tale of two gaming libraries

Down and out at the LOEX conference, gaming was one of the main themes, or at least among the more popular themes of discussion.  How are libraries incorporating games and gaming platforms into the curriculum?  That is the burning question, infofreaks.  There were several sessions devoted to this.  Not only are libraries developing collections of games of varying formats and consoles, but few are going so far as to develop the games themselves.  Games that involve the blatant or even the more subtle inclusion of information literacy fundamentals and lessons.  I attended two sessions discussing the process of game design and creation, varying by platform and genre.  While varying in scope and delivery, both reiterated the point of being well prepared for the sheer chaos destined to ensue when even conceiving of a potential game for patrons.

First, a very ambitious project from two very ambitious designers, modders, librarians at the University of Calgary.  Jerremie and Chris over at HardPlay have taken their passion for first person shooters and melded information literacy principles into their mod of the popular Half Life 2, called Benevolent Blue. We got to play some samples of the mod, and like any shooter, us librarians reveled at the freedom of inflicting pain on patrons with delinquent charges.  Still in the development stages, they’ve done an amazingly good job of recreating the physical layout of their own library in the game.  I needn’t emphasize how important information literacy principles are, especially in a dystopian state of mind. Their question: can the FPS be a draw for learning info literacy skills?

Secondly, the library at Arizona State University at the West took a different track (thought no less ambitious), platform wise, with their game Quarantined.  Bee Gallegos from ASU gave a good talk about the process her colleagues went through from start to finish.  High costs, hiring programmers/designers, drafting storylines, the whole sobering ball of digitized loathing involved.  The storyline revolves around a viral outbreak affecting the campus and the intrepid hero, Axl Wise, who must research her way out of the mystery.  Created via flash, this game visually approximates the genre popularized by titles such as Animal Crossing.  Not as action packed, but perhaps with more instructional focus.

It’s no surprise these types of games were undertaken by larger libraries at larger institutions, but suffice it to say, owning a gaming collection for students is one thing; creating a game for the curriculum is another.  Ya need a big-time plan, programmers with time to give, geeks with fortitude and a lot of thinking space, and most of all, the time and money to move forward.  And who knows how it will be received or even played? An enviable and admirable endeavor nonetheless.