Mattias Ljungström
* has a very interesting (and pretty) paper using Alexander's design patterns to analyse world of warcraft. Reading it raises questions about the relationship between aesthetic and functional, and between real and virtual. For example:
Furthermore, the top of the bank in Orgrimmar is related to pattern 94.
Sleeping in Public. This pattern argues that it is “a mark of success
in a park, public lobby or a porch, when people can come there and fall
asleep” (Alexander et al. 1977, 458). Players in the game tend to
place their avatars in certain places when they know they will be away
from keyboard for a while and the top of the bank is one of these places.
According to the guidelines in the pattern these places should be made
“relatively sheltered, protected from circulation, perhaps up a
step, with seats and grass to slump down upon” (Alexander et al.
1977, 459). Some of these aspects are definitely missing, and could probably
further enhance the game world if they were implemented.
Now, in a real world, a chilli breeze will make a place uncomfortable for sleeping. Hence our choice of where to relax will be influenced by shelter etc. It may be that such considerations are sub-consciously translated to our sense of aesthetics. But will this sense be carried over to a virtual world, where we feel no cold?
[Figure 13: Overview of Orgrimmar with boundaries marked]
Mattias Ljungström (2005),
The use of architectural patterns in MMORPGs . Paper presented at the Aesthetics of Play conference in Bergen, Norway, 14-15
The
Kaleidoscope project
Learning patterns for the design and deployment of mathematical games has released its first deliverable: a
review of the literature on the design and deployment of games for mathematical learning.
This review should prove a valuable resource for researchers interested
in the use of games in mathematical learning. It is also relevant for
software and curricular designers, interested in deepening their
perspectives, and for policy makers considering the potential role of
electronic games in the classroom.
Alexander said this in 1964. It is still sadly true.
read more..."This is a space for studying strategies of moderation in groups that conduct some or all of their communications online. The principal content of this wiki is a proposed "pattern language" -- a description of the common patterns of these moderation systems -- for developers to consider when deploying or altering social software."
read more...I've been Looking at Alexander's Pattern Language for the literature review we're doing. Surprisingly, I found quite a few which deal with eduaction - and in a way that would still be regarded revoloutionary.
read more...
