A COMPUTER GAMES APPROACH TO EXPLORATORY LEARNING

LAVA: A Case Study in System Design

K. Getchell, J. Nicoll, C. Kerbey, A. Miller, C. Allison

School of Computer Science, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, FIFE, KY16 9SX, Scotland

R. Sweetman, J. Complin

School of Classics, University of St Andrews, Swallowgate, Butts Wynd, St Andrews, FIFE, KY16 9AL, Scotland

R. Michaelson

Department of Accountancy and Business Finance, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 4HN, Scotland

Keywords: Explorative learning, e-learning, collaboration, gaming, groupware, archaeology.

Abstract: This paper presents an approach to utilising computer game technologies and methodologies to support

explorative learning. This approach has particular relevance to subjects such as archaeology and geography

which contain a significant fieldwork component. A detailed case study, the LAVA project, is presented and

the design decisions taken discussed. LAVA was motivated by the need to provide support for explorative

learning and an understanding of fieldwork for classes of students in the face of the very few opportunities

available for participating in real archaeological excavations. The aim of LAVA is not to replace real world

fieldwork, but rather to provide realistic simulations that allow students to better prepare for any

involvement with a real excavation. These objectives have initially been achieved through the combination

of a 3D game engine, 2D maps and a group-based learning environment.

1 INTRODUCTION

Computer games are engaging for their audience.

They have a series of objectives which must be

achieved by a player in order for the overall

objective of the game to be realised. They utilise the

concept of progression and advancement through the

separation of objectives into a series of contiguous

stages or levels and encourage exploration and

character development through trial and error. In

short computer games are good at providing an

environment within which a player can learn how to

achieve the game’s final objective. Most importantly

however, games are able to successfully engage with

their target audience and encourage a player to

progress forward.

The level of engagement that players have with

computer games is often coveted by those charged

with developing learning materials (Savery and

Duffy 1995; Merrill 2002). There have been a

number of attempts to harness the engaging power

of computer games in ‘edutainment’ (educational

entertainment) titles (Wikipedia); however most of

these products have had difficulty integrating the

game play and educational dimensions, and have

consequently struggled to attract the desired level of

interest from their target audience (Okan 2003). In

many ways these failures are not surprising as there

are marked differences in the way computer games

and educational materials are designed.

This paper proposes, through the use of a case

study, an alternative approach to the development of

educational resources which allows more emphasis

to be placed on the aspects of computer games that

make them appeal to their target audience. It is

hoped that this alternative approach will facilitate

the development of more engaging and interactive

explorative learning resources. Section 2 of this

paper discusses the aims of good educational

practice and how these can be met by games and

learning environment technologies. Section 3

470

Getchell K., Nicoll J., Kerbey C., Miller A., Allison C., Sweetman R., Complin J. and Michaelson R. (2007).

A COMPUTER GAMES APPROACH TO EXPLORATORY LEARNING - LAVA: A Case Study in System Design.

In Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Web Information Systems and Technologies - Society, e-Business and e-Government /

e-Learning, pages 470-476

DOI: 10.5220/0001290204700476

 SciTePress

introduces the Laconia Acropolis Virtual

Archaeology (LAVA) excavation simulator, initially

focussing on the educational problem the simulator

addresses before describing the software from a

student’s perspective. Section 4 outlines the

architecture, design and current implementation

while section 5 provides a brief overview of related

work before the paper concludes in section 6.

2 LEARNING AIMS

The excavation simulator has been shaped to meet

four pedagogical goals. The system should:

• Be engaging.

• Be realistic.

• Provide support for cooperative working.

• Promote self paced learning.

Computer games were used as a starting point for

the design as they provide high levels of audience

engagement. Realism is achieved by deploying a

range of technologies from 3D virtual worlds to high

definition photographs and maps, as shown in figure

1. A group-based framework for learning

environment composition and deployment is used to

provide teamwork support and to aid the integration

of the different technologies in use. This is all

delivered via a web interface, so “anytime

anywhere” access and consequently self-paced

learning is supported.

