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In this poster abstract we describe an ongoing design science project: the implementation and study of a story-based language learning game called Arena. We adopt the view that games can be a powerful mechanism for motivating learning through informal mechanisms. However, our design process has revealed a number of deep challenges that we continue to contend with. In this poster we reflect particularly on the fatigue players feel when engaging with stories and play in an unfamiliar language, as well as the difficulty of connecting play interactions to language tasks.

We report pair distribution function studies on the relationship between the metal-insulator transition (MIT) and lattice distortions in pure and Ti-substituted bilayer Ca3Ru2O7. Structural refinements performed as a function of temperature, magnetic field and length scale reveal the presence of lattice distortions not only within but also orthogonal to the bilayers. Because of the distortions, the local and average crystal structure differ across a broad temperature region extending from room temperature to temperatures below the MIT. It The coexistence of distinct lattice distortions is likely to be behind the marked structural flexibility of Ca3Ru2O7 under external stimuli. This observation highlights the ubiquity of lattice distortions in an archetypal Mott system and calls for similar studies on other families of strongly correlated materials.