Game Development

Game Development for Liberal Education, Civic Engagement, and Organizational and Leadership Development

Why Games?

The root of the word game is the Proto-Germanic gamana, which integrates the collective prefix ge- and the root men, for mind or to have in mind. The word means “to have in mind together” and likely shares the roots with the German gemein or communion.  What better way, then, to learn and grow, to build community, and to develop your organization and its leaders than through gaming?

Role-playing games offer a rich variety of features which can help individuals and organizations think through what they are trying to accomplish and how to accomplish, and to explore issues related to leadership, collaboration, and culture. These include:

• diverse “races” or cultures, such as humans, elves, dwarfs, and orcs,
• diverse “classes” or roles such as warriors, wizards, and rogues,
• various “alignments”: good and evil, lawful and chaotic, and neutral,
• a system of levels or ranks,
• a story and a series of “quests” or “missions” by means of which participants move together towards shared –or competing– goals.

Because they involve individual decisions at multiple levels, role playing games are an excellent way to explore fundamental questions of meaning and value.

Strategy games offer the opportunity to master the difference between strategy, operational art, and tactics, and to learn how to identify, organize, and develop the resources you need in order to realize your mission over a prolonged period. Because the algoritms or rules which govern the way in which various decisions lead to different outcomes, strategy games can be used to model diverse social theories and social structures.

Exploration and Adventure games offer an opportunity sharpen your skills of observation, analysis, and interpretation and are an outstanding way to organize courses in the humanities or interpretive disciplines.

Parlor Games make excellent ice-breakers and, with some care, can be structured to actually help a group get to know each other and to begin to develop some significant relational skills. One of our favorites in this regard is Would I Lie to You?, the basis of a popular British game show, as the game provides an opportunity to learn some interesting things about your colleagues which they might not otherwise have occasion to share, but also allows them to control what is and is not fair game. The game also teaches the art of asking good questions –again in a way which is light and good hearted. Consequences or Cadavre Exquis engages the group in creating a shared story our of elements which include some of the more idiosyncratic aspects of their lives. Bacon’s Law or Six Degrees can be structured to discover the extent and intersections of a group’s social networks.

Many Worlds offers a range of game master services from professional dungeon master/game master services for a fairly standard Dungeons and Dragons evening at home –or online– with your friends through complex custom game development and personal life coaching and organizational development. We are also in the process of developing games which allow you to enter into our alterealities and develop your skills in observation, analysis, interpretation, explanation, and strategic, operational, and tactical leadership.

For more information about custom servies, please use the contact form below. If you are interested booking us for game master services you can do so through StartPlaying