Name – “Dino Search: Prehistoric Scavenger Hunt”

Will – https://wdmontgomeryserious.game.blog/

Brendan – https://etchermask.wordpress.com/

Louis – https://lousblog238092112.wordpress.com

Genre:

AR Scavenger Hunt

Audience:

Children aged 5-10 and their families

Primary Objective:

The primary objective of this project is to create a fun and educational experience for young kids and their families to enjoy. We want to utilize this advanced technology to create something that people of all ages can enjoy, and learn something while they play. This project is supposed to help kids understand the importance of the world’s history while also showing them that learning can be fun.

Introduction to Game:

The objective of the player(s) is to use the provided tools (small shovel and duster), to uncover the various buried dinosaur bones and fossils that are spread throughout the sandbox. Once uncovered, the AR technology will make the fossil come alive with a unique animation for each of the bones/fossils. Each animation will improve the experience and add an extra sense of immersion and flare to the exhibit. Depending on the location of the uncovered fossil, there is a chance that the animation will react to another uncovered fossil, depending on the distance. The exhibit will have the ability to change the theme depending on the day or special occasion. Some of the themes that we could do, with the AR technology are Egypt, or other countries in Africa/around the world, etc…

Research:

https://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/106014.aspx

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/09/photos-dinosaurs-fossils-t-rex-triceratops-velociraptor-paleontology/

Game Control:

Player walks around holding a phone/tablet with the corresponding AR dig game running.
Tablets may be provided by group running exhibit, along with shovels and buckets to dig through sand
Scan a QR code in playroom to activate activity
Load visual surrounding dig site one user walks to predetermined center point of activity. This would likely be the center of the sandbox space
From here, the player(s) would move outward and dig for the plastic figures
Phone/tablet vibrates when in close proximity to a potential dig
Once found, scan QR code attached to plastic dino to view a animation of the dinosaur
Dinos/plants/objects scanned in close proximity to others may fight/eat/interact with each other in animation

Interface/Information:

Square outline reticle centers QR code alignment
Drop down bar listing potential digs in top left corner
Bottom right lists found dinos/plants
Bottom left corner lists game inventory:

Ar dig flag site markers
“Journal”
Found objects

Game Mechanics:

Use tablet to initiate activity
Digging for plastic figures
Watching animation of figure that is dug up
Selecting digs from tablet
Vibrating phone/tablet when in proximity to a figure
Finding different types of figures such as plants, dinosaurs, and different objects

Sixty seconds of play:

The player will obtain the AR dig app on their mobile device/tablet. They’ll then reach into the sandbox and start digging out from the marked area. They’ll look for plastic figurines and the phone or tablet will vibrate when they are in close proximity to the object. When the player finds an object and then scans the code on the object, an animation of the dinosaur or plant they’ve dug up will play. When two objects are scanned in close proximity their animations may interact on the tablet. The player can then continue their dig until they find the remainder of the figurines and objects.

Link to similar game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlvZ-tOqZOg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xktNGCyTtEw

Assessment:

Entities Objective:

The entities primary objective is to create a more fun, educational and immersive experience for children and their families to enjoy when visiting the museum.

Our Objective:

To assist the entity in creating a more captivating and engaging, educational and fun experience for children and their families to enjoy while partaking in the sandbox exhibit, learning about a variety of different dinosaurs and plants by using modern day Augmented Reality technology which will demonstrate visual animations to make learning more exciting.

3 Assessment Values to Measure the Success of the Objective:

How many people visit the exhibit in an average day
How long people stay at the exhibit for
How people rate the exhibit

How each Assessment Value applies to the Objective:

How many people visit the exhibit in an average day

The average number of people visiting the exhibits shows how successful the exhibit is and its ability to bring in crowds.

How long people stay at the exhibit for:

The amount of time in which people stay at the exhibit demonstrates how immersive and interesting the game is to those participating in the activity.

How people rate the exhibit

Using a quick rating system that pops up after the guests are done with the exhibit the entity will be able to know what the average reception of the exhibit is.

Name – “Physical Therapy, Rhythm Experience”

Will – https://wdmontgomeryserious.game.blog/

Brendan – https://etchermask.wordpress.com/

Louis – https://lousblog238092112.wordpress.com

Genre:

Rhythm Physical Therapy

Audience:

Physical therapy patients/ Medical Practitioners, therapists, coaches

Primary Objective:

The primary objective of this project is to change the face of physical therapy, and make it easier and more accessible for the therapists to track and more appropriately help their patients.

