"Enriching vocabulary, one word at a time."

Authors

Competing Products | Motivational Issues | Design Process | References

Overview

With the advent of the Internet and portable gaming consoles, egames have become more prevalent and accessible. One particular category of egames that continues to grow is casual games (Pop Cap, 2007). Word games make up one of the largest genres in the casual game category and come in many forms, including letter arrangement, linguistic recreations, and semantic based.

We were given the challenge of creating a spelling or grammar game that would fit into the category of casual games, yet would provide the user with the opportunity to narrow an associated learning gap . We chose the content area of homophones: words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings. Due to the different spelling, these types words are the ones with the most usage issues. “Their, there, and they're” is a great example of a common usage error. We believe these errors are compounded by the increasing use of “fast” communication (e.g. text messaging, instant messaging, and email) and the heightened sense of workplace urgency. In order to create an environment of practice that improves performance in a rapid typing environment, a game with speed elements is beneficial. Our design incorporates speed elements as well as recognition, semantic and differentiation elements. We decided that a foundation of linguistic recreation would be a good starting point for designing an engaging word game that has these elements.

Our program, Textris (Text Tetris), is a game that combines fill-in-the-blank and drag-and-drop features with elements derived from the popular casual game, Tetris. The twist? Instead of falling blocks, the user encounters falling sentences which contain missing homophones. The player must eliminate the sentences by inserting the correct word before the sentences stack too high. This game could be created for any platform, from the hand-held device (shown below) to the personal computer. Homonyms, homographs and heteronyms are some of the variations that could be used in future editions.

Click below for working prototypes of our game:

(Press 'Refresh' or F5 if the animation has stopped.)

Version 1-Beginner:

Version 2-Advanced:

Instructional Objective

Textris will improve the learner's English vocabulary by practicing homographs in context. The words encountered will be those documented as common errors in adult written communication, such as email and text messaging. In addition to selecting appropriate homophones, learners will gain expertise in identifying their own common errors.

More specifically:
Given a sentence with a missing word, the gamer we be able to select (click and drag) the appropriate homophone in the time allotted from those provided.
Since this is a game, there are changing conditions based on the level of play:

Beginner: The gamer selects the correct answer from a list of three possible choices
Advanced: The gamer must select the correct answer from a larger (as many as 12) list of options.
Both: The time allotted decreases as the play progresses.

Future iterations:

Currently, there are a number of developers creating applications for the Nintendo DS for the same adult target audience as Textrix. Games such as Brain Age, Brain Age 2, Big Brain Academy and My Word Coach are examples. The handwriting recognition feature available on this platform is great for an older audience and may add a level of realism not currently available on other platforms, With handwriting recognition, it would be possible to ask gamers to write in the correct answer as opposed to selecting from the available options. The dual screen format would allow display of the falling sentences on one screen, and a text entry form on the other.This would better reflect real world situations.

Learners

Textris is designed for any adult who has found him/herself making repetitive, sometimes embarrassing grammatical errors in written correspondence.

This game benefits virtually any adult but is most appropriate for individuals who depend on written communication at work.

Learners need a basic level of expertise in English usage to benefit from the game, but those with higher levels of expertise can also decrease their error rate.

In addition to a desire to reduce grammatical errors, the learner should enjoy word games, search challenges and deciphering clues.

It is interesting to note that females make up the largest portion of casual game players, especially word games. Casual game statistics and player demographics include:

Casual game demographics

PopCap survey on casual game use

Demographic and statistical information on casual games and those who play them

Context of Use

The game can be played virtually anywhere via a hand-held device such as a Palm Pilot or Nintendo DS. A bank of challenges (i.e. questions) is available for playing more than once. Additionally, the game could be used as a supplement to a class or stand-alone.

Scope

There are 30 levels and hundreds of random sentences. The length of game play is dependent on the user. Game progress may be saved and continued at a later date.

