ABSTRACT
Beyond the shortcomings of distant education forced suddenly online and into pandemic pedagogy, we see a future for play and games in the classroom. The successful entertainment games discussed in Chapter 3 and the encouraging successes of some educational play that did occur during the pandemic point toward a future driven by co-creative gaming. We look to exemplars from around the world, drawing on emerging practices ranging from the alternate reality games of Patrick Jagoda’s campus team to the improvisational exercises of “Netprov” to the results of pandemic-inspired game jam. We discuss the proliferation of free and increasingly user-friendly platforms for game design, as both options for teacher-designed games and for student-creation of their own content-focused games. Finally, we look to distant exercises in critical making. Through analyzing these cross-platform successes, we construct a framework for meaningful post-pandemic play and encourage student-centered game design and critical making centered around playful pedagogy.