As discussed by Malone (Malone 1980),

computer games can be dissected into a series of

contiguous goals which challenge and stimulate the

user. For a goal to be effective it must be possible

for the user to identify with the knowledge domain

in question and to judge their performance with

respect to reaching the final objective (Malone

1980). Within each goal, the outcome of game play

should be uncertain. This can be achieved in a

variety of ways:

1. Through the development of different levels of

difficulty that act to challenge the user.

2. By hiding and selectively revealing information

within the game environment, thereby

controlling the way in which the user is able to

access information that assists them in fulfilling

the game objectives.

3. By introducing randomness into the game play

so that each time a specific scene is reached by

the player, the outcome cannot be pre-empted.

Whilst the game play has a degree of randomness, it

is important to ensure that the attainability of game

objectives is matched to the player’s ability and skill

level. Successfully achieving a goal can increase a

player’s self-esteem and therefore have an affect on

their motivation to continue, with failure in small

quantities acting to enhance this drive. However, if

players perceive game goals to be impossible to

achieve, they will become disillusioned by repeated

failures and hence become increasingly de-

motivated by the game (Barendregt, Becker et al.

2006). Obtaining the optimal level of informational

complexity (Piaget 1952; Berlyne 1965) is of real

importance when considering in-game engagement;

a player needs to be able to understand the gaming

environment if they are to engage with it. By closely

aligning the game goals and educational objectives,

LAVA seeks to encourage players to unknowingly

advance their educational progress by developing

skills that satisfy the in-game challenges presented.

3 CASE STUDY: LAVA

The LAVA project virtual excavation scenario is

based around the work undertaken by the British

School at Athens at the Sparta Acropolis Basilica,

Greece during the 2000/1 seasons (Sweetman 2000-

2001; Sweetman and Katsara 2002). It has been

developed to provide students with experience in

dealing with the type of issues that arise during

Figure 1: 2D Map, 3D Model and Photographic Artefact Screenshots.

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471

archaeological excavation work. This aim

encompasses both the practical considerations

relating to the way in which the excavation is

planned and managed, as well as the way in which it

is undertaken.

By modelling the activities undertaken on an

excavation, LAVA is able to provide students with a

realistic idea of what fieldwork entails, prior to them

actually taking part in a real-world excavation.

During the development of the virtual

excavation, there was a strong emphasis on building

the stages to closely mimic the concept of levels

found in many popular computer games, with each

having distinct start and end states as well as specific

learning objectives and metrics against which a

group’s relative success can be judged. As with

computer games methodology, only when a group

has achieved the requisite level of competence

within a given stage can they progress to subsequent

stages, thereby integrating into the virtual excavation

the concept of progressive skills development; a

concept which is used in computer games as well as

when teaching students practical archaeology on real

excavation projects.

In order to complete a virtual excavation, a

group must complete 5 stages within the simulation:

Stage 1: Background work; groups perform an initial

review of the Sparta region to identify areas

of archaeological interest.

Stage 2: Funding Application; groups undertake a

virtual site visit, using the information they

obtain to write a formal funding application.

Stage 3: Site Excavation; once funding is secured

each group undertakes their excavation

work using the excavation simulator. It is

the design of this part of the LAVA

software that is the main focus of this paper.

Stage 4: Publication Preparation; following the

completion of the excavation work the

groups are required to prepare publications

to disseminate the site data discovered

during their excavation projects.

Stage 5: Reflection and Feedback; the final stage of

the excavation process is used to allow the

groups to reflect on their performance. It

also allows the students to be formally

assessed by the course coordinator.

This paper focuses on the design and

implementation of the simulator used during stage 3.

Further information regarding the other components

of the LAVA system can be found in (Getchell,

Miller et al. 2006), whilst (Getchell, Nicoll et al.

2007) (to be published March 2007) discusses the

evaluation of the LAVA system carried out to date.

4 THE EXCAVATION SYSTEM

There are 5 main components within the simulator:

1. A bespoke browser which provides a unified

interface to all simulation components.

2. A virtual learning environment which provides

support for resource development, group work

and authentication.

3. A 3D game environment which provides

support for collaboration and site exploration.

4. A set of 2D resources for management,

exploration and reporting.

5. A database engine which maintains the state of

the excavation for each group.

