Gaming in LibrariesIdea Overview

Ideas at Conference

•Why Games Are Important to Libraries

•Educational Value of Games•Gaming Programs in Libraries

Vocabulary

•Web 2.0– People expect to generate their own

content online instead of just being consumers – YouTube, MySpace

•Library 2.0– Patrons Expect to Help Generate Their

Own Content and Library Services

•MMOG – Massive Multiplayer Online Game

More Vocabulary

•Modding– Changing the Game or Your Computer

Yourself

•LAN Party– Local Area Network Party

•Easter Egg– Game Powerup

Social Importance

• What’s the average game player’s age?– 33

• What percentage of people over the age of 50 play video games?– 25%

• Who is a bigger part of the game playing population – women over 18 or boys between 6 and 17?– Women over 18 (30%)– Boys are 23%

Numbers from the Entertainment Software Associations 2006 Sale, Usage and Data Survey

What Does This Mean?

• Parents who play games are having children who play games

• Teens are growing up with games as social, family activities

• Teens equate games as an entertainment medium with movies, books and music.

Significance of MMOGs

• Huge community – As of July 2006, there are over 12,500,000 people playing MMOGs worldwide better than half of which are World of Warcraft* subscribers

Numbers from the MMOGCHART Version 21.0 from mmogchart.com

WoW in Play

Educational Value of Games

• MMOGs are intellectually rich environments

• Games aren’t in place of literary activities – they are a reading and writing activity

• Promotes a variety of career skills– Modding– Teaching– Positive social interaction

Using Games to Teach

•Games are a good Way to Teach Both Customers and Staff– Let’s them work at their own pace– Makes learning More fun– Students with certain learning

styles will retain the information better

Waterloo

Waterloo

Even More Waterloo

Some of the Things Libraries Are Doing

• Console Game Tournaments – DDR, Madden, Halo

• MMOG Tournaments - Runescape• Reader’s Advisory Based on Games• Circulating console game

collections• Video Game Design Programs

Programs for Smaller Budgets

$0 – Runescape Tournament LAN Party– Bring Your Own Console Game Night– Videogame Design with Gamemaker

$100– Buy a used XBOX, DDR Ultramix and 2 thin

dance pads for DDR Tournament with donated prizes

$200– Buy a used PS2, extra controller, memory

card and several used games for a regular game night

More Expensive

• $500– PS2 or Wii with extra controllers and a

wide selection of games– DDR with metal dance pads

• Video Game Design with Multimedia Fusion 2 and YDACS– $25 per Multimedia Fusion 2 License– Sliding scale for tutorial subscriptions– In our case, 66 students for three

months was $4224

Game Night

Video Game Design as a Library Program

• Gamemaker– Cheap– Suprisingly sophisticated capabilities– Very labor intensive for staff

• Youth Digital Arts Cyberschool– Can make very sophisticated games

fast– Can subscribe to online classes– Not cheap

Gamemaker

Games Made with Multimedia Fusion 2

Why a Video Game Design Program?

• Library 2.0 friendly• Providing a service that is unique to

libraries• Great literacy activity – writing a

narrative• Can have teens create games that

advertise library services or teach library skills

• Can be used to train staff

Why Should I Care?

• Games are a very popular medium just like books, movies or audio that many library users expect

• They draw in non-traditional library users

• The argument for and against games in libraries today is very similar to the argument for and against carrying movies in the seventies

For More Information

• Websites– www.gamemaker.nl

• Gamemaker download and tutorials

– www.ydacs.com/• Youth Digital Arts Cyberschool

– http://libgaming.blogspot.com/• Blog devoted to library gaming programs

– http://www.booklistonline.com/default.aspx?page=show_product&pid=1894032

• Video Game Readalikes

Kathy:kmakens@browardlibrary.org