Nichole

Scheutzow
Final Project
Game Prototype & Literature Review
3/2/16

Art History Trivia Quest & Literature Review

For my final project, I created a prototype for an Art History Trivia Quest
Game that I envisioned based on a need for a more engaging, interactive Art based
game. Through the game play in this course and my research and readings online, I
found that a good learning game should be interactive, present challenges in the
form of trivia questions or obstacles, and provide the player with rewards and
opportunities to advance to the next level.
As I worked through my idea, I researched online articles that explored the
significance of learning art through games and the use of art in game design. I found
two that were very significant in my research, with the first being an article I will be
using in my teaching to show students the use of art in video game design and
comparative studies of modern day art with classical studies.


Part One: Literature Review


1.) Solarski, C. (2013, Jan. 30) Aesthetics of Game Art and Game Design.
Retrieved from:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/185676/the_aesthetics_of_game_ar
t_and_.php on March 1, 2016


"The content of a work of art finds its expression in the composition, in the sum of
the tensions inwardly organized for the work."
-Kandinsky, Point and Line to Plane (1926)

This article was very significant to me because of it's emphasis on the
importance of art in game design and how visual design elements can effect the
viewer or game player on a psychological level. The author explored traditional
video games and design elements and compares these with Contemporary Master
Artworks.
Throughout Art History, shapes and composition have been a primary
artistic tool used to organize a work of art and shape aesthetic qualities of images.
These art elements and principles are used to create a more emotionally meaningful
gaming experience and promote interactivity within the game.

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 Solarski goes on to explain the background behind the psychology of shapes
and dynamic composition. He cites the 5 Elements of dynamic composition as
being:


1. Character Shape
2. Character Animations
3. Environment Shapes
4. Pathways
5. Player Gestures.

The above images are referenced in the article to explain to the viewer how
these shapes and design elements are used in design and games to provide the
viewer or gamer with a richer gaming experience. He explains the psychology and
emotional response to each of the shapes used in game design and art works.
Aesthetic concepts throughout history view the Circle as representing innocence,
youth, energy, and femininity. The Square represents maturity, stability, balance,
and stubbornness, while the Triangle represents aggression, masculinity, and force.
Each of these elements can be seen in the above logos and designs, and
influence artists in the ways they create design elements within their game designs.
I considered some of these influences and compositional elements when designing
my own game. I wanted my game to have a warm, inviting feeling and include many
bright colors and artworks. I subconsciously chose more circular and square shapes
for my game design. These represent a fun, energetic learning environment with the
emphasis on the artwork and the player engaging in an exploration of an art

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museum to not only learn new information, but also excel through the levels to
reach the highest level of achievement.
I was especially intrigued with this article being an Art teacher and teaching
Art History, because I think in order to create a game that people will connect with,
it is important for the designer to understand compositional art elements and the
meaningful and emotional responses people will have to different types of designs
and characters within a game. In the article, Solarski says that, " As designers we
must consider the audiences real life experiences and sense of touch and incorporate
these ideas into our artwork." (Solarski, page. 3)
People respond to artworks and games/simulations in different ways based
on their unique life experiences. For example, some people would be more deeply
affected or disturbed by war games that feature violent images if they had a more
sensitive nature or had been in a violent or dangerous situation in their lives prior
to experiencing the game. The way that people connect with a game is highly
influenced by personality characteristics and life experiences, as well as the
compositional design elements the game features. I considered my audience and
traditional design elements when creating my prototype for my Art History Museum
Quest game. Based on my research and interactions with my target audience, high
school aged students, I feel confident in my design choices and trivia options.


2.) National Center for Technology Innovation and Center for Implementing
Technology in Education (CITEd) (2015.) Integrating the Arts with
Technology: Inspiring Creativity.
Retrieved from http://www.ldonline.org/article/30245/

The second article I read that had an impact on the way I designed my game
and gave me more insight into how students learned about art through the use of
online gaming and technology.

Through the arts, students gain self-confidence and self-esteem by
expressing and exploring their identities, as well as communicating issues and
personal reflections through alternative mediums of expression. (2015, CITEd)

When art and technology are combined, educators can create new and
exciting opportunities for students to stay motivated in the learning process. Since
the arts are a visual means of communication, most of the art games featured in this
article included a wide range of interesting graphics and sounds to keep the player
engaged in learning art topics. There were 7 different online gaming sites included
for learning about art and Art History.
This article mostly focused on how the use of art and technology benefited
students with disabilities. It also explored how the combination of art and
technology allowed educators to differentiate their lessons for many different types
of learners. For example, a mostly non-verbal student who has difficulty writing and
verbally expressing ideas can learn through an art game that features images and
auditory cues to communicate with the student.