Introduction to Game:

The game uses the Xbox Kinect motion capture ability to better work on the physical therapy aspect and help the patients have more progression and receive better help and get better faster than they would using normal therapy techniques. The game allows the therapist to have the ability to customize each session by putting in personal movements that they want the patient to try and work towards. Each session is different from the next, depending on the progress that the therapist sees from the patient. Over time, hopefully, the patient will be doing more complex movement based on what the therapist thinks they can accomplish. After each session, the user/patient will see their progress compared to last session, as well as other patients progress to compare.

Research:

https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/318436-overview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSXi4jJCBpg

Game Control:

A controller could be used to navigate the startup/set up menus. A controller is more reasonable for a doctor to use over stretching themselves every time they want to start up a specific motion.
Character model would be chosen from menu with premade area based rhythms to beat. Each rhythm represents a different area of the body with a different affliction ranging from fractures, burns, arthritis, etc.
Character model can be edited by selecting the desired area with a hot map in a 3D scene. This includes: Erasable models for amputees. Height, weight, circumference, and other necessary preset inputs.
Motion controls dictate input in the sessions. The in session menu options show as a “ring” around the player with different choices present on the ring. The user would need to literally reach in the direction of the option the want to select. Gameplay would detect the player as they keep in rhythm with the beat of game.
Player moves to match extremities to icons representing different points in the body to different spaces in front of the Kinect. These icons would fly in a direction across the screen, and the player would match that position with the time of the beat.
Beat difficulty is dictated by frequency of appearance and area to be exercised. Slower beats would constitute a slower, probably more difficult series of motions for that patient, while faster ones would come with both time and progress.

Interface/Information:

Startup menu contains options for both patient and doctor editing options. This allows for both doctor present and non present sessions.
Patient menu would open to options revolving around practicing preset/prescribed sessions, viewing the own personal record, leaving messages for the advising physician, patient portal, and an option to upload their own sound content
Doctor/Therapist/Physician menu would include the model editor, a library of various ailments to choose from, a notes station, patient library, patient portal, video log library of sessions for review
Session menu: Time, session type (intro, practice, sustained exercise)
Playscreen: Player model center, icons appearing flying across screen to align with body parts, musical note particle effects on match, timer (mutable), pace tracking

Game Mechanics:

The player strikes poses to hit different beats in the rhythm
Changeable workouts that can be changed prior to the session
Increasing difficulty as time and ability of player elapses.
Editable 3D character model for the player
Sound designed to be in tune with stretches and poses
On beat posturing
Rhythm that signifies when to do different poses and stretches on beat

Sixty seconds of play:

The game is initiated by the medical practitioner’s and depending on the different kind of physical therapy required, the patient takes over once the level has been selected by the practitioner. Following such, the patient would be required to strike a variety of poses to match the rhythm. The game would select different postures for the patient to perform to stretch the specific muscles their in physical training for while also forcing patients to perform these different postures to the beat of the rhythm, making their physical therapy appointment more fun, engaging and productive. Points would potentially be awarded to the patient by the end of the level, scoring how accurately each posture was completed.

Link to similar game:

Guitar Hero style icon matching- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=runtc3Da0CE

Stretch therapy session- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIhXMVRriRo

Entry 5 Week 1 Pt2 -Boston Children’s Museum by Brendan J O’Neil

Link to group mate blogs:

Will – https://wdmontgomeryserious.game.blog/

Brendan – https://etchermask.wordpress.com/

Louis – https://lousblog238092112.wordpress.com

Introduction:

Working together with your friends and family, the players will build a structure out of KEVA blocks and see if the building will survive the weather effects like water, sand, wind etc…

Game Idea 1: “Weather the Storm”

Amateur architecture for the whole family
Approachable at all ages
Focus on cooperation

Genre: Physically interactive weather affect sim

Core Mechanics:

Stacking
Positioning
Forward planning

Similar Mechanics:

LEGOS
BLOCKS
KEVA planks

Main Objective:

Build a structure, then see if it survives a simulated weather effect including storms
Teaches proper architecture practice and form, as well as testing weather effects on various types of building

How it interacts with Serious Game:

This activity is experienced in a two step process –

First, the family or group erects their building, stacking and shaping it together. This action doesn’t require the starting family to stay and finish, another group may take over their build.

Second, upon completion, the group or family may watch as their structure stand or crumbles against a simulated weather event in the room.

Introduction:

The players will have to work together to create a path for a group of hikers to safely get to their destination.