Object of the Game

The object of Textris is to clear the sentences before they reach the bottom of the screen. Once there, they stack up. If the sentences pile up to the top of the screen, the game ends. The goal is to try and complete as many levels as possible and gain the highest score.

Design Details

Game Flow

Entrance - The learner opens the game. They are greeted with a title screen that has three buttons:

Welcome Screen

Play - The learner is given a choice to play the easier version or the more difficult version. The learner makes their choice by clicking on the desired option which starts the game:
Those who have saved a game in progress will be given the option to continue that game
Instructions - The learner gets a basic description of the game, the object of the game and the rules of play and allowable actions.
Options - A screen containing 'About' information as well as the ability to control the sound options.

Game - The learner plays the game until they have reached the last level or the sentences stack to the top, resulting in a "Game Over" screen. The learner is then returned to the title screen.

Exit - learners are allowed to exit at anytime. Learners will have the opportunity to save the game in progress or discard it.

In-game Interaction

What the game does -

Beginner version - Sentences appear randomly from the top of the screen. Each sentence falls from the top of the screen at a constant rate of speed toward the bottom. Sentences have one or more blanks where the proper homophone should be entered. The corresponding word possibilities for a sentence hover directly below it. Unsolved sentences will stack on top of each other as they reach the bottom of the screen. When the stack of sentences pile up to the top of the screen, the game is over.
Advanced version - Sentences appear randomly from the top of the screen. Each sentence falls from the top of the screen at a constant rate of speed toward the bottom. Sentences have one or more blanks where the proper homophone should be entered. At the bottom of the screen there is a field where available words randomly appear, disappear and reappear continuously. A line above this field represents the 'bottom' of the screen for the sentences. Unsolved sentences will stack on top of each other as they reach the bottom. When the stack piles up to the top of the screen, the game is over.

What the player does -

Beginner version - With a stylus or mouse, the learner must correctly fill in the blank(s) of a sentence by dragging and dropping one of the words hovering below the sentence. This will make the sentence disappear. Learners may also eliminate sentences that are stacking up.
Advanced version - With a stylus or mouse, the learner must correctly fill in the blank(s) of a sentence by dragging and dropping one of the words from the field at the bottom. This will make the sentence disappear. Learners may also eliminate sentences that are stacking up.

Scoring

Points for eliminating a sentence are determined by its position on the screen and how many blanks the sentence has. A sentence's point value drops as the sentence drops on the screen; a completed sentence near the top of the screen is worth more (100 points) than one near the bottom (10 points). Each level increases the points awarded by 50%.
A bonus is rewarded for multiple correct answers:
- 2 Correct answers in a row - 10 bonus pts.
- 3 Correct answers in a row - 20 bonus pts.
- 4 Correct answers in a row - 30 bonus pts.
- 5 Correct answers in a row - 50 bonus pts.
- 6 Correct answers in a row - 70 bonus pts.
- 7 Correct answers in a row - 100 bonus pts.
- 8 Correct answers in a row - 150 bonus pts. (150 bonus is the most someone can earn for correct in a row).
A bonus is also rewarded for the number correct in a row based on speed:
- 3 Correct in 4 seconds - 100 bonus pts.
- 5 Correct in 8 seconds - 150 bonus pts.
- 10 Correct in 15 seconds - 300 bonus pts.
An additional bonus is rewarded for any remaining time after the level is completed to promote speed (Timer x level #).
Points are deducted for incorrect answers (-50 points).

Levels

Level 1 is 50 sentences. Levels increase by 10 sentences. There are 30 levels.
Level 1 sentences take 15 seconds from top to bottom. Speed increases exponentially in subsequent levels.

Harder version - words in the bottom pane will continuously cycle, appearing and disappearing. In level 1, words stay visible and active for 7.5 seconds. Speed increases exponentially in subsequent levels.

Words missed in the current level are added to the next level.
Sentences will be categorized from easy to difficult based on word difficulty and number of blanks in one sentence.

