Introduction - “What kind of Game Maker are you?”

Introduction - “What kind of Game Maker are you?”

A study of the cultural and interpersonal dimensions and evolving tool use of an emerging community of families coding digital games together.

Author Mick Chesterman

Abstract

to come - for now see outline of thesis at the end of chapter

Research Questions - March 2024

What pedagogical tools and processes are available to support novices to overcome barriers to participation in game coding processes?
How can game design patterns support the development of coding practices with novices?
How can learners build agency in an evolving community of game makers?

Introduction to broad context

In this thesis, I explore digital game making as a vehicle for inclusive pedagogy to coding fluency and participation in coding practices. The potential of digital game making is explored in depth in a review by Kafai and Burke [-@kafai_constructionist_2015]. The most prominent learning objective of making games in educational setting is to develop coding and computing skills. There are extensive studies on game making to learn other subjects including maths, biology and chemistry but diverse examples exist. Game making can also develop social skills, self-reflection, cultural awareness and a range of technical abilities that allow participation in information society. They are also a powerful vehicle for exploring issues involving race, sex, social issues [@tekinbas_quest_2010]. While there has been a large body of research on the value and practice of game making for educational purposes, it is a dynamic landscape which has many areas which merit additional research.

In line educational research which highlights the important of learning contexts, my own interest is on the process of the creation and evolution of game making cultures. The development of agency in the participation in game making communities is of particular interest to me. This interest stems in part from my desire to develop learner agency in my wider work on student project-based approaches in higher education and STEM education, and also in part from my past involvement in grass-roots music and campaigning projects. The next section is a summarise the root of this interest through an exploration of my personal context.

Personal context and motivation for undertaking this study

In 1995, the internet seemed to me almost free of corporate messages. It was a space for oddballs, niche enthusiasts and more importantly activists. As someone involved with counter culture and political activism, the growth of the internet offered huge potential. I was involved in the resultant linking of activities of disparate political and cultural groups around gatherings international finance institution (IFIs). I found the, so-called, party and protest movement an inspirational site of learning. My involvement with the movement led me to help develop my internet publishing skills aligning myself with a broad network of media and internet activists centred around the Indymedia project [@pickard_united_2006]. On a personal level, my development as a media activist including but not limited to: graphic design; web page creation; computer programming; video editing; audio-visual events tech; and server maintenance was driven with motivation and support provided by people involved in that scene. As time developed, my activist activities aligned with arts techniques, integrating performance art and activist outreach particularly at film screenings. I enjoyed being part of a wide network of activists embracing playful, performance based actions and activism [@klepto_making_2004; @routledge_sensuous_2012].

The empowerment and education aspect of these networks and new uses of technology was something that I wanted to share with wider networks. I developed a specialism in internet and media creation training and community as paid activity to support my environmental and migrant activism. I set up and ran three media centres. One at an activist social centre, another for Community Arts Northwest and the last for People’s Voice Media in Salford.

In 2011, it was revealed that the activist network I had been involved with were heavily infiltrated by police. While I had been aware of police interest in our work, the extent of these revelations still had a significant impact on me. My role in outreach for this movement became very uncomfortable as I started to feel that participation in this movement came with hidden risks. The ongoing news of police infiltration of activist networks¹, and the use of undercover police staff developing personal relationships with activist to further spy on and disrupt to community², took a heavy toll on my mental health and my world outlook. Our work with social movements to take advantages of new opportunities created in part by community-driven technology to cause societal change had been limited with a response from the state who were far better resourced than we were.

There was a parallel response from corporate sources using similar means. Exemplified by Mark Kennedy / Stone’s move from police to a private firm spying for corporate clients. The challenges were also non-political in nature. The growth of the open web as a means for more egalitarian and non-corporate means of publishing as also being attacked. This process is exemplified by the embrace, extend & extinguish ³ tactic to counter to open source successes.

Partly in response my discomfort from organising around political and environmental issues. I shifted focus towards community work and training and documentation work with international networks and then eventually to informal learning of media creation with young people and families A key vehicle for this work was FLOSS Manuals where I wrote and promoted documentation and online learning resources media creation and and collaborative processes using Free Software. This work gave me access to diverse international networks whose work was informed by participatory and egalitarian methods. One partnership was Mozilla Webmaker education programme. Webmaker involved creating tools and workshops guides with networks of informal educators. The motivation was to involve teens in being web literate through making web products inspired in part by Douglas Rushkoff’s call for everyone to know at least a little bit of coding [@rushkoff_program_2010].

And as we move into an increasingly digital reality, we must learn not just how to use programs but how to make them. In the emerging highly programmed landscape ahead, you will either create the software or you will be the software. It's really that simple: Program, or be programmed. [@rushkoff_program_2010].

