record – LABS

Thesis Info

Thesis Title: Making Games with LEGO: Exploring the Uses of an Active LEGO Baseplate for Building Computer Games as a Learning Activity

URL where full thesis can be found: www.gamasutra.com/education/theses/20030131/makinggameswithlego.pdf

Abstract: 200-500 words: The Active LEGO Baseplate that this report explores is a tool to build computer games as a learning experience in the classroom. It uses tokens as representations of the world, pieces of narrative element that are assembled to construct a game in a similar manner to how children partake in pretend-play. This report examines the social and analytical aspects of its construction with a description of a prototype implementation of it. It discusses a change in relationship between game-players and the games they play over two decades with reference to the machines that they use and offers an examination of the meaning of computer games and game-play itself. This is provided as an essential background to a wider debate. Computer games, it is argued, when the player is empowered to meaningfully play them, may offer a fruitful resource of education and learning. It is put that meaningful play can only happen when the computer-game player can explore the ideas and understandings that are meaningful to him in games of their own. To frame this argument in an applied sense, a criticism of the current widespread use of computers in education is made and from this an argument is put forward as to how computers and the use of computers to make games could be more properly channelled in education. It is from of the findings of this debate that the heuristic principles for the design of the Active LEGO Baseplate are drawn.