both the ants and the various objects in their ecosystem, allowing the player to author patterns of
change in the environment. Second, the population of the colony grows over the course of
normal play, amplifying this customized systemic pattern. Third, the ants dig at the player’s
instruction, forming a unique nest architecture, resulting from this interaction. These three factors
allow the player to feel ownership and investment in the colony, thinking of it as his own.
System thinking is the heart and soul of Leafcutters. The game guides the player through
a process of connecting the actions of an individual ant to the complex actions of the colony as a
whole. By allowing (in fact, requiring) the player’s interactions to alter the decision making of
multiple ants simultaneously, Leafcutters demonstrates the multiplicative affect of individual
actions taken by many actors.
Gee writes that meanings of concepts are best learned when the student can associate
them with an action image—a lived experience. For games to do this, they must “make the
meanings of words and concepts clear through experiences the player has and activities the player
carries out, not through lectures, talking heads, or generalities.” 63 Leafcutters allows the player to
live through the growth (or death) of an ant colony, thereby tying concepts of the workings of an
ant colony to very particular action images. The game provides the experience of guiding and
living with an ant colony that is not possible in the real world, but which remains authentic to
reality, so that these action images provide valid understanding of natural phenomena.
Fiction and Nonfiction in Leafcutters
Leafcutters blends fiction and nonfiction in an attempt to accurately represent ants in a
way that is prohibited by real-life constraints.
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63 Gee 22.