Epic Small this week = Socrates + Game Mechanics

  Epic what? Started by the brilliant Sam Wilson (a member of Catapult as well!), Epic Small helps you accomplish small creative tasks one at a time at week long intervals. Here’s an article by Kate Stoltzfus at Yinzpiration with some more info. I was on a roll with Epic Smalls a couple months ago…


Photo credit: Epic Small Facebook page.

 

Epic what?

Started by the brilliant Sam Wilson (a member of Catapult as well!), Epic Small helps you accomplish small creative tasks one at a time at week long intervals. Here’s an article by Kate Stoltzfus at Yinzpiration with some more info. I was on a roll with Epic Smalls a couple months ago but haven’t done one in a while. Ergo, I’m going to start them again. This week, 11/29 – 12/6, I will:

Turn the Socratic method into game mechanics.

Boring? Hell no! The other day I read Notes on Dialog, by Stringfellow Barr, which discusses dialectic and other Socratic things. I liked it and think the Socratic method would be ripe for a mechanics-as-metaphor experimentation. In sum, I keep talking about this “games for higher education” deal and need to come up with prototypes to better present it.

Note: game mechanics in this case mean tentative bullet points and paragraphs.

Update 12/5: This Epic Small has been awarded an extension (yes, by me) to Dec. 10. In the mean time, here is a Hand Crocheted Knight Helmet Hat With Button-On Movable Visor.

Update 12/10: Ahhh…turns out this Epic is not Small. It’s in my back pocket for now and I’m instating a new Epic Small for 12/17 which is: 1 exercise from Challenges for Game Designers. This is less intimidating and I recorded on the official Catapult Epic Small whiteboard, so yeah.

Update 12/18: For the record, I did this. Well, I incorporated it into a larger project that I am very excited about – just haven’t completed a post on it yet because that’s more than an Epic Small in itself. Stay tuned.