PHILOSOPHY / DESIGN GOALS

Synthetic Characters
The most unique aspect of Sole Survivor is its use of synthetic characters to demonstrate certain psychological concepts. By doing so, the player is able to observe and interact with human psychological phenomena in ways that are otherwise impossible in real life. Such interaction also offers a rare opportunity to illustrate and compare competing psychological theories.

Dual Structure of Gameplay
There are two divisions of gameplay in Sole Survivor; “Task Completion” and “Exploration”. Concepts illustrated during task completion will often be encountered later during exploration, and vice versa. This will help reinforce one’s understanding of particular psychological principles by exposing the player to phenomena both within and outside of an instructional/laboratory context.

Reflexivity
Many of the game’s most memorable moments (and learning experiences) involve Dr. Roboto’s unsolicited comments which serve to draw connections between the psychological phenomena observed by the player and the player’s own behavior during gameplay. Often these moments are a result of the “Dual Structure” discussed above, whereby theories are initially introduced during task completion and later demonstrated by the player herself during exploration. In addition, in Sole Survivor the player simultaneously assumes the roles of both researcher and test subject, whether she is aware of this or not. For example, in a number of tasks the player uses classical conditioning techniques on human prototypes to alter their behavior. Later, during later exploration it becomes clear that she herself has also been subject to such conditioning by her alien captors.

Immersion in Narrative
What makes Sole Survivor a potentially useful learning tool is its ability to support learning in psychology without one feeling as though they are being taught. By weaving both explicit and seemingly coincidental knowledge acquisition into the equivalent of a “page-turning” story, the player ideally becomes so intent on finding out what will happen next that learning simply becomes a byproduct of her efforts to do so. The truth the player seeks should, therefore, be revealed in such a way that she always feels as though she has just about figured it out and is therefore compelled to continue playing. In addition, tasks must only occupy the player so long that they continue to be considered a means of continuing the story, rather than a prolonged interruption of it.

PEDAGOGY
Overview
Sole Survivor uses a learning through play metaphor to support learning. We see the game serving as an introduction to new content, a new way of exploring ideas, and deepening understanding, or a fun way of studying for a test. To some extent, the game can be seen as a virtual experimentation lab where players can explore human psychology without the deleterious effects on human behavior.

Principles

A Virtual Experimentation Lab
In the task levels, players literally conduct classic experiments on prototypes. In this regard, the experiments resemble closed-ended inquiry activities in science education, where the player is doing classic experiments to see the results. In Sole Survivor, players learn about classic psychology principles and experiments by experimenting on prototypes. Later, players become the proverbial rats in the maze, being experimented on by the aliens. In both cases, Dr. Roboto makes connections between the game phenomena and “educational” phenomena.

Introducing new vocabulary
Much of what is covered in psychology is giving labels and names to common phenomena. In Sole Survivor, Dr. Roboto connects names and labels to go with specific phenomena. Other times, this terminology is revealed through mission structures.

Experiential Learning and Reflexivity
Sole Survivor operates under the assumption that psychology is most deeply understood when experienced first hand. Therefore, we have sought whenever possible to put the player in the position of the “experimented upon” allowing them to experience conditioning, perception studies, or cognitive dissonance.

Known pedagogical challenges and /or misconceptions
- Punishment vs. negative reinforcement
- The nature of different kinds of psychological theories

Assessment
Sole Survivor will track players’ behaviors and provide teachers reports on what challenges they have finished and how long each task took.