Other game elements

A difficult 'bomb' (red or other distinguishing color or feature) sentence occurs randomly. The correct answer destroys sentences lurking on the bottom of the screen.
A difficult 'freeze' (ice blue or other distinguishing color or feature) sentence occurs randomly will freeze the screen momentarily allowing the user to complete other sentences while the screen is frozen.
A difficult '?' (green or other distinguishing color or feature) sentence occurs randomly for random bonus points (10-100).

Look and Feel

The interface of the game is simple. It uses muted, deep coloring and minimalist, subtle geometric designs. The intent is to create a graphically calming and pleasing look that won't distract the user from the game play. There is a slightly photorealistic, metallic quality to the graphics. A simple border bounds the playing field. Backgrounds are light and solid. Being a textually based game, this helps produce the highest contrast for enhanced readability - light text on dark background or dark text on light background. Clickable words are distinguished by a different background or opposing font color. Clicked and dragged words are emphasized by either a color change or bolding of the font.

More extensive coloring schemes are used in the reward scheme. Points, bonuses, congratulatory elements, celebratory elements, etc. are built and displayed with bright, bold colors.

All coloring should be uniform and complimentary.

Text

Font = Sans Serif (e.g. Verdana, Ariel, Tahoma); no bolding or italics.

Font size = 8 - 12 for smaller screens; 12-16 for larger screens.

Main color = Text colors should either compliment the darkest or lightest theme elements. Even though the highest contrasting should be observed, avoid black, greys, and white.

Technical Elements

Authoring: The game could be authored in Macromedia Flash. The game could also be programmed in Java or C++. Any authoring or programming would need to pull from a database of content.
Platform(s): Nintendo DS, computer with mouse, or other handheld devices with touchscreen capability.
Game dimensions: will range depending on devise from 200px X 300px for small handhelds to 600px X 800px for computer screens.
Resolution: 72ppi, GIF Adaptive 256.
File formats: Graphics - GIF Sound - WAV or MP3.

Competing Products

Homograph Jeopardy: Homographs are words with more than one definition. Guess which homograph is being described. Example: something used with a hammer OR part of your finger or toe. Answer: nail.

Interactive homophone quiz: Read the sentences to yourself. Decide which of the homophones will correctly complete the sentence. Click on the correct answer. Click submit when you are finished. Your test will be graded for you.

Skillwise homophone game: Can you match the words that sound the same, but are spelled differently and have different meanings? A Concentration/memory type game.

Homonym pop-ups: Sentences with a drag down menu of possible homophones.

Speedword: You have ten seconds to spell out the homophone of a given word.

Motivational Issues

The beginning levels of Textris are easy and slower-paced so the user can become familiar with the software and tools required to manipulate the text. Once the user gains confidence, they can begin the game at a higher level of difficulty.

Rich vocabulary is essential to everyone, from the third grader to the wordsmith. Being able to decipher homophones is a crucial aspect of literate people. Homophone errors cannot be found by computer spell-checkers, thus the knowledge must be inherent. Textris will reinforce the encoding of the homophone information through rehearsal.

"The integration of new information from working memory into long-term memory is called encoding. Encoding requires active processing of the information into working memory. The active processing that takes place in working memory is called rehearsal. Finally, just getting new knowledge and skills encoded into long-term memory is not enough. Later, when back on the job, the learner must be able to retrieve those skills from long-term memory back into working memory. Without this retrieval, learning fails to transfer (Clark and Mayer, 2003, p.36)."

The satisfaction of building homophone knowledge vocabulary is the objective of this egame, but it is also important to keep the learner interested. Songs and animations will engage the user during gameplay to disguise the learning aspect of the game. Textris will include a competitive scoring system and varied gameplay to add to the motivation. This shall include:

High scores table, locally and connected to an online community.
A sentence's point value drops as the sentence drops; a completed sentence near the top of the screen is worth more than one at the bottom. (See scoring)
A bonus is rewarded for multiple correct answers. (See scoring)
A bonus for any remaining time after the level is completed to promote speed. Points deducted for incorrect answers. (See scoring)
Connectivity for head-to-head competition locally or via the Internet.
This egame will follow the principles of the John Keller’s ARCS model:
Attention - Users will be drawn to the game with a colorful splash screen and music.

