演進式遊戲的內容設計與遊戲行為之研究：以Strike Up遊戲為例

Abstract

本研究透過文獻分析，將遊戲的本質分成練習式、格鬥式、簡單對抗、演進式及情節式遊戲，研究者實際發展一個演進式遊戲-Strike Up，並探討遊戲的設計原則，以協助遊戲設計者與教育工作者設計符合自身教學內容的遊戲。研究結果顯示，遊戲內容設計原則包括：1.團隊成員分組需注意條件對等性、2.以多元的配對方式增加遊戲的競合性、3.以不同層級的複雜度設計適合所有的玩者、4.讓玩者可以自由決定遊戲的困難度、5.以功能牌設計讓玩者更具選擇性及6.以小組分組合作增進玩者的互動性。 本研究進一步以資優班及普通班學生各24位為研究對象，總計觀察48位玩者在Strike Up遊戲中的遊戲行為，並歸納遊戲行為的類型。Strike Up遊戲可觀察之遊戲行為包括數字牌計算行為與功能牌決策行為，其中計算行為與玩者的認知策略有關，包括隨機值、最大值、接近值與最佳值行為；而功能牌決策則與玩者的社會行為有關，包括攻擊行為、濟弱扶傾行為、協防自己與協防隊友行為。 本研究並探討不同班級屬性、性別、競合性分組及數學能力對等性分組等相關變項在遊戲行為的差異。研究結果顯示，資優班玩者在數字牌計算的認知策略方面顯著優於普通班玩者；不同性別玩者在遊戲行為上並沒有顯著差異；「二對二對二」競合分組玩者在功能牌決策的社會行為方面顯著優於「三對三」競合分組玩者；「強對強」與「弱對弱」對等性分組玩者的遊戲行為表現普遍優於「強對弱」不對等分組玩者。The purpose of this research is to investigate content design principles in educational games by developing an evolutionary game Strike Up as the research tool. With an extensive literature review, the author divided games into five categories, including drill& practice, combat, contextual scenario, evolutionary, and contest games. Research results led to the discovery of the following design principles in educational games: (1) Equilibrium: well-balanced game rules and content design to promote equilibrium among competing teams; (2) Competition: diversified player cooperation/competition modes to enhance engagement; (3) Complexity: adjustable game complexity to reflect player capacity; (4) Difficulty: adjustable game difficulty to accommodate players with varying abilities; (5) Flexibility: design of Function Cards to create ever-changing game dynamics; (6) Interaction: team work to facilitate player interaction Forty-eight elementary students, including 24 talented program students and 24 regular program students, were invited to participate in the research. The author observed how the students played the game Strike Up and categorized the player behavior into two types: arithmetic operation using the Number Cards, and decision-making process using the Function Cards. Players’ arithmetic operation was influenced by their cognitive strategies, which were applied to create math equations to arrive at a random, maximum, approximate, or ideal number. On the other hand, players’ decision-making in using the Function Cards was associated with their social behaviors such as attack, assistance, self or collective defense. The author also analyzed the effect of class characteristics, gender, competition mode, and team equilibrium of player’s mathematical ability on player behavior. Research results showed that students from gifted program performed better in leveraging cognitive strategies when they used Number Cards in the game. Results also indicated that the effect of gender on player behavior was not statistically significant. Students who competed in three teams of two were better at using Function Cards than those who competed in two teams of three. Students’ player behavior generally improved when they competed with evenly-matched rather than mismatched teams.