This avenue offered a positive way to discuss the politics of independent communications and an empowerment agenda. The rhetoric accompanying the launch of a new curriculum promised the ability to undertake game and media project production as a way to increase learners authentic real-world programming skills through creating authentic projects [@livingstone2010next]. This motivation as well as the reduction in funding for adult education austerity agenda, led me to retrain. I undertook a masters in Computing and then an PGCE in teaching Computing. During my PGCE year I found it challenging to bring in the kind of project based learning techniques to the classroom, a theme explored in this thesis.

I did however manage to create a pilot scheme to teach javascript in playful ways, using Mozilla’s webmaker tools and ethos, which I trialled in the classroom and wrote up as a dissertation and published the results as an addition to the Mozilla’s online teaching resources. While the context of secondary schools within which I trained did not suit creative project based approaches, a new role Manchester Met University role doing community partnerships as part of their EdLab project ⁴ did provide opportunities to pursue this work.

SHIFT The turn to investigate game creation as a creative media project stemmed a consultation with home educators partnership work. To align with the interests of parents and children at the consultation asked if we could lead activities which drew on interest in games like Minecraft to start to do computer coding.

The shift from making web-based media to games made sense given the patch success I had had with web coding pages with school children. Rather than using media to mobilise and feed into social movements, games became a medium to explore and create as a playful educational experience. Both were grounded in self-expression, participatory culture and I was to find out both could use similar technology.

Contextual details aligning with personal motivations

Fluency with the focus on personal expression aligns with motivation of empowerment and equality of access not only to future employment but a broader participation on a digital society. This agenda has parallels with other domains of participatory culture involving music and protest culture that I have been involved in.

In summary, as a Computer teacher candidate I was drawn to the possibilities offered by a new technologies and the shifts in computer pedagogy. In the reality of schools that I taught in working within the constraints of the curriculum, exams and competing pressures for time worked together to prevent the kind of authentic activities that first attracted me.

However, a new position as a project work for EdLab allowed me the ability to explore this outside of the classroom in more innovative programs and partnerships.

Revisiting my overall aim in relation to the process of this chapter and RQs**

The use of new technologies by communities to achieve new aims. New technology can provide communities with tools to leverage new opportunities in a way which gives participants greater agency. Community-based approaches to learning can facilitate this process. The process of learn through undertaking creative media projects is explored in existing PBL literature but more work is needed which share effective practice. This study, in part, explores ways in which how the motivational and navigational affordances of enthusiast game making communities can be brought into more structured educational environments.

Conversely, changes happen within wider systems, which can push back to reverse the desired changes. My story acts as an example of a the kinds of ‘risky’ process of collective agency working on objectives that may run away to involve unforeseen outcomes [@edwards2009systemic, p. 200]. The link with this thesis here is that the process of community change can be rapid and transformational and that greater understanding of the processes involved are of value. On a personal level, while my views on the possibilities of new technology are now tempered with guilt and regret associated with not being wary enough of runaway effects of activities, I want to transcend some of the cultural paralysis my experiences have caused.

Conceptual Context

The utility of understanding projects and socio cultural and activist concepts of activity

In this section I briefly explain CHAT as a suitable choice to explore this research based around a shared project.

I also problematise educational projects beyond the sometimes superficial take on educational project in schools with wider concepts derived from the socio cultural tradition.

While the kind of learning explored in this study may not traditionally be thought of as an activist project, I find synergies between activist conceptions of education and learning and my wider concerns in a modest but achievable way. Specifically as a desire to move beyond curricular and technical concepts of computational thinking to wider concerns based on empowerment [@lee_none_2016].

In addition the wider framework of CHAT is optimistic but realistic in the focus on the possibility of change.

This process links back to my own feelings of entrapment, powerlessness and guilt after being involved with wider activist movements and projects. I want to be able to give detailed tools of critically analysis that do not paralyse but also do not unthinkingly evangelise social change in ways which may be unsafe or unrealistic.

Addressing and disambiguating definitions of agency in education

To effectively answer RQ2 the concept of agency needs disambiguating.

Agency and autonomy have disputed, often inter-related definitions or are often ill defined in studies [@huang_autonomy_2013; @matusov_mapping_2016].

See also feminist reconceptualisations of autonomy as agency[@abrams_autonomy_1998].

Concepts of agency are explored in more depth in chapter three, however a brief definition of agency in relation to informal education and this study is useful to ground the findings of the literature review.

Concepts of facilitating the development of agency in education have diverse threads [@matusov_mapping_2016]. These include: instrumental agency with a focus on developing capacities; effortful agency which enhances motivation and commitment; and authorial agency which involves agentic changes to the learning environment.

Matusov and colleagues critique effortful agency in education as focusing only on achieving goals predefined by educational establishments. Thus this summary focuses deepening an analysis on instrumental and authorial agency in relation to other research on the subject.

