IMM371

Serious Play

Collection website for Immersive Media 371, S24. This website will contain up-to-date project and topic information, and any relevant files that can be made freely available online.

Students will examine the uses of immersive media in the fields of education and training, utilizing game design methods and research. They will learn game design, advanced experience design, and instructional design through analysis of existing experiences and a series of practical group projects developing immersive experiences.

Course Details

Topics

# 1 - Exploring Play, Gamification, and Design Methods

Weeks: 1, 2, 3

We will explore methodologies of play, gamification, and design methods that will inform the processes of all of the later IMM projects in Studio III: Serious Play.

Students will complete a series of small play reflections, do some introductory user-research on learning and play, and visit a museum.

In reflecting on their visit site, student’s will use all of their reflective research to pitch an immersive experience/interaction that uses elements of play and has the goal of conveying something meant to be learned.

Day One
  • In Class: Syllabus, Exploring Play and Games
  • Assignment: Play Response One
  • Reading: Homo Ludens for the People
  • Reading: Introduction to Critical play; Radical Game Design. The MIT Press (2013). Mary Flanagan. (Brightspace)
Day Two
  • In Class: Defining Play, Play Exercises
  • Assignment: Play Response Two
  • Assignment: Museum Visit + Reflection
  • Reading: Gamification and Govermentality - Niklas Shrape
  • Assignment: Reading Discussion Post
  • Reading: Chapter 3: Game, Gamification, or Simulation: Which Is Best, When, Why? From The Gamification of Learning and Instruction Fieldbook by Karl M. Kapp, Lucas Blair, and Rich Mesch (Brightspace)
Day Three
  • In Class: Reading Discussions. Interactive Technologies Survey.
  • Assignment: Museum Visit and Reflection Continued.
  • Assignment: Immersive Experience Pitch

# 2 - Magic Mirror

Weeks: 4, 5, 6

For this project, students will make passive, no-contact, interactive experiences that invite viewers to play in a space.

The ‘mirror’ will reinterpret and reflect a representation of the user back at them. It will show them a version of themself.

Specific deadlines for reading responses are on brightspace.

# 3 - Approaches to Serious Play

Weeks: 7

This topic is continuing background research in a more rigorous way. Students will conduct user research into a domain of serious play.

# 4 - Tabletop Interactions

Weeks: 8, 9, 10

The magic mirror introduced us to a number of usable technology stacks, and got us thinking about passive user interaction. The tabletop interaction is not about the technology stack. This is provided for you (top-down projector). This prototype is about developing a comprehensive way to think about augmenting interactions, and a way to design user experiences for serious play.

# 5 - Environment Intervention Design

Weeks: 11

Design an installation that supports, enforces, facilitates, and allows play in a user-chosen activity, while still facilitating the environments’ other (original) objectives.

This is a first pass, of sorts, at the workflow and execution of the final project, where a complete round of ideation and feedback can be academically tackled and before dealing with implementation.

# 6 - Final Project

Weeks: 12, 13, 14

Work Days until final presentation day. 321’s will be created on brightspace for each studio day.