Collaborative learning through art games. Reflecting on corporate life with ‘Every Day the Same Dream’

• Main Author: Alina Petra Marinescu-Nenciu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Bucharest 2015-06-01
• Series: Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology
• Subjects: Art games; learning; social critique; game world; corporations; routine; game platforms
• Online Access: http://compaso.eu/wpd/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Compaso2015-61-Marinescu-Nenciu.pdf

A consistent thread of literature has been dedicated to video games as a learning medium. Recently, attention has been increasingly given to games as opportunities for philosophical or ideological reflection on life. In the present paper, we examine an art game aiming for social critique. We discuss its learning affordances and the possibility of using it as a resource for coaching or counseling sessions. Specifically, we explore the diversity of messages transmitted by players engaging with ‘Every Day the Same Dream’ (EDSD), a La Molleindustria casual game tackling the issues of daily routine and refusal of labor. On the one hand, we look into players’ comments on several online platforms where EDSD can be played free of charge, considering their properties as collaborative media for learning. On the second hand, we analyze impressions coming from 12 people, former and actual corporate employees, who were asked to play the game and share their feelings and understanding with us. We conclude that the potential of a game to be used as a resource for learning might be considerably enhanced with proper contextualization and guidance and we propose three aspects that we consider essential if games are to function as resources for collaborative social critique and reflection.