Girly Games
I've been talking to Ron a lot recently about girls, gender and gaming. In particular because he's exploring ways to use multiplayer games to encourage team work. Trouble is, in my mind, none of the MMORPGs currently out there are very appealing to women . I love playing computer games but find myself playing the same ones over and over because few grab my attention. I don't think it's because I'm fussy. Most of the shoot-em up game mechanics are so repetitive that having got the pattern, I can't be bothered to continue. Plus at the end of it I feel like I've come away with nothing. I haven't learnt anything, gained insight, connected with anyone. I've mainly just blown stuff to pieces.
I read a very interesting article today in BJET "Girl Gamers: the controversy of girl games and the relevande of female oriented design for instructional design" Vol 37, No5 2006, which helped me consolidate how I felt. It also confirmed that by extending our understanding of what makes a good game, and including features that traditionally appeal more to females, several of which are also features of constructivist learning:
* rich narrative
* roles involving positive action
* opportunities to design or create
* engaging characters
* communication and collaboration
* use of strategies and skills (beyond shooting guns)
we'll begin to see games which finally realise the instructional potential we have been expecting but not seeing.