From a student perspective there are two views into

the excavation: A set of 2D maps and resources that

expose management related processes and support

exploration, and a 3D first person game-based view

which allows students to investigate and explore the

excavation site from a first person perspective. The

two distinct interfaces have been adopted to allow

time to be managed by the students in a flexible

way. The high-level web-based management

interface allows groups to undertake time consuming

processes quickly, i.e. removing top soil from the

site, by short-circuiting the actual work processes.

When an area of interest needs to be explored in

more detail, the 3D first person perspective interface

can be used, offering groups the ability to

cooperatively investigate a scene in real-time. This

approach allows the students to concentrate their

focus on more interesting aspects of the excavation

whilst getting an overview of the entire process.

To allow groups to control the excavation work,

a three step process has been implemented:

Step 1: The 2D management interface is used by

the group to control how much virtual time,

personnel and equipment are allocated to

each task being undertaken.

Step 2: The simulator short-circuits the work

process, automatically performing the work

required based on the time, personnel and

equipment constraints specified by the

group. If the group assigns too much time

to the work, then equipment utilisation is

low and resources are wasted. If the group

assigns too little time to the work, then the

work is rushed and the quality of the

material culture uncovered degraded.

Step 3: Once the tasks have completed, the group

are able to investigate the materials

uncovered using a 2D map based interface.

Within the map a series of hotspots are used

to highlight any discoveries made. Group

members can click on the hotspots to bring

up graphical and textual descriptions of the

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finds. The level can also be explored from a

3D perspective, thereby allowing the group

to gain a more detailed spatial

understanding of the entire excavation site.

In the following sections we discuss the 3D Based

exploration, game logic and underlying data

structures that support the simulation engine.

4.1 3D Exploration

The 3D game-based viewport provides students with

a first person perspective of the excavation site.

Within the viewport they are able to interact with

each other and explore detailed areas of the

excavation site. The aim is to allow students to

collaboratively study, at close range, areas of

significant interest within the excavation. Whilst in

the 3D viewport the students are able to

communicate textually with each other and view

each other’s avatars.

The 3D viewport offers exceptional first person

perspective views of the excavation site. As has been

discussed by (Haggren, Junnilaninen et al. 2004),

sequencing of static images can help students to

build a more detailed understanding of an

environment. On one level, the virtual environment

displayed by the 3D viewport is directly equivalent

to a large number of static images sequenced

together to provide an overview of an environment.

The main difference between sequenced images and

the game world, is that the user perspective within

the game world can be moved and adjusted, thereby

allowing students to focus in on areas of specific

interest. It should also be noted that, unlike statically

sequenced images, the students of a particular group

share their 3D virtual environment will all other

group members and can, through their representative

avatars and the variety of in-game communication

tools, interact both with each other and also the

environment as a whole.

Within the 3D viewport time is modelled in an

inelastic fashion; it is not possible for individual

group members to jump forward in time as this

would cause problems with other group members

who were not intending to progress time forward so

quickly. In order to maintain consistency between

group members, time is modelled in a uniformed

fashion within the 3D environment. This poses a

problem when it comes to undertaking slow and

repetitive work; either group members will be

required to undertake the work in real time, else they

will have to depart from the 3D environment prior to

any leap forward in time which is intended to short

circuit the work process. In the current

implementation, the group is provided with the 3D

environment following the completion of the

(possibly drawn out) preparation work which is

undertaken using the 2D management interface. This

separation allows the group members to jump in and

out of the virtual environment as required.

During the investigatory work undertaken to

determine how best to build the simulation system, a

comparison between a number of popular game

engines was undertaken. There are broad similarities

between each of the engines in terms of capabilities

as discussed in (Bishop, Eberly et al. 1998; Stang

2003). Whilst there is a whole raft of commercial

game engines available, the Quake (IDSoftware) and

Unreal (EpicGames) engines seem to be the most

developed in terms of flexibility and usability, with

both benefiting from active and responsive

developer communities. It is true that there are

engines such as Everquest’s LichTech engine (Sony)

that are able to offer enhanced performance and

increased visual quality over Quake and Unreal,

however, during a number of tests the performance

and capabilities of the open-source Quake 2 engine

was found to be adequate for the purposes of the

project; the excavation simulations in LAVA are

more concerned with faithful maintenance of the

player-, object- and terrain-location relationship than

of the ability to construct photorealistic

environments.

