OK, this is a bit obscure, but its been playing around in my mind for a while.
Ever since Games Expo I have been wrestling with the thoughts that as a group, we don't really offer anything for the younger gamer on the stall. I've also been reading some threads on S-G about spreading the hobby, jargon, gamer culture etc. and thinking how this all fits together. Its inspired me to have a pop at writing something which might well be more child-friendly.
What I have been throwinga round in my head is a way to make the entire thing work for the parent as well. I think it would be fair to say that in the wider world, roleplaying has a fairly poor press but in the closed confines of a convention like Games Expo, clearly not. So what would tip the balance? Well, when I think about kids at conventions I think of reasonably well-educated, high achievers, articulate little cherubs with engaged and interested parents. Thats a really positive group to work with.
One of the other things I have been thinking about is the old adage that roleplaying develops spelling, vocabulary, maths and social skills. Anecdotally, we all know this (how many other 10 year olds know how to spell Constitution and Comeliness?) but it has always been just that - anecdotal.
Now as a parent myself, with two kids making mincemeat of Key Stage 2, I know that what always caught my eye were books and activities that said 'Addresses the National Curriculum at points X, Y and Z'. So you know what good the stuff in your kids hands is doing for them.
Cut Scene: Key Skills, as a subject, is being superceded in 2010 by a scheme called Functional Skills. Functional Skills put the same areas of maths, english and IT into focus but with a greater emphasis on practical applications of those skills rather than abstract applications. The theory, apparently, being that only by knowing how things work practically can the skills be applied thus, to make the skill user a better member of society. Whatever.
Back to the plot. So what if the game produced had its mechanics and themes with a covert eye on the new Functional Skills program? Obviously this would not be something that would even be mentioned in the game proper but it could be mentioned in a page in the back of the book and in some of the non-kid facing marketing of the game?
Its gaming and it's officially good for your brain!
Neil
Great topic, Neil. I'm
Submitted by Malcolm Craig on Tue, 15/07/2008 - 12:53.
Great topic, Neil.
I'm right behind the idea of creating more games that are easily accessible for the younger end of the market. Making them accessible for both parent and child is even better.
The first thing this makes me think of is: what kind of game could promote the kind of learning you outline, be fun for kids and engaging for adults? Not being a parent, I've not much to go on here, but how would such a game get round the "Oh Christ, I've got to sit through bloody Teletubbies again!" type situations for the parent? Creating something that educates and challenges, and also entertains, for two quite disparate age groups, is a great challenge in and of itself.
So, firstly, I'd like to ask if you have any more information you could provide on this new Functional Skills programme in schools? Would you be able to provide links to some stuff our perhaps outline the basics a little more? Knowing how the programme is intended to work in an educational environment might give some very useful pointers towards the goal of creating a game that harnesses all this stuff.
Cheers
Malcolm
Contested Ground Studios
Functional Skills
Submitted by Neil Gow on Tue, 15/07/2008 - 14:24.
I have the three outline documents at home - I'll pdf them tomorrow if I cannot find them on the interweb. Actually, thanks to Google, here are the standards from the QCA website
http://www.qca.org.uk/libraryAssets/media/QCA-07-3472-functional-skills_standards.pdf
They are graded much akin to Key Skills now - Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3, Level 1 and Level 2 I think. So Entry 1 Maths is being able to count to 10 whereas Level 2 Maths is the equivalent of a GCSE. However, the learning objectives are such that the evidence of learning has to come through practical 'real world' examples. So, for example, if you were doing 'Use a web browser to make an online purchase' its more than just knowing how to do it - its actually jumping on tesco.com and ordering your food or what not.
In game terms the educational theory of it would have to be invisible but it could inform the way we create mechanics in the game.
For example, the practice of writing an AP report is a perfectly acceptable English target. Now, if it was a game where the players gained mojo for immortalising their tale in story (between sessions) its something that both kids and adults do, but for the kids it has other educational implications. Make that sort of AP generation on a blog or online resource and you tick other IT related boxes.
