My Model for Edutainment games: The most underutilized game genre.

                                My Model for Edutainment games

                The most underutilized game genre.                              

Preamble:

Hello dear reader, I recognize that if you took the time to decide to read through this, you already have a great sense of environment awareness and how it makes or breaks the survival of our species and all other species (of this planet at least).

This writing is not about our crippling environmental unsustainability:

How poverty is a huge proponent in quality of living being so cut throat, making living sustainably almost impossible for the desperate. Business conglomerates operating in a subhuman ethos, where the bottom is servient to the top out of necessity, reflecting the rift in human community and further distancing us from our 'bottom up' roots; how we as a society scaffold growth in a way selfishly serving the 'provider' while actually in truth is blatant manipulation. Flippant use of single use products, churning more out of assembly lines that use more and more resources polluting, clearing natural forests, coral bleaching all contributing to carbon emissions escalating. Human cruelty/willful ignorance stemming from insecurities inscribed in early life. How trans-generational habits mold how future children treat and understand the world, fear based parenting generating myopic minds and the desperation of survival in day to day life; can hide the beauty of the world, creating a cynical view of everything.

I write this article instead for the celebration of our unbridled capacity for change. Besides all of that depressing stuff, we actually live in a time brimming with potential and opportunity.

Yes, we are currently in the 6th major extinction, yet we can curb this. The environment is lot more resilient then most know, or rather nature can grow extremely quickly and with 10 to 20 years of mitigated human excess the planet will reach a healthy equilibrium.

Firstly let's start of with talking about -

The Current Edutainment Game Market

The desire for a more learned gaming experience is nothing new: Oregon Trail; a game made by teachers, or Where in the World is Carmon Sandiego? Which was originally intended as just a globe trotting chase, yet ludonarratively learning geography fits so well you can't have it without. Now these games and many made in that era aren't the only ones of their kind but are still some of the top contenders for "Top 10 Educational Games" today despite the 50 YEAR GAP (Oregon trail specifically, came out in 1974, Carmon Sandiego was 1985).

Regardless of outdated (Technology has come a long way allowing developers to have more creative freedom, unlike the digital Sisyphus's who had 8 bit chips to work with; it's like having to play "Lamento della ninfa" with a couple of otamatones) graphics or standard premises, games akin to the Putt Putt, Pajama Sam, Magic School bus series where animation is the forefront, whether that's your cup of tea the passion behind the 'point and click' classics are extremely evident.

Classifying modern educational games is a little bit trickier, games inherently scaffold growth; some of the smartest species on the planet are the ones that play the most (more on that later).

And with modern games, this isn't just Big Bird's Hide & Speak where the whole game is in the title, games have their genres and subgenres, minigames within the game, narratives, and so many other faculties. Minecraft is arguably the most successful game of all time, you could posit it is a decent example of an educational game (I used to think the mine stood for mind when I was younger... not my most brainy moment admittingly).

But you could also say FPS gameplay stimulate even more minds, with the incredible reaction speeds needed, hand coordination, teamwork that makes multi-tasking for gamers first and second nature.

How about the extraordinary combos and character spacing fighting games cultivate. Paying attention to in game feedback to improve but also keeping up with the meta to further strive for playing perfection.

Simulator games can literally train people on how to do certain professions. Heck, there are even games that teach people how to make games.

Playing more casual games can stimulate growth too! Whether as a calming agent like a controlled meditation of sorts, something to keep your brain engaged but you can relax with. I sometimes listen to a podcast when playing Nightreign, both giving me fun voices and facts to add to the experience, and to distract when I am sucking. 

All games in a sense, are edutainment deep down: Puzzle games, rhythm games, survival games, racing games, MMO's, visual novels and so many more all tap into different parts of our brain (I wanted to go into board games and physical sports, but sadly I do not have the time), mostly for better but actually in some cases for the worse (hear me out).

One of the down sides of gaming is the dissociation with morality. Like for example, gladiatorial combat. That was at one point normal, sure, is it a standard game; no. We don't do stuff like that anymore because making people kill each other is wrong, plus animal cruelty. Yet the mentality of games come from these roots of brutality, this will to survive, natural yet dangerous. And gaming does not incite violence, but it can normalize it.

I am trying to not make this on a case on morels, which is a very loose subject that really can vary from topic to topic. Without debating the logos of RIGHT & WRONG, I think we can all agree that compassion is one of humanities greatest traits. Starkly, video games can gestate really toxic interactions, cyber bullying, scams, and other unsightly subjects. Such is the complexity of humanity, and thusly should not be considered a reason to stop making games or playing them of course.

I will support games that are fun, creative and made with good intention, regardless of genre.

We have games that have us make spaceships, learn natural selection in evolution, resource manage, all of which are great learning experiences. Yet how we feel and how safe we feel reflect our capacity for learning. 

