Rich Internet Publications & Serious Games

1. Rich Internet Publications & SeriousGames Esther van der Drift & Koen Ekelschot

2. Research question How can we enhance scientific publications in the field of social sciences through the use of serious games?

3. Relevance Games… • are more engaging and fun than e.g. video/images • help build practical and intellectual skills (Sheff, 1994) • increase problem solving abilities, inductive skills, quick thinking, and more (Sheff, 1994) • have a positive influence on intelligence (Van Schie & Wiegman, 1997)

4. Current state of research Non existent? • Plenty of research on serious games for children’s education… • But we couldn’t find any attempts of combining scientific publications with serious games.

5. Approach • Defining games • Game elements • Types of serious games • Indicators in games • Research in social sciences • Cultural anthropology • Sociology • Educational theory • Pedagogy • Psychology

6. Approach • Possibilities for serious games • Indicators in research • Examples of games • Using serious games in publications • The creation of games (+demo!) • Integrating games in publications

7. Demo

8. Conclusions • Gamesshouldelucidate the contents of a paper and impartknowledgeto the reader • Challengesshouldbeusedwith care • Problemsolvingis a strongindicator a publication is ‘gameable’ • Cognitive psychologyisverysuitable for enhancementthroughgames; articles fromother disciplines need to beanalyzedindividually

9. Conclusions • Toolkits for developinggamesaren’twidespread; but there are a few suitableones out there • Gamesshouldbeintegrated in the text of the paper to keep the readerfocused

10. Discussion & Questions