Many moons ago I worked as a Computer Lab Aide at an elementary school.  With an extremely limited budget (like, zero dollars), I searched for inexpensive ways to enhance students’ experiences when they eagerly walked into the computer lab for their short 30-minute slot each week.  While doing an online search for freeware, I came across a fabulous gem that teaches letters and numbers called Sebran (Zebra in Swedish).  I immediately downloaded the program after reading a brief synopsis and viewing some sample screenshots.  I figured I could uninstall the program if it sucked.  Although the game is geared towards primary grade students, I – along with every other adult (and student, of course) that sat down at a computer station in the lab fell in love with Sebran instantly.  Needless to say I threw a copy on all 40 workstations we had.  Maybe it’s the simplicity of it; maybe the fun imagery and sounds… most likely a combination of them all.  More importantly, it gave students the motivation to play – and learn while playing.  The school I worked for had a heavy ESL population, so I was able to take advantage of the Spanish setting that Sebran offers.

Sebran is also offered in these additional languages:

Afrikaans, Bahasa Indonesian, Breton, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Samoan, Slovak, Slovenian, Turkish, Swahili, Swedish

Sebran takes full advantage of intrinsic motivations for learning (Malone and Lepper article) through sensory curiosity (sensory stimuli of the play environment through sound, images, movement), recognition (happy face or frown face), varying degrees of difficulty, explicit goals, and score keeping.

Here’s an overview of Sebran from the freeware website:

“It’s never too early for your child to become familiar with letters and numbers. Sebran’s ABC’s colorful pictures, pleasant music, and gentle games teach letters, numbers, simple math, and rudiments of reading.

-The six simpler exercises display four possible answers. Choose the right one and it becomes a smile; an error gets a frown and a chance to try again.

-The How Many? counting game introduces the numbers from 1 to 9. These are used in the Add, Subtract, and Multiply matching games, which each function at two levels of difficulty.

-In Pick A Picture, one of four pictures matches a word; First Letter offers four possible letters completing a word.

-Your child can employ the skills gained in these exercises to play Memory, Word Memory, or Hangman.

-Finally, the ABC Rain, Letter Rain, and 1+2 Rain games help train little fingers in using the keyboard.”

There is also a version for 2-6 years olds called Mini Sebran, along with a host of additional vocabulary training e-games available on the website: http://www.wartoft.nu/software/sebran/

PLEASE give it a try – it’s free, and I would love to hear your thoughts of the e-game, even if you’re not a primary grade teacher!

Attention Game Players!! It’s brand new – released on November 17, 2009. NCAA Basketball 10 uncovers the core of college basketball with an all-new strategic motion offensive system, innovative broadcast presentation, the excitement, emotion, and pageantry that makes the college game unique. It introduces full integration of CBS Sports and ESPN broadcast elements, allowing gamers to choose their broadcast presentation for every game. Electronic Arts Inc. announced the availability of this game, developed under the EA SPORTS brand for the PlayStation3 and Xbox 360.

Yes it has relevance in the new broadcast-style and graphics just like one would see while watching a college basketball. It boasts confidence simply by pressing a button as the teammates can get initiated into whatever offense the player decide to run. It provides the ability to track players’ progression, make improvements to facilities in school and go through the standard recruitment process that every college sports game brings to the table. Yes it is satisfying and involves all 4 steps of Keller’s ARCS Model of Motivational Design.

Oh yes!! Even Malone and Lepper’s Characteristics of a Learning Game applies here. The player enjoys control over a team’s strategy and can mimic real-life style of play and adds curiosity and fantasy with the authentic broadcasting presentations from the all-star announcing crews like Dick Vitale, Brad Nessler, and Erin Andrews of ESPN, and Gus Johnson and Bill Raftery of CBS Sports by choosing regular season games and its exclusive broadcast of ‘March Madness’. Everything that fans see and hear on TV when watching college basketball will be mirrored in here, including graphic packages and highlight reels. It adds challenge with Improved Coach Feedback System and Team Tempo Control which enables the execution of game-plan to perfection.

The curiosity maximizes with a new offensive system that allows users to maximize ball movement, utilizing every player on the court, and executing team-specific plays, designed to control an opponent’s weaknesses. With the touch of a button users will be able to play fluidly and successfully. It increases the strategy behind team styles of play by introducing eight authentic motion offenses.  So start your game-play and visual enhancements and make a run for the “Final Four” with more than 100 improvements, including player movement, rebounding, off-ball collisions, alley-oops, size-ups, and more!!

Its said, “People are best motivated if they are involved in designing and deciding the activities”. Here is your opportunity to get started…get going…decide your game!!

- Are you curious to get a video demo? Please visit  here.
- The official website is here.

For this month’s post I was really trying to look for simulations using some new technologies out there.  I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, but I did stumble upon an interesting role-paying game franchise for the Wii called “Trauma Center.”