Game Idea 2: “Desert Hiking”

Building safe paths to get the AR hikers across from the “desert” and avoid hazards like quick sand and dangerous water
The player will dig in the sand as well as us KEVA planks to create these paths

Genre: Path creation

Core Mechanics:

The hikers will be AR and will responds to changes in the height of the sand and sense of the KEVA planks
The AR hikers will also react to the water and quick sand
The players don’t lose if the hikers hit water or the quicksand spots, they will simply just be slowed down

Similar Mechanics:

https://www.coolmathgames.com/0-wooden-path-2

Main Objective:

The main objective is to have the players work together and learn about teamwork and cooperation. We want kids and family to have the ability to bond together while also having fun. Distance and time will be measure, meaning groups can see how they performed both together and individually.

How it interacts with Serious Game:

This interacts with serious game because this isn’t about making a game, it’s about making something for friends and family to become more connected with. It’s a way to show that there is a way to make bonding more fun for families.

Week 1: Boston Children’s Museum by Brendan J O’Neil

“Fort”

The new interactive exhibit at the Boston’s Children’s Museum would appeal to all families with children probably raging from 3-11. The space provided for detecting the height, space, and size of objects on it would be located on the floor, not a table. this would allow small children to interact with the activity. The floor space itself would encompass a 10-12 foot space. Big enough for a group to interact with at the same time, with ample space for other detecting spaces to be installed.

The activity itself would be called “Fort” and center around kids and their parents building small structures. These structures could be built from foam blocks or cushioned bricks filled with sand or rubber pellets. The point of the game would to simply build a small fortification with the supplied blocks, and upon using the last block, the “fort” would be graded based structural stability and style. these grades would range from A-C, since you can’t fail when you’re having fun. The one central gimmick for the structure would be that a person could sit within it, making the true goal to build around someone(s).

Possible structures include:

Castle Towers
Bridges
Igloos
Archways
etc. etc.

The “Fort” floor board space could come with a small companion tablet that could log and save the structure, as well as showcase other families builds, and have a library of real life structures and edifices to draw reference from.

These blocks could come in a multitude of colors, shapes, and weights for varying effects. Square and rectangle blocks would be used to stack and build upon. Slanted blocks could act as a roof or in a alternating capacity. Rounded blocks would be good for spacing and corner stacks.

With so many possibilities to build, there would huge grounds for return customers. This wouldn’t be limited to families, as local schools and youth centers could take trips here as well.

Stretch: Physical Therapy for the Kinect by Brendan J O’Neil 10/23/18

Stretch” is a 1st person physical recovery and rehabilitation experience that would be available on the XBOX Kinect. The Kinect, though not the most widely sold console accessory, is still a very approachable and easy to learn motion-capture platform. This makes it ideal for both specialists and patients to use. The point of “Stretch” is to help serious burn patients adjust to life with their specific wounds.

Since burn victims come with varying degrees of damage to the skin and underlying tissue layers, the exercises would have to be designed around helping the patient regain the ability to use the burned portion of their body without overexertion being felt. If the Kinect asked them to stretch too far, or move the wrong way, it could seriously jeopardize their medical treatment this far. The group making this game would have to take into account:

Muscle location
Muscle density
Burn type
Additional patient specific information
These four core merits would have to be taken into consideration for each given exercise, so as not to further harm the patient, or unwittingly undo treatment. This would require a questionnaire asking specifics about the patient’s diagnosis. This would be where the treating physician would personalize the experience based off of the patient.

Potential questions:

What degree of burn does the patient have?
Where is the burn?
What type of motion will be tested?
How long ago was the burn inflicted?
What age and gender is the patient?

These questions would go along way in making the patient feel like their exercises aren’t condescending or patronizing. This keeps the patient from feeling alienated by the therapy. For adolescents, it adds a level of competition or challenge that they feel may be lacking from the experience. “Stretch” is as much about emotional recovery as it is physical. Patients could track their progress with a mobile sister app.

(Your Shape: Fitness Evolved [2012] Ubisoft)

Game play would consist of the player seeing a normal daily routine associated with their area of damage, then attempting that routine in practice themselves. The Kinect could capture all the various tries and the physician see where to adjust as well as where the patient may improve themselves.

“Stretch” would need to have two separate functionalities as well. One built in to contain the movement modules for the patients to experience, and another for the physical therapist to track and score the patients progress.

