Wendy Beasley, Author at TriplePoints of Interest

Looking For Group: Applying MMO Techniques to Learning and Business

Players of massively multiplayer online (MMO) games have long known that working cooperatively and competitively within the game space has improved not only their leet gaming skillz but also real life abilities, including leadership, communication skills, creative thinking and adaptability. Lee Sheldon, assistant professor in the Department of Telecommunications at Indiana University, has taken the use of MMO design and terminology to the next level and applied it to his classroom education.

Referenced by Professor Jesse Schell in his talk at DICE, Sheldon has applied basic elements of MMOs to his classroom, including forming guilds (small groups within the classroom), quests (activities and projects – both “solo” and “guild” based), offering “Boss battles” (exams), and using XP points instead of grades. While the media has focused mostly on Sheldon’s use of a non-traditional grading system, they’re missing the bigger picture.

According to Lee Sheldon, the use of the MMO system for classroom instruction has resulted in better attendance, greater class participation and more quality coursework. By utilizing terminology that students understand, Sheldon’s ideas may help students become better prepared for the real world, having expanded their collaborative skills, adaptive thought patterns, communication abilities, and leadership.

While Lee Sheldon’s classes are specifically tailored for game design—he teaches courses in Theory and Practice of Game Design and Multiplayer Game Design—these MMO principles (and game design theory in general) could be applied to nearly any classroom situation.

It’s not so far-fetched for the workplace, either. According to IT News in Australia, companies are already adapting some of the basic tenets of good game design and applying them to the work place, even though they’re not necessarily using the terminology of “guilds,” “raids” and “questing.” Some workplace game-like offerings include clear, well-defined goals and gradual, incremental rewards, such as points for showing up on time…

Simple psychology explains the benefits of using gameplay principles in all aspects of our lives. Offer rewards, get better results; you don’t have to be Lee Sheldon to understand that.

Afterword: Later this year, Lee Sheldon will be reporting more of his findings and detailing this project in his book “Practical Game Design: A Toolkit for Educators, Researchers and Corporations.”

Pretty, Pink and Pretty Smart: Computer Engineer Barbie’s Strides Send Girls on the Path to Silicon Valley

At this week’s American International Toy Fair, the Mattel Corporation announced Barbie’s latest career as a computer engineer. Decked out in a binary-print tshirt, leggings and sensible(ish) shoes, Barbie sports a Bluetooth headset and carries a pink laptop (with “Barbie” written in ASCII on the screen, cleverly enough). The Barbie® I Can Be…™ Computer Engineer Doll was created by Mattel to inspire a new generation of girls to become part of this growing profession. Let’s hope Barbie can use her computer engineering skills to inspire more girls to become part of the video game profession, a subset of the computer industry that currently has women comprising only 5% of its ranks.

Barbie’s inspiration notwithstanding, women have already begun taking a more active role as both developers and consumers of video games. The Guildhall at SMU, a graduate video game education program, has recently announced that 20 percent of their incoming class is female, and the Electronic Software Association’s most recent survey of gamers has asserted that 43 percent of online players are women. (The latter statistic could most likely be attributed to the popularity of casual games, but also may include games such as World of Warcraft, which has a surprisingly high female gamer population.)

For those who are interested in becoming part of the rising tide of women in the video game industry, the Frag Dolls blog has posted a list of 50 games industry women from whom to draw inspiration, including Corrinne Yu, the Principal Engine Programmer for Microsoft’s Halo Franchise Team and the first female Technical Lead for Microsoft Game Studios, as well as noted game designer Jane McGonigal and Fiona Cherbak, current head of the Women in Games Special Interest Group (SIG) for the International Game Developers Association (IGDA).

Fiona and the Women in Games SIG are spearheading initiatives to help inspire girls and women to take a more active role within the video games industry. Most recently, she and the SIG have created GameMentorOnline to “meet the growing need for peer-to-peer mentorship support in games,” as well as the Games2Girls Program Committee, (chaired by gaming industry veteran Margaret Wallace), which is working in conjunction with the Games Research Lab at Columbia in NY to develop course curriculum to help promote video games as a profession to middle school girls. Other important programs include the Indie Women’s Game Design Competition, with winners to be announced at GDC 2010, and the Women in Games Preservation Committee, which showcases important women in games through its database and Wiki.

