A proceeding entitled “GAME ELEMENTS IN “LABOURS OF HERCULES” was presented for dissemination of Educational Mobile Game in 15th Academic Information and Communication Technologies Conference in Mannheim Germany between 28-30 October 2016.
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PROCEEDINGS OF THE
15th
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
WWW/INTERNET 2016
MANNHEIM, GERMANY
OCTOBER 28-30, 2016
Organised by
IADIS
International Association for Development of the Information Society
Co-Organized by
4. GAME ELEMENTS IN “LABOURS OF HERCULES”
Selay Arkün Kocadere, Fatma Bayrak, Pınar Nuhoğlu Kibar, Şeyma Çağlar and Zehra Sayın
Hacettepe University, Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology
Ankara, Turkey
ABSTRACT
The use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has been shown to engage 21st
century learners in the
learning and education process. One such ICT product is the educational 3D mobile game “Labours of Hercules” (LOH),
an output of the European Union Erasmus+ project developed to teach the myth of the Twelve Labours of Hercules to
students. The player takes the avatar of Hercules, whose goal is to complete the 12 labours. The game is structured in 12
levels of increasing difficulty, each featuring the two phases of running and boss fights. The educational components of
the game include the visualization of Hercules’ journey to different locations in Europe and the labours themselves as
well as player interaction in order to complete the labours. The current study analyses the game in terms of its key game
elements: Story, Goals, Rules, Challenges, Interaction, and Feedback. The Story element of LOH determined the
structure of all other game elements, in particular the elements of Goals, Rules, and Challenges. Detailed review of the 6
components revealed that the design of one element affected all other elements. It can be concluded therefore that games
cannot be designed element by element due to their interconnecting relations and thus necessitate a holistic review.
KEYWORDS
Mobile game, educational game, game elements
1. INTRODUCTION
Myths are ancient stories and tales that account for aspects of nature or for a historical event (Öztürk, 2009).
Mythology is the discipline that interprets and reviews the birth of myths and its meanings (TDK, 2015). In
general, mythology is considered to be the collection of myths and legends that belong to a nation or religion,
and to Greek and Latin civilizations in particular (Öztürk, 2009).
Mythology aims to create a perception of the real world through symbols (Alizade, 2013) and can be
considered an ancient education system. Although mythology’s origins lie in prehistoric periods, their study
has become more widespread as mythological theories were documented and mythological systems studied
in the 20th
century. It is possible to say that the study of mythology became popular in the science community
thereby (Alizade, 2013). The integration of mythology into the education systems in various forms can be
seen in countries such as the United States, Greece, and the United Kingdom (GES, 2012; IUM, 2014;
SWSC, 2015).
In the study “Teaching Mythology Creatively”, Linksman (1983) suggested classroom activities such as
writing letters to Greek gods and preparing mythological newspapers to learn about mythology, as well as
using games. Linksman reported that students love to play games based on mythological stories and
characters and that developing and playing games based on the mythology are effective methods for learning
mythology.
Currently, while mythology-based video games such as “Age of Mythology” were not developed with
educational purposes in mind, such games contribute to learning mythology. Gee (2003) reported that
children who play “Age of Mythology” read and research mythology and create pictures and stories both
within the context of the game and outside of the learning environment and concluded that such self-initiated
engagement with mythology was an especially effective form of learning.
Described as ‘digital natives’ by Prensky (2001a), students in the 21st
century differ greatly from those of
previous generations in both characteristics and learning needs. Today’s students require successful
acquisition of the skills and tools necessary in the modern world. (Prensky, 2012). According to Prensky
(2001a), digital games are one of the best ways to reach out to digital natives and communicate with them in
their own language.
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6. sorrow when he comes to his senses, Hercules consults with an oracle. With the oracle’s guidance, Hercules
puts himself under the command of King Eurystheus who gives Hercules 12 labours. Hercules travels around
Europe to complete the 12 labours and thus obtains immortality (Cömert,1999). In the LOH game, each of
Hercules’ labours corresponds to one level.
Hercules’ labours are: (1) Slay the Nemean Lion, (2) Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra, (3) Capture
the Ceryneian Hind, (4) Capture the Erymanthian Boar, (5) Clean the Augean stables in a single day, (6) Slay
the Stymphalian Birds, (7) Capture the Cretan Bull, (8) Steal the Mares of Diomedes, (9) Obtain the girdle of
Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, (10) Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon, (11) Steal the apples of the
Hesperides, and (12) Capture and bring back Cerberus.
