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Taber Gifford Voran Test Lab
An exploration of teaching collaborative problem solving and critical thinking through emergent gameplay.
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My thesis project explores emergent gameplay as a methodology for teaching collaborative problem solving and critical thinking. These are both key 21st Century Skills and are important in educating and building future professionals and leaders. I explored the precedent analysis of game design in this category before conducting my own design research activities and experiments. Ultimately, my work culminated in the design and development of a game called Voran Test Lab. The game is designed to engage early middle school students and ask them to critically evaluate problems and collaboratively solve them.
Voran Test Lab is a collaborative problem solving game where players work together to connect energy channels and save the planet Vora from complete destruction.
Players place hexagonal connector, supporter and converter tiles to bring their energy sources together into the Covalent Particulator. They must then run a successful test for each channel before the end of 15 rounds or before three malfunctions occur.
Each space on the round counter represents one month of Voran time. At the end of each round, the planet token is moved, indicating that time is running out!
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