Actions and Game Elements in Stencyl Games
Over the past week I visited the not-so-distant past to play a few Flash games created with Stencyl. My first impression was that I am glad the Internet is waving goodbye to Flash.
Hopefully, the spam aesthetics of Flash game websites will disappear as well.
Who knows…maybe in 10 more years these games will seem hip and retro. For now, I tried to look beyond these impressions while finding five actions in three games.
Pushing (The Little Who)
This action is the essential element of the Stencyl game The Little Who. In order to progress through levels, though have to solve puzzles by pushing blocks around to overcome obstacles.
This action corresponds to Boller/Kapp’s strategy and level game elements. The player has to decide how to use these tools strategically in progressively difficult tasks.
This type of puzzle game reminds me of an IQ test I had to take an elementary school in my unsuccessful attempt to join the gifted classes. Such tests have little to do with the essential ingredient of learning (in my opinion): intrinsic motivation. The best students are ones that are diligent, persistent, and rely on meeting their own high standards of excellence. I cannot see how this game could be used in an educational setting.
Pushing or solving problems strategically (if considered broadly) of course have educational value, but I am not sure how such examples relate to a simple Flash game.
Reading (Spiderling)
The role of reading in the Stencyl game Spiderling is to provide a story, one of the common game elements included in Boller/Kapp’s list. The atmosphere in this game is mysterious, which raises the importance of messages such as the one below.
For games in educational settings, reading is essential. Text can be used to give instructions, provide hints, or to explain the context.
Avoiding (Spiderling)
Spiderling also involves avoiding dangers such as enormous caterpillars. This relates to Boller/Kapp’s idea of conflict. These creatures interrupt movement throughout the Spiderling world, and have to be overcome in order to progress.
Avoiding danger could be compared to avoiding common mistakes in an educational activity. For example, many people make mathematical errors by not keeping track of place values.
Jumping (100% Complete)
Boller/Kapp’s idea of conflict presents itself in a much simpler Stencyl game called 100% Complete. Jumping over pits seems to be to primary activity in this game. I assume the title is meant to be ironic.
Aside from exercise or kinesthetics, I am not sure how jumping relates to a educational content area.
Shooting (Spiderling)
Another action available in Spiderling is shooting, which can be classified as a game strategy according to Boller/Kapp. In this game, shooting is not a violent action. Instead, it can be used to help the character move around the game world. Choosing when and how to use this ability is more open-ended than pushing blocks in The Little Who.
Like jumping, this action relates to body movement and coordination in exercise. Otherwise, I cannot see a clear educational purpose.
This experience was a little confusing in the context of this course, but I trust that it will make more sense as we learn more about the serious game we are expected to design.