The first version for Wii is called “Trauma Center: Second Opinion” and it’s definitely more of a game than a true realistic simulation, but gives players a way to get introduced a little bit to the world of surgery in unique and fun way.  It also looks to make great use of the Wii controller, which only having limited experience from the Wii by playing at friends’ houses, looks to be something of a rarity for Wii games (except for the ones exclusively designed by Nintendo like “Wii Sports Resort” which make excellent use of the technology); many of the Wii titles I’ve tried thus far would almost be easier in using a regular controller in my opinion.

This is a story-based game where you play a surgeon at a hospital and have to use all of your skills in order to save patients in certain time limits (before they die).  You use the “nunchuk” part of the Wii controller to select from a variety of surgical tools, then use the motion controller part to actually do whatever procedure is needed like actually making incisions, applying medicine or devices to wounds, and sewing up an incision using stitches and tape.  Even though it’s in an animated form, it gets the basics of what surgery is supposed to be about right, which is refreshing.

While the gameplay looks to be quite fun and at least mildly realistic, the game designers must have taken a page or two out of Lepper and Malone’s article for study because there’s a lot more to the game than just the basic gameplay of “fixing” patients.  There is a huge endogenous fantasy component — you actually become the surgeon in a hospital setting — complete with interactions with patients, colleagues, administrators, etc.  There is also an actual episodic storyline to the game as well which helps to motivate players to continue playing through to the game’s conclusion (judging from the cover, there must be some sort of master villain, don’t you think?).  From a video review I watched the game is designed using anime-characters complete with over-the-top melodrama that anyone who has seen a typical anime (other than Miyazaki’s works) will be familiar with which also adds to the fun and immersion experience of the game.

All in all, it looks like a very fun game and must be a popular franchise — they’ve already made 3 iterations for the Wii alone.  It might not be exactly the simulation I was looking for, but it seems like this same story-based model could easily be applied to a more realistic simulation at some point (maybe without the melodrama reminiscent of anime shows or ER and Grey’s Anatomy for that matter), incorporating a controller like the Wii’s and creating a more true-to-life experience for educational purposes.  One can hope, anyway.

If you’d like to see the video review referenced in this post along with some additional video screen captures of the game, check out this link here from GameSpot.

Animal Kingdom, Wildlife Expedition is a Photo Safari game for the Wii. This single player game has a bit of a story to it which requires a player to read the story to understand it (which I mention because I had to read it to my 4yr old daughter for her to understand it). Here is a brief summary from the developers site:

Nestled in the middle of remote Animal Island is a secret preserve where the most rare, exotic, and reclusive wild animals roam. Only the best wildlife photographers gain access to this area, so you need to impress your editor with good work and earn the trust of the furry and feathered inhabitants!

After choosing a boy or girl character, AKWE starts with an opening sequence that orients you to the game. You are introduced to the location, your robot assistant, and your editor who requests various shots throughout the game. The robot assistant takes you through a brief tutorial on how to use the controls.

Immediately, the AKWE incorporates controls I consider sloppy, the only option you are given for choosing things on screen is pointing. I much prefer games that also offer the option of using the directional arrows for selecting things, especially when it is just housekeeping type stuff, like choose a character, clicking yes or no, or typing your name. Also in the initial setup of AKWE, every choice needed to be confirmed by pointing at yes… it would be so much more efficient to be able to click A for Yes or B for No.

Screenshot from Opening Sequence

The opening sequence itself (and the game in general) incorporates too much reading. In fact the text appears on the screen one character at a time with a beep sound for each character (much like the typewriter effect on power point which gets old very quickly). I think I would prefer to have the text read to me than to have the beep sounds (with the option of easily muting it, or skipping through it quickly).

In general the slowness with which the text appears is a precursor to this game’s biggest problem… it takes to much time to get to the interesting stuff. Sometimes your robot assistant tells you to do the same thing twice before he allows you to do it.

It's an African Elephant

Really the heart of the game seems to be when you get out of your jeep (driven by your robot assistant) and get close to animals attempting to take their photo. Here the game works pretty well. The animal graphics are good (I suspect they are identical to the Publishers PS3 release of a similar Game – Afrika). At the early stages of the game you have to creep very slowly when around animals to avoid spooking them. I found waiting in location also seemed to work pretty well as the animals often approached very closely in their wanderings. Depressing the B button pulls out the camera and the interface changes to look similar to looking through a camera. Here is where I think a game like Nikon Reporter could go a little bit further, giving you a little more control over capturing a quality photograph than just getting close and centering you subject, all that AKWE requires.

