about there is a big “aha”
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Question: What has been stopping you from trying a new game? Have you
ever experienced a “aha” moment? What made you want to learn a new
game or try something new on the computer?
Digital Games and Age
“There’s so much comedy on television. Does that cause
comedy in the street?- Dick Cavett
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There are violent games, but games in of themselves are
not violent
The vast majority of digital games are not violent at all,
including the best sellers (Sim City, The Sims, Roller
Coaster Tycoon, Tetris, Myst and Riven)
Action/fighting games are only one of the 8 genres of video
and computer games
Digital Games and Violence
There has been a huge rise in the number of computer
games designed for girls.
 There are more girls that are interested in computer games
than there were in the 80s.
 There are lots of girls who like fighting and role playing
adventure games.
 It is generally accepted that there is more women playing
computer games, the dispute is how much are they playing
and how fast.
(Prensky, 2001, p. 29)
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Digital Games and Gender
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Every medium of communication has its own language
There are sometimes shortcuts that we have to learn for a
certain medium
There is also a language or “rhetoric” of computer games
Digital Game Players Know:
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You build things by clicking on an icon and dragging it to where you want it to go.
You move people by selecting them and clicking them to where you want them to
go.
There are hidden combinations of keys that do interesting things.
There are hidden surprises commonly known as “Easter Eggs” for you to find.
There is almost always more then one way to do something.
You may have to try something many times before it works.
You can look up cheat codes on the internet.
Games can always be saved and reloaded later.
The “Language” of Digital Games
“Barriers, Barriers, Barriers”
What needs to be done?
 Moving the Curriculum into the 21st
Century!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmoVs4GYXUY
Final Thoughts from Marc
Prensky…
References
Prensky, M. (2001). Fun, Play and Games: What Makes Games Engaging.
Digital Game-Based Learning. Retrieved May 4, 2009, from
http://tinyurl.com/6l3amq