Welcome to my Skill Tree!
This page is dedicated to tracking the badges and learning milestones I earn throughout my Designing Games for Learning journey. Think of it as my personal quest log for leveling up as an instructional game designer — where every badge reflects the knowledge and effort I’ve invested into my growth.
🏆 Badges, 🎖 Attributes, and 💬 Titles will all be collected here as I progress through the course!
🏆 Badges Earned
🔰 Trainee Badge
Earned for completing Level 0 – The Training Grounds
This badge marks the start of my learning adventure. I’ve completed the orientation, reviewed the mission objectives for this course, and am ready to start leveling up in the world of game-based learning!
💡 **Unlocked Attributes:**
- 📚 Learning Strategist – Applies systems thinking to explore game mechanics and learning outcomes
- 🧭 Explorer – Driven by curiosity and reflection, seeking connections beyond the syllabus
🎮 Player Badge
Earned for completing Level 1 – Playing & Analyzing Games
This badge recognizes the development of skills needed to actively play and analyze games for learning design. I completed two weeks of structured gameplay and reflection, exploring how interaction, feedback, and flow contribute to learning experiences.
📅 Date Earned: November 18, 2025
🎯 Earning Criteria: Completion of WSSG Design Academy’s Level 1: Playing & Analyzing Games
🧩 Analyzer Badge
Earned for advancing through Level 1 – Game Analysis Practice
This badge reflects my ability to critically assess game mechanics, player engagement, and how gameplay aligns with educational design principles. I’ve begun applying game-based learning theories to real examples, identifying how systems, feedback, and narrative elements shape learning experiences.
📅 Date Earned: [9/7/2025]
🖼️
🔓 Unlocked Attributes:
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🧠 Systems Thinker – Evaluates how multiple components in a game interact to influence user experience
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📊 Detail-Oriented – Notices subtle cues in design and structure to inform learning outcomes
- 🧭 Explorer – Driven by curiosity and reflection, seeking connections beyond the syllabus
- 🧩 Systems Thinker – Analyzes how multiple components in a game interact to support learning
- 👑 Gamestormer – Generates and develops complex learning narratives from ideation to story-driven game experiences
🏅 Devisor Badge
🖼️
Earned for completing Level 2 – Narrative Design and Game Decision-Making
You’ve demonstrated the ability to devise storylines and decision-making systems that directly support educational goals. As a Devisor, you not only analyze games—you design them, crafting well-guided narratives and player-driven choices that create powerful learning experiences.
📅 Date Earned: September 29, 2025
🎯 Earning Criteria:
Demonstrated ability to design the role of story elements and branching decisions to meet learning objectives in educational games.
🛠️ Creator Badge
Earned for completing Level 3 – Final Project Design Document & Scene Build
Awarded for completing a design document and implementing a key game scene using a game engine. This badge marks a shift from theory to applied design — showcasing my ability to translate ideas into interactive, playable form while aligning with instructional goals.
📅 Date Earned: October 30, 2025
🎯 Earning Criteria: Final design posted and implemented in blog/game engine per Level 3 requirements
🧪 Prototyper Badge
Earned for completing Level 3B – Higher-Order Learning Through Prototyping
This badge recognizes my ability to incorporate higher-order thinking into educational game prototypes. Through testing, iteration, and design refinement, I created and showcased a working prototype that engages learners in critical, strategic, and applied learning experiences.
📅 Date Earned: December 15, 2025
🎯 Earning Criteria: Submitted evidence of prototyping a game that demonstrates higher-order learning in alignment with Level 3B
🧩 Designer Badge
Earned for completing Level 5 – Full Game Design with Learning Integration
This badge demonstrates my ability to design a digital game for learning, including learning objectives, storyboards, and achievement systems. The focus was on ensuring the game’s structure supports learning outcomes with appropriate scaffolding and reward mechanisms.
📅 Date Earned: December 8, 2025
🎯 Earning Criteria: Submitted final digital game design with integrated educational elements
🌟 Enthusiast Badge
Earned for completing the full WSSG training program and mastering all attributes and badge pathways
This badge represents a comprehensive mastery of skills across all five levels of the WSSG Design Academy. From mechanics and narrative to prototyping, evaluation, and adaptation, the Enthusiast Badge signifies that I completed the full 16-week journey — earning every available badge and attribute while contributing thoughtful reflection and game design work throughout.