I found the photo part of the game to be the most intriguing. To me, this was a a completely new concept for a game. In fact in my research (See Nikon Reporter – Competing Products), I could find only a few games that are based on photography. In a sense AKWE combines a first person shooter with a photo simulation. Not being a big FPS player, I enjoyed that this game was not about killing the animals. In fact I found myself patiently waiting for several minutes for the perfect shot – something I have done myself at the zoo when taking pictures. Being closer to the animals than allowed at the zoo and the quality of the graphics (even on a Wii) kept me engaged. then it was time to move on… and this is where the game is a little lacking. The way in which you move from shoot to shoot is a little awkward, some of it is the annoying “you have to point to choose yes” control… actually after playing a little bit more, that is most of it. It is also a little slow at times because you have to do a lot of things to move to the next step.

So at present, I have not actually played much of this game. The big question is will I continue playing it… probably. My four year old has wanted to play it some more as well but I suspect for both of us that AKWE will not hold our interest for very long, the biggest factor being the pace with which you go through the game being a little too slow and keeping you from the most interesting part – shooting pictures of the animals.

To begin preparing this month’s blog post, I started with a simple Google search of population simulation games and I happened across an interesting one, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004.  This simulation is one in which users (players) get to experience the thrill and technicality of true to life flight experience.  The game contains 3D interactive cockpits, specialized aircraft such as the Bombardier Learjet and a Cessna Skyhawk, among many others and many ways to create and select types of flights for the simulator.  As a bonus, the game also has contains a collection of articles on the history of flight. 

In reviewing this game, I began to realize how useful and relevant it is, or could be, to those who are interesting in flying, either as a hobby or as a profession.  Therefore, the learning theory that I believe explains a motivation to play it is the ARCS theory.  The ARCS theory involves motivation on 4 levels: Attention, Relevance, Confidence and Satisfaction.  This game can provide motivation to play it on each of these levels.  First, the 3D graphics and interactivity make it an “attention getter”.  Second, the interactive cockpit and variety of flights to choose from make it very relevant to a “real world” flight experience.  Third, once the player has been through a variety of aircraft and simulations, they will most likely feel confident in their abilities to handle a similar flight experience in a real aircraft.  Lastly, I am sure that satisfaction will be the end product in realizing a goal that has been achieved. 

Even though I am not really interested in flying, I have to admit that this game is pretty cool and I would be very interested in playing it.  I guess you could say that it could “fuel” an interest in flying, if nothing else.

I found it slightly disturbing that when I asked my 22-year-old step daughter, Ashley, for the name of a popular sim game, she told me that her 16-year-old brother plays Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare regularly—in fact, he’s addicted.

Call of Duty 4 : Modern Warfare is a first person shooter video game, developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision.

The story takes place in a fictional near-future, where a radical leader has staged a coup d’état in the Middle East and a Ultranationalist movement has instigated a civil war with Russia.  The events of the conflicts are seen from the perspectives of an American Marine and a British SAS commando and are set in multiple locations.

When I googled it, I found out that it is a critically acclaimed game which scored an aggregate score of 94% from both Game Rankings and Metacritic.  It won numerous awards from gaming websites and it was the top-selling game worldwide for 2007 and had sold 13 million copies by May 2009.

I asked Ashley’s brother why he loves the game so much.  Most of his answer concentrated on the fantasy and challenge aspects of the game.  He said he’s able to play against his friends, who sit behind their own personal computers and he also plays against other people from around the world.

As far as fantasy, he seemed a little too excited about the fact that players use modern warfare weapons including the M4A1 carbine, the M203 grenade launcher, night vision goggles and the MP5SD submachine gun.  The player gains access to these over the course of the game, but can only carry up to two weapons in addition to grenades.  Players also have the ability to call an airstrike and attack a helicopter.

I guess I’m getting old, but even though Call of Duty 4 is a simulation, it’s far too violent for my taste.  I grew up in an age of Pac-Man, Frogger and Dig-Dug and this game is entirely too real for me.

The Exploratorium in San Francisco is a fantastic museum and the website is equally impressive. Sixth graders from my school enjoy a pilgrimage every spring and I prime them for the field trip by sending them to the website every chance I get.  Most of the material on the site would more accurately be described as “activity” rather than “game” … it is all educational and the kids love it!  Here is a link to a science how-to … dissect a cow’s eye …

http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/cow_eye/index.html

The designers get students’ ATTENTION with a pretty startling subject and video with excellent production values.

RELEVANCE is clear … this is a science museum and anatomy is science.

CONFIDENCE grows as students get blow-by-blow instructions for performing the dissection at home.

There is great SATISFACTION in having watched a fascinating science video with a big yuk factor … those geniuses at the Exploratorium know what kids like!

The recent event of the stock market spinning out of control wasn’t fun, and many experienced huge losses.  However Donald and Betty Lee Deitch, who were in that precarious boat that ended up sinking, decided to shed light on the situation by creating an environment that would allow people to experience the Wall Street game without losing a penny.

