Affordances of Elliptical Learning in Arcade Video Games

Abstract

Many researchers consider that video games have a unique potential for learning. However, Linderoth (2010) criticizes the way researchers link a successful action in the game and learning, without denying this conclusion. Using Gibson’s affordances (1979), he argues that, in order to study learning in a video game, one must carefully study the game itself. This article attempts to understand how “great video games” (Kunkel, 2003) may take “a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.” As a part of my Ph.D research, I trained for six months to perform a one-credit run on the Alien Vs. Predator (Capcom, 1994) arcade game. This expertise will be used to study affordances of learning and non- learning in this video game in order to introduce the concept of “elliptical learning”.