#ECIL2023 The Relationship between Game Literacy and Information Literacy

So this is slightly weird, reporting on Sheila’s presentation on Sheila’s blog, but I really wanted to hear Sheila speaking about this interesting topic. Sheila began by asserting the popularity of gaming, and using the guided inquiry framework as a way to understand information literacy in games. Research about video games has historically focused on the negative consequences of gaming, so it is useful to present an alternative view. There is still not a lot of research into information behaviour in gaming, and information literacy research has often focused on using games to teach information literacy. Sheila presented a definition of video game literacy by Bourgonjon 2014, and will look at the 3 literacies present in the model and will define the information literacy dimension in those. Sheila has supervised 60-70 masters dissertations looking at information behaviour in gaming, and has drawn on 4 example studies in this presentation. Students looked at a variety of game contexts, but the studies reported here focus on 3 games - League of Legends, Elden Ring and Dread Hunger.

Operational literacy corresponds to functional reading, so being able to play a game, understand the rules and contextualising what you find in the game. The information literacy dimension here is in being able to use the full range of information sources in and outside the game, and combining this with your own understanding to play effectively. In Elden Ring there is a message function, but it’s quite restricted to specific words, and if other players find your message they can give you feedback on your message, and popular message shine brightly in the game. Information literacy in this context is shown through being able to interact with messages and understanding the format and limitations of them.

Cultural literacy is about understanding the technical context of the game e.g. that servers exist in different countries, and they have different cultures, and understanding the game within the landscape of gaming generally, and within the wider cultural world. Information literacy is about using knowledge of conventions and plots of similar games to interpret messages and information in the game.

Critical literacy is understanding the social, economic and political context of the game, and the practices and norms in game design. The information literacy dimension is about understanding the power structures underlying the game, and the political landscape in which the game operates. Sheila presented some examples of the way in which gamers recognise that information is falsified or is misleading. Deliberately misleading others can be seen as part of the game, and some game roles require players to give misleading information. It also therefore involves learning strategies to identify false information.

In conclusion information emerges as a really important aspect of gaming, and gamers can easily articulate the information required or important in the games they play. Information literacy contributes to all three aspects of game literacy. Making more connections between video game literacy and information literacy could contribute to the "Third Space" (where learners' experience meets new knowledge) in the classroom. Sheila will be posting her presentation to Slideshare later in the week and will blog the link.