The Wall Street Spin®, the first game in a series of FunSpin™ board games, was developed to accomplish just that.  The game is suitable for adult players and provides a satirical atmosphere of fun and challenge.  However several testimonials note that it’s a great way for parents to introduce their children to the realm of money and the stock market, helping to bridge the generation gap.  It also provides a parallel between something that in reality is a sore subject, taking those aspects and turning them into educational entertainment.  Although it won’t win me real money {and I won’t lose real money either, unless I play it in Vegas } it has peaked my interest enough that I will probably buy it to play!  Here’s the scoop:

• Simulates ups and downs of the market, without complex math.
• Can affect all players even when it’s not your turn, which keeps players interested in the game.
• Encourages social and negotiation skills in players.
• Fun way to learn stock terms. Hostile Takeover allows you to take another player’s stock at 1/2 price, and change the game’s dynamics. This makes the game more exciting.
• “Play” the market without risk! Novices gain confidence, while experts enjoy this Game of Strategy.
• Great as party or travel game.
• The game packaging is quite appealing, with a chic carrying case and patented spinner.  An Oscar-winning animation director collaborated with designers to coin quirky stock names.

Here’s how to play:

Set out the game board with the spinner in the middle.  Break apart 24 color stock certificates.  It’s fun, because this game has varying prices. “Play” the market without risk!

1. The object of the game is to get as much stocks and cash in 1 hr. or set time.  The player who has the most is the winner!  Set out money, cards.  Begin at “Market Opens.”

Strategy: Try to get 3 stocks in a color group, it pays more dividends.  When you own all 3 stocks, you can buy a Blue chip marker for $4k, which increases the values of all stocks in that group!  You can buy or sell with other players for 2 mins. before your turn.

2. When you land on an unowned stock, you can buy it.  If you land on someone else’s

stock, you have to pay Dividends to the owner.  The amount you pay depends on what you spin again, for example, 300 X spin (1) = $300.  Or 300 X spin (8) = $2,400!  Ouch.

3. The spinner has 3 functions:  1) Move tokens without dice.  2)  Blue Chip Spin refers to the 8 stocks in the middle. 3)  Market Spin refers to the navy blue edge, which could be good and bad spins, that affect you or all players, such as “Market Boom.” (Please refer to Rules booklet for specific instances).

4. Bull/Bear news cards bring good or bad news.  Players don’t need to know stock terms to play, just collect from the Broker, or pay penalties into the Windfall profits corner.

The best card is “Hostile Takeover” when you can force sale of a stock at ½ price!

5. Whoever lands on Windfall Profits collects $$ from the penalties!  Fortunes can quickly change.  Broker puts in $1,000 each time
after it’s collected.  Broker also gives players $1,000 when they pass “Market Opens.”

To learn more, visit http://www.funspin.com/index.html

Operation is one of the, funnest “hybrid” board/electronic games of my childhood.  Fairly simply designed, it only required two AA batteries connected to a pair of surgical tweezers and a simple board layout featuring an (almost) anatomically correct caricature of a male surgical patient “Cavity Sam” (“Sam”)

Sam from waist up

laid-out on the operating table with a dozen or so clever twists on medical ailments inlaid throughout his body.  The object is to remove the ailment without “zapping”  the outlying area of the condition, thus setting off a buzzing red-nose on the apparently unanesthetized Sam — the poor sap’s eyes remain wide open throughout!   (Unconfirmed rumors suggest Milton Bradley opted to forgo the licensed anesthesiologist to keep “operational costs” at a minimum, major malpractice action notwithstanding.)

Operation was always a lot of fun to play — and technically an anatomical educational learning tool, albeit featuring clever colloquialistic ailments like,  ‘Water on the knee’ – remove a bucket from the knee; ‘Writer’s Cramp’ – take out a pencil from the forearm;  and of course, the infamous ‘Wrenched Ankle’ – you guessed it, someone crammed a monkey wrench in poor Sam’s ankle.

The full board and pieces

Hasbro  have since spun-off a variety of versions of Operation over the past four decades, including brand-specific (Homer Simpson and The Incredible Hulk as patients), computer based and online versions of the game, as well as a modernized version, featuring patients suffering from more appropriate 21st century ailments, such as ‘SMS Thumb’, ‘Rusted Hip Joints’ and “Data-Miner’s Lung’. Another big brake through in the game, came when Hasbro (who acquired MB in the 80s) held an online contest to add a new ailment to the original version of the game. Since 2003, Sam has added to his suffering a 13th operable ailment – “Brain Freeze” (as in the ice-cream related kind). Beyond the anatomy element of the game, players rely heavily on hand-eye coordination skills (it can be really tricky removing some of those objects) Players are also designated as “Specialists” and can make extra cash performing surgeries their feeble-fingered peers failed to pull of safely This adds an informal lesson in the medical profession’s impressive Specialization fields, shedding some insight into all the cash prospective med students will make by sticking it out an extra couple of years in residency.

Forty some-odd years since it was first introduced to the market, Operation has stayed true to the simple premise yet also proven the concept has, and likely will continue to, stand the test of time in the gaming world

I was interested in the “reality t.v. gaming” aspect of game design. So I Googled and Googled and discovered the inspiring, awarded, and respected game philosophy of Jane McGonigal.