The movement modules at this point are focused on the upper body, which brings down the range of motion to the torso, arms, and cranial area. This specification goes a long way in narrowing down the session types for what each module would contain, ie.:

Bicep/ Tricep
Pectorals
Abdomen
Back
Neck
Head
Arm/ Hand/ Wrist

Each location would have different exercises available based on the location, burn intensity, and individual patient progress.

The patient progress itself brings up the other mode of functionality for stretch: Therapist scoring and review. Each treating physician using “Stretch” would have a multi level leaderboards style user interface to track patient progress, score individual session stats, and analyze where improvement and work can be made. This works to better help the therapist understand exactly what needs to be done in order to more accurately aid the patient. While helping to personalize the patients recovery, the scoring and tracking system could tally what specific motions and contortions would be more advanced or difficult for that specific part of the body based on how varying patients interact with it.

Ultimately, the goal is to heal the patients ability to move and live with the burn they have sustained. Living with burns historically has been difficult, with whole ranges of motion for a burnt body part being restricted or inaccessible due to the harshness of the wound. Burns can have lasting pain that seriously inhibits a person’s capabilities, so the applicableness of “Stretch” is widely understood and desired.

Similar games include Your Shape: Fitness Evolved

Links:

https://franksblog758232151.wordpress.com

/https://wdmontgomeryserious.game.blog/2018/09/18/game-brief

/https://etchermask.wordpress.com/2018/09/18/game-group-catch-the-cheater-by-brendan-j-oneil-game-3902-w01-9-18-18-game-blog-entity-1-week-2

https://lousblog238092112.wordpress.com/2018/10/02/serious-game-entity-three/

Gettysburg Ar Experience

Brendan J O’Neil 10/2/18

GAME-3902-W01 Serious Game Project

Gettysburg Filed AR

GAME: July of ‘63
Platform: Mobile phone/tablet
Genre: Historical Pathfinder/ Educational show experience
Mechanics:

User has phone out walking the fields of the battle, visiting each monument. The various monuments and statues of commanders and regiments in the battle will have a QR code that is weather resistant that will activate a AR hologram persona representing that specific person or regiment. That hologram will discuss their role and ultimate destiny in the battle, speak on why they may have been personally fighting, and cover some aspect of the battle or war for further context. Fully interacting with the persona will initiate a fully rendered audio/visual scene of that part of the battle

Example: User scans July of ‘63 at the monument for the top of Little Round top dedicated to the 20th Maine division of the Union Forces. The Hologram persona could belong to Col. Joshua L. Chamberlain, the leader of this location of the union forces.

Similar Games: Geocaching, Pokemon Go
Serious Game Objective: To create a AR experience that will attract a younger audience to visit the park and learn about the battles history. This game achieves this by creating a modern experience that doesn’t rely on the imagination to appreciate, just a smartphone or tablet that can utilize GPS tracking and use data to activate real world markers. These markers act as gateways into the past via a visually impressive interaction with a soldier persona. That persona would finalize as a fully rendered display of a few violent moments of that battle.
Could be ushered in with the 155th anniversary celebration as a new experience for younger guests, or anyone who would download the AR app. There could even be a discount applied with anyone who signs into the park to use the game

The screenshot below is from the town of Gettysburg, Pa. The park itself has pokestops all along the tour path.

Equine Fire Safety and Rescue Game

Brendan J O’Neil

9/25/18

Serious Game

GAME-3902-W01

Fire Fighter Game

Save The Stallion

Platform: PC

GAME OBJ: 3rd person turn based training simulator for firefighters in high risk situations in rural communities. Firefighter player characters will have to work as a team in a burning barn with frenzied hoofed mammals panicking around them. The point of this is to help firefighters deal with stress and problem solve in the moment while containing the fire. It in meant to correctly showcase B.A.R.T.- Basic Animal Rescue Training.

Game play: Game play comes in two phases, the short prep phase at the station, and the response phase at the fire site. The game will feature different structures housing horses and other farm life that need to be saved from the blaze. The firefighters have a finite amount of water to hold as well. There aren’t fire hydrants in the middle of the local family barn, so the station needs a truck with its own pre filled water tank. Structure will continuously crumble realistically around firefighters attempting to save the animals. Characters will have their own stats for mental, physical, and emotional levels on the job. Losing a fellow firefighter will lower all three. Losing too many animals or the whole structure will end the level. Different equipment can be equipped such as a animal gas mask, an axe, a hose, extra air tanks, etc. Finally, fire fighters need to be able to properly corral and direct the animals under pressure. Horses and others creatures can break formation, try to kick one of the various first responders, or impair the rescue.