Matusov and colleagues (USEFUL BUT COMPLEX) outline many forms of agency to educational concepts. [@matusov_mapping_2016]

The concept of instrumental agency to aid learner control is also useful as a way to reduce friction in learning designs. This more limited conception of agency as a way of getting things done is an attractive concept in designing for learners by designing out obstacles.

Instrumental and relational agency

Instrumental agency reflects a concept of agency as the ability to get things done. Conceptually these practical dimension involve removing aspects of negative liberty caused by technical barriers [@matusov_mapping_2016, p. 433].

In this sometimes technological view of educational environments teachers or facilitators can to increase agency by removing individual barriers to use. However, a more social view of instrumental agency also includes relational aspects where leaners are able to offer and request support [@edwards_steps_2005].

Authorial and transformative agency

Other takes of socio cultural school of research focus less on the individual and more on broader conceptions of activity. Stetsenko places agency in a socio-cultural theory between conceptions of humans as chiefly individualistic or instead as helpless bodies in wider cultural phenomenon
[@stetsenko_critical_2020; @matusov_mapping_2016].

Matusov proposes authorial agency [@matusov_mapping_2016] as the concept of agency most aligned with x

DEFINE

As well as the work on Lave and Wegner on community based conceptions of agency, Matusov bases much of the definition of authorial agency on existing work on transformational agency.

Hopwood’s [-@hopwood_agency_2022] exploration of agency also focuses primarily on transformational agency and relational agency.

Specifically, TAS, TADS

TAS from Stetsenko addresses grand ideas of agency directly. However the authour also grounds these grand ideas in concrete explorations, including play [@stetsenko_serious_2015]

Similarly while TADS addresses lofty ideas of “quote” they can be played out in smaller situations.

In exploring their differences Hopwood x and y.

Transformative agency [@engestrom2006development; @haapasaari_emergence_2016; @sannino_formative_2016].

For the purposes of this study, I agree with the view that the nature of agency as situated in context. Thus we do not say learners have or lack agency, as it is not a learner property independent of context [@nieminen_what_2022].

Context of teaching and learning coding via game making

While there has been a large body of research on the value and practice of game making for educational purposes, it is a dynamic landscape which has many areas which merit additional research. New software tools to make games which offer new pedagogical possibilities emerge regularly. Game playing practices and the opportunities provided by participation in wider communities also continue to evolve. For example, casual and retro games played by both adults and children are increasingly available via smart phones and home consoles. The nostalgia around such games and the associated aesthetics of cuteness creates a potential for connection between younger and older players [@boyle_retro-futurism_2017]. The sustained popularity of retro games together with easy-to-use game making tools and code frameworks provides an entry point for game players into game making cultures which is reflected in the success of amateur games publishing websites like itch.io [@garda_nostalgia_2014].

Overview and motivations of game making (for learning)

The title of Kafai and Burke’s book “Connected Gaming: What Making Video Games Can Teach Us about Learning and Literacy” [@kafai_connected_2016] indicates their desire to mirror Gee’s work around the importance of context and community the process of game making. The structure of the book revolves around studying personal, social and cultural element of game making. In doing so the authours outline motivations for learning to code specifically via game making. Which are in summary:

for intrinsic pleasure of making games or other products
for commercial purposes to join games industry
STEM pipeline in more general terms
for empowerment of individual and health of society

also

- From Kafai's review (not directly) draw on
- personal
- more general / social / 21st C, computational fluency
- more general / social / 21st C,
- Computational Fluency - expression [@bers_coding_2021; @resnick_closing_2001; @resnick_fulfilling_2017]

While this book is rightly regarded a keystone work in this area the coverage of the cultural elements of game making is not as strong as other aspects focusing mainly on studies of diverse participants rather than sharing culturally focused pedagogies.

Context of game making for curricular purposes

The context of many studies of game making to learning either computer science or other subject knowledge in curricular for the most part happens in a school or after school environment.

Computing as a School Subject in the UK

The influential report “Next Gen: Transforming the UK into the world’s leading talent hub for the video games and visual effects industries” was focused on providing the UK games and animation industry with the talent needed to succeed [@livingstone_next_2011]. The top recommendations were to include computer science in core curriculum, introduce a new Computing GCSE (a general exam for 16 year olds before they progress to more specialised study) exam, offer bursaries for computing teachers and to implement well-supported use of games and visual animation in the school curriculum as a way to attract more young people to the subject.