Ms. McGonigal creates her alternate reality based games, while holding on to the basic history of games. She contends that popularity for all games derives from the initial intended diversion among humans to deflect poor situations within their own lifetimes. Games were used to get away from the social troubles facing people. She says they may have been invented to alleviate suffering.

One take she had which I found particularly interesting was that ARG games allow people to collectively apply their selves to a given problem while still holding to an individual performance.

She shined as the Participating Architect in the global reality game of a World Without Oil. Participants of the game lived as if they were all affected with a global oil crisis. Contributions from players began to take the form of reality for other players. Visit the site, it is truly an amazing alternate reality game.

Her most recent ARG was The Lost Ring. This was a global, multi-lingual alternate reality game that united players in a quest to recover ancient Olympic secrets. Although the game is complete, the results of the game are archived.
Saving the World through Game Design

After reviewing these games, of which I had no clue existed, the possibilitites for more global and social collaboration could lead to more unity and understanding of communal issues.  I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

Like much of Euprope, the Prussians spent a large portion of the early 19^th century getting their butts kicked by Napoleon and his French Armies.  The Prussian-Franco war of 1870, however, yielded a much different result.  The Prussian Army handedly defeated the French Army, marking the downfall of the second French Empire and the creation of a unified Germany under King Wilhelm I of Prussia.

I know we lost the war, but can we get a copy of that game?

What contributed to this dramatic turn of events? How did the Prussians finally defeat the French?  True, the Prussian Army had been growing in size throughout the middle portion of the 19^th century, but the French still had a clear advantage in weaponry.  The answer lies in the strategic planning implemented by each army.  The Prussians deployed a variety of creative tactics and strategies.  The French strategic planning was clumsy and inflexible – and virtually non-existent.

So why was it that the Prussian Army was so much better prepared?

They played games, of course.

In 1824, Lieutenant von Reisswetx of the Prussian Army, building on the earlier works of his father, published Anleitung zur Darstelling militarische manuver mit dem apparat des Kriegsspiels (Instructions for the Representation of Tactical Maneuvers under the Guise of a Wargame).   These rules outlined a game that simulated various tactical scenarios that the Prussian Army of that time period might face.

Prince Wilhelm (soon to be King Wilhelm) caught wind of the game and invited Reisswitz to his castle in Berlin for a demonstration.  The prince was so impressed with the game that he decided to present it to the Chief of the Prussian Staff, General Von Muffling.

As the story goes, Von Muffling, a career military man, at first remained skeptical of the game.  But as the simulation unfolded, he could not contain his enthusiasm, exclaiming, “This is not a game, this is a war exercise! I must recommend it to the whole army!”

Sure enough, within months, every brigade in the Prussian Army had their own copy of the game.

The game was very detailed and complex,and  much bigger than the board games of today. The early versions shipped to the various Prussian armies consisted of:

“…six feet square table open at the top and filled with 4 inch square terrain pieces made in plaster and carefully painted to show roads, rivers, villages etc, and interchangeable to give a variety of terrain. The troop pieces were made in porcelain. There were dividers for measuring distances, rulers, small boxes for placing over hidden troops (they were allowed to make surprise attacks) and a set of written rules.”

With the distribution of the game came an increased emphasis on education within the Prussian Armies. Kriegsspiel (German for wargame) allowed officers and troops to practice tactical maneuvers, develop and implement strategies, adopt to unforeseen circumstances, and increase their overall operational readiness.  The game was intricate enough that Prussian officers could acquire familiarity with all aspects of their profession without having to learn in the “heat of battle”. Kriegsspeil also insured a trained reserve of enlisted personnel were ready at a moments notice.

Of course, today, simulations are used by militaries all over the globe as a tool to educate and prepare officers for the battle – but it was Kriegsspeil that first showed the benefits of such simulations.  And Kriegsspeil is still being played today, both in its original form and in updated versions.  To learn more about the game, its origins, and where/how it is being played today, visit the Kriegsspiel News website here.

My Learning Assistant

I’m only distorting the facts a little. The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) was formed in 1945 by scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project and the FAS does have a keen interest in educational games, including video games. In fact, Learning Technologies is one of the three primary programs listed on the FAS home page with a link to Games and Simulations listed below it. “Games are the Future of Education Says E.O. Wilson” was one of the lead stories on the day I visited the site.

On the Learning Technologies Projects page, FAS explains its interest in games. “In order to help advance our research, as well as promote our vision of what we feel should be the future of learning, FAS has opted for more than a mere academic involvement in the creation of a new model for learning. We are actively involved in the creation of games and simulations that we feel represent some of the best ideas for such models.”

I was particularly impressed with a project called My Learning Assistant, which is a tool for game developers that allows them to spend more of their time developing games and less time programming software.

