playing art historian: designing an adventure game for 20th-century art history courses

Playing Art Historian

Designing an Adventure Game for 20th-Century Art History Courses

Anastasia Salter and Keri Watson@anasalter + @watson74k

Education + Games

Education is “one of the most perfect game ecosystems that’s out there,” full of challenges, rewards, rules, allies, enemies, countdowns, and incentives, “all sorts of things that make school the best real-world implementation of a game that’s out there.”

And yet “it’s a poorly designed game; it’s kind of broken.”

Set Priebatsch

Alternate Reality Game

An “unfiction” game that invades a player’s normal environment and

invites them to play, often through puzzle-solving and deciphering clues

Examples: THATCamp Games

Rethinking “Twentieth-Century

Art”

Our Platform…

Visual designs and videos by Marcelo Laborda

This course presents an introduction to the major artists, works, techniques, and styles of modernity and relates them to historical and cultural contexts of the 20th century.

Particular attention is paid to the social history of Modern Art, including the cultural, political, and economic forces that influenced artists and art making during the twentieth century.

Course Overview

Course Objectives

Question the continually changing category of experience that comprises the notion of art

Recognize a core group of images within 20th-century art and interpret these works within the socio-historical and cultural context of their production and reception

Develop skills of critical reading, visual analysis, and written expression

Reactions to Games

Strongly agree

Agree Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree Strongly disagree

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

24

38

17

10 10

I enjoy playing games (n=29)Pe

rcen

t

Strongly agree



0

5

10

15

20

25

30

21

17

7

28 28

The game format corresponded with my preferred style of learning (n=29)

Perc

en

t

Strongly agree



05

101520253035404550

18

43

25

0

14

Deciphering the clues in the game helped me to be more engaged in the course (n=28)

Perc

en

t

Groups & Collaboration

Strongly agree



0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

14

10

31

2124

I enjoy working in a group (n=29)Pe

rcen

t

Strongly agree



0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

31

62

70 0

I think the ability to work with others is a valuable skill (n=29)

Perc

en

t

Strongly agree



0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

7

69

14

37

The game fostered cooperation among students (n=29)

Perc

en

t

Polarizing Results

Strongly agree



05

101520253035404550

10

45

10

21

14

The game format method of learning helped me to have a greater appreciation of 20th century art (n=29)

Perc

en

t

Strongly agree



05

1015202530354045

17

41

17

1014

Because of the game format I have a better understanding of the complexities of classifying 20th century art (n=29)

Perc

en

t

John Cage and Marcel Duchamp, Reunion, 1968

Eve Babitz and Marcel Duchamp playing Chess, 1963

Yoko Ono, Play It By Trust, 1966/2011

Alison Knowles, Homage to Each Red Thing, 1996.

Secret Societies of the Avant-garde