The After the Reboot report [@waite_pedagogy_2017], returned to the subject of game making as a way of increasing engagement in the process of coding. The review highlighted several areas of promise which needed more research: using games for engagement, use of design patterns - a term explored later in this chapter - and the involvement of girls in coding and social and cultural aspects of coding. The “After the Reboot” report also contained concerning observations. The report found that girls, ethnic minorities, and students of lower socio-economic status were all less likely to take computing as a subject at GCSE level. Game making aligns well with the principles of inclusive practices and project-based learning (PBL). It provides: learner choice in projects which increases motivation; authentic and shareable project outcomes to encourage peer feedback and reflection; iterative projects work supporting student mastery; and challenging goals and guidance in goal setting aiding self-regulation in learners.

Context of digital making and culture in informal settings

The context of these communities is important to situate the relevance of this study. These contexts are explored in summary.

While key pedagogies used in this area are explored in more depth in chapter two, at times context and pedagogy are not neatly separated. Thus in this section strategies associated with contextual elements are sometimes included.

Context of authenticity of tools, practices and relationship with agency and empowerment

Later in this thesis I problematise the use of the work authentic in learning [@lee_none_2016]. In this introduction I refer making games that will be played by audience of friends and family and using tools used beyond the scope of education, professional communities.

In additions, the practices of code patching and remixing are authentic skills used by professional coders who find and combine existing code libraries rather than coding everything from scratch.

Authentic web technology

In the early selection of tools the use of a framework based on javascript and web technology is driven by authenticity. The motivation was to align to authentic web technology due to my previous experience. The reason for working with code this authentic bears exploration. Characteristics of broader dimensions of authenticity of tools and processes in learning environments are explored in the literature review. A brief summary being: similarity to workplace settings; facilitating activity which serves a need of participants; an ability to showcased resulting work to an audience [@shaffer_thick_1999; @warr_bridging_2020]. While my choice of open source digital tools allowed for a high level of aligning with professional practices, it was also potentially complex in terms of use of tools. In part my motivation for choice of code language (Javascript, Phaser) was driven by desire to align with common workplace practices and to be potentially extensible for future student-led web projects.

Mozilla - Teach the Web as context and community

I was attracted and received positive feedback from the process of lifting the lid on the specifics of authentic tools computing. The tools created by Mozilla to investigate and to remix HTML pages scaffolded the experiences of new learners and paralleled my own early experiences of self-expression through hacking a new technology. My work on teach the web for Mozilla was motivated in part in the extensibility of this choice of language which can be compared to block based environments or game specific making tools like game-star mechanics and Scratch.

A Mozilla white paper [@mozilla_foundation_webmaker_2014] outlines the power of exploring web technology as an empowering activity. My own work in this area has been informed by work developing teaching materials for the Mozilla Foundation as part of the Teach the Web programme.

<!– This programme introduced a broad set of competencies name Web Literacies including; digital literacy

web literacy - narrower
webmaker - and more specific affordances of key web based coding and exploring tools –>

I contributed to the Mozilla teach the web programme by writing a course called Quacking Javascript. My report on the underlying pedagogical approach outlines the following possibilities; playful approach, use of online games, use of popular culture references to increase engagement [@chesterman_webmaking_2015].

Code playgrounds

Glitch is a code playground which while used for learning and which was chosen by Mozilla as a replacement tool for the education focused Thimble, is also used by professionals. In the early selection of tools the use of a framework based on javascript and web technology is driven by authenticity and thus an ability . My work on teach the web for Mozilla was motivated in part in the extensibility of this choice of language which can be compared to block based environments or game specific making tools like game-star mechanics.

MOVE TO LR. The process of running web code can be complicated by setting up a server environment locally to test and then finding a live webserver and the complexity of transferring files to the server via FTP/SSH processes. . Code playground allow users to circumvent such problems. While originally designed more for problem solving, a service more recent code playgrounds provide is to act as a more permanent host for web projects.

In their brand style and selected picks of projects, many code playgrounds celebrate and encourage a playful spirit of creativity and sharing.

Home digital making and culture

Building on the concept of participatory culture [@jenkins_confronting_2009], where x and y, there are several streams of activity that are important to reference as foundational context for this study.

The work of Livingstone is foundational in the area of home learning of digital technologies[@livingstone_digital_2018].

Research exploring home game playing and digital activity uncovers material that families may bring into a non-formal game making process.

Messing around and affinity groups. Ito’s work on and naturalistic studies of digital use and creativity in the home including the value of informal playing around [@ito_connected_2013-1; @ito_hanging_2010], and Gee and the process of tapping into affinity groups and affinity spaces [@gee_what_2004]. Gee’s (2004b) work on games and associated culture as learning experiences is founded on his understanding of how the engender a shared discourse and emerging identities .

In addition, maker culture more generally is relevant due to the alignment with tinkering as educational practice in stem education, supported by family involvement and brokering of experiences. The details of tinkering as a pedagogical practice are explored in more detail in the literature review of this thesis.