Relevance – Rich vocabulary is essential to everyone, from the third grader to the wordsmith. Being able to decipher homophones is a crucial aspect of literate people. Homophone errors cannot be found by computer spell-checkers, thus the knowledge must be inherent.

Confidence – The beginning levels of Textris are intentionally easy and slower-paced so the user can become familiar with the software and whatever tools are required to manipulate the text. Once the user gains confidence, they can begin the game at a higher level of difficulty.

Satisfaction – The satisfaction of building homophone knowledge vocabulary is the objective of this egame. Songs and animations will engage the user during gameplay to disguise the learning aspect of the game. Between levels a comical animation will appear, motivating the user to continue on.

Conditions of Flow

This game keeps the learner in the Flow Channel by using relevant sentence structure (Skills). As the user's skill increases so does the sentence structure and the opportunity to score more points.

As the game progresses, the sentences fall at a greater rate increasing anxiety for the user (Challenge).

This game benefits virtually any adult but is most appropriate for individuals who depend on written communication. This game gives the user opportunities to practice using homophones in context, but also challenges them by increasing the speed of the falling sentences and increasing the level of vocabulary used in the sentences.

"One cannot enjoy doing the same thing at the same level for long. We grow either bored or frustrated; and then the desire to enjoy ourselves again pushes us to stretch our skills, or to discover new opportunities for using them ( Csikszentmihalyi, 1990)."

Design Process

Initially Rob began working on this as a solo project. He thought about creating a web-based game similar to ones you see on Quia.com. However, he wanted to also explore the possibility of using Second Life to enhance the experience. Rob decided on creating a Jeopardy-style game that had a "Homograph Hunt" associated with it. The user would choose a category from a game board and read their clue. They would then have to transport somewhere in Second Life, find the associated homograph and take a photo of it for assessment. About this time Dale and Lance joined the team. We discussed the fact that the hunt really didn't reinforce the learning and it was time consuming. Lance then came up with this powerful new design we have today, which we aptly named "Textris." The portability of this egame makes it a winning concept. We have collaborated extensively to talk about the look and feel of the egame; levels, point system, sounds, manipulation, database, etc. We have also discussed at length theories regarding the instructional value of the game.

Our Theory

Adults make homonym errors when words sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meaning (homophones). Many adults do not have issues with homophones when they take their time to write carefully. It is when they are put in stressful or pressure situations that homophone usage breaks down. Examples of these situations include email, text messaging, chatting, deadlines or last minute writing tasks. We believe that homophone mistakes are more prevalent in these situations where adults are forced to produce prose quickly and word usage is produced in an almost involuntary fashion.

Adults need to form a habit of using the proper homophone at the proper time. As they practice at increasing speeds within context, it is our theory proper usage will also increase.

The following is a string of emails that illustrate how our ideas evolved (Note: These are unedited email conversations, errors may exist.):

Rob to Dale and Lance:

I found a website that creates games, you just add the content. They even have a 30 day free trial. Here is an example of a homograph game:
http://www.quia.com/cb/8285.html

Do you two have any ideas bouncing around? I thought of trying to do something in Second Life, but it is difficult to assess learning there.

Rob to Dale and Lance:

I think I found a way to tie this into Second Life. I could create a giant game board (eBoard) game with different prims along a path, or a Jeopardy type board. When an Avatar touched a certain prim they would be given a notecard with their homograph and a sentence describing it,
they would also be given a landmark. The Avatar would then have to transport to that landmark and "hunt" for the matching homograph. Once
they found it they would take a snapshot. The snapshots could later be emailed to the teacher for assessment.

