In May of 2020 during the COVID 19 shutdown, I made the decision to be more productive with my time in the house. My bright idea was I should apply to a Master program and obtain my degree. I started researching different programs around the country. I had it narrowed down to a few here in California. All of the schools offered an online Instructional Design program. I immediately fell in love with the idea of becoming an ID. I could combine two of my passions, education and technology. I liked the idea of the California State University Northridge program because it offered a certificate in game design along with the degree. I thought it would be pretty cool to learn how to make learning games to go along with my learning programs.
As we progressed to the gaming portion of our program I quickly started to question, “Why are they teaching us how to design video games?” When I started the program I thought we were going to make really basic games. I was wrong, we were learning how to make 3D worlds and learning coding. This was not my strong suit. I can be very creative but I get totally lost in the coding aspect. I then questioned “Why do I need to know how to code a game to become an ID?” I started to look at job descriptions for ID to see if companies were looking for coding experience. I did not come across anything. However, I was told by every gaming professor that it was a “great skill to have.” But, I still didn’t understand why so much effort was being put into “the next big thing.”
For the passed few months I have been opposed to the whole gamification aspect of my program because I wasn’t being told how having this skill was going to help me in the ID industry. I became more and more disenchanted with the whole thing. Especially, when I would ask IDs about gaming software and they would say “I don’t know what that is” or when I would as game designers about Articulate (a huge component in the ID toolbox) and they would say “I don’t know what that is.”
Then I found out my whole thesis was based off game design (the certificate) and had very little to do with ID (the degree). At first, I was extremely upset then I had to make the choice to grin and bare it. So, I decided to look for more articles, blog posts, and social media post about ID and gamification. I went in with an open mind and tried to see the situation from all sides. I looked at what veteran IDs were saying and newbies. I looked at what IDs in different countries were saying. I was determined to find out my why. I decided to join different groups on social media that were both ID and gamification focused to see what people in the industry were doing. There were so many mixed reviews. Most people agree that gamification has its place, but it can be effective and a pointless waste of time. Many said it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are going for engagement, then gamification is a good choice. Others said there is no real impact on learning. Most people agreed that if a game is done right then yes it is a great component to help with learning projects. There was a great deal a back and forth on the subject.
All of the posts and feedback comments helped me adjust my attitude about gamification in ID. I believe that it indeed does have a place and can be effective if done correctly. Do I feel as a new grad I will have the skills to make an effective game using Unity? Absolutely not. However, I do feel that the knowledge that I currently have will assist me with incorporating games into my lessons and I will have the ability to communicate and collaborate with game designers to make a fun, engaging and effective game. All of this research helped me get a grasp on how I was going to be able to make a learning game with the few skills that I have and how to marry that with my ID knowledge. I call this a win-win!