📅 Date Earned: December 15, 2025
🎯 Earning Criteria: Evidence of all badges and attributes earned and documented during the course
🧭 Narrative: The Journey of the Enthusiast — completing as many skills-building activities as possible and showcasing mastery through reflection, design, and iteration.
🎖 Unlocked Attributes
🎮 Player
You’ve earned the Player Attribute for demonstrating skills in playing and analyzing games with a critical lens. This attribute represents the foundation of studying learning games through firsthand play, examining player experience, mechanics, and how those connect to educational goals.
📅 Date Earned: November 18, 2025
🧩 Tied to: Level 1 – Playing & Analyzing Games
📘 **Blogger**
_You've mastered posting to your blog and engaged in reflecting on your skills development through game design practices. The practice of recording your design work, thoughts, achievements, and motivations is a useful reflective and reflexive exercise used in all design practices. Through this achievement, you have demonstrated that you are able to translate the physical medium of the sketchbook into a digital representation._
🧠 **Learning Strategist** – Applies systems thinking to explore game mechanics and learning outcomes
🧭 **Explorer** – Driven by curiosity and reflection, seeking connections beyond the syllabus
Gamestorming Attribute
Description:
You have mastered the process of Gamestorming, exploring different methods for generating new ideas for games-based learning. Ideation is only one aspect of Gamestorming, however; once you have ideas, you have further demonstrated your ability to turn those ideas into complex stories ready to embed learning into.
📅 Date Earned: [9/15/25]
🧩 Tied to: Level 2 Progress – Narrative Design & Idea Generation
📚 Narratology Attribute
🖼️
Description:
You've mastered the art of Narratology — the study of stories, especially as they relate to learning through games. This attribute recognizes your ability to break down story structures and embed meaningful learning opportunities through narrative.
Game-based learning relies on more than just lore — it requires an understanding of the balance between player agency and designer intent, and how that dynamic can enhance or hinder the learning experience.
📅 Date Earned: [9/29/25]
🧩 Tied to: Level 2 – Narrative Mechanics and Player/Designer Dynamics
🧮 Evaluator Attribute
Description:
Games for learning aren’t just about fun — they must lead to meaningful knowledge transfer. To earn the Evaluator Attribute, I analyzed how player actions can demonstrate learning outcomes and how to design reward systems, scoring mechanics, and in-game assessment tools that reflect this growth.
This attribute reflects my ability to align gameplay mechanics with learning objectives, and to determine how and when to reward players for demonstrating their understanding through action.
📅 Date Earned: [10/13/25]
🧩 Tied to: Level 3 – Assessment Design and Feedback Loops in Games
🎮 Ludology Attribute
Description:
Mechanics are the engine of any game. To earn the Ludology Attribute, I demonstrated mastery in identifying and designing core gameplay loops that align player actions with defined learning objectives.
As a Ludologist, I’ve balanced gameplay-driven experiences with purposeful learning design — ensuring that game systems, mechanics, and environments all support interactive learning activities. I’ve also considered how to design these loops within the context of serious games that focus on both challenge and cognitive growth.
📅 Date Earned: [10/29/2025]
🧩 Tied to: Level 3 – Gameplay Mechanics and Core Loop Integration
🔧 Referee
You’ve proved that you can referee a game with the best of them. This attribute showcases your work designing rules and logical structures for player actions and outcomes. You've also explored how instructions and mechanics translate into play-ready systems, bridging game design with cognitive logic.
📅 Date Earned: [11/10/2025]
🧩 Tied to: Rule Design and Win/Lose State Mechanics
🔨 Constructionist
At the heart of learning how to design games for learning, you’ve built not just games—but tools for learning. The Constructionist Attribute acknowledges your ability to build knowledge into a development tool, reflect on learning experiences, and construct meaningful designs rooted in good practice and reflection.
📅 Date Earned: [12/08/2025]
🧩 Tied to: Game Creation Philosophy & Learning-by-Design
🌀 Adapter
Not all games for learning begin from scratch. The Adapter Attribute recognizes your ability to transform or repurpose existing educational games into gamified lessons. You’ve demonstrated the thoughtfulness and creativity required to align these adapted designs with learning principles — motivating and engaging learners without losing sight of the educational goals.
This attribute highlights your ability to transition from game-based learning to gamification, showcasing adaptability, instructional alignment, and learner-centered thinking.
📅 Date Earned: [12/15/2025]
🧩 Tied to: Iteration, Feedback Integration, and Adaptive Design
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