"Too much of e-learning produced today is just pushing out knowledge, leaving learners bored to death or too overwhelmed to have any impact on business outcomes." - Michael Allen

A few years ago, a coworker got us all reading this book – Michael Allen’s Guide to e-Learning. Does anyone remember Authorware?  Michael Allen was the creator of this flowchart-based authoring tool still (but not for much longer) available from Adobe.  These days, in addition to writing, consulting and speaking on e-learning, Dr. Allen runs a company called Allen Interactions Inc. which is one of the leading providers of custom e-learning solutions for workforce training and performance improvement. The company is especially known for designing highly effective simulations and games. Even programs that could not really be defined as games, feel game-like in that they are fun, interactive and engaging.

According to his book, a key strategy used by Allen Interactions is the use of design teams that include the instructional designer, SME and/or client, artist and programmer. Instead of having an instructional designer conduct analysis, then work in a vacuum to create design specs for artists and programmers to follow, the process is collaborative from start to finish. The team uses a process called “successive approximation” which is a micro-cycled version of ADDIE. Beginning with a very rough prototype, the team creates several iterations of the program – allowing the design to unfold and improve with each version. All members of the design team need to be intimately involved throughout the entire life of the project for this to work.

I’ve found at my workplace, it is very difficult to work in this way (although we’ve tried). I think this is due to the fact that we have several Instructional Designers and only a few multimedia team members, who are simply spread to thin to be truly involved in the design process.  I’m excited to have the opportunity to work in this way on our projects for this class, and am interested to hear if others have experienced this type of process on the job.

As a teenager, I’ve played his games countless times without knowing who created the games.  Compared to most game designers, Richard Garriott is old.  He’s 46 and created Akalabeth, the Ultima series,  Pacman, Space Invaders, and Donkey Kong.  But in all of these games, only one player could play at a time.  He envisioned something other game designers thought to be ludicrous.  What if thousands of people could play simultaneously using their computers and modems?

Ultima Online was then born.  That was the start of the multibillion dollar online game industry.  Unfortunately, Ultima 9 had problems.  It lacked good design and crashed frequently.  In 1999, he severed ties with publisher Electronic Arts.  Until now, there has been nothing from Garriott.  Six years and 20 million dollars later, we are about to see Tabula Rasa.

Tabula Rasa is more about quick reaction and tactical strategy than lots of armor and heavy duty weapons like World of Warcraft.  Here you are also faced with ethical dilemmas like  willingness to poison a river that your allies also use.

New York Times article on Garriott and Tabula Rasa

Richard Garriott on Wikipedia

With the creation of the latest console system some years ago ie Playstation3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, game developers were given a new canvas to create the future of gaming. The Sony and Microsoft systems focused on arming themselves with the latest processor and video card technology to run the smoothest and most beautiful games ever seen. Although the games were beautiful, the human interaction was exactly the same as the previous generations and each games beautiful 3d style world was still 2d when we looked at the screen. Nintendo not having the most powerful system took a different route and incorporated the most interactive style control system out of the three. The use of motion detection through human activity brought the game player closer to the game by actually moving around and depicting movements simular to the game they were play.  This example of interaction can be seen in “Wii Sports” and “Wii Fit” just to name a few. Although the human interaction was there, the tv was still being used in a 2d style world.

About a year and half ago I discovered this video on youtube from a Carnegie Mellon University student by the name of Johnny Chung Lee. Johnny took the Nintendo Wii and reversed the remote and infrared lights. So instead of the user moving around to connect to a steady environment, the environment moves to create a 3d world around the user. Fast forward to September 9th, 2009, I found another article pertaining to the rumors about a racing game being developed for the Playstation 3 console with the use of optical motion tracking of “head tracking”. If you’re an avid racing game player you’ve been waiting for Gran Turismo 5 to come out for a couple of years now only to be disappointed with many failed due date promises. By the way, the new estimated release date for GT5 is March 2010. Hopefully this technology will be a shining light on the massive development delay of the game. The technology using the Playstation Eye will work very simular to what Johnny Lee demonstrated in his video with out the use of the lightbar or infrared glasses. Instead Sony will be using their camera and the use of face recognition algorithm, which tracks your face similar to how photo camera and video camera do.

Aside from the creepy 1984 style message the eye mentions, hopefully this technology of developing the 3d world of video games will reach out and conquer the 2d world that users see when playing games today.  Personally I can’t wait to sit down and play a fully interactive GT5 race with the head tracking Playstation Eye and Logitech G27 wheel.

Please share what you think about this topic and the future of head/optical tracking in the future development of games.

We’re going to court.

My husband is an artist. A graphic artist to be exact. This summer he had the unfortunate pleasure of dealing with a client who thought he could trademark a piece of commissioned character art without having to pay for it. Now that the client has breached our signed contract, and put a stop payment on a deposited check, we’re taking the guy to small claims court. We know we have a strong case, but it’s still a bit uneasy to go into court by ourselves, knowing that we aren’t lawyers. Wouldn’t it be so great to have an educational video game to make the law so much clearer?