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 There are many benefits to learning art through games for students with
different learning abilities and disabilities. Students with disabilities were given the
opportunity to be successful through the use of an artistic medium or an art game.
This opportunity to explore art through gaming diffused feelings of isolation and
frustration the student may have felt as a result of dealing with a disability in their
daily life. I work with students with disabilities in the art room and have seen
evidence of increased learning retention and self-confidence through online art
games and activities.
At risk students have also been shown to benefit from the arts and
technology. Through a research study, at risk students showed evidence of
increased positivity and an increased academic performance after participating in
art activities and opportunities that allowed them to be successful.
I chose to study this article while designing my game because I wanted to
take into consideration how students learned and felt rewarded when playing a
game about art. My game features opportunities for students to be successful and
learn about artworks through a visual and auditory means of game play. Students
can earn rewards, points, and badges through my Art History Game Quest game.
This promotes the concept of a learner centered creative process through a creative,
interactive gaming experience.
Here are some links to sites listed within the article that promote learning art
through games:
ArtRage (Windows and Macintosh)
This is a fun, easy-to-learn program for experimenting with digital art with an
easy-to-use interface.
ArtWeaver (Windows)
ArtWeaver features a number of natural media brushes and tools such as
chalk, pencils, charcoal, oil paint, felt markers, crayons, airbrushes, acrylic,
sponges, and pastels.
Deleter CG illust (Windows)
If you have a student who is into the Anime and Manga illustration style of
Japanese comics, check out this program. There is a library of users' Event
files to watch how the steps of an illustration become animation.
Destination Modern Art (online)
From the Museum of Modern Art, this interactive online website speaks to
students about art literally reading out the instructions, a help for students
who do not read well. Students of all abilities can explore and use this site to
learn about different interpretive ideas, practice vocabulary, learn how art is
created, and much more.
SketchUp7 (online)
A free download from Google, this 3D design program allows users to create
imaginary cities, buildings, or recreate existing ones. First created for
architects, it is a powerful educational tool students can use as well.
The Art Zone (online)
Sponsored by the National Gallery of Art, this interactive site currently hosts
16 art programs that educate and engage students of all ages. Check out the
new Photo Op program that teaches users about digital photography and
photo manipulation tools.
TuxPaint (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
This open source drawing program is a free download that works well on
nearly all platforms, including slower or thinner (with less memory) machines

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 Part Two: Art History Trivia Game: Prototype


Audience and Description of what my game does:

The audience for my game is 9-12th grade High School Students and adults. I
want to make the facts and trivia included in this game difficult enough for a High
School thinker but also challenging to an adult who does not have experience with
the topic of Art History. This game would be accessible ideally as an internet
computer game and an app so the user would have a wider range of options when
playing this game. This would make the game useful in any type of learning
situation or learning scenario. It does not just have to be used in the classroom, but
by anyone seeking more information about the topic of Art History through a fun
and engaging gaming environment.

Why this game is important and necessary:

During the course of this class, I searched weekly for games that I could use
with my classes that provided an interactive and engaging platform for learning Art
History for High School students. Most of the games I found were very generic and
not at all interesting. I found a few good ones for younger children, but really not
many that High School students used to playing super realistic interactive video
games would appreciate or even feel challenged by.
I wanted to make my game more like an interactive "Quest" so players got
the feeling of adventure, exploration, and problem solving - more elements of
successful games! I found I was able to do this while including important facts and
art movements for the player to explore. I think that adults wanting to learn more
about the topic of Art History would also benefit from this game because the
difficulty level is enough that they would feel challenged and also appreciate the
more interactive aspects of the game.
Many Art trivia games that I explored only provided the players with worded
questions with no visuals. I think that it is essential for students to actually see the
artwork and artists connected with the trivia questions in order to promote
retention and learning.
I think this game could make an important impact on the Art learning
environment for secondary students. I tried to include important basic
characteristics of a strong, interactive trivia game such as challenges and rewards,
and the opportunity to advance levels throughout the course of the game. Since this
is an educational game, the primary purpose of the game is to promote learning
within the field of Art History. I have yet to find an internet game that supports this
idea which was a main source of inspiration for me when creating and researching
this topic.
This game supports the learning by allowing players to read facts about Art
History, hear the museum guide talk about the facts and artworks, view artworks
and photos of the artists, and provide an interactive gaming experience that
hopefully the player will want to tell others about and teach them how to play it.

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 This game differentiates learning opportunities by giving the player many
different ways to learn facts and information. This idea supports many different
types of learners by providing problem-solving opportunities and challenges within
each level of the Art Museum Quest.


Game Prototype Explanation and Screenshots

The next section contains several screenshots of the actual game prototype
and explanations of the various aspects of the game.

The game will start out with the player entering an Art Museum customized to the
city of their choice. I chose to use the Cleveland Museum of Art as the prototype for
my game since I live in the Cleveland area and am most familiar with this museum.
The main objective of the game is an "Art History Quest."

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Players will navigate their chosen Art Museum with the ultimate goal of
getting through the museum to the Art Gallery Reception at the end. Players will
attempt to earn Art History Scholar Badges (can earn different badges for each time
period/art movement) and as many points as possible before getting to the end.

This page will appear early on to explain some of the game objectives to the
player. There will be more pages that pop up throughout the game to tell the player
if they earned badges or unlocked "secret" art collections to earn more points.

Players will begin the game in the first gallery with three choices of Art
Movements at the start of the game. So for example, player enters the museum and
chooses Impressionism. The player must correctly answer 5 -10 Art History
questions about Impressionist artworks/artists before getting to advance to another
level in the museum. Real photos of the artworks/artists will pop up with the
questions so the player can relate facts to the visuals and make greater learning
connections.

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Players start out with a choice of Art Movements before getting into the
Trivia part of the game. There are different art movements in each level that the
player can choose to answer questions.

Each level will have 2 choices of Art Movements players can pick from. When
players advanced a level, artworks and questions will get a little more difficult to
create more of a challenge. At the end of each level, players can earn points, expert
badges, and the opportunity to unlock "secret art collections" and explore and
answer questions about them.

After an Art Movement is selected, players will get to see actual artworks,
photos of artists, or even short video clips and answer trivia questions about the art.
At the end of the game, the player earns the privilege of attending an Art
Gallery Reception party and can see all of their points and badges earned, as well as
the ability to scroll back through each of the artworks and trivia questions they got
correct.

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 Allowing the player to scroll back through the art trivia allows for
reinforcement of learning and lets the player look back on some of the artworks
they are interested in. There will be links on the artworks to "learn more" at the end
of the game, which would take the player to different websites with information
about each artwork or artist.