Join Barbie and the thousands of real-life women who are breaking the mold in the computer engineering and video games industries, one pink high heel at a time. For more information, check out the Women in Games SIG, or attend sessions at the upcoming Game Developer’s Convention in San Francisco.

Back to the Future: The iPhone Sparks a Resurgence in Classic Games

Over the last year, the number of retro and classic console and arcade games on the iPhone has dramatically increased, often providing these much-beloved chestnuts with a new lease on life (and great success for their publishers). Classic characters such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Earthworm Jim, Guybrush Threepwood and Dirk the Daring are back in full force, with more characters set to make a comeback on the horizon.

How have these once-antiquated characters found new relevancy on a new medium? Beyond the obvious nostalgia factor, it all boils down to gameplay, fun, and interesting game design. The most popular games from the 80s and 90s still resonate with gamers today. In the “golden era” of 16- and 32-bit graphics, game designers couldn’t rely on whiz-bang visuals, environmental physics and detailed rendering to impress gamers. Games were distilled down to their simplest elements: pick-up-and-play ease, addictive fun and compelling gameplay.

Venerable games publisher Sega has recognized the importance of the iPhone to classic games, and is bringing back some of their most successful and celebrated games to the platform. The upcoming Sega Genesis Ultimate Collection, which will enable gamers to purchase classic Sega Genesis titles (such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Golden Axe, Shining Force and more) presents a new opportunity for gamers to relive their favorite gaming experiences, and introduces such franchises to those who may be too young to have ever played them. Sega is not alone. A quick Web search on “retro iPhone games” provides hundreds of options for the classic gaming enthusiast, including arcade superstars Pac-Man and Space Invaders. For those looking for the console classics, Touch Arcade has provided a handy list that includes personal favorites Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins and the PC mega-hit Myst.

Furthermore, developers inspired by classic games are bringing new titles to the market that have familiar influences. The upcoming Slug Wars from Republic of Fun draws its inspiration from the Worms series (originally released on the Amiga in the early 80s). iPhone publisher Super Happy Fun Fun’s Mark Pierce, the original designer of 90s arcade hit Klax, incorporated similar game principles on the match-three puzzler Star*Burst.

With a plethora of opportunities for both classic gamers and new gamers alike, the iPhone has resurrected old franchises, as well as inspired new ones. These “snackable nuggets of classic delight” can be devoured by consumers young and old, truly making the platform a gaming haven that anyone can enjoy.

Gifted Gamers Give Back this Holiday Season

This holiday season, while many of us were busy making lists and checking them twice, gamers across the nation were giving back by participating in events that benefited kids who won’t be home for Christmas or otherwise wouldn’t receive gifts. In the spirit of the season, we wanted to highlight some of the ways that gamers have been bringing – and can still bring – a little bit of gaming joy into the lives of those in need of a good dose of cheer.

Recently, some of the TriplePoint team attended Ümloud, a fundraiser for the popular Child’s Play charity. For a small donation, gamers formed bands and played Rock Band on stage at one of San Francisco’s most popular clubs (a short video can be seen here).

On December 9, Nyko Technologies got into the giving spirit this season, participating in the Gamers United party. Nyko provided several of their latest gaming accessories for the Teen Lounge in the Mattel Children’s Hospital of UCLA .

Game players who have been looking for a fun and easy way to contribute have been logging onto Facebook and playing BioWare Labs’ latest creation, Gift of the Yeti. Every time Gift of the Yeti is played this holiday season, BioWare will donate to Child’s Play (up to a total of $10,000). Facebook gamers have also been helping to feed and educate children in Haiti through Zynga‘s “Sweet Seeds for Haiti” program by purchasing sweet potato seeds in the popular game Farmville.