And the source material matters, we have plenty of great game genres:

 - 2024 earnings statistic by Newzoo

Yet I feel some other categories, mainly edutainment deserve more representation not just for the untapped potential, but in any business, more competition increases the quality of the product; in the main genres too! Giving new project goals for devs (hopefully new developers trying to break into the industry especially) and giving players something new; which, since I am both, I doubly desire this scenario of a surge of really cutting edge educational entertainment. 

I propose we can make games that contextualize more complex political and environmental issues and still be fun as well, rather than the games that do have something to say just becoming what it was originally dissecting in the first place (like Metal Gear, a thoroughly thought out tactical espionage game series that, at its core, is a deconstruction of the war economy and the many different factions either orchestrating it or enduring the all encompassing, graviportal, zeitgeist that war is. Which, war is bad and Metal Gear is good. Sneaking around and saving the world works for a video game at the end of the day. I think the message you get at the end is one of fantasy with shadow governments and redeeming of righteous militant groups, while interesting, I feel doesn't fully paint the picture; not wrong, just airs on suspension of disbelief to the point of focusing on a cool concept rather then when grounded in what war actually impacts on culture).

Now real world parallels that comes with the exposure from political heavy games are all good and dandy, and the levity that can come from it is healthy, but the fact remains a lot of people don't like learning about real world problems in games, in earnest.

So -

How do we make learning fun?

"First and foremost, then, all play is a voluntary activity. Play to order is no longer play"                                                                                                                                                  Johan Huizinga - Homo Ludens : A Study of the Play-Element in Culture 

Here's the thing, it's true what they say; learning IS fun. Getting better, being more knowledgeable and capable feels nice. Playing a game with the expectation of escapism but to get sidled with real world reminders of problems is, however, not so fun.

But there is a time and place for it, we all need healthy stress yet too much can create trauma. We all have enough of that. Games trick the body in a way, where we can rest our brains while stimulating them. The most successful games have game loops that provide a delicious dopamine bump of risk/reward that keep players engaged and wanting that next goal post. All games need this driving notion, but in a more personal way fun and play are paramount in culture, young animals play and imitate actions that will give them skills to survive. We build skills in lower stake environments first and then switch on to performance mode when needed.

Life is more than play and work, and in Wayne Dyer's the sky's the limit which was a very helpful resource when I was depressed and needing help, he went into the insight on why does work have to be a chore? Can't we eek out more depth from our vocations?

When humans feel stuck in a rut (in dorsal), it is hard to connect to ventral vagal which is true attuned you. Through fun and engaging worlds with higher focus on game-play and a more genuine premise, whether it's an sentient rock that wants to learn opera in a 3d platforming setting, it can still be a whacky scenario but we can have insightful tips on the business structure of the music industry in the background. Little nudges of learning hidden within a fun game, like feeding medicine to someone with desert!

So yes, there isn't a set mode for making learning in games fun, I certainly roll my eyes listening to Monster Hunter World dialog (seriously for it being such a good game, the way people talk and the justifications for the hunting is looney, I wish I could skip those cutscenes on replays so badly).

Ahem.. yet there is -

Hope, and my take on what constitutes good Edutainment

One of the great things about video games is they introduce people through a window to glimpse at these fantastical worlds, but people can choose to stay for as long as they like. You can sink hours on end into a game if you like it enough, or it can be a one and done experience. We as a species need challenging stimulus and lax stimulus, games can lean to one or focus on both. I think a good balance for edutainment is challenging core mechanics that take decent energy to play, but also optional content that provides knowledge and erudition outside of the ludonarrative. Like talking to npc's that are weirdly knowledgeable of the UN 2030 agenda and the current state of the policies (you can program self gathering data metrics that update through the game while published, there are so many possibilities). Fun facts during loading screens, QR codes leading to good resources on what the game is about, making a concise story that is satisfying and factually true. I describe it as a good edutainment game is a 'fact based patty' with fiction buns holding the game together.

Good edutainment shouldn't lecture or pander, you need to build fun worlds that people wouldn't mind to hear a bit about real world issues. Make reality a part of the emersion so the game is less like escapism but is akin to a good book broadening your understanding of the source material. With games, physical, or digital, 2d 3d or 4d it all can be a conduit for human growth.

And with more material, more people will absorb it, creating a new generation of environmental conscious gamers that feel empowered to engage with their local communities to incite change! Which might sound wishy washy to some, but for me I would rather keep wishing and actively trying to instill change then chock it up to a wash and keep difunctionally trucking on. Those games that are slogs to get through are unfun, let's not make life one of those kinds of games, let's strive for it to have an addictive game-play loop that cultivates good behavior and true bonds for cooperating players.

Thank you for your time, I hope you have a pleasant day.