author: @aestranger
Reading time: 7 minutes
As you may have guessed from the overall theme of this website, we at æStranger.com enjoy learning through games and through a visual medium. Each video brings a different aspect of the overall theory of Game-Based Learning, not just how to implement them but also what the general philosophy and practices are behind this movement. We hope you’ll love these videos about Game Based Learning as much as we do!
First up actually is a 2 for 1 deal. I’ve put these two together because they are one of the first video’s I saw many years ago, that got me interested in the world of Game Based Learning, Gameful Design, and Gamification. These are two Ted Talks videos by the wonderful Jane McGonigal, her passion and optimism about what games can achieve within society for the world are truly inspiring words and genuinely let you believe that almost anything can be made possible. As I’ve since learned from her by reading her articles and books, gaming can truly be a strong constructive force in our world. As she writes in the opening pages of her book “Reality is Broken” (Penguin Books; Reprint edition, December 27, 2011, p. 15) “Games made life bearable. Games gave a starving population a feeling of power in a powerless situation, a sense of structure in a chaotic environment.” This exert is taken from where she describes how games helped the Lydians of Asia Minor (psychologically) survive a very severe and harsh drought that cause a long-lasting famine.
I too believe that games and visual culture can have this effect on us and on our society, and in today’s world with so many dark clouds on the horizon, perhaps coming together and creating an enjoyable experience together might be just what we need.
To see what Jane is creating currently visit her website at JaneMcGonigal.com
Enjoy these first 2 videos!
Next up is another Ted Talk, but by the man currently pioneering a new wave of Gamification: Yu-Kai Chou.
Yu-Kai’s concept in the Octalysis Framework is a great way to look at Gamification and all the elements that are required when you yourself decide that you want to try it out in your own (work) environment. I first came across this video about 2 or 3 years ago, and Yu-Kai’s explanation instantly resonated with me and how I looked at Self-Determination Theory. Last year I also received his book “Actionable Gamification” as a present from a close friend and I must say it is equally enlightening. I would highly recommend visiting his website at YuKaiChou.com and if you enjoy the sound of his ideas but are a bit unsure about purchasing anything, then I would highly recommend Yu-Kai’s 14-day Free Gamification course, for which you can sign up on his website.
Now I’ve got multiple whammies for you, with quite a few videos from Jesse Schell, a personal favorite of mine. I enjoy his video’s and books especially because of his playful way of presenting them. If you ever find yourself at a point where you think you’d like to create your own game, and this doesn’t necessarily need to be a video game, but a text-based adventure, a board-game or anything that involves a voluntary playful attitude towards a challenging goal, then Jesse Schell is the man for you. I recommend getting his book “The Art of Game Design, Second Edition”, it truly is filled with a complete breakdown of every possible facet that is involved in game creation, and for those of us who wish to implement more Gameful Designs into everyday life, Education and the work environment, then this is a must-have resource for you. You can find his many projects, books, articles and video here on his website: JesseSchell.com The following videos are my personal selection of what I’ve found the most interesting and inspiring from Jesse, but I’d suggest you explore further as he has much more and it’s worthwhile discovering them on your own. Enjoy!
This last video is a little something extra I decided to add in, as its topic revolves around VR. Jesse Schell gives a Keynote at the G4C Festival/Conference and it truly illustrates the amazing opportunities and possibilities that Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality have for our future.
Lastly, I wanted to give a few honorable mentions, the first one is for the channel Extra Credits. I’ve been following these guys for a few years now and their consistent delivery of great videos on a great many different topics about Gaming and implementation of gaming is incredible. My video of choice for this blog is naturally one about Gamification: But apart from that, I’d highly recommend checking out their channel on Youtube and their entire playlist of videos. They not only do philosophical videos about gaming but also a great selection of Historical videos, which as I a history buff I’ve very much enjoyed as well.
I hope that this piece has given you some food for thought and helped improve your own methods or at least offered a different viewpoint to consider.
Please do check out the other posts on æStranger.com, and please do leave a comment or contact us if you have some ideas of your own that you wish to discuss or if you would like to see other topics discussed.
Please do Share if you found it helpful and know of someone who would it find it helpful as well.
About
æStranger officially started in 2018, but has been around in some form for a few years. It is a platform to promote a mission to engage people through adventure and storytelling, to better learn and understand from each other.
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