For those still looking to make a difference this season, you can still donate games, consoles and gaming accessories to the following charity organizations:

Child’s Play: Created by the team behind the popular gaming site Penny Arcade, Child’s Play has donated over 5 million dollars in toys, games and books to children’s hospitals across the US, Canada, UK and elsewhere. You can donate through PayPal, or even purchase items through Amazon.com that will be delivered directly to the hospital of your choice.
Toys for Tots: Toys for Tots collects new unwrapped toys and distributes them to needy children in the communities in which toys are collected.
Gamers United : A group dedicated to highlighting the many positive ways in which gamers contribute to society, its beneficiaries include Child’s Play, Toys for Tots and the Good Shepherd Center of Los Angeles, a center for homeless women and children.

Another way to get directly involved is to contact your local children’s hospital or community center. Most accept donations of your gently used games and gaming consoles (keep in mind it’s best not to donate “M” rated games), or better still, volunteer! Often, time is the best gift you can give.

There are so many ways in which gamers can spread the joy of videogames while making a valuable contribution to those in need. Make a difference in the lives of others, and you might be surprised how great it feels.

Micro-transactions and MMOs: The New Capitalism

Micro-transactions have taken center stage lately as a hot-button controversy in social gaming, particularly on Facebook. But the debate over micro-transactions in other genres, particularly massively multiplayer online (MMO) titles, has been going on for quite some time, even prior to the advent of Facebook. The reaction to micro-transactions as elements of game play in MMOs has often been virulent, with proponents on both sides attempting to sway the other to their point of view.

Why such strong feelings toward one game element? For many MMO players, particularly those in subscription-based games, the use of micro-transactions comes down to a concern about fairness. For the hardcore “raiding guild” players, why put in so much effort and hours of play time into a game, only to have others succeed in the game by buying their way into it? For average MMO players, incorporating micro-transactions into core game play can also create an in-game society of “haves” and “have nots,” with some the players unwilling or unable spend the cash to be a viable part of the game universe.

Auction page from Audition 2, a F2P game from Redbana — Auction page from Audition, a F2P game from Redbana

One could posit the theory that—for Western gamers at least—the issue is really not about fairness, but that micro-transactions violate the virtually sacred principle of what we consider capitalism, or at least its idealized “American Dream” version: “work hard, and ye shall be rewarded.” To many MMO gamers, micro-transactions violate that principle by offering rewards to the user who merely pays extra cash. In some ways, it could be argued that this is a more pragmatic (or realistic) view of capitalism, i.e., “pay money, get what you want.”

It’s not just the players—the micro-transaction debate is an ongoing headache / concern for game designers, particularly those in the West, who have long struggled with the dilemma. In the past, Western designers have steered clear of incorporating micro-transactions into their mass market MMOs to avoid throwing off game play balance and risk losing their loyal customers. However, free-to-play games (F2P), which are supported through micro-transaction purchases such as enhanced character customization, special clothing and weapons, have long been popular in Eastern markets like Korea and China and are now rising in popularity in the Western world. With the increased success of the F2P model, game designers are taking a closer look at this model as a new means of monetization, customer retention and attraction of new users in order to survive in a new era of gaming.

The solution to this dilemma will most likely be a combination of the subscription-based model with a judicious use of micro-transactions, enabling both the idealized and pragmatic versions of in-game capitalism to coexist to the benefit of end users. Ultimately, all successful MMOs will need to include some content in the form of micro-transactions as an additional revenue stream as well as a method by which to obtain and retain users. As an example, one has only to look at Blizzard’s juggernaut World of Warcraft, which recently introduced two vanity pets for purchase (the first micro-transaction that has been offered in this game).

Capitalism in its ideal and real forms can indeed mesh in an MMO economy; by offering convenient and cosmetic enhancements that do not impact core game play on a micro-transaction basis, developers can give gamers the opportunity to purchase items that allow them to express their individuality and personality while still enjoying the fruits of their labor. This solution works for both gamers and game designers, as enhanced content can be added relatively quickly, provide entertainment and ultimately keep the player as a long-term customer.

Author: Wendy Beasley