Overview:
Learners will work in a brewing workshop, where they will be attempt to go from beginning home brewer, to advanced and award winning brew master. They will be given the necessary equipment and ingredients along the way to create the perfect brew. It will be their responsibility to assemble the equipment properly, and to use the ingredients properly.
Target Audience:
The game can be used by anyone with an interest in brewing beer and in beer in general. For me personally, I’d like this game to be used as a training tool at the craft beer bar I currently work at.
Objectives:
- Use previously gathered knowledge to successfully assemble brewing equipment and subsequently use brewing ingredients appropriately.
- Comprehend how to use all of the equipment and ingredients, in order to virtually create a great tasting beer.
- Continue to create better and better beer, using more advanced equipment, and more complicated ingredients.
Materials:
Users will only need a computer and Internet access.
Procedure:
Learners will be given a basic set of brewing equipment and ingredients. They will have to assemble the equipment and combine the ingredients in the proper order, in order to create a drinkable beer. As they successfully create different beers, they will be given new equipment and new ingredients with which to brew. Their end goal will be to eventually create a beer that wins them the title of “best beer” from a virtual panel of judges at a virtual beer festival.
PICK A SEAT
1. Pacing: What is the pace of your lesson or game? Who will go first?
The pacing of my game will be up to the learner. It’s a first person, self-paced, task completion oriented game. It is entirely up to the user for how often and how quickly they progress in the game. However, if I were using this game to help teach fellow employees at my bar more about beer and the beer making process, I may want to create a timeline for how quickly I want each learner to progress. This timeline could coincide with the Cicerone Certificate program we are all required to participate in. The Cicerone program has 3 levels. I could design my game around those levels, and have the two coincide, in order to create a more immersive learning experience for the employees.
2. Instructions: How will your learners learn how to play your game?
My learners will learn to play the game through trial and error. The brewing process in real life is a process of trial and error, and I’d like my game to follow that same methodology. There will be prompts along the way, in order to help direct the learner in the right direction, but for the most part it will be up to them to experiment with what does and does not work.
3. Controls: What will the learners manipulate in your game?
The game will be on a computer, and as such the learners will manipulate basic keyboard commands. It will mostly revolve around simple clicks of the mouse.
4. Knowledge: What do you expect your learners to know when they enter the game? What do you want them to learn from this game based lesson? What do you expect them to know when they leave?
In order to obtain a job where I work, once must already have an above average knowledge of beer and the brewing process. As such, this game will be designed for those at an intermediate level. I want my learners to learn about all the intricacies of brewing beer. While people can learn about beer without knowing how it’s actually made, they will never truly understand all there is to know about it, until they know where it comes from. By learning each and every facet about the process of brewing beer, the learner’s overall knowledge of beer itself will grow immensely. When they are finished with my game, I want them to have an advanced knowledge of the brewing process and beer itself. After playing my game, they should be able to go to a store, obtain all the materials and ingredients needed, put them together, and brew a good tasting beer.
5. Achievements: What are the short term and long term victories for the learner? How do you incorporate operant conditioning in your lesson?
The short-term victories for the learner will be receiving new equipment and better ingredients. The long-term victories will include gaining a great understanding of beer and the brewing process. I would incorporate operant conditioning into my lesson a few ways. The most obvious example is the reward of receiving new equipment or better ingredients for successfully creating a beer. An example of negative reinforcement I could incorporate would be having the learner’s mash tun boil over if they make a mistake at that point in the brewing process.
6. Story: What is the immersive story or background information that brings the learner deep into your world?
The story that immerses my learner in this game is that of an aspiring brewer. One would start out as a simple home brewer, and it would be their task to work their way up to award winning brew master. They’d get a chance to visit different places all over the world, to learn about all the different ways people brew beer. With each successfully brewed beer, they’d be given a new ingredient and/or piece of equipment, and then be tasked with making a better beer.
7. Endgame: Who is the evil boss character they have to fight at the end? What is the final outcome? Is there an ending to your game?
The evil boss they will have to face will be a taste panel. Their goal will be to enter a world beer tasting challenge, and have their beer win an award in any of a number of categories. Once they’ve won the ultimate prize, the game is over, but it doesn’t prevent them from continuing to experiment.
8. Assessment: What are the built in assessments to your game?
The built in assessments are tastings they must submit their beer to along the way. Each time they complete a beer, they will be required to submit it to a taste panel. The panel will provide feedback on the quality of the beer. The feedback will be detailed so the learner understands what they did wrong, and how to improve upon it the next time.
9. Timing: What is the overall time you have to play this game and how do you adjust to make the game go faster or slower?
The overall time of the game is up to the user. Depending on how quickly they want to learn, and how much they want to immerse themselves in the brewing world, will determine how much time they dedicate to the game.
10. Fun and Motivation: Why is this game fun and why would your learners like this game? What motivation theory does your lesson address? What operant conditions are in place?
The game is fun because it allows a person to step into the shoes of a brewer, without actually having to go through the trouble of purchasing a bunch of brewing equipment. This way, a person can learn all about brewing in a virtual world, and in the end if they decide they don’t really like it, they’ve now saved a bunch of money that they would have otherwise spent on real equipment; and saving money is fun. I also just think it’s a unique idea, and a fun way to learn more about beer. I think this game motivates people through incentive, with the incentive being one of two things. Either, it helps you get a promotion at our work place, and/or it teaches you how to brew on your own, which brings it’s own rewards to the table.