Post by ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies on Oct 30, 2010 3:55:07 GMT -5
I wanted to share a post I just made over at Gameful.org, but before I share the post I will give you some background of how I came to be involved with Gameful.org...
It starts with a 20+ minute TED video from February of this year of a talk given by Jane McGonigal, a game designer and researcher who holds a PhD in Performance Studies:
I checked out a few of the ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) she's been involved with and was really impressed, though I didn't have enough time to really play them.
In September, I happened to catch a reference that she was collaborating to build an online community of gamers and game designers who want to use games as a means to make the world better. The project was added to kickstarter.com and I caught wind of it in time to contribute a little money and become a founder. The project has since made Kickstarter's hall of fame, and the Gameful.org site just launched this week.
So, here is what I had to say about Mafia in the "Real Life Gaming" group, which is described as:
I swear I did not create the group and have nothing to do with that tag line. But here is what I said:
Now considering that things are not always kittens and rainbows in our games, and I don't want you to think I'm blowing sunshine up anyone's orifices, I'm not talking about porting games like this over without some tweaking, but I don't think much tweaking would be required to do some really neat stuff, and I'm hoping I might recruit some of you to join me over at Gameful.org to make it happen.
So, what do you think?
It starts with a 20+ minute TED video from February of this year of a talk given by Jane McGonigal, a game designer and researcher who holds a PhD in Performance Studies:
I checked out a few of the ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) she's been involved with and was really impressed, though I didn't have enough time to really play them.
In September, I happened to catch a reference that she was collaborating to build an online community of gamers and game designers who want to use games as a means to make the world better. The project was added to kickstarter.com and I caught wind of it in time to contribute a little money and become a founder. The project has since made Kickstarter's hall of fame, and the Gameful.org site just launched this week.
So, here is what I had to say about Mafia in the "Real Life Gaming" group, which is described as:
A group about games that help people interact better, smarter and more sophisticated and make new friends in real life.
Come join us, we have cookies.
Come join us, we have cookies.
I swear I did not create the group and have nothing to do with that tag line. But here is what I said:
I spend many hours a week interacting with a very diverse group of people who would probably otherwise not give each other the time of day, because of a game.
Ages range all over the place, as do educational backgrounds, political leanings, sexual orientations, country of origin (though we do play in English), etc. Skills developed by the game include but are not limited to: critical thinking, individual strategy, team strategy, foresight, hindsight, civility, compassion, diplomacy, debate/argument/rebuttal, written communication, creative writing/narrative, attention to detail, having a lot of fun, and that’s without even trying to be a ‘game for good’. Who knows what it could be capable of if purposefully designed to have a positive impact?
I’ve never played the game in any way other than online, but it was originally developed as a parlor game and I do know of teachers using the parlor version in the classroom.
What I think gives it particular appeal for a classroom setting or a regular group is that each game shuffles the roles and if you play with the same people consistently you get to know each other really well and that allows for some really in depth context and feedback.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_%28party_game%29
The crew I’ve played with have gone through dozens and dozens of themes and everyone takes turns creating the games and balancing the roles, collaborating with other co-moderators. There just are no limits to what can be used as the inspiration for a game and the accompanying color.
Ages range all over the place, as do educational backgrounds, political leanings, sexual orientations, country of origin (though we do play in English), etc. Skills developed by the game include but are not limited to: critical thinking, individual strategy, team strategy, foresight, hindsight, civility, compassion, diplomacy, debate/argument/rebuttal, written communication, creative writing/narrative, attention to detail, having a lot of fun, and that’s without even trying to be a ‘game for good’. Who knows what it could be capable of if purposefully designed to have a positive impact?
I’ve never played the game in any way other than online, but it was originally developed as a parlor game and I do know of teachers using the parlor version in the classroom.
What I think gives it particular appeal for a classroom setting or a regular group is that each game shuffles the roles and if you play with the same people consistently you get to know each other really well and that allows for some really in depth context and feedback.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia_%28party_game%29
The crew I’ve played with have gone through dozens and dozens of themes and everyone takes turns creating the games and balancing the roles, collaborating with other co-moderators. There just are no limits to what can be used as the inspiration for a game and the accompanying color.
Now considering that things are not always kittens and rainbows in our games, and I don't want you to think I'm blowing sunshine up anyone's orifices, I'm not talking about porting games like this over without some tweaking, but I don't think much tweaking would be required to do some really neat stuff, and I'm hoping I might recruit some of you to join me over at Gameful.org to make it happen.
So, what do you think?