I met James Portnow (Divide by Zero) at GDC Austin in 2008, and since then we exchanged a few emails and met a couple of times in different conferences (Meaningful Play 2008, GDC Austin 2009). James is proponent of the concept of "Tangencial Learning" or "Collateral Learning" as applied to video games, an idea that aims to better leverage their educational potentials. I found this concept to have some similarities with the developmental proposal of the "Trojan Horse Approach" in regards to the use of indirect and skilfull means to promote more meaningful learning and experiences.

In an article at the website Gamasutra, James Portnow started a very interesting discussion about the "Universal Game, the game aimed at everyone". In my view, he most interesting aspect about this article is how it taps into fundamental aspects of player-customization explored in my academic research, and the challenges to create an "Universal Game" that could work on "multiple levels" - as he points - having great universal appeal to both children and adults as acclaimed popular movies such as Wall-e.

A friend of mine directed me to this very interesting (and unconventional) article written by Borut Pfeiffer, where we discusses about the subject of meaningful games and use of "subversive" startegies in video games. In my view, his ideas present a few points of resonance with some of the concepts proposed in my Trojan Horse Approach to video games, which is one of the core fundamentals of the INDENTRO framework.

Follow below Borut Pfeiffer's article, extracted from http://www.plushapocalypse.com/borut/?p=98

The Plush Apocalypse
Meaningful games must change the world

This question has bothered me for a long time. Since my first brush with real genre criticism (going to GA Tech before the take off of the LCC school my unfortunately minimal humanities requirements were nonetheless wonderfully met by classes like “Movie Genres” and “History of Science Fiction”), I’ve looked for subversive elements in games much like the elements in subversive genres like science fiction.

This is an interesting information I recently came across, related to perspective-based feedback in virtual world training and simulations.

Due to the similarity of language related to the concepts of perspectives and perspective-taking from Integral Theory and the AQAL Model, I believe his research can add important data to the INDENTRO framework and research.

I met Robb Lindgren in Wisconsin in the Game+Learning+Society 2008, and we exchanged some emails and info after that.

One of the things Robb realized in his groundbreaking research is that simulations using First-person perspectives (seeing "from the eyes" of the character or avatar) tend to be more effective for assimilation of different kinds of learning and practices than Third-person perspectives (seeing the character or avatar), due to various reasons.

In the recent Games+Learning+Society 2008 conference in Madison, Wisconsin, I had the opportunity to attend a series of quite timely and interesting lectures.

Among them, I highlight the presentation of David Shaffer on “Epistemic Network Analysis: Assessment for the Digital Age”. I referred to his research in specific parts of my paper presented at the Meaningful Play conference (click here to download).

Shaffer's research relates to a very important aspect also highlighted in my proposed framework for an integral-developmental video game design - which is to find ways to make video games able to track behaviors and actions of players as they move through the game, and provide an adequate mix of challenge and support in order to promote optimal development in different lines of intelligence and other aspects of the AQAL Model.

Although Shaffer’s research focuses more on educational aspects, it is my understanding that many of his insights and discoveries could be also used to assess different kinds of developmental experiences and practices in different lines of intelligence as related to the INDENTRO framework.

I would like to share today a quite interesting academic research. In the 2nd part of my recent interview with Ken Wilber at Integral Life, I made some comments about the work of Jayne Gackenbach, Ph.D., who has been doing some significant research on video games, lucid dreaming and flow states for several years.

In terms of Integral Psychology and the AQAL Model, Gachenbach’s research brings a fundamental contribution for the understanding of the role of "states of consciousness" in relation to the potentials of video games to catalyze human development.

According to Wilber (2005, 2007), “subtle body” practices such as continuous and steady access to flow/peek inner states as well as lucid dreaming/Dream Yoga - seen from the perspective of conscious developmental/psychological/spiritual practices - can bring significant enhancement to stabilizing State-Stages (Wilber-Combs Matrix, 2007), which in turn contribute to both Horizontal and Vertical human development (see definitions under Mixed-Methods research menu).

This is an excerpt that I wrote about some of the relationships between The Matrix Trilogy movies, Spirituality, Evolution, and the subject of integral-developmental video games.

This article is extracted from my paper presented at the Integral Theory Conference 2008 (click here to download), and is written with some Integral Psychology "jargon". If translation is needed, please check more info at the Academic Research section.

Excerpt of article:

A Bird’s Eye View on the Interfaces between Humans & Machines: Integrating Spirit & Matter

(...) The Wachowsky brothers are also the creators of The Matrix Trilogy, where Wilber (2004) contributed with groundbreaking philosophical commentaries about the not so often understood hidden potentials and “spiritual side” of human-machine interfaces (The Ultimate Matrix Collection, 2004).

This article summarizes some of my current views about the new video game Spore, created by Will Wright (Electronic Arts).

Note:
Since this review is based on an Integral Psychology perspective, I am using some integral 'jargon' from the AQAL Model.

