Your Daily Netflix Inspiration
I watched Waltz with Bashir a few weeks ago. 99% of the movie is animated in a kind of harsh-gorgeous style, but the last few moments of the film are given over to news footage of the Sabra and Shatila massacre aftermath. Its effect on me was immediate, and I used up a good amount of Kleenex (and, okay fine, probably a dish towel as well) that night.
It’s fascinating to me that this movie about such a serious, devastating event was done using animation. And it got me thinking about the way in which we and our clients decide how to “style” each course. Will it be photo-realistic? Will there be a video narrator? Will we have animated characters? Graphic novel effects? Sound effects? There are endless possibilities to how a course will look.
Some clients feel that an animated/cartoon style takes away from the realistic aim of the course, makes it seem somehow unrelated to learners’ work lives. This is a valid point, as there are probably plenty of people—heck, whole generations—who would immediately tune out upon seeing a cartoon version of a virtual “co-worker.”
But cartoon and animated characters have their place in e-learning, especially in games. More and more we Noggins are finding ourselves building complex games and simulations, working with clients who want to provide realistic yet fun courses that feel endlessly replayable—courses that feel more like video games than courses. Animations help give that feeling to courses because they are infinitely customizable—need a middle-aged leprechaun with dreadlocks? Done and done. A friendly, oracle-like demon who gives financial advice? You got it. A young, attractive business professional? Too easy.
There is also the opportunity to provide learners with avatars—all the rage in today’s gamer world. This allows learners to see themselves—well, an animated version of themselves—inside the world of the game.
Another thing that’s great about animated characters is that it helps learners to “play” rather than “take” a course. Which, I’m not ashamed to say it, is playing right into our hands. True, our ultimate goal is for learners to obtain new knowledge and exhibit changed behaviors, but when we’re building these Level 4 games, we’re also envisioning the learner exploring every possibility, making different choices just to see what will happen, failing even! (The value of failure in e-learning, readers, cannot be overstated.) So if a learner is seeing what looks like a game displayed before them onscreen, they are more likely to play while learning.
(“Play while learning.” Doesn’t that sound lovely?)
Right now NogginLabs is building courses with animated characters that would fit in any Nintendo game, characters that resemble characters in a graphic novel, and characters that are more realistically human. And turns out the Waltz with Bashir animations were done in Flash, so I’m sure we’ll be building the “Waltz with Cashier” course any day now!
Lindsay Hunter-Lyon
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Senior Instructional Designer
NogginLabs, Inc.
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I agree whole heartedly with your observations, Lindsay. Animated characters/virtual agents/coaches/however-you-want-to-define-them are often snubbed in multimedia today for more realistic-looking experiences. The problem is, sometimes making something as realistic as you can isn’t necessarily the most appropriate way to present a concept. I’ve been to many e-Learning trade shows where I’ve seen software vendors pushing their virtual avatars onto customers. You look at them, and yes, they’re coming close to looking real. But have we all forgotten about the “uncanny valley” here on how, as something starts looking more and more like a human, an “ick” factor starts arising? (“The Polar Express”...need I say any more?)
If a learner is distracted by the creepiness of a virtual avatar, what good is it doing to the learning process? Sometimes an old-school 2-D character can be more effective at presenting a concept than the most photorealistic character that money can buy. I recently read a study from last year that showed how, for relation-oriented learning (conversation-based interactions), users preferred a more iconic (less realistic) virtual agent. Whereas for task-oriented learning, users preferred a more realistic virtual agent.
As an instructional designer, it’s always critical to look at what you’re trying to teach to learners in multimedia when deciding upon the look of your virtual agents. Even though virtual 3-D characters are the cool kid in the class right now, sometimes going back to the basics of 2-D is what you really need.
Brian Martin
Senior Instructional Designer
University of Phoenix