Worlding through Play - Alternate Reality Games, Large-Scale Learning, and The Source

Oct 15, 2026

The article examines how alternate reality games (ARGs) support learning beyond the limits of conventional gamification focused on extrinsic rewards. It analyzes how large-scale, situated ARGs can scale improvisational play from small groups to expansive collectives. Using a case study of The Source (2013), the authors show how an ARG for Chicago’s South Side urban youth of color blends STEM learning with 21st-century literacies and social justice goals, shaped by player collaboration.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction: Gaming the Present

Gamification and education

Historical perspectives on play and learning

Worlding through Play Alternate Reality Games, Large-Scale Learning, and The Source • Patrick Jagoda, Melissa Gilliam, Peter McDonald, and Christopher Russell Gami􀂐cation—the use of game mechanics in conventionally nongame activities—has received attention in the 􀂐eld of education. Games, however, are not reducible to the common mechanisms of gami􀂐cation that target extrinsic motivation, and may also include elements such as role playing, world making, and collective storytelling. Here, the authors discuss the potential learning bene􀂐ts of largescale and situated alternate reality games (ARGs) that complicate conventional gami􀂐ed systems. 􀂑ey also explore the scaling up of improvisational modes of play in these games from intimate groups to large collectives exceeding the size of typical classrooms. 􀂑ey use a case study of 􀁿e Source (2013), an ARG they designed (with funding from the National Science Foundation) for urban youth of color from the South Side of Chicago in an out-of-school setting using play across several platforms. 􀁿e Source aimed to promote the academic areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), as well as twenty-􀂐rst-century literacies and social justice. 􀂑e authors argue that such ARGs facilitate learning by engaging semi􀂐ctional and immersive play made !exible and extensible through game forms. 􀂑ey suggest that, although designers determine the challenges in an ARG, the players shape the experience and shared game world through collaborative actions. Key words: alternate reality games; gami􀂐cation; scaling; teaching STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics); twenty-􀂐rst-century literacy; worlding through play Introduction: Gaming the Present In the early twenty-first century, our world is very much in play. Games, in particular, have become a prominent metaphor for and material reality of everyday life. Game structures and themes permeate American culture. Popular novels, 􀂐lms, and television series such as 􀁿e Hunger Games, Ender’s Game, and Game of 􀁿rones highlight how central games of competition and chance 74 American Journal of Play, volume 8, number 1 [Contact Patrick Jagoda at patrick.jagoda@uchicago.edu](Contact Patrick Jagoda at patrick.jagoda@uchicago.edu) are to contemporary society. Reality television shows entangle participants with game rules and objectives. Professional and college sports saturate leisure time and inspire passions. Video games and ludic virtual worlds engage millions of players, and the commercial game world has experienced faster growth in recent years than either the 􀂐lm industry or music business (Wilkofsky Gruen Associates 2012). Outside entertainment and cultural experiences, we encounter military training simulations, national election contests, and the stock market betting of global 􀂐nance that in!uence our political and economic lives. Games, then, in a variety of ways, serve as a form for encountering, processing, and testing the present. In recent years, the phenomenon of gami!cation—the use of game mechanics in traditionally nongame activities—has come to in!uence areas as diverse as business, personal leisure, and social life (Groh 2012; Jagoda 2013). Gami􀂐cation seems particularly widespread in education. 􀂑ere has been a recent proliferation of gami􀂐ed apps, educational games, and digital media and learning interventions, but historically education has also included sensory-motor and symbolic play, as well as rule-based games. John Dewey, as early as his in!uential 1916 book Democracy and Education, argued that play and games need not be treated merely as “relief from the tedium and strain of ‘regular’ school work”(228) . Instead of a diversion, play can become “a part of the regular school program,” one that engages the “whole pupil,” reduces “the arti􀂐cial gap between life in school and out,” increases “attention” to educational materials, and promotes “cooperative associations” in “asocial setting” (2

FAQs

What does the article claim about gamification in education?

It argues that games are not reducible to gamification’s extrinsic mechanisms and that broader game elements can create learning benefits beyond conventional systems.

How do alternate reality games differ from typical classroom-scale learning?

The article highlights large-scale and situated ARGs that complicate conventional gamified approaches and scale improvisational play from intimate groups to large collectives.

What is the role of The Source (2013) in the article?

The authors use it as a case study of an ARG designed for South Side Chicago youth of color, aiming to advance STEM, 21st-century literacies, and social justice through play across platforms.

Oct 15, 2026

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