Games use the same base technology and design strategy as do simulations, but add a few items to the mixture. Understanding this gives ‘new’ (read borrowed) tools for game creation and testing. The... Show More

Games use the same base technology and design strategy as do simulations, but add a few items to the mixture. Understanding this gives ‘new’ (read borrowed) tools for game creation and testing. The idea that simulations are implementations of a model, for instance, leads to a focus on the model rather than the code when designing a game. Similarly, the verification/validation pair used in simulations can be extended by adding playtesting for games, thus giving an educational game (for example) viable, demonstrable educational characteristics as well as playable (and thus engaging and motivating) characteristics. Productive work on improving games for specific purposes (serious games) can be advanced if the authors can agree on a common terminology and concept set (Shaw & Gaines, 1989), and if games can be seen as a valuable extension of a simulation that has specific characteristics that make them useful in specific circumstances. The idea of ‘fun’ is often thought of as the enemy of ‘learning’ in educational literature, and this needs to change if progress on serious and educational games is to be made. This paper will describe the hierarchy of computer simulation objects within which ludic simulations can be understood.

The relation between games and simulations can be profitably investigated by combining ontological tools and recent neurological findings. Neurology shows that simulations are connected to fiction... Show More

The relation between games and simulations can be profitably investigated by combining ontological tools and recent neurological findings. Neurology shows that simulations are connected to fiction or to reality by a suspension of disbelief or alternatively a suspension of belief, and ontological categories of Mimesis (simulation of an event or an object) and Catharsis (simulation of the experience of an event or object) lead to a classification of ludic simulations, which allow to discover some of their hidden properties. This paper raises some new issues for the field, like Embodied Simulation, Simulations of Depth and of Surface, the Ontological and the Epistemological Barrier, the Simulation Story, and the K-Rule. Finally, some wittgensteinian tools (semantic, syntactic, infra-semantic, and super-syntactic) are used in order to suggest how to transform a simulation into a ludic simulation.

Oiligarchy (Pedercini (Molleindustria), 2008) and Phone Story (Pedercini (Molleindustria) & Yes Lab, 2011) are two apparently simple games that integrate game-based and simulational components in a... Show More

Oiligarchy (Pedercini (Molleindustria), 2008) and Phone Story (Pedercini (Molleindustria) & Yes Lab, 2011) are two apparently simple games that integrate game-based and simulational components in a wider rhetorical discourse. It is reductive to consider these satires as simple “gamified” pieces: their use of simulations as well as ludic elements is functional to a political rhetoric that cannot be reduced to mindless escapism. Oiligarchy is a piece raising awareness on the dependency of Western societies on oil. It simulates oil-extraction using mathematical models to describe the decline of production rates; it also employs game mechanics to confute the player's initial assumptions and to propose a persuasive message. Phone Story is a playable satire of Apple advertising, simulating the “identity correction” genre adopted by political activists. This piece also features ludic mechanics to create a complex discourse enhancing its satirical effectiveness. These examples show the potentialities of an overlapping between simulation, playful elements and rhetorical persuasion - suggesting their mutual compatibility and stressing the need for further research in this area.

The increased use of simulations in training and education has heightened the need among researchers and practitioners to better understand how simulations impact learning. Given the dearth of... Show More

The increased use of simulations in training and education has heightened the need among researchers and practitioners to better understand how simulations impact learning. Given the dearth of empirical research in this area, the purpose of this study was to test the effect of fantasy, one of the most popular attributes of simulations, on multiple outcomes of learning. Data were collected using an experimental design in which the type of fantasy was manipulated (endogenous, exogenous, and no fantasy). Participants included 60 undergraduate teams performing an emergency crisis management simulation. The results of the study showed that fantasy, regardless of type, was a significant predictor of affective learning outcomes. On the other hand, fantasy did not significantly predict behavioral learning outcomes. The authors discuss the implications of these findings for the design and implementation of ludic simulations as well as recommendations for future research.

In this paper, the authors describe a ludic simulation designed for middle school space science and examine its use to support students’ learning and motivation. The participants were 383 sixth... Show More

In this paper, the authors describe a ludic simulation designed for middle school space science and examine its use to support students’ learning and motivation. The participants were 383 sixth graders and 447 seventh graders. The findings of this study showed that sixth- and seventh-graders perceived the simulation as having substantial ludic characteristics and educational value. The results indicated that having a playful experience is important for this age group and that participating in a ludic simulation can help motivate students to learn school subjects. Results also indicated that incorporating ludus into the learning experience can improve students’ attitudes toward the subject matter. Implications of policy, research, and practice with regard to using ludic simulations to support classroom-based learning were discussed.