On Retro Gaming

One of the reasons that I was interested to shift to game making was the potential that seemed to be present for intergenerational work based around retro gaming based on its place in public memory [@heineman_public_nodate]. The place in public memory of retro games is complex but for older participants, the effect of nostalgia is significant.

What era and technologies constitute retro games can be disputed, however for this study I use a definition of early arcade games from the 1970s and early 1980s and early generation of home consoles Atari 2600, Nes, Snes and Megadrive before the advent of 3D graphics.

Retro games have a particular aesthetic driven by graphical limitations and the simplified game mechanics which are due to the limited capabilities of the hardware and storage space involved.

Context of Home Education and family learning

The move to family learning as a context suited the trajectory of my interests and the opportunities available as part of University context.

Many professional programmers began with support provided by family.

Barron and Livingstone have outlined the advantages and processes involved in family involvement of technology use and learning in the home. There is clearly an inequality of access to these well paid profession that the development of the computing curriculum and the skills based and creative process focus that was part of the initial narrative is laudable the aims of equality.

However the practical and and cultural difficulties of undertaking a project-based approach withing the curriculum are significant. Factors of difficulties associated with technology projects compound difficulties.

In this research I made the decisions not to focus on the adaptation of a informal club approach to the restrictions of in-school classes but rather instead to embrace key elements of it and to explore processes in situ. While the context of home education is not a core to the goals of this research it is important to situate this study accurately.

Outline of the home eduction context of this study: The processes and motivations driving of home education are varied [@fensham-smith_invisible_2021]. Classic ideas of reasons for HE include pedagogy and ideology [@galen_home_1991] [@rothermel_can_2003], and often both. My involvement with home ed networks stemmed from University outreach work. In the following section I draw on relevant research to identify characteristics and motivations of the networks and families that I tapped into.

Unschooling, Holt, drawing out interests of children in everyday activities and facilitating learning around that [@gray_challenges_2013]
Webs of learning Illich - home ed families active in identifying networks to tap into [@doroudi_relevance_2023] has a relevance with social networking groups and email lists used by home educators to share and align activities.

Context of research outlining game making strategies for novices

Illingworth critique’s Kafai and Burke’s book due to lack of specificity in the game making techniques outlined. This is particularly the case in chapter x which explores cultural elements of game making research. This observation may stem in part from a lack of concepts in constructionism to describe cultural elements of learning environments.

In the following sections, I outline PBL as a key strategy, share general findings of studies related to race, gender and other cultural factors, and then address game making strategies in context using two key case studies, a process which is followed up in chapter two.

The context of Project Based Learning (PBL)

The educational strategy of learning how to code games lends itself to a project based learning (PBL) approach. The following section explores common elements of PBL and summarises links with game making approaches and the legacy of game making studies.

Defining PBL for this studying

In broad terms, PBL is an educational strategy which x,y and z

For game making the following aspects are particularly relevant: authenticity of audience, student choice and voice, etc

It is also of value to explore PBL as an inclusive pedagogy - WHY?

Project Based Learning as an inclusive pedagogy

The term inclusion in education no longer addresses solely children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) but also examines barriers of race, culture and other exclusionary elements of the school environment and discourse [@black-hawkins_achievement_2008]. The issue of alienation from the culture of computing in schools has been identified as an issue of concern especially for girls and some ethnic minorities [@the_royal_society_after_2017]. Recent studies study the use of games and playful techniques to overcome exclusion from the culture of computing [@kafai_diversifying_2017; @kafai_beyond_2014]. If students feel excluded from school culture then making bridges to home cultures is vital.

One way to make those connections to home cultures is to allow for more choice of what can be incorporated into computing projects. The benefits of game making as a form of project-based learning (PBL) also align with a teaching framework focused on inclusion called Universal Design for Learning (UDL)[@basham_understanding_2013]. While an analysis of the synergies between PBL and UDL is beyond the remit of this chapter, key characteristics of game making as an educational activity align well with both UDL and project-based approaches. The following sections give three examples.

Complications with Project Based Learning

PBL should reconcile some of the tension and challenges outlined above in learning coding in formal settings.

Resnick, advocate for Scratch software, in particular is vocal in promotion of PBL approaches in his projects, play and passion - lifelong kindergarten pedagogy.

However there are addition al challenges of delivering PBL

Lack of frameworks, expertise, confidence etc.

These challenges are often compounded by contextual factors of formal education which challenge creative approaches in general. These include challeges of exam pressure, time factors.

Specific techniques of PBL and digital making are explored in more depth in chapter two and example of practice are also present in the following case studies.

Studies informing cultural aspects of game making

Studies exploring identity and barriers to participation

Game making is thus a suitable mediumn to support existing collaborative practices and home interests to overcome difficulties in computer coding.

Issues of identities and barriers have been explored in relation to gender in terms of game making in several studies. REWRITE WITH CORRECT CITATIONS - ALSO INCLUDE THE GAME TESTERS OF BLACK STUDENTS.