Core Mechanics:

Responder safety: Since the player starts at the station, they have the ability to properly equip responders, assign roles, and prep the truck. All of these will make the firefighters lives more secure.
Animal safety: The animals are the focal point of the rescue operation. They are the things needed to be saved, and the firefighter must know how to handle them under pressure.

Assessment: Finally, the player must solve why the fire occurred in the first place. This is to properly show what can cause a fire.

Similar Games:

Hard West
XCOM series

Serious Game OBJ: This Game meets the serious game obj by properly mapping out a situation, giving the firefighters the tools the would have in the situation, highlighting the fractiousness of the scenario. Ultimately, there is no true right way to approach a situation such as this, so it is imperative that the various first responders have the proper mental prep to overcome this disaster. Positioning, preparedness, and execution will all come into play.

Horse Behavior: Firefighters need to be able to interpret how a horse will react at any given moment when rescuing it. They can way anywhere between 840-2200 pounds. They’re legs contain enough power to dish out 2000 pounds of pressure per square inch. They can crash or jump barriers when panicked.

Frank – https://franksblog758232151.wordpress.com/

Will – https://wdmontgomeryserious.game.blog/

Brendan – https://etchermask.wordpress.com/

Louis – https://lousblog238092112.wordpress.com/2018/09/25/entity-two/

Game Group “Catch the Cheater” by Brendan J O’Neil GAME-3902-W01 9/18/18 Game Blog Entity 1 Week 2

Without further introduction, our game idea is for a card game called “Catch the Cheater”. This game is meant to highlight how each to teachers and educational personal how they can unwittingly exercise some form of bias in their analysis of their students at various ages. These students are meant to intentionally play off of stereotypes of their age, race, sex, and personality type. We think this game would be an effective tool for self awareness as it plays off of any sense of bias that the teacher or educator might have already as a individual.

To Catch A Cheater

Genre: Card Game, Educational

Audience: The audience is student teachers aged 18-30 that are learning about implicit bias and how it affects their work. The entity states that the audience is those who are going into the occupation of teaching.

Primary Objective:

What is the primary objective of the game? This is in relation to the Entity and your stated goal.

The primary objective of “To Catch a Cheater” is to educate and raise awareness, specifically student teachers, but also all educators whether they display signs of implicit bias.
By playing the game, teachers will learn whether they generalize a student based on appearance or background, and if they do, strive towards learning to suppress their implicit bias.

State WHY you chose this primary objective: why did it meet the needs of the goal and the Entity, and why were you interested and committed to exploring this objective?

The entity revolves around trying to educate educators on implicit bias in our surroundings. The reason our game idea “To Catch a Cheater” reflects on the goals of the entity is because the game forces people to generalize but strives to nitpick who the players will generalize. The hope of the game is to promote and raise awareness of people’s individual implicit bias.

Introduction to Game:

To Catch A Cheater is a tabletop educational card game,for two to ten players, that is used to educate the player on implicit bias. Each player will receive the same 5 student cards, each card will have picture of the student on the front and a short bio on the back. Each student card will have a different hint about the student on the bottom of the card. Each player will have 60 seconds to decide which student is the cheater, based only on the information available on the card (i.e. appearance/background information). Once the time is up every player will tell who they chose as the cheater and why, then the real cheater will be revealed to the players.The game has a very fast pace, allowing for multiple playthroughs in one session. Similar to Clue, the player has to decide the cheater without knowing all the information.

What mechanics in the game are you using to optimize and actualize the

Objective?

Cards

There will be 3 decks of 50 cards. The first deck will be 3rd graders, the second deck will have 6th graders, the final deck will have 12th graders.One deck will be specifically chosen per round in order to more accurately pick the cheater. The cards shall be presented with a front and back side. Each student will have 5 individual and different cards highlighting a different aspect of their character. Each card will have a “mugshot” frame picture of the student in the class. The back will have a short bio on the student, highlighting their name, age, and a fragment of their whole bio.

Timer

Game will provide a simple timer to be set for 60 seconds. Players have that time to review their cards and choose who they think is the potential cheater.

True Cheater Deck and Envelope

The identity of the true student cheating will be contained on a true cheater card. This card will be contained in 3 seperate grade based decks. One deck is played per round based off of which grade is chosen to assess. The deck will be placed in an envelope, remaining there until the end of the round timer. The players will reopen the envelope and reveal the identity of the cheater, drawing a single cheater card to see if they are correct or not. The true cheater deck of cards is not used outside of the selection, and each card has a backside with a short reason why the student chose to cheat.

