So what is it in great game mechanics that gets people willing to invest time and money to play? If learning games could first engage players using great mechanics, would the learners then be willing to engage in the learning objectives ? That was my take away from the MOOC at EdX that I just completed, Design and Development of Learning Games.
Here is a game that seems to engage Marshawn Lynch since college and now he is a character in the game, Call of Duty-Black Ops III. According to Geekwire,
Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch will play a villain in the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops III for Xbox One and Xbox 360 on November 6th. Lynch, also known as Beast Mode, is the first athlete to appear a Call of Duty game. According to ESPN’s Sam Alllpour, Lynch started playing games in the Call of Duty franchise at the University of California-Berkeley and now plays Call of Duty daily.
Looked in Wikipedia for more info on “first person shooter games” since I do not play this kind of game. Here is research on impact for players of “first person shooter games” 2010, researchers at Leiden University showed that playing first-person shooter video games is associated with superior mental flexibility. Compared to non-players, players of such games were found to require a significantly shorter reaction time while switching between complex tasks, possibly because they are required to develop a more responsive mindset to rapidly react to fast-moving visual and auditory stimuli, and to shift back and forth between different sub-duties.
Shifting focus between a number of ongoing tasks in real time: otherwise known as “multitasking”… which is an actual skill or capability that takes some practice or “game playing” to learn.
Marshall Lynch’s occupation requires rapid adjustments to environments, similar to that of a first person shooter… the opponent is coming at him from all angles, and he needs to be able to react instantaneously…. and maybe a fitting label that this is called “Beast Mode”. =^)
I believe I saw a similar situation in the U.S. Open. The winners of the Open needed to be very flexible in switching between courses in their past experiences to the ability to “put well” at Chambers Bay, a very different course. The winner, Jordan Spieth, was 21 years old. I wonder if he plays video games?