Here is what a sample notecard might look like:

*Welcome Homograph Hunter
Here is your homograph: post
Example: The teacher will post (verb) the grades later this semester.
Now go out and find another example of a post (noun) and take a snapshot
of it. Here is a landmark where I spotted one recently: LANDMARK

Return back here when you are finished by teleporting to this landmark:
LANDMARK

Happy Hunting!

OR

*Give the Avatar two definitions and let them figure it out:
*Welcome Homograph Hunter
Here is your clue: A vehicle that moves on tracks OR to teach a
particular skill.

Now venture out and find an example. Once you have found an example,
take a snapshot of it. Here is a landmark where I spotted one recently:
LANDMARK

Return back here when you are finished by teleporting to this landmark:
LANDMARK

Happy Hunting!

The difficulty could be adjusted by placing the landmark further away
from the object to be photographed.

This could be expanded in the future to include homophones, synonyms,
antonyms, etc. For this project I think we should just use one.

Just another idea to bounce around.

Lance to Rob and Dale

I did some looking around last night and looked at some of the example projects. I think we are going to need to design a game that is fairly robust. Adding homonyms, homophones, and heteronyms might do the trick. We can discuss. In the meantime, I found a bunch of websites that correspond. I attached the shortcut html file from my favorites. Hope it works.

Also, as I got thinking about the project ideas we are throwing around, I started some notes on pros and cons and questions

Pros

contextualize words
vocabulary practice

Cons?

Does the scavenger hunt aspect help learners internalize the concept to homographs, homonyms, homophones? Rob's response: Possibly (seeing the object in context).
What is its instructional purpose as related to the instructional objective? Rob's response: None-It is a motivational piece, to bring some fun to the learning.

Questions

Do we want to include homographs, homonyms, and homophones and have the learner differenciate in the game? Rob's response: We could, but that would bump up the scope of this project.
Is the scavenger aspect the only differentiator from competing products? Rob's response: Probably-It is not easy to create a game that has not already been thought of.
Is this game going to just be a quiz? Rob's response: As it stands, the learner is assessed by the pictures they take. There could be a "Race" version to see who could collect the homographs faster and report back to the initial landmark.

Other Ideas

Give them an object (e.g. post i.e. mail), they have to guess the corresponding homograph and find an object for it in SL, etc. (e.g. post i.e. fence post) Robs response: Sounds good, but it would require searching for the needed objects.

Lance and Dale to Rob

In an effort to make a homonym/homograph type game viable in SL, Dale and I discussed and brainstormed and attempted to formulate a viable game scenario in SL as we looked over the design document.

Here are some issues that we would have to work out prior to taking our project into SL. Further below are some alternative ideas for dealing with homonyms.

1. When practicing grammar and usage, I would think lots of repetition with lots of varied examples would be key - can we account for that in SL? With the time it could take searching for things, 5 to 10 homonym pairs could take between 30 - 60 mins. It could take less but it could have that potential. This would distract from the games real intent.
2. Would our target audience be willing to boot up SL for a few minutes of practice on a regular basis?
3. Would we have to have an instructor to check the participants work in SL - is that realistic if we want lots of practice over time? This gets into a discussion of whether or not a game dealing with our proposed content should be stand-alone or not. Dale and I tended to lean towards stand-alone as we reviewed Bernie's description of our egame and what we see out there currently. Doing a stand-alone game in SL presents many issues with evaluating the learner's search efforts.
4. I would think adult learners would want their practice "in context". Can we build something in SL that has participants practicing in realistic scenarios? With the idea the we are trying to improve adult English mastery and performance in the usage of homonyms, etc, it seems that adults are making there mistakes in creating various document types: word files, emails, IMs, wikis. Could a context like these be created?

5. In the last assignment we discussed affordances. Could the same search idea be accomplished outside of SL?

6. Contemplating learners, for SL, our learners would have to be SL users to some extent.

7. How do we account for the fact that English as a Second Language learners may play the game?

8. Considering homonym-type usage, Dale and I felt that adults have issues with words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings (homophones), not with words that are spelled the same and sound the same but have different meanings.

