Game Design for Learning

Overview

This game, created along with Kristine Marino, is designed to teach students about two-dimensional composition using visual design principles. The game can be played using pencils, paper, paints, textured paper, or other similar media. Alternatively, it could be played using art software if designed to allow students to pass and progress to more advanced levels.

Instructional Objective

The objective of this activity is to teach students how to create two-dimensional compositions utilizing principles of visual design. It begins by focusing on basic visual design elements and principles separately. After completing and passing each level, students will understand and be able to discuss the different elements and principles.

Learners

This game can be used in any middle school or high school art classroom. This would make a great review game for high school seniors who are planning to continue to pursue art in college because many college students come in without a firm grasp on this material.

Motivation

Although most students tend to like art because it provides a creative outlet, some are relatively interested in this particular creative outlet. Of course, an enthusiastic teacher can work wonders to raise students’ enthusiasm, but for some students, they need a more tangible incentive. Because of that, students will be offered one (1) extra credit point for each successfully completed level within two tries. After two tries, students receive just half a point of extra credit for completing the level. This gives students a reason to work hard during their first two attempts, but it also give struggling students a great reason to keep trying even after their first couple of tries. As for the game itself, it allows students to be creative in a safe space. Not all students are comfortable creating works of art, but one must create in order to truly grasp the design principles, which in turn will make them more comfortable. This game offers a structured setting for creativity while still allowing students the freedom to make whatever they want within the confines of the game.

Context of Use

This game could be used in two different ways.

1) Mastery of Subject Matter: This game is a great way to introduce students to these concepts and allow them to practice. This game will help students become familiar with each of these principles, and ultimately could also serve ask an evaluation of understanding. The game itself could function both as the vehicle for learning and the evaluation.

2) Test Preparation: This term is being used a bit loosely. This game would function well as a review for high school seniors, as mentioned above, so perhaps “future course preparation” is a better way of putting this alternative use.

Scope

This game will have seven (7) levels as of right now, but it could be expanded indefinitely by combining elements and principles. The game will take approximately six weeks to play, but it will not be played continuously. The game will include the elements (shape, form, color, value, texture, and space) and principles (balance, unity, contrast, pattern, emphasis, movement, and rhythm) of design. Students will show their mastery of each of these elements by completing different levels of the game. The principles will be assessed throughout.

Object of the Game

In order to complete the game, the student must pass all seven levels, the last of which is a level that combines multiple design elements. Passing all of the levels will show mastery of the concepts, both in understanding and application.

Design Details

Game materials:

• paper
• pencil
• paints/paintbrushes
• charcoal
• other media the teacher chooses to provide

Rules:

1. Students may not place any of the shapes in the center of the paper.
2. Students must create the work themselves
3. The teacher will evaluate each student upon completion and decide whether the student passes each level or fails.
4. Optional: After the completion of each level, students write a reflection about what they learned. This can be helpful in some classes, but it would take away from the game in others. It is up to the teacher’s discretion.

Note: This is not a rule-heavy game. The important thing is that the students get to practice these design elements in a creative yet controlled environment. The teacher will provide feedback on each attempt and either move the student to the next level or tell them to try again.

Levels of the Game:

1. Level 1: Shape

• Using only pencils and white paper, students will create a two-dimensional composition on a rectangle canvas. Students will use pencils to draw shapes inside the canvas.

2. Level 2: Form

• Students must not add dimension to the shapes. This will create the illusion of a three-dimensional composition.

3. Level 3: Color

• Students will create a composition using color, which requires them to work with hue, intensity, and value. Students must also learn to work with primary, secondary, and tertiary colors and may use a color wheel for reference. They may choose to use analogous, complementary, or natural color schemes.

4. Level 4: Value

• Students create a composition that incorporates value, or the lightness or darkness of a color. Students may choose to work with black and white or with color.

5. Level 5: Texture

• Students incorporate texture into their work. Texture is the perceived surface quality of a two-dimensional work of art. It is concerned with a sort of “visual feeling.”

6. Level 6: Space

• Students create a two-dimensional piece based on the element of space. Space refers to the distances around, between, or within a piece of art. It can be positive or negative, shallow or deep, and open or closed.

7. Level 7: Combined

• Finally, students create one last composition combining everything they learned through the game. The piece should take into account all six elements of design.

Design Process

Our initial motivation arose from a conversation with an art teacher who mentioned middle and high school students weren’t prepared to take university level art courses. The art teacher had created something similar in his own classroom, but we really wanted to expand on his ideas and create something that took students from the most basic level of understanding all the way through a complete understanding of the elements of design. We imagined an art game similar to games featuring levels (such as Tomb Raider), with each level focusing a slightly more complicated design element than the previous level. We took his idea of just teaching students these elements a step further by creating a game around it. Furthermore, our game is quite flexible. For teachers with fewer resources or coding skills (like us!), it can be done with physical materials that one would find in any art classroom. For those who are a bit more ambitious and tech-savvy, it can be done with art software if the software is written to recognize items which represent a “pass” and items with represent a “fail.”  Whether students work with art materials or on a computer, they have to pass levels just like any other game of this kind. We thought our idea of creating a game was unique because of his comments regarding unprepared students and how to motivate them to learn design principles. It sounded like students weren’t paying attention to design elements, perhaps as a result of teacher-centered learning vs student centered learning.

As we designed the game, we found ourselves making slight tweaks here and there. Our largest change was to the final level of the game. In previous versions, it featured a verbal presentation to check for understanding and retention, but we realized that in order to understand all concepts, students must create one big, two dimensional composition. This final level serves as a sort of check of overall understanding. We also added a motivational enhancer in the form of extra credit points. This will help push students for whom the game is not enough of a motivator on its own.

The biggest constraint that we ran into with this particular project was that we are not at all qualified to build the digital version of this game. We ended up sticking with the pencil and paper version. Because we do not have our own classrooms or access to students who are in the right age range, we ended up having to play the game ourselves to see how it worked. We played the first two levels and actually ended up having a pretty good time. If we had more time, we would have played the game all the way through, but as this is a six week activity, we ran into time constraints.

We received feedback from a few sources, both within our cohort and outside. The art teacher we spoke to loved where we took his initial comment about students needing to be more prepared for college art classes. He was actually the one who ended up suggesting that there is potential for a digital version of this game. We also heard from some of our cohort members, both of whom had a few great questions. Their comments made us realize we had forgotten to address how long the game would take and how exactly the game would be evaluated. One suggestion that we thought was good was to add some sort of reflection at the end, but that seemed to sort of take away from the “game” aspect, so we ultimately decided to table that for now and leave in for individual teachers to decide.

Below are examples of completed versions of Levels 1 and 2 that would receive passing grades.

Level 1

Level 2

References

Gatto, J. A., Porter, A. W., & Selleck, J. (1987). Exploring visual design. Worcester, MA: Davis Publications, Inc.