About the Spore Creature Creator Module:

The module was fun to play, and it gives you a lot of creative freedom to play “God” in 3rd person, figuring out the “biological” (and maybe aesthetical) side of creating “life”.

About the video game Spore:

First of all, I would like to praise Will Wright for the novel idea of creating such an interesting (and timely) game concept based on evolution.

I think Spore may raise a lot of interesting issues, ideas and discussions coming from different audiences and worldviews...

I just came back a week ago from my lecture presentation at the Meaningful Play Conference 2008 in Lansing, Michigan.

Together with the Serious Games movement, Games for Health, Games+Learning+Society, Games for Change, Games for Health and other proactive, socially responsible and integrative initiatives, the Meaningful Play conference is an example of an emergent "wave" within the video game industry and academic studies that certainly came to stay (and grow).

These "alternative" movements have been gradualy stirring up the video game community and industry by bringing a series of timely and significant discussions about the emerging role of meaningful educational messages and useful practices through a new generation of alternative "trans-entertaining" video games in our culture and society.

Here is an introduction extracted from the Meaningful Play 2008 conference website:

Whether designed to entertain or for more “serious” purposes, games have the potential to impact players’ beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, emotions, cognitive abilities, and behavior.

I received this information from Michael Highland, who recently contacted me by email. We both share quite similar interests in personal growth and about making meaningful video games, and I am grateful for his support to my vision and project. I highly recommend checking his work.

From Michael's email:

"About a year ago I coauthored a journal article on creating spiritual experiences through video game technology. If you're interested you can find it here http://www.michaelhighland.com/timeline/highland.pdf

Second TED.com recently posted a talk by David Perry on video games, http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/david_perry_on_videogames.html - the second half features a bit of a film I worked on entitled As Real as Your Life, has proved a useful tool in convincing non believers of the power video games posses."

Thanks Michael, well done!
Moses

Moses Silbiger, M.A.
www.integraleye.com
www.pressplaytogrow.com

I just came back from the Game Developers Conference 2008 in Austin. Wow!... I am often surprized about the relevance and aliveness of these events, based on my previous experience at GDC 2008 in San Francisco.

As expected, the GDC Austin conference brought me a lot of updated information about the industry, including what is going on in terms of new and upcoming games, game design, career opportunities, new interfaces, academic research, etc.

As always, I made good contacts and expanded my "gaming network", making new friends and colleagues throughout the event.

One of the highlights of the event was a great informal conversation I had about my research and "integral ideas" with John Romero, renowned designer of the video games Doom and Quake. Although these are some of the most violent games ever created, it seems (because it is still confidential) that he has been involved in less violent, more mature projects nowadays, probably reflecting where he is right now personally. John Romero is considered one of the greatest designers of the video game industry, and is currently involved in a series of upcoming (high-level) projects, including a MMO video game.

I recently had a great phone talk with Tracy Fullerton, Ph.D., who I am having the chance to meet soon at the Meaningful Play Conference 2008 in Michigan.

Tracy Fullerton is a game designer, educator and writer. She is also an Associate Professor at the USC School of Cinematics Arts and Director of the Electronic Arts Game Innovation Lab - having participated as faculty advisor for the games Cloud, and flOw; and as a game designer for The Night Journey, a unique game/art project closely related to personal and spiritual development - http://tracyfullerton.com/projects/the_night_journey.html -- Great (and groundbreaking) stuff!

Here is an excerpt taken from her website www.tracyfullerton.com:

The Night Journey project is a game project conceived by Bill Viola, an internationally acclaimed artist and MacArthur fellow, which uses video game technologies to explore the universal story of an individual mystic's journey towards enlightenment. The game is being developed in collaboration with a team from the USC Game Innovation lab, including myself, Kira Perov, Scott Fisher, Andreas Kratky, Todd Furmanski, and Kurosh Valanejad.

It is well known that many of the technological advances we have access today comes from leading edge experiments in Universities and the military industry. The internet and video games are great examples of that.

Based on these historical facts, many of the advances we are seeing today in these environments will shape our daily life in the future in terms of technological interaction and use.

I recently came in contact with Diane Piepol, chair of Siggraph and who works at USC labs. She has been leading one of UCS's several projects related to virtual reality, which includes research on virtual worlds, avatar emotions, artificial intelligence, computer generated storyteling and narrative, interactive 360 holographic images, mixed reality, stress disorder virtual therapies, VR psyhcology and neuroscience, etc...

I invite you to take a look at that and just use a bit of your imagination to envision how some of these technologies could be used in the future (maybe not far from now) for deeper psychological, therapeutic and developmental means. I think video games can be a great media to bring to the popular ground some of these amazing virtual reality experiences and potentials.

Here is the link to all their projects: http://ict.usc.edu/projects/all/ -- I highly recommend checking what they have been up to!

All best,
Moses

Moses Silbiger, M.A.
www.pressplaytogrow.com
www.integraleye.com