Learning Through Interaction, Part One: Mechanics

Watching parts of the Australian Open tennis tournament that's being held right now has been quite interesting. Not only have some awesome matches been played already, I actually understand what's going on during them. In previous years I've only had a passing interest in the sport, mostly because I had no idea what was happening but this year is different; this year I'm finding myself getting right into it, my new-found interest in the sport incredibly compelling. Who or what do I owe for this change of heart? Yep, videogames.

You see, lately I've been thinking about how games teach us to play: to understand and then use their mechanics to our benefit; to learn and then accept the rules that govern the systems we interact with and the information they demonstrate -- visually, aurally, physically (controls) and mentally (plot, characters) -- in order to immerse us into their worlds and compel us to continue playing. The more I've thought about it, the more fascinated I've become, reflecting on my own experiences as well as seeking out those of others. It's incredible, really, to observe which techniques developers use to communicate their games with us and then realise the potential impact that each design decision has had on a game's overall experience.

Even more incredible, I believe, is the pedagogical potential games have when it comes to learning stuff in the real world.

My tennis example above has been enlightening, thanks, in part, to the rules that form the sport's foundations and govern its play. These same rules can be taken from the sport in real life and be replicated in the virtual world, in videogames. The reason I now have an idea of what's going on in the Australian Open is because of my experience with playing Wii Sports on the Wii. While the aesthetics of the game and dynamics of each sport are distilled to the most basic form -- and, of course, the entire product was created as a tech demo for the Wii Remote -- Wii Sports still contains sports that exist in real life and therefore the rules that each sport is based on. By simply playing Wii Sports and enjoying the simplistic fun the game provides, I have indirectly learned, without realising it, how to play the sports in real life. Sure, I might not know every intricate rule or detail, but it's a start. By teaching me how to play and showing me the fun each sport can provide, my interest is piqued just enough that I may be compelled to investigate further, to research a particular sport and decide whether or not it is something I will enjoy in the future. It is here where sporting sims -- think FIFA or Madden -- come into the equation.

At the complete opposite of the spectrum when compared to Wii Sports, sport sims allow people fully invested in a particular sport the opportunity to play and enjoy it in the comfort of their own home. This allows them to experiment with the possibilities the rules of the sport and game(s) provides, live out fantasies they may have formed out of their passion for the sport or, in the case of physically disabled or severely ill people, enjoy something they love that they unfortunately cannot do in their real lives. But those are the obvious attributes of sport sims; a less obvious aspect of the genre is the fact that they can be the next step for someone whose interest in a sport is slowly developing and whom may want to pursue it further. Sport sims can allow people and players who know the basics of a sport to not only hone their skills, but learn about the more intricate and advanced details that can be found within, furthering their interest and enjoyment of the sport.

It's not just sport games, however, which can use their mechanics productively to teach about something in the real world. There are many games and many genres which can help ease a player into something they may enjoy in the future, to let them test the waters, so to speak and experiment with something they're unfamiliar with. Off the top of my head, I think about Cooking Mama and the various other cooking games out there which can, potentially, help people to develop a passion for cooking or show them how to cook meals they mightn't have been aware of previously. The Professor Layton series is another example that comes to mind, its shameless appreciation of puzzles and brainteasers wrapped in a neat art style and mysterious narrative that is at once accessible and incredibly compelling. Before playing Professor Layton And The Curious Village, I was always intrigued by puzzles and brainteasers, similar to those found in-game, but never did I actively attempt to pursue or solve them. What the game allowed me to do was engage with puzzles in a relaxed, no pressure environment, meaning I could approach them when and how I wanted to. It was this relaxed "at my own pace" feeling that made trying and eventually solving these puzzles enjoyable for me, the charming wit of Layton and his cohorts and the discovery of key plot points just the icing on the already wonderful cake.

The sports videogame genre might not receive the critical analysis and discussion it deserves, nor might it interest "hardcore" gamers when they've got so many first-person shooters to play, but it's certainly incredibly popular, proving to me that the genre has its place in this industry and is therefore worth thinking about. The notion that videogames -- basic or advanced -- can help players experiment, learn and enjoy a sport or particular culture is something I find fascinating, and I look forward to checking out more games in the future that can help me learn about something I previously knew nothing about. In the meantime, I'd like to take this discussion of teaching power in videogames in another direction so keep an eye out for part two in this short series soon.