How timely it was for me to stumble upon exactly that! An unlikely game designer, former Justice Sandra Day O’Connor has recently released not one, but two interactive online games designed to help middle-schoolers understand the U.S. Constitution. I took the time to play one of them called “Do You Have a Right?”  produced by non-profit OurCourts.org. Surprisingly, I found the fast-paced Flash-based laywer-simulation to be addicting (with catchy music, I might add!).  Justice O’Connor was quoted last year as saying,

“Only one-third of Americans can name the three branches of government, but two-thirds can name a judge on American Idol. You’re going to have greater success if you teach it in ways that [students] like to use. They spend 40 hours a week, on average, in front of some type of screen.”

It appears OurCourts.org has a strong foundation for bringing civics education into the 21^st century. Major partners include Arizona State University , Georgetown Law ,  and educational development companies, Filament Games and Cabengo LLC . Considering that teachers are often searching for free, web-based curriculum, OurCourts.org is just one of numerous non-profit organizations attempting to transform how students learn social issues of the day.

Sandra Day O’Connor promoted her games with Games For Change (G4C) last year. According to their website, Games for Change , is a community which acts as  “a knowledge base and resource hub to help organizations network and develop video game projects beyond their traditional expertise…”. Participating groups include government, journalism, academia, industry and the arts. Their impressive web site provides subject matter game channels to test out the latest educational games – human rights, economics, poverty, environment as just a few – from a large variety of developers.  G4C has also hosted an annual conference for the last six years. Touted as “the Sundance of video games” the Games for Change Festival combines leading game designers, Pulitzer Prize winning keynote speakers, and workshops aimed at addressing important social issues.

I’m excited to know that there are, indeed, consortiums making a concerted effort to engage students in topics that may not seem as appealing in a traditional classroom. I look forward to seeing what Game For Change, OurCourt.org and others will bring to the mainstream for teachers and parents in the future.

The Walt Disney Company, committed to producing “unparalleled entertainment experiences”, spearheads technological advancements in family entertainment. Walt Disney Imagineers, the masterminds behind theme park design and development, set the trend for theme park entertainment by developing attractions that are driven by the current consumer market. Such is the case for Disney newest rides which combine rider interaction, 3-D, and even 4-D technology, like Toy Story Mania!.

Toy Story Mania!, Images taken from the Disneyland Park website

Here, guests wear 3-D glasses aboard a spinning vehicle equipped with a spring-action shooter to launch darts at various targets and gain points, while traveling through multiple virtual environments based on carnival midway games.  Guests aboard the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, pilot their own Star Cruiser while zapping targets and racking up a personal score. Riders can even e-mail their Astro Blaster score and continue the battle online in their home.

Although passive rides like Pirates of the Caribbean will continue to have its place in Disneyland culture, these new “gaming” rides allow guest manipulation creating a personalized experience each time, no ride is ever the same.  Such innovation adds to the magic we come to expect from Disney and extends the experience by creating entirely new options for guests.

Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Images taken from the Disneyland Park website

In researching some of my favorite childhood educational games, I stumbled upon the name of Will Wright who was the original designer of The Sims video game series.  The Sims is a strategic life-simulation computer game that simulates the daily activities of one or more virtual persons.  As of this year, The Sims is the best selling PC game in history!

His efforts and achievements garnered him a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards in 2001, and being inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences’ Hall of Fame in 2002. In addition he also received a fellowship by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 2007, which made him the FIRST game designer ever to receive it.

In an article about educational gaming he says “…the real power in gaming isn’t in its ability to educate, but its ability to motivate. Motivate people to educate themselves.” This idea seems to hold very true with his most recent game Spore, which an article on Kotaku.com describes as with the following: “Spore, Will Wright’s far-reaching game about life, the universe and everything, is a journey, not just from microscope to universe, but of discovery and imagination.”  The article also draws comparisons between Wright’s video game work and the Montessori teaching method, which Wright was exposed to during his childhood. The Montessori method is largely about empowering a child to do things on their own, to explore, which is how Spore was described. I thought the angle of this article was quite interesting and, along with Wright, would seem to be of great interest to any educational game developer. This article can be found at Kotaku.com.

Shigeru Miyamoto is the head of Nintendo’s design team and the creator of Wii Fit. Wii Fit is a balance board which resembles a bathroom scale. It connects wirelessly to the Wii console and comes bundled with a CD that contains about 50 different activities. Standing on the board you can participate in Yoga, Strength training, and Aerobics balance games, such as skiing and roller-blading. Although Shigeru’s primary function is not educational games, 18.2 millions Wii fits have sold in the world and that merits recognition.

Shigeru Miyamoto claims his family influenced him in creating Wii Fit. They started becoming more health conscious, working out and tracking their activities. He made learning about health & fitness in addition to tracking these items fun, even for his grandmother. Shigeru, now 52, has been playing Nintendo games since he was 4 years old.

