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3rd Postgraduate Research Student Conference
13th July 2015Staffordshire University
IntroductionNia Wearn BSc (Hons), MA
Staffordshire University
Senior Lecturer in Computer Games Design Award Leader for BSc Hons / BEng Hons Computer Gameplay Design & Production
@wormellaCurrently working part time on a Phd currently
entitled "Identifying commonalities in the working practices of students during a Global
Games Jam event in line with their education at Staffordshire University.
I’m passionate about encouraging play, creativity and fun in education, especially where games are
concerned.
Ludoliteracy defined
• Having the ability to play games.
• Having the ability to understand meanings with respect to games.
• Having the ability to make games. • (Zagal, 2010, p. 23)
Games Courses @ Staffs in 2016
Computer Games Design
Computer Games Design
(Extended)
Creating Assets
Games Concept Design
Game Art
Computer Game
Animation
Scripting & Coding
Games Design &
Programming
Computer Games
Programming
Core Design & Indie
Gameplay Design &
Production
Indie Games Development
Understanding Games
Games Studies
Games Journalism &
PR
Our General Flagship Award
Niche Awards for Specific Interests
The areas we teach in
Making GamesArt
Code & Script
Design
Publishing
Research
What we do in Games
• We’ve been doing this since 2006• We’ve had a lot of alumni go through our
programmes– Which in that time have evolved with the needs of
the industry– We have bed rock ideas that form key things we
believe in
Core to this is We Make Games
Question 1
What are the skills that we teach that our students use to
make games?
How to find this outWhat we said
we’d teach
• Document analysis
• Module Descriptors, Validations, Reviews of the Games Area
What we think we teach
• Interviews with teaching Staff
What we actually taught
• Interviews with Alumni
This kind of reflective practice should
give me an over view of the skills
associated with teaching people to
make games.
Question 2
How do we know that our students use these skills to
make games?
Enter The Global Games Jam
• 48 Game Jam – Friday to Sunday
• 300+ students take part– Current staffs games students– Alumni Students– Staffs students that aren’t
games students– Other Students from colleges /
unis / waifs & strays
What Do I want to find out?
Do the skills that we teach on our courses get used by students when
they make a game in 48hrs?
If so – which ones and why?
2015 Pilot that wasn’t a pilot• Initially I had an idea of doing a
pilot study in 2015
– Some things got in the way ->– Trying to balance organising with
anything else was problematic
– Each Jam Site organiser is also involved in the social media• E.g tweeting, videos, reddit etc
Observing a Global Games Jam• Easier said then done– Students have only a limited time to make the
game– They are either focussed or asleep– They have a goal to have a finished game
Things to consider• Without getting in the way?• Without making them angry?• Could I train research ’minions’ to help?
How do I observe a GGJ
team?
• I need to make sure there’s a mix• How do I control teams without making
them angry?
Which teams do I observe
• Post event interview?• Autoethnographic write up?• Large Scale Questionnaire?
If Observation doesn’t work what then?
Issues the research faces2016 is my only shot
• In summer 2016 we move up to the Stoke Campus
• Jan 2016 will be the last Global Games Jam on the Stafford Campus
• We’ll host them on the Stoke Campus, but we don’t know what that will do to the attendees
Previous attempts at research
• Previous attempts to questionnaire students post jam have been disappointing *
• Similarly gathering some students for a post jam discussion from a different event came to nothing
Time Balance
• Full time teaching and Part Time PHDing is tricky to balance at the best of times
• January is a really busy time of year
• The GGJ falls after the CFP for the 2 main Games Studies conference
*This is discussed a little in Wearn. N, Fletcher. B, Vigurs. K (2014) Contextualising nonattendance of eligible students to Global Game Jam locations. In: Foundation of Digital Games 2014 , 3-7 April 2014, Ft. Lauderdale, FL .
Things in place to help in 2016
• Staffs Staff GGJ organisation Team– No longer a 2 person operation– More tutors willing to stay overnight means I can
concrete on my research
• Pilot that wasn’t a pilot meant I had chance to think about the best way to gather data without comprising the participants experience
Why do this at all?
Question 3
Could we use a Games Jam type thing to assess on our Games Courses?
Please come and talk to meI’m ludicrously open to suggestions on how I could do
some of these things – This is a small field with big implications!
Nia Wearn
@wormella
Thank you for listening
– any questions?
