Design for Play Process

The origin of the course lies in the Bonne Chance project when I had the opportunity to witness firsthand the power of design and making as a capacious environment for (language and culture) learning. Subsequently, with the help of Sabrina Culyba, owner and principal creative at Ludoliminal, we designed the course “Jeux de culture et culture du jeu” along the following principles.

Our goals were threefold: (1) explore French culture through games and game design; (2) design games in French that could be used by K-16 teachers of French with their students; and (3) assess how and what students learned in this type of learning environment. 

To achieve these goals, we had to select games we could use. There are so many games, in France in particular, that we had to make choices. The first decision was to identify game genres that are prevalent in French culture. In order to strike a balance between breadth and depth, we limited ourselves to three game genres: party games (jeux d’ambiance), escape games (jeux d’évasion), and co-operative games (jeux co-opératifs), the latter occasionally getting replaced by Roll & Write games or Interactive Fiction games, because they are not quite as heavy of a lift when it comes to the design phase.

Then we had to select games in each genre. The inclusion criteria led us to select (1) games designed by French designers and/or studios, (2) games that had been critically acclaimed as good games (e.g., winning awards), and (3) games that had garnered popular success, meaning that they had been widely distributed in France. After all, the idea was to explore French culture through the games widely played by the French.

Then the class proceeded as follows. First, play. It is important to start there to set the tone that the course is about playful learning and also to expose students to “model texts.” Each play session is followed by an analytical phase during which we pick apart the game along three dimensions:

• language and culture content: what cultural content is present in the game? What does the game reveal about French culture? What language is used while playing the game or around playing the game?

• game mechanics: examine mechanics to assemble and curate a repertoire of game mechanics that can later be repurposed by students in their own design.

• affordances for language and culture learning: how can the game be leveraged for language and culture learning (including mods, extension activities)?

The last phase of each unit consists in students designing games in the genre they just played. For each game, each team has to turn in:

• a complete set of games materials, including boards, chits, cards, etc. and a list of materials to procure (e.g., dice, locks)

• game rules

• a pedagogical guide at the attention of teachers in which they outline the linguistic and cultural elements of the game and offer suggestions on how it can be used within a pedagogical sequence.

It is important to note that the course is buttressed by readings about games, games and game culture in France, game design. Students are also asked to reflect critically on the learning process in writing several times over the course of the semester.

The course was offered in two primary formats. First, as a full-credit course for undergraduate students at Carnegie Mellon University to a group with mixed-level proficiency (intermediate- and advanced-level students) with an unusual time allotment. Indeed, from the Bonne Chance project, it was apparent that students needed collaborative time with each other (to play and design games) more than they needed homework time. So inasmuch as courses demand a 9-hour weekly commitment, we were granted permission to have 6 hours a week in the studio with only 3 hours of personal “homework” time. Students do not have much downtime in class as there is much to do. It is a demanding curriculum, so I brought snacks to support them. Second, the course was offered twice as part of a Master’s of Arts in Teaching French through the Summer Language Institute offered by Southern Oregon University. Students in this course were in-service K-12 teachers of French from all over the United States. They met 5 days a week, 4 hours a day for three weeks. Saying that the pace of that course was intense is vastly underestimating their dedication to their craft.