Layered Learning

After my classmate's presentation, I have been thinking alot about the idea of 'layered learning' in video game play. The concept was quite simple - through repetition of play (he was talking about the racing game Midnight Club 2) , the player accumulates knowledge about what is expected of him/her as a player of that particular game. With each run through, the player has to layer new discoveries to add to the old knowledge - in the case of MC2, things like the driving direction of a particular track, obstacles and other challenges designed into the game that a player cannot possibly learn on their first run through.

So - I am thinking about this concept of repetitive layered learning and I am drawn back to the identification feedback loop I presented earlier in the semester, where the player (or viewer of a film) recognizes elements (or symbols) within the game context and appropriates them into their 'encyclopedia of knowledge' [Eco, 1988]. With each 'identifying feedback loop' we essentially layer our knowledge to further understand the context and therefore (theoretically) play better since the player has more information to work with.

Through game play, this is a mechanical process to an extent. The player must physically manipulate the control to navigate their avatar within the gamespace while contemplating their encounters. There is active thinking, since the player has to think about why a particular door can be opened while another one cannot - signifying an intended path or direction of play designed into the game.

With a film this process is a relatively more passive one - at least a more internal process. For two reasons: first, without interactivity, the signs designed into a film must emit their meaning more directly since the viewer does not have the time nor opportunity to play, rewind and replay a film [this can be contested of course with the popularity of vcr's, dvd's and other home viewing devices - but the 'original' design of a film is to be 'understood' on the first time 'run-through']. Secondly, the viewer cannot explore areas within the film space that is essentially irrelevant to the film itself, since the film is a fixed construct. Their is no opportunity for exploration, therefore no opportunity for 'layered learning'.

Again, I suppose this can be contested in that any cumulation of information is essentially 'layered learning'... in this case I guess the difference is in HOW the layers are accumulated; through passive viewing (being fed the sequences in a specific order to create a specific meaning/understanding or through active participation, where meaning is a lego effect created by the player.

So, is there a difference between layered learning, the identification process loop and Eco's encyclopedia?