feast of proportions
agential learning through games
tyler beatty
Project Description
Games create playful spaces to explore within the real world. This installation is made up of three interactive elements that provoke questions on how playful spaces can open up possibilities for learning. The first piece uses a camera and body detection software to allow participants to uncover a hidden virtual world. The second piece uses a 3D-printed, orientation-detecting cube to explore prompts on different aspects of playful spaces that support learning. The final piece demonstrates the augmented-reality game Feast of Proportions. The game comprises a 3D-printed game board with a microcontroller to detect marker placement. The tablet devices track the game board to overlay virtual game objects. The game challenges players to engage in collaborative resource management to collect resources in the game geography.
The installation draws on Thi Nguyen's notion of the aesthetics of agency, aiming to create opportunities for engaging in actions, capacities, and solutions. It suggests games as a model for learning to engage students in new agencies, forming new habits, and reinforcing existing habits. Games have the potential to orientate players into new roles as researchers, creators, problem-solvers, or problem-definers.
BIO
Tyler Beatty is an interactive experience designer specializing in learning and extended reality technology. His research explores the intersection of games and learning. He believes meaningful learning happens beyond content knowledge and that games can be tools for learning habits, practices, and multiple ways of being. After a decade of teaching math, science, programming, and design at the middle and high school levels, Tyler is excited for a career in the design of impactful experiences.