Fables – Exploring natural ways of expressing behavior to create digital simulations

Abstract

We are interested in simplifying digital game design and programming for primary school teachers and their pupils. A central problem in this area is how to express knowledge about interactive digital systems in a simple yet powerful enough way, so that new digital games or interactive simulations can be generated automatically by teachers and pupils descriptions. We propose a novel approach that builds on Simon [4] and Schön [5] and the concepts of simulation and repertoire of exemplars. Instead of looking at programming concepts like conditionals and loops, we draw inspiration from soft methods like rich pictures, and formalisms like concept maps and mobile ambients. In this paper, we define the concept of fables, where a simple fable represents an exemplar and it can be interacted with digitally, as a simulation. A web-based prototype tool is under development, and we are conducting a series of workshops (last semester of 2017 and first semester of 2018) to discuss, co-develop and test our incremental prototype of the fable editor/player. Early tests and interviews indicate that fables are a viable concept with potential applicability in various domains, and that the current prototype is usable enough for further participatory development.