[OLPC-Games] games and play

[Noah Kantrowitz]

SJ Klein wrote:
>
> I spent a couple of days at the serious games summit / game developers
> conference this week.  Thanks to Ben and Jamil for your help making
> that happen.
>
> One recurring theme at SGS was what distinguished a game from other
> interactive environments. If you are studying with two friends using a
> three-way flash-card activity, is this a game? [Let's not get into the
> harder question of what makes a game 'serious'...]
>
> I'd like to think that every activity could have some elements of play
> built into it -- this sense of challenge, response, and success is part
> of what makes a good activity discoverable.  Perhaps there are game
> components that, like chat, could be accessible from any activity --
> statistics on use or popularity, or on how much time one has spent on
> an activity.  What other aspects of games can easily be drawn out of
> normal collaboration?
Doesn't adapt well to pure collaboration, but a meshed, arcade-style
leader board might be interesting as a system service.

--Noah