Alternative ideas - These would work on a computer w/mouse or on a devise with a stylus

1. Homonym Drag and Drop - The following variations would pop on the screen one after the other and the learner would have to accomplish challenge as fast as they can. Points awarded for correctness and speed. Different levels increase difficulty

Set of homophones above, corresponding number of sentences with blanks below. Learner drags the words to their correct sentence.
Sentences above, homophones below. Learner drags the sentences to the word that would complete it correctly.
Words above, definitions below. Drag word to correct definition.
Definitions above, words below. Drag definition to correct word.

2. Editing game - Interface would be like an email system of IM program. User would be given IM or email-type texts with varied amounts of homophones. User would have to peruse the text as quickly as they can and correct the homophones used incorrectly and leave the ones that are correct. The text would scroll automatically making text off the screen un available (slow perusers are punished). All available homophones are clickable and can be changed to their counterpart(s) (users could accidentally change one that was correct). Points awarded for number correct and speed. Different levels increase the speed of the scrolling, amount of available homophones and difficulty of text. Levels could be moving your way up in the business organization. The goal is to score a lot of points and become president.

3. Moving Sentences - The interface is sentences moving back and forth or up and down on the screen. Each sentence has a homophone(s). Next to each sentence is a 'correct' icon. User needs to either correct the sentence by clicking on the homophone and 'scrolling' until the correct one show, or click on the 'correct' icon. Points awarded for number correct and speed. Different levels have the sentences harder and moving faster.

4. Homophone Tetris - Two variations:

Sentences with blanks are moving from top to bottom of the screen. On the bottom of the screen, lots of homophone sets are appearing and disappearing. User must choose the correct word from the bottom of the screen to go in the sentence. You must catch the sentence before it disappears. Or, the sentences start to stack up. You can remove the sentences only as the correct words reappear at the bottom. Points awarded for number correct and speed. Different levels increase the speed and difficulty.
Same idea as above but the sentence would have the homophone set right below it as it moved

Rob to Dale and Lance

How about the name "Textris?" (Text Tetris)

Dale to Rob and Lance

This site broke out homophones not by most common errors but by the ones that are most often needed in writing. http://www.all-about-spelling.com/homophones.html . The site offers suggestion for teaching homophones as well but it looks like its based on his class vice research.

In chapter 5 of Clark's "Developing Technical Training" she talks about teaching facts to the remember level which I think this is. The two key elements of teaching facts are "drill and practice" and teaching "in context." I think the drill and practice are accounted for, just need to make sure our sentences are matched to our target audience. I think a bunch of sentences you would see in business correspondence would be good. "Your funding proposal is too late." "Who's responsible for developing the presentation?" Unless of course we aim for another audience - this is just an example.

Prototypes

We have used prototyping to go through a few iterations of our game. The prototypes are pictured above.

References

Books & Journals

Clark, R. and Mayer, R. (2003) e-Learning and the Science of Instruction. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer.

Clark, R. (1999) Developing Technical Training 2nd ed. Silver Spring, MD: ISPI

Thompson, J. (2007). Game Design. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons Inc.

Electronic

An Ode to the Spelling Chequer

"Prays the Lord for the spelling chequer
That came with our pea sea!
Mecca mistake and it puts you rite
Its so easy to ewes, you sea.

I never used to no, was it e before eye?
(Four sometimes its eye before e.)
But now I've discovered the quay to success
It's as simple as won, too, free!

Sew watt if you lose a letter or two,
The whirled won't come two an end!
Can't you sea? It's as plane as the knows on yore face
S. Chequer's my very best friend

I've always had trubble with letters that double
"Is it one or to S's?" I'd wine
But now, as I've tolled you this chequer is grate
And its hi thyme you got won, like mine."

—Janet E. Byford

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Last updated December 1, 2007

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