When deciding on an engine upon which to base

the simulations, the open source nature of the Quake

2 engine had a number of benefits: Not only could

the engine be used without royalties, it could also be

modified to more accurately fulfil the requirements

of the LAVA project at a lower level than merely

applying game modifications (mods). Unlike game

mods, which are generally developed to slot into the

top two levels of the modular game engine structure

shown in figure 2 (Gamespy; ModDB), the LAVA

excavation simulator has a strong educational

motivation behind it. If one considers the model of

an archaeological excavation outlined in section 3,

there are clear areas in which the first person

perspective of modern games fits in well; for

example during the excavation work undertaken in

stage 3. However, there are also areas in which a

direct game ‘mod’ would be unsuitable; much of the

Virtual Worlds

Game Code

Network

Code

Engine

Graphics Drivers

Operating System

Reprogramming Game Behaviour

Level/Environment Model Editing

Figure 2: Modular Game Client Structure.

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paperwork exercises undertaken in stages 2 and 4 for

example. With these differences in mind a hybrid

solution has been developed. This solution combines

the advantages of 2D and 3D perspectives, with

integration into our institutional Virtual Learning

Environment (VLE), Module Management System

(MMS) (Allison, Bain et al. 2003), allowing the

simulation software to read directly from

institutional data sources. This greatly reduces the

need to manage user authentication and access

control from within the excavation simulation itself,

as many of the required protections are provided

automatically by the MMS VLE.

There are two components of the 3D viewport;

the client software which runs on the client machine

using Java WebStart technologies and the server

software which runs on the MMS server and

integrates with the MMS database using an XML

based API. In the current implementation, both

software components are based on a Java

implementation of the Quake 2 engine. A Java

implementation was chosen in preference to the

original C implementation as the rest of the MMS

framework has been developed in Java and by

having a unified development language, component

integration was more straightforward.

Within the 3D viewport students are able to

explore and interact with the excavation

environment, but are unable to instigate changes to

it. This limitation is due to the way in which the

MMS management interface and 3D viewport

coexist. The API presented to the 3D environment

allows data from the MMS database to be read, but

does not allow the 3D viewport to submit changes to

the environment to the MMS database. This

separation of management and exploratory work

helps delineate the roles that the members of an

excavation team perform within the site itself by

forcing the students to adopt a role suitable for the

task in hand.

4.2 Game Logic

The game logic allows the success of the excavation

to be scaled in relation to the appropriateness of

resources applied to it, and introduces a level of

randomness that ensures that no two excavations

will be carbon-copies of each other. As discussed in

section 2, this randomisation is used to reduce the

predictability of each stage of an excavation,

therefore enhancing the learner’s interest in the

outcome of their decisions.

The game logic iterates through each day that the

students have allocated to the current task and

performs the following calculation:

1. For each allocated person select a piece of

equipment with the highest skill level, matching

their skill, that isn't already in use.

2. Iterate through the hours of each day.

3. During each hour, test up to 4 artefacts that have

not yet been found or identified, and whose find

or information skill matches the person’s skill.

The probability of someone finding or identifying an

artefact is calculated by comparing the skill levels of

the person and any equipment they are using, with

the difficulty level of the artefact. Each person and

piece of equipment calculates their find probability

using the following expression:

p = 0.4 + ((person/equipment skill -

artefact difficulty) * 0.1)

In the case of a person having a piece of equipment,

the two probabilities are combined using:

p = 1 - ((1 - person probability) * (1 -

equipment probability))

This probability is then compared to a random

number in the range 0 to 1. The artefact is found

and identified if the probability is greater than this

random number.

4.3 Data Layer

The data layer maintains a consistent game state.

This enables multiple learners to progress through a

changing environment. It ensures that learners who

are part of the same group receive the same view of

the game at all times. The views of each learning

group are, however, distinct.

The game state consists of 6 key data types;

artefact, asset, game, group, skill and stage. The

relations of these data types are shown in figure 3.

• Game represents a single simulation instance,

containing key data such as the length of the

simulation and a reference to the logic to be

used in calculating the success of each stage.

