Game Name: A Slower Speed of Light
Designer/Developer: MIT Game Lab
Platforms: (Mac, Windows, Linux)
High-level instructional goal: To demonstrate concepts of relativity (Einstein)
Link to game: A Slower Speed of Light | MIT Game Lab
Learning Objectives
The main learning objective of the game is to introduce players to concepts of special relativity. I think the main learning objective is to allow players to understand the effects of space relativity without necessarily understanding the theoretical backing behind it. This is done by visually and mechanically demonstrating the experiential quality of these theoretical physics concepts, which allow users to gain a more functional/experiential understanding of the concepts but not so much a theoretical/conceptual understanding (inner workings) of the concepts themselves. I think it is teaching being able to point these concepts out (recognition), but not necessarily understanding what it is doing or why it is doing it (conceptual integration). At the end of the game, there are a list of slides that describe the specific concepts the game is trying to demonstrate. So, the specific concepts of special relativity the game seeks to impart knowledge upon the player with are: Relativistic doppler effect, Searchlight effect, Special relativity, Runtime effect. The game essentially teaches how the slowing speed of light distorts an environment.
I think that the game presupposes some knowledge that a player might have, or at least some baseline cognitive ability that allows them to understand and grasp concepts from theoretical and computational physics. This is because the game attempts to introduce a bevy of highly conceptual physics concepts to the player, although it is encoded by a simple narrative.
Game Elements
The gameplay objective is relatively simple, it is to collect all the orbs in the arena. There is also a narrative backing to provide more context for why the player is collecting orbs. The core gameplay loop is very accessible, as the sole task is to collect orbs. Additionally, the accessible gameplay is combined with a narrative that simplifies and provides context for the orb collecting. The game ends once all 100 orbs are collected, providing a very linear gameplay experience. To juxtapose the simple task of collecting objects is the increase in visual effects as the player collects orbs. As you collect each orb, the visuals become increasingly warped and the movement speed/responsiveness also becomes less manageable, which adds to an element of increasing difficulty.
The game is relatively short, as you are likely to collect all the orbs in under 10 minutes which allows you to experience all the “scientific” effects that the game wants to teach you about. Once you finish collecting orbs, it says “The End” but you can select an option that says “What Happened” that details a little more of the logic behind what is going on. It has a presentation/slideshow like format of the concepts, explaining briefly what each concept is and how it is either mechanically or visually represented in the game.
There are several helpful utility features in the game’s HUD/interface. There is an RGB meter on the bottom of the game, this is mostly a utility feature that gives players an understanding of how much of the color spectrum they can currently observe. I say it is a utility feature because it has no real use in terms of actual gameplay but helps clarify the instructional concepts. There is also a speed meter that allows players to compare their own speed to the speed of light, which I would also say is mostly a utility feature. The most functional interface feature is the counter for how many orbs have been collected (out of 100).
Learning Principles
There are elements of spatial contiguity, specifically with the informational slides at the conclusion of the game. It pairs the description of the specific theoretical physics concept with the in-game screenshot that demonstrates those effects. This potentially provides a decent way for players to understand how their experiences in the game translate to real-world learning content.
You could also say that there is some element of comparison, as you start from a normal state and as you collect orbs, the state becomes more distorted to represent the slowing speed of light. Through this, it provides a normal base state so that the effects of the slowing speed of light are more observable by virtue of juxtaposition. Essentially, it provides a ‘base state’ so that there is something to compare it to. The element of comparison is also used in providing the various utility functions on the interface (RGB meter, speed meter) that help players compare the changing game environment to a base state. In conjunction with this, “Feedback” is done by having the visual effects and gameplay effects change is you collect orbs; this is feedback in terms of demonstrating the effects of the slowing speed of light with each sequential step.
I think there are also elements of “Interest” as the instructional content is structured around the narrative of the orb collection, which is supposed to engage the player’s interests. I think this idea is interesting because it causes a divide between two camps. If there are those that are unaware of the concepts, then the narrative can be a good way to draw them in and provide context for the concepts. But if someone is more of an expert, then the narrative could be an obstacle to their goal/interest.
In terms of “Desirable Difficulty”, the challenge increases as the speed of light slows, which can be a way to experientially demonstrate the results of a slower speed of light. The increase in difficulty of controlling the player and navigating the environment express the experiential quality of the slowing speed of light.
The game utilizes “Explanation”, but maybe not in the most effective way. It explains what the concepts are at the end but does not provide a prompt for the player to self-explain. Related to this, think the game does not utilize “Manageable cognitive load” as effectively as it could. It introduces a very simple narrative concept of “collect orbs to slow down the speed of light”, which is explained utilizing “Synchronizing” by presenting this initial narration in conjunction with corresponding animation. However, once the player finishes this task, there are slides that explain the inner workings of the conceptual effects. This is a lot of information at once and there is no utilization of “Spacing” or “Segmenting” to allow for the knowledge of these conceptual effects to become ingrained.
Overall Critique
To be completely honest, I really did not enjoy playing this game. I thought it was way too nauseating visually to really care about what I was learning. In my subjective view, I thought the gameplay itself was not very polished. Although the blue/red shift of moving around an environment is fun at first, the movement in the game is very floaty and frustrating, and it is easy to get caught in the level geometry. This is exacerbated by the fact that the field of view changes so wildly it becomes hard to tell exactly where you are. As you collect orbs, the player movement and the visual effects start to transform. Although this transformation is meant to demonstrate the effects of changing light speeds, it is how the demonstration is orchestrated that I think is not particularly enjoyable. It is almost as if the game gets worse the more you play, which can cause players to not want to keep playing and prevent them from ever getting to the point where the fundamental concepts are introduced at the game’s conclusion.
The initial information the game presents you about the topics are encoded in a soft narrative that helps describe the context and the effect. This narrative helps bring players in and provides them a high-level understanding of what is going on but does not do a good job of demonstrating why players should care about the actual learning concepts but does a good job at demonstrating why you should care about the “Orb Collector”. The slides that display at the conclusion of the game are very helpful in understanding the scientific backing behind some of the game’s elements, but I feel that they come too late. You can only see the informational slides after you complete the game. Additionally, the language in opening narrative might be a bit too vague, in terms of distilling or introducing the learning content. It is a bit too simplistic and so the juxtaposition between the intense cognitive load of the ending informational slides and the simplistic opening narrative is a bit jarring. It encodes the instructional content with a narrative featuring magical orbs that slow down light. These initial descriptions are too vague, considering the scientific concepts explored, and can make things a bit confusing if you are not an ‘expert’. You may have questions such as “why do these orbs slow down light?” or “why as light gets slower, will you see beyond what humans typically see?” These questions are only really answered after you complete the game.
Because of this, I think if you are aware of the specific physics concepts that the game is illustrating then the game will be much more impactful, maybe through some “Pretraining”? The game does not necessarily teach but simulate. It is effectively a simulation game with a loose narrative tied around it. I think for someone that is aware of space relativity this will be a very enriching experience on seeing a potential visualization of some of the concepts. For someone that is not familiar, it may be more difficult to conceptually grasp what is going on. I think this in part because the instruction is so minimal (essentially: collect orbs and go!).