Gender related identities

The Girls Creating Games programme which asked similar questions concerning the impact of a Flash-based game programme on computer proficiency and desire to continue with computer studies Denner, 2007). Findings were again mixed but encouraging in some areas. While there was no increase in desire to persue computing, there were marked increases in computer related confidence, ability and a decrease in gender stereo typing around computer use.

The issues of gender stereo-typing and identity in relation to computers were explored by Pelletier as part of the Making Games project using the Mission Maker software 2008).

Kafai and Burke also address the issues of gender identities and game design 2014). They propose that we ask not How can we bring girls into the game making clubhouse but rather How can we build new clubhouses suitable for the interests of girls. Two of the playful elements they suggest are textiles related technology and the promotion of more collaborative online spaces as opposed to technology competitions.

girl’s low self-confidence in the area of computing compared to their ability [@beyer_gender_2003; @margolis_unlocking_2002]

Research Extensive research by Roberson on game making in schools measured gender differences in performance and attitudes to game making and computing in pre post tests [@robertson_making_2012; @robertson_influence_2013].

The findings were mixed as while girls outperformed boys in use of computational structures, neither gender ended the programme with a greater desire to learn more about computers in the future.

The Girls Creating Games programme which asked similar questions concerning the impact of a Flash-based game programme on computer proficiency and desire to continue with computer studies [@denner_girls_2007] . Findings were again mixed but encouraging in some areas. While there was no increase in desire to persue computing, there were marked increases in computer related confidence, ability and a decrease in gender stereo typing around computer use.

Important to caution against gender stereo-typing and identity in relation to computers [@pelletier_gaming_2008]
study by Fisher and Jenson critically explored diverse themes through a summer game making programme 2017). Emerging issues included pinkification, marginalisation and exclusions of women from game cultures, sexualisation and harassment.

Research on making computing inclusive highlights the value personal expression within the process as a motivational factor [@robertson_making_2012; @robertson_adventure_2007].

Race related identities

In study by Thayter and Ko [@thayer_barriers_2017] the work of Margolis et al is analysed using concepts from communities of practice, type of barriers, and personal obstacles [@margolis_stuck_2008;]

Stuck in the Shallow End: Education, Race and Computing by Margolis, Estrella, et al. [ 12] examined the racial gap in high school CS, finding barriers that included lack of access to classes (formal boundary), cultural expectations on who the classes were for, feelings of isolation in classes, divisions within classes between those who “have it or don’t have it” (informal boundaries), and lack of social support(personal obstacle). Additional studies found participation and success in computing programs depended on background experience [ 2, 27 ], comfort level [ 27 ], sense of belonging and stereotypes (dis proportionately negatively affecting women) [ 2 , 5, 10, 16 ], view of self as an “insider” [21], and believed role of luck [27]

I adopt a similar approach but use the language of AT contradictions, barriers and tensions.

Glitch game testers [@disalvo_saving_2014; @disalvo_glitch_2009-1; @disalvo_learning_2008]

Other Non-dominant identities

Shift to other tactics like Family Connected Learning Roque.

5th Dimension Case Study

Insert a summary of context, motivation and some of the processes to address cultural issues in 5th dimension project

Creative Family Learning - Roque

There is limited research on how to create learning communities making games for educational purposes. Existing research [@xiao_fostering_2007] has close parallels with project approaches and has a focus on fostering online collaboration and resources sharing. Many popular and well researched online communities exist scratch, itch.io, new grounds. However researchers [@roque_family_2016] highlighted the limitations of accessibility of online participatory culture. In response Roque [@roque_family_2016] FCL study addressed it with face to face session with help from family members.

Roque’s work is founded on sociocultural / situated understandings of learning and brings it into a non-formal learning environment. A key question she asks is how can facilitators help develop participation in community activities [@roqueBecomingFacilitatorsCreative2018].

It is of value to explore the community aspect of providing support to parents, and support and structure to staff members supporting parents.

The work of Roque to operationalise Barron’s work on parental roles in a making context is of particular interest to this study.

I extend this in this study, how can the learning design contribute to aid this process and empower young people as well.

Digital Braves as a small MoE / 5D project

Insert a summary of Digital Braves - link to republication version.

Review of relevant barriers to participating in coding practices emerging in the literature

This section draws on concepts of the introductory section to review existing research on digital making to identify barriers to participation in digital making and in particular coding practices.

The focus of this review is to identify broad streams and currents in research. The next section examines research on pedagogical responses.

Here, the term barrier is used in a general way. In the next chapter it will be examined with greater criticality.