Assets, groups, skills and stages are associated

directly with a simulation instance, in a many to

one mapping. The only objects not directly

associated with a specific simulation are

Stage

G roup

found

Asset

possess

belongs to

Game

belongs to

Skill

has

belongs to

Artefac t

requires

Figure 3: Relationship between key LAVA data types.

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artefacts; these are related to stages in a many to

one mapping, meaning, like all other objects,

they only exist in a single simulation.

• Artefacts are items that students can find in an

excavation. They have basic and detailed

descriptions, a find skill, an information skill,

and a difficulty level for each of those skills.

The find skill is the skill required to locate the

artefact; by default this is digging, but the

mechanism provides scope for artefacts that are

too fragile or difficult to be excavated by

anyone without a specific skill. Finding an

artefact automatically reveals its basic

description. The information skill is the skill

required to get the detailed description of an

artefact. If the artefact is found by someone

without this skill level, then only the basic

information is made available.

• Assets are people or items that help with the

excavation. Three core classes of asset are used;

accommodation, equipment and people.

Accommodation is not directly used to help

with the excavation, but is required in order for

the excavation to proceed (this not only includes

tents, but also items such as pots and pans, food,

etc.). Equipment objects help directly with the

excavation and require a person with the

relevant skill to use them (for example, shovels,

trowels, dental equipment). People are the

workers excavating the site. Equipment and

people both have a single skill and associated

skill level, although there are plans for people to

have multiple skills in later revisions.

• Groups are the objects to which students are

associated, and are used to keep track of the

number of days spent on the excavation so far,

original and remaining budget, assets bought

and hired, and artefacts found.

• Skills are a name string, and are used to store

the authoritative list of skills that equipment and

people involved in the excavation can have.

• Stages store the maps to be shown to students as

they progress through the excavation, as well as

an explanation of what tasks the next part of the

excavation involves (for example, clearing

topsoil). These also have a list of skills that are

required in order for the task to be completed,

for example a survey skill is required for a

group to progress past the first stage.

5 RELATED WORK

The potential for computers to be used in the

teaching of archaeology and related disciplines has

been widely recognised. Not only has software been

developed to allow students to gain an appreciation

of spatial relationships within a site through the

development of virtual walkthroughs based on a

series of site photographs (Raynier 2006), but it has

also been used to allow students to practice their

ability to interpret the material culture they may see

within a site (Goodrick and Earl 2003). Other

software projects have focussed on the use of

VRML (Wikipedia 2007) and its successor X3D

(Web3D 2007), which have been widely used in the

field as the toolset with which to reconstruct

archaeological sites. The reconstruction of Avebury,

an important Mesolithic site discussed in (ACRG

2006) and (Pitts 2001) shows how successful VRML

reconstructions can be. Additionally VRML has

also been used in museum display reconstructions

(Terras 2006).

Unlike LAVA, these types of reconstruction, as

well as those used in popular television series such

as Time Team (Channel4 2006), are static

representations of archaeological scenes and as such

cannot be easily modified by educators or students.

Whilst they are constructed using data from real

world archaeological excavations, in much the same

way as the LAVA simulators, they are difficult to

integrate with other types of archaeological data, and

show only a single, static representation of an

excavation site.

6 CONCLUSION

In this paper we have presented the motivation for

the design and implementation aspects of a computer

games approach to exploratory learning. The domain

we have operated in is archaeology, but we believe

that the approach taken is applicable to a number of

other domains, including geography and history.

The system integrates 3D game engines with 2D

exploratory interfaces, document management

systems and a novel VLE that provides support for

group-based working. The combination of these

technologies with digital resources sourced from real

excavations allows us to provide an engaging,

realistic and pedagogically sound environment for

enhancing students’ learning of archaeology.

An initial prototype implementation of the

LAVA software platform has been developed and

trialled within an accredited University Degree

program. More rigorous evaluation of the LAVA

platform is currently ongoing, and we are actively

pursuing the opportunity to evaluate the

effectiveness of the LAVA platform in alternative

educational domains: Of particular interest are the

fields of geography and geology owing to their

potential for virtual fieldwork.

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