In the game, he locations of the 12 labours are shown on a map with every level marked on a certain point
of the map, so that his journey across Europe can be visualized (Figure 1). Hercules, the player’s avatar,
travels to the locations in the manner of a “jump and run” game by avoiding obstacles and collecting certain
objects (Figure 1). At the end of each level, Hercules reaches the boss fight phase (Figure 2).
Figure 1. Screenshots of the game
Figure 2. Screenshots of the game
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8. In the boss fight phase of the levels, Hercules fights against different factors in different ways to complete
the labour. In boss fights in which the double tap gesture is in play, the player is required to double tap a
certain number of times, filling the progress bar within a certain time period. With every unsuccessful move,
Hercules’ energy bar, which is limited, drains. In boss fights in which the flick gesture is in play, Hercules
tries to neutralise flying or running living creatures by shooting arrows and running ones by throwing nets.
The player needs to perform a flick gesture to use the relevant tool considering the distance and angle
between the creature and Hercules in order to hit it. The player needs to hit the creature as many times as the
number of tools they have.
2.3.3 Imported Rules
In the runner phase, imported rules include the need to jump over low obstacles, duck under high obstacles,
jump to collect high items, change lanes to avoid obstacles, and fall over when running into an obstacle. In
the boss fight phase, throwing the tool in consideration with angle and distance are also imported rules.
2.4 Challenge
Rouse (2005) stated that one of the greatest reasons for players to keep playing a game is the challenge
element. Challenges increase the player’s adrenaline and make them excited to play the game (Prensky,
2001b). Garris et al. (2002) reported that goals that become increasingly difficult as the game progresses
through the levels increase the player’s motivation and performance. It is recommended that early levels are
easier in order to allow the player to learn about the game (Adams, 2009).
In LOH, labours should be completed in accordance with the story. As the sequencing of labours is one of
the key elements, levelling up is only possible if the previous level is completed. Every level’s challenge is
more difficult than the previous one and the player faces more obstacles, requiring faster and more precise
reactions. In this context, in the running phases, Hercules runs faster towards the end of the level with each
level. In addition, he must run farther with each level in order to reach the boss fight phase. Boss fights in
which Hercules takes on a factor are harder than the previous one and require Hercules to fill the progress bar
by double tapping at greater speeds in a shorter period of time. In boss fights in which Hercules needs to
capture a creature, the number of relevant tools (net/arrow) decreases at every level, thus ensuring that the
challenges progressively become more difficult.
Although designed as a single player game, when connected to the Game Center and Google Play Games
the player may participate in a leader board. Reaching a higher rank on the leader board can be considered an
additional challenge for the players.
2.5 Interaction
Another game element that increases the player’s motivation is interaction. Interaction is classified under two
types: the player’s interaction with the game and the player’s social interaction with other players (Prensky,
2001b). The interaction between the player and the media takes form in accordance with the game’s goals
and the story’s context (Donglinger, 2007). In the LOH game, interaction makes use of the touchscreen and
gyro features designed for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. The player uses the swipe gesture
to move in 4 directions in the runner phases and either the double tap or flick gesture in the boss fight phases.
After certain parts of the game, the gyro feature is activated in order to increase the challenge. In these parts,
the player plays the game by tilting the device to the left and right. Additional standard interfaces such as
play, pause, replay, resume, info, game center, volume, Facebook, use potion, next labour, and main menu
buttons are also included. In terms of social interaction, the game can be connected to Facebook and Game
Center/Google Play Games. This creates an environment where the players can interact with others.
2.6 Feedback
Feedback notifies the player of their current situation in the game (Prensky, 2001b). As in every learning
process, feedback is quite important for game based learning (Prensky, 2001b). In this context, feedback
must be given after every user behavior (Garris, Ahlers and Driskel, 2002).
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10. Because the game design process requires detailed study, it was not possible to delve into much detail
while reviewing and reporting the game elements. For example, feedback of some kind is necessary for every
button pressed during game play. On the other hand, an analysis this detailed would mean losing the focus of
the whole picture and was thus not performed in the current study.
This study reviewed the Labours of Hercules game based on the most accentuated game elements in the
literature. Further studies considering different elements and approaches to game design outlined in the
literature would allow for analysis from different perspectives. In addition, modelling LOH’s development
process would further contribute to the literature.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
“Labours of Hercules” mobile game is funded by the Erasmus+ Program of the European Union as apart of
project “Searching for the Labours of Hercules” (2014-1-TR01-KA201-012990) and Hacettepe University
Scientific Research Coordination Unit with the project titled “Development of an Educational 3D Mobile
Game” (SUA-2016-9609)”. This educational game is designed and developed in cooperation with Pixega
Game Studio. This publication reflects the views only of the authors, and neither the Commission nor
Hacettepe University cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information
contained therein.
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