You can read more about Shigeru at http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1595326_1615737_1615521,00.html

What institutions review games and train game designers?

All the big players, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have game research departments. Nintendo and Sony work with game designers all over the world and train them to develop games that run on their devices, such as the PS3 (Sony) and Nintendo DS (Touch screen).

What professional organizations are out there, and what conferences are key for people in the world of Educational Gaming and Simulations?

Game Developers Conference – http://www.gdconf.com/
A worldwide conference comprising of over 17,000 attendees and 400 lecturers open to designers and developers.

Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences – http://www.interactive.org/
AIAS promotes awareness of the art and science of interactive games and entertainment.  AIAS has an impressive list of directors on their board from Sony, Nintendo, ESRB, EA and Microsoft (just to name a few).

A company called TruSim is developing a serious game for the purpose of training health care workers that are the first responders in the case of a violent disaster. The gamer interacts with a three dimensional environment where the camera views the world through the eyes of the first responder. As the player walks through the world, they encounter debris, injured people with visible wounds of various types, etc. The graphics and imagery are realistic enough to make the squeamish uncomfortable as they move through the environment.

When an injury is encountered, the player can perform an examination and then must decide whether the patient is in urgent need of attention or not. If an injured party is well enough, the player should ask them to walk to the ambulance crew. If the injury is more serious, the player should begin treatment.

The player must make decisions constantly. For example, when the player decides to perform an examination, they must decide the level of examination they will perform since some examinations take longer than others. Once the examination is complete, the player must tag the injured party as to level of priority with four options available ranging from priority 1 (immediate treatment) to priority 4 (deceased).

Article in Government Technology

I guess I can count myself one of the squeamish because the prototype video demonstration below is a little tough for me to watch. There is constant alarming noises such as sirens, moaning, etc. and it is a little unnerving seeing bodies littering the streets even in a simulation. Despite that, the game is compelling and seems like it will achieve its educational goals quite well once it is released.

Heidi Thibodeau AKA Heidi Beezley

I found this game while I was researching competitive games for the one I am creating for my e-game. The game has come up with a lot of realistic experiences the students in a high school will go through. I plan to allow my freshmen to try it out!!!

http://games.the-n.com/games/avHigh/ahigh.php

Features of the game:

• Name your high school
• Name your team
• Pick 2 school colors
• Customize 8 students:
  • Name each student
  • Age and grade level are given
  • Select skin color, hair color and hair styles

The virtual high school contains eight unique students whom you can sit back and watch, help them become happy, or ruin their lives.

THE STUDENTS

Each of your students is a unique individual, with his or her own likes, dislikes, and feelings. Your students get better or worse at things like academics, sports, and art depending on how much time they spend doing them.

The right frame of every screen contains the image below. The number of points earned is listed at the top (1) and below is a map of the school (2) showing the four rooms utilized. Next, there are horizontal bar graphs (3) noting the levels of academics, athletics, artistic ability and happiness. Lastly, there are comments on what the student is thinking (4) and details about the student (5) that is currently selected.

HAPPINESS

Different things make different students happy. Doing things they like will make students happy and when they have to do things they don’t like, they’ll get sad.

DECISIONS

Your students will decide what to do if you don’t give them any orders. They decide what to do next based on what they think about things and how they’re feeling.

Socializing

Students will look for someone to talk to when they feel like socializing.

Activities

Studying at the library makes their grades go up, playing basketball at the gym makes them better at sports, and painting in the art room improves their creativity. Each student has activities they like and ones they don’t.

FRIENDS AND DATING

Your students make friends by talking with other students. If students have a lot in common, they’ll start liking each other more and eventually become friends.

After a while a student might develop a crush on another student if they like someone enough. If they work up the nerve to ask their crush out, the two students will start dating if the other person feels the same way. If not, the person with the crush will get rejected and will end up having a pretty bad day.

THE SCHOOL

Your school has four rooms: the art room, the gym, the library, and the cafeteria. Students will walk between the rooms to go to new activities or to find someone to talk to. Students can go to any of the rooms — except the cafeteria — at any time.



The Art Room is where students go to paint, which will increase students’ creativity:

The Gym is where students go to play basketball and get better at sports:

Students go to the Library to study and improve their grades:

The Cafeteria is where students each lunch everyday, all at the same time:

THE STUDENT DETAIL SCREEN

This screen lets you customize your student and learn more about him or her.

Journal

The journal lets you read your student’s innermost thoughts. They’ll write about how their day has gone and what they think about other students.

Report Card

This lets you check out how your student is doing at school, and will show what they need to be spending their time on.

Happiness Meter

This readout lets you see the student’s happiness level over the past 5 days.

Give Crush Button

If you have enough points, click this button to give the student a crush on another student.

Give Body Odor Button

Make your student smell so bad no one will want to be anywhere near them. The effects last one day and will cost you 100