Barrier: Difficulties in learning to program

Summary here [@gomes2007learning] [@joao_cross-analysis_2019]. and here

<!-- Through a literature review on this topic, we aim to organize and   systematize the main difficulties into four dimensions of analysis: (i) subject and complexity of languages; (ii) technologies and applications; (iii) teachers and teaching methodologies; and (iv) pupils’ skills[@joao_cross-analysis_2019] -->

In particular, the dilemma between more authentic languages and block based approaches [@joao_cross-analysis_2019].

More literature which examines the complexity of language and development environments should be found here.

Complexity of syntax and problem of leading with syntax [@gomes2007learning]

Issues of needing levels of abstraction in learning programming [@gomes2007learning].

Specialist coding tools and computational kits

There may software and hardware kits aimed at novice coders and in particular younger audience [@yu_survey_2018].

This section briefly summarises some of the adaptation in particular, that software has undergone to adapt to this audience.

Much work has been taken out by MIT family developing Papert’s ideas on constructionism in tool use

Block coding vs text coding, syntax
Design principles for game making tools, [@kafai_connected_2016; @resnick_reflections_2005] ()
Barriers in using support material for code examples- mapping, understanding, [@wang_novices_2021]

Scratch and GSM merit particular examination as mini-case studies. The

Scratch and community element.
Remix as a feature: [@amanullah_evaluating_2019]
Online log in
library of assets to speed up creation
In built asset authoring tools.

Game star Mechanic added quest ability, and a narrative set in a steam punk aesthetic. Of interst to this study are the motivational use of narrative, and accompanying resources which help analysis of game design patterns and systems based challenges.

NOTE - referenced in design chapter - the alignment with the use of code playground and template.

Cultural / Identity barriers to participation in …

Barriers to participation

Develop from introduction, move to a overview of literature which addresses barriers in participation in coding communities from literature.

The focus of this review is to identify broad streams and currents in research.

Barrier - Identity and computer cultures

Early work from Papert and Turkle addresses cultural barriers to computing culture [-@papert_epistemological_1990]. The distinction between hard and soft approaches to learning is explored particularly in studies refuting conceptions that there is a right way to do computer coding. In this context, the hard approach infers a top-down perspective, highlighting advance planning and logical deconstruction of large problems. Papert and Turkle identify the privileging of abstract thinking over concrete approaches in classroom teaching a tendency which is mirrored by recent conceptions and advancement of computational thinking as teaching ideology [@wing_computational_2008].

Paper and Turkle locate different, softer but equally effective coding strategies. Soft coding suggests a more immediate and learner-directed connection with the materials or digital artefacts involved. The learner is presented as adapting a familiar set of concepts and processes to new situations and challenges as they arise as a ‘tinker’ might use well worn tools to skilfully bodge a repair job [@papert_childrens_1993, p. 143].

Kafai and Peppler also address the issues of gender identities and game design [@kafai_beyond_2014] asking how to create new communities and learning environments which align with values of participants rather than aiming to break into existing ones. They propose that we ask not How can we bring girls into the game making clubhouse but rather How can we build new clubhouses suitable for the interests of girls. Two of the playful elements they suggest are textiles related technology and the promotion of more collaborative online spaces as opposed to technology competitions.

Barrier - unfamiliarity with support practices

While home education support practices of families are expressed in this setting, a computing context requires specific support techniques that may be unfamiliar to parents [@roque_engaging_nodate; @roque_becoming_2018].

<!– Low floors: a tool that is intuitive enough to allow new users to acclimate to it gradually and with a degree of confidence. High ceilings: a tool that also allows more experienced users to create constructs (in this case, video games) that can grow increasingly complex and nuanced as one’s own proficiency increases. Wide walls: a tool that—in addition to low floors and high ceilings—allows its users to create a wide range a constructs, letting users tap into elements of personal experience as well as popular culture to design and develop something entirely unique and representative of their own interests and backgrounds. We added a fourth principle to emphasize the equally important social dimension of construction tools:11

Open windows: a tool to facilitate the sharing of digital media. The creation of digital communities represents the new frontier in terms of making computer programming a more accessible skill for youths. –>

Computing syntax Lack of knowledge of what to design.. which they call “sandbox games,” that integrates the worlds”

Summary of the thesis motivation and structure

Recap of motivation

A motivation is to better understand my practice as an activist, community worker and educator.

While I am wary of runaway objects, I am still active in a community and university setting.

An understanding of this controlled experiment in creating culture can shed light on previous work.

Theories of situated learning view transmission of educational practice as a thorny problem as the process of learning is dependant on many contextual factors.

Thus why would this study based on observations of one context be of use? Thoughts:

similar contexts exist
underlying treads may emerge which may transcend context

An area of tension to address - limited leaner choice in process if driven by curriculum.

Authors note that UMC and the value of project based exploration can clash with classroom culture driven by curriculum goals.