Point Accumulation

To determine a final winner, the first person to correctly pick three cheaters will be declared the winner.

○

Explain how the mechanics chosen are the best ones for your Primary Objective as

you describe them in the sections below.

These mechanics require the player to exercise their conscience ability to assess and analyze their hand of “students” and select a cheater based off of their own opinion. The game is meant to draw on our conclusions about stereotypes and background knowledge about different identifiers like appearance, race, and background.

Game Control:

Each player can only base their guess on the appearance of the student card. This forces the user to think about their bias in order to determine the cheater.

Score/Objective/Winning/Losing/Competition:

The objective is to find the cheater and whoever gets it right is awarded a point. The game keeps getting played until someone gets 3 points.

Interface/Information:

The player has cards with an image of a student and a small bio about them, including their name, where they are from, etc… These are the only details until the game reaches its end. At the end, after each player explains why they chose the student they chose, the real cheater will be revealed along with the reason that they cheated.

Main User Mechanics/Actions:

Identify Bias – Having to identify your bias and being able to use it to choose which person is the cheater.

Communication – Explaining your reasoning for choosing who you believed to be the cheater was.

OBJECTIVE

)

Levels/Environment:

N/A this is a card game. There is a single round in each game and you find who the cheater is at the end.

Obstacles, interactive elements, enemies, collectibles, npcs etc:

N/A

Describe and Explain the unique ways in which your game idea meets the needs of the theme, entity, AND objective.

The game meets the needs of the theme entity and objective by using the classroom setting that the people playing the game are involved in as well as using multiple players to see the thought process of not just the one person but of the multiple people and how they would approach the situation.

Sixty seconds of play:

The game will initiate with the distribution of five cards to each participant in the game and players will then have 60 seconds to determine which of the five students is a cheater. The game is played to unearth whether the players display any signs of implicit bias by deeming somebody a cheater based on appearance/background information.

Link to video of similar gameplay. Link to video or inclusion of images of similar look/style.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvTOaktJjSU

Production:

Estimated number of Developers/Designers: This may have been given to you in the brief or you should have asked for clarification.
- ///
Any special licensing, expertise, or permissions needed:
- N/A
Estimated length of time for development in 3 phases: this may have been given to you in the brief or you should have asked for clarification.
- ///
Estimated cost for software/hardware
- ///
Estimated cost for phase 1 production
- ///
Estimated cost for phase 2 production
- ///
Estimated cost for release and maintenance
- ///
Plan for post release:
- ///

Serious Games Post 2: Implicit bias by Brendan O’Neil 9/11/18 Serious Game Project

The Fairplay game about implicit bias we played in class was an experience in real world situations involving bias and preconceptions. The game is meant to be a educational activity as welleducational as lesson in self awareness for people training to become teachers. For the entity, the game highlights various scenarios and archetypes of behavior that indicate the presence of bias in the real world. The game preaches the core necessity to exhibit fairness, respectfulness, and critical thinking in a scholastic setting.

Teachers are only human, and their subconscious works with them as much as their students own do. They assess each one as they enter the classroom to learn. The teacher must be able to suppress these assumptions in order to properly and fairly teach the students, regardless of the learning level, curriculum, and school type.

Examples of implicit bias in a scholastic setting pulled from the ‘Fairplay’ game include:

Assuming a students educational path
Having reservations about a student based on a stereotype.
Educating students when they display bias’ among one another
Expecting someone to be something other than their role at the school (student, tutor, tour guide)
Addressing a student improperly
and more

In the online article “Why Teachers must fight their own implicit biases”, the correlation between a students potential for success and a teachers expectations is highlighted repeatedly. It is stated that a students entire work ethic for a class can be swayed for better or worse based off whether or not the teacher has certain expectations. Expectations are a necessity, but one walks a fine line with them. Too low, and shoddy work can be produced. Too high, and some students may give up too early.

The fairplay game itself uses the communication brick approach to highlight implicit bias. It tells a point and click dialogue story from the perspective of a young black college student. This style is both simple to implement and easy to approach, even for a non gamer.

Finally, implicit bias can crucially affect ones educational experience, and understanding how to interact with any given student is a crucial skill for teachers to have.The fairplay game does a good job of portraying a real world from the point of view of someone that potentially sees plenty of bias in their day.

Links:

https://wdmontgomeryserious.game.blog/