Because the word “game” can describe many very different activities and varieties of play, we start with a few definitions. Speaking very generally,
A game is a set of activities with goals, rules, and competition (possibly with oneself) that involve one or more players in an artificial situation (Dempsey et al., 1996; Sauvé et al., under review).
Games such as tennis, basketball, Tic Tac Toe, chess, checkers, and Monopoly have been around much longer than computers. Since personal game machines and computers have become widely available, a wide variety of dynamic, interactive electronic games have appeared in many genres. Some familiar titles are the Carmen Sandiego series, Myst, Doom, various sports games, and EverQuest.
Many computer-based games are based on simulations, for example: The Sims, Roller Coaster Tycoon, or MBA management training games.
A simulation is a dynamic, simplified but accurate systems model of aspects of reality (Sauvé et al., under review).
Simulations in which learners have defined roles, with responsibilities, constraints, and feedback in complex data-rich environments, allow them to develop problem-solving skills and experience the effects of their decisions (Gredler, 2004). Simulations are often useful because they let players learn from their mistakes without, for example, crashing planes, killing patients, or sending companies into bankruptcy.
Adding performance goals, scoring, and competition among players or with oneself can turn a simulation into a game (Sauvé et al., under review; Sauvé et al., 2005a). The term simulation game refers to these hybrids and includes a wide variety of commercial games that simulate real-world activities. The distinction among games, simulations, and simulation games is important as a foundation for studies relating learning outcome effectiveness to characteristics of the learning activity (Sauvé et al., under review).
Games can use a variety of technologies including boards and tokens, fields and balls, dedicated game machines (PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo DS), personal computers, and handheld devices (cell phones, personal digital assistants [PDAs]). In this chapter we focus on games for computers and handhelds.
An Internet search will lead you to games for learning in practically any discipline. Some examples, found on the Social Impact Games site (www.socialimpact games.com), include:
- education games covering school subjects such as algebra, history, chemistry, computer software, and criminology;
- public policy games designed to educate the public on citizenship, democratic participation, and policy issues, such as Cyberbudget France on the French national budget, and several US election-related games;
- political and social games designed to stimulate discussion or promote views on world issues (e.g., world agriculture, drug dealing, human rights);
- health and wellness games teaching about health issues and management (e.g., for asthma, cancer, heart health, child predators, and self-esteem); and
- learning applications of commercial games: job simulations (e.g., emergency room), resource management (SimCity, Railroad Tycoon), history (e.g., Oregon Trail, Rise of Nations).
Similarly, simulation applications are many and varied, including:
- business: Computational models that generate business results and provide feedback for practising planning and decision-making for simulated periods (e.g., months, years). Goals are often profit-related. Areas include strategic management, marketing, finance, operations, investments; specific industry simulations, e.g., the Cornell Management Game (www.cms -training.com/);
- public policy: Simulations of government, educational, or international organizations or scenarios, e.g., Virtual U university management simulation (www.virtual-u.org/);
- military training: War strategy, equipment, battle, support scenarios, e.g., America’s Army, a virtual online army simulation (aimed at recruiting) produced by the US government (www.americasarmy .com/);
- flight: Simulations of specific aircraft controls, airports, flight paths, e.g., CAE commercial training simulators (http://www.cae.com); PC-based flight simulators (http://www.pcaviator.com or http://www.microsoft .com/games/flightsimulator/);
- medicine: Physical or computer-based models of medical processes and problems for developing and testing clinical skills, e.g., patient simulators, surgical simulators (http://www.msr.org.il/About_MSR/Medical _Simulation_Equipment/);
- memergency response: Immersive emergency scenarios and environments for testing systems and decisions, e.g., Unreal Triage (http://www.ists.dartmouth.edu /projects/seers/utriage.php); and
- leadership development: Simulated scenarios for practising interpersonal and leadership skills, such as Virtual Leader (www.simulearn.net/leadership training.html), Change Game (www.vanderbilt .edu/lead/simulations.html).
For the rest of this chapter, we will be concerned with games, simulation games and game-like simulated environments that involve play, exploration, and problemsolving but may or may not required explicit scoring and competition. In common with the popular use of the term, we will use “games” to refer to them collectively. Training simulations that are specifically oriented towards technical skills development, e.g., flight simulators and medical patient simulators are beyond the scope of this discussion.
Computer-based games are played by individuals and groups in many configurations. They can be single- or multi-player, played on a single computer, or multiple networked machines, in classrooms, or online. Handheld games can also support individual learning or collaborative learning with teams and groups, and particularly lend themselves to games involving player movement around physical settings. Internet-based massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) attract thousands of players in complex, evolving interactions and scenarios, including ones created by players themselves. Computers and especially handhelds can also be used to support blended learning situations in which game play happens through face-to-face interactions and activities rather than on screens.
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Second Life is a virtual online world built by its “residents” and populated by their avatars (online characters). It includes a dedicated campus area where educators can build and offer virtual classes including simulations. Here learners can “use simulation in a safe environment to enhance experiential learning, allowing individuals to practise skills, try new ideas, and learn from their mistakes. Students and educators can work together in Second Life from anywhere in the world as part of a globally networked virtual classroom environment.” (http://secondlife.com/community/education.php)