Neil
Take the King's shilling at http://www.omnihedron.co.uk/dutyandhonour/
A teacher's point of view
Submitted by malladin_ben on Mon, 05/01/2009 - 12:05.
As someone who actually has to teach this stuff, I'd at least wait before rushing into this.
We're expecting an announcement soon as to the future of functional skills, and until then we don't know how important or widely used they need to be.
At the moment a pass in all three separate functional skills qualifications, in English, Maths and ICT, is required to achieve a pass in a specialist diploma, but it is also being suggested that this may also impact on GCSE passes from 2011. However, rumours are rife within education that this requirement will be dropped and it might be that these passes are only required to achieve the associated GCSE (i.e a FS pass in English to ahcieve an English GCSE). There are also rumours that they will be dropped from all syllabuses otehr than the diplomas. Diplomas are a vocational option and are not, at the moment at least, studied by that many pupils (I think there's only 2 in our full cohort of 160 year 10 pupils studying a diploma, although our school is perhaps not typical). It's early days as yet and their popularity will surely grow, but given the vocational nature of these qualifications I would guess that we'd be looking at a maximum of 40% saturation with these types of courses. Also, given the pupils who come to the RPGs club I run at school, I'd guess that this 40% is also likely to be the least interested in gaming.
Additionally, kids aren't likely to start thinking about FS until they hit year 10 (14-15). I would suggest you might want to start thinking about hitting years earlier in school. Key stage 3 for me seems an ideal place to aim for. At Key stage 3 (11-14) pupils will likely have discrete lessons in the full range of subjects: the usual Eng/Maths/Sci core from primary school, plus History, Art, Geography, Rel Stud, Drama, and ICT which are often a bit of an occasional bolt on, expecially in year 6 when the SATs come calling. I would suggest gaming material could better hit the national curriculum points for KS3 than trying to work with functional skills, which could well end up only affecting the types of kids least likely to be interested in gaming.
That's my thoughts anyway. I am a head of ICT at my school, so if you start to work on a project along these lines I would be happy to help. My head is currently looking at the possibility of publishing materials as a new revenue stream for the school, so if you have a concrete idea I may be able to get a proper professional partnership with our school.
Cheerio for now,
Ben
Thoughts
Submitted by Matt on Tue, 06/01/2009 - 23:22.
I've been mulling similar thoughts since Expo...
Fact 1: I have a niece and nephew who are just hitting the age where they like stories, but can't read themselves. They crave stories.
Fact 2: There are all kinds of practical parenting magazines, websites and so on that target the parents of kids that age.
Conjecture: A game (maybe more a utility) that provided story creation structures for parent-child interaction could sell quite well in this context.
-Matt
Realms Publishing
As someone who teaches 16+,
Submitted by Lynne H on Wed, 07/01/2009 - 17:27.
As someone who teaches 16+, anything that gets them thinking would be wonderful, full stop. They're so used to being spoon-fed everything they need to pass a test that by the time we get them, they have no independant thinking or research skills (beyond copying and pasting from Wiki), poor vocabulary and no clue about how numbers relate to each other (quite literally; if they type the numbers into a calculator wrongly, they can't spot that there's anything funny about the odd answer they get out).
Yes, that's a horrendously blanket statement, but its been getting worse as the GCSE and A-levels have been monkied with. And its not that all of the students aren't capable, they just don't have the tools they need for this sort of thing.
In terms of the diplomas, they are very much up in the air. This time last year we had a presentation from a big bod involved with developing them. Despite the fact that everyone is supposed to be offering them soon, they hadn't even set up a steering committee to think about what should be included in the science one, or how it would work with the current qualifications. However, considering that very few sixth forms will be allowed to offer A-levels before too long, diplomas are the future.
I'd have to agree that Key Stage 3 is a good place to aim if you do want to tie in tightly to the curriculum.
--x Lynne x--