Borrowing from film and filmmaking styles, techniques and devices that manipulate spectators' attention and experience, this paper proposes an approach to inform design of games and gameplay to manipulate player's focus of attention and encourage contemplation -in design features, characters, story elements, etc. or even break the player's engaged attention in the game/virtual world altogether -to provide meaning, experience and opportunities for learning. Focusing on film styles alternative to the continuity style of Hollywood filmmaking, we discuss examples of design for contemplative gameplay in game-based learning environments/serious games, machinima and augmented and mixed reality games in previous, current and future projects. We propose that one goal of game design is to establish a rhythm between contemplation and engagement, and the appropriate rhythm is determined largely by a game's genre, platform and/or narrative.
IntroductionWhile there's on-going criticism outlining the differences between film and video games, game design continues to successfully draw upon cinematic techniques for creative inspiration and to enhance player engagement and experience. Engagement is commonly used to describe a positive characteristic of virtual and game environment and other interactive digital media design and is commonly associated with terms like agency, immersion, presence and flow. Implied in these terms is that users' focus of attention is directed towards pursuing objectives (e.g. to play, learn, or be entertained, etc.). Engagement provides opportunities for user/player experience and it has been commonly argued that conversely, disruptions may interrupt user/player attention and consequently disrupt their experience. _____________________________ † email: {tmarsh, idmliuw, cnmcp, adriancheok} @nus.edu.sg ‡ email: {michael.nitsche, jay.bolter} @lcc.gatech.eduOne early approach that aims to be antidote to disruptive interaction and so can inform design for engagement is the concept of transparency. Transparency has long been central to informing design of computer-based applications to help maintain users'/players' focus of attention in pursuing objectives, for instance in the design discipline of human-computer interaction (HCI). Much attention has been focused on transparency and similar concepts informing interface design [e.g. Holzblatt et al.