"Constructionist learning experiences are often designed to give the learner agency in the activity, encouraging exploration throughout the process of constructing public and shareable artifacts [16, 26]. The open-endedness can be difficult to adhere to when used in a context where there are specific learning objectives or when trying to introduce new conceptual material or practices. Noss & Hoyles [24] call this the Play Paradox, an inherent tension between supporting a freedom of exploration while constraining the activity to ensure specific concepts or practices are encountered."

Quote from [@franklin_analysis_2020]

Gaps in existing research / Contribution to knowledge of this thesis

Sharing practice for researchers and practitioners is complicated. The results are often too abstract to be useful or easily understood by practitioners or too concrete to replicate. Notable exceptions include design pattern collections and design heuristics like that of Brennan and Silverman [@resnick_reflections_2005]

Gaps in research

Kafai’s review on game making research is thin in cultural terms.
Not many addressing the explicit intention to create a community.
Game design patterns emerged in this research as fruitful and is under researched

Other thoughts on thesis

This research is valid in the following ways:

generative nature of research. It has created teaching resources
the detail of game making pedagogy, suitable for other researcher and Teachers
tools are novel - media practices are situated, thus will differ with technology
application of guided participation as lens to this domain
something about methods using 360 and screen capture?

Research Questions

What pedagogical tools and processes are available to support novices to overcome barriers to game coding and design?
How can participants build agency in an evolving community of game makers?
How can game design patterns support the development of coding practices with novices?

Chapter outline

As has been outlined in this introduction the a leading thread of the thesis is my desire to better understand my own experience as a facilitator of learners creating media and digital products in relation with existing research. This chapter has been structured around key contextual factors that have spurred this inquiry and which have emerged from observational research and integrating existing theoretical understandings in this area. While the immediate goal of understanding learning happening in temporary informal environments of learning coding, the findings have implications that of interest to a broader audience of researchers and practitioners who are looking to nurture creative and/or technical design practices in novice learners.

In line with a situated view of learning the details of process of coding are important. Thus one of the challenges of this work is to explore the details to a non-expert audience. While the literature review will begin to disambiguate some of the terms used in the thesis there is in addition a glossary which outlines short definitions of technical terms used. The glossary is included as an appendix to this study and a summary table is present as an introductory section to the literature review.

The literature review begins the exploration of the key themes and threads that are integral to the findings of this study. These include: authenticity in project based approaches; nature of informal settings in particular home education; barriers to participation in digital making; pedagogies to create inclusive learning environments and to help young people learn computer coding. To follow I outline the theoretical framework and the key methodologies of this study. I explain how the design based research (DBR) aligns well with the aims of the research questions and the use of concepts from the socio cultural school and the leading approach of third generation activity theory (3GAT).

Chapter three starts with a summary of key concepts aligned with the theoretical framework to aid the analysis of data gathered. This include: the iterative and mutually created and emergent nature of the resources and processes that were created and adopted; identifying a unit of analysis; and transformative conceptions of agency. In the second part of the chapter, I outline the process of how data was gathered, processed and collected using screen capture and 360 cameras. I explore the challenge of gathering large amounts of research data and resulting prioritisation that resulted.

Chapter four outlines the learning design that emerged from the research process. To explore emerging tensions in design in a way which communicates relevant context, I outline four conflicts in interrelated activity systems using the terminology of third generation activity theory (3GAT). This chapter discussion begins with an exploration of the tools used through the lens of authenticity. It continues by covering the mutual nature of the evolution of the design, and ends with a synthesis to initial barriers to engaging in game making practices and initial interventions to address them.

Chapter five focuses on the implementation of individual game design patterns (GDPs) and in doing so addresses how data gathered informs thinking on the research question - how can game design patterns support the development of coding practices by novices? This chapter begins by re-examining of game design patterns and game play design patterns in the context of a community of novice coders. Following this a vignette of parent child interaction in game making process introduces an overview of interactions of that pair to help contextualise findings. The chapter then undertakes a systematic analysis of the use of game design patterns by participants drawing on detailed observations of practice. A discussion section explores implications and observations from these findings in relation to existing research and concepts.

Chapter six outline the use of inclusive pedagogical methods that helped participants become part of an emerging community of game makers. It explores the role of the design of games and the surrounding communities that build up around games to support an nurture the development of player identities. The process is shown to have beneficial effects in supporting the creative process. I explore the use of a process drama to draw on their existing knowledge and encourages them to put this into practice via a playful fictional scenario.

Chapter seven concludes the thesis with a final discussion on the significance of my findings in line with other research and discusses the limitations of this research and identifies areas for future work.

Link to next chapter

It is worth noting at this stage that the process of being guided by personal interests, those of participants and creating and designing This chapter has explored the context of HE, informal science learning and specifically computer coding and game making. The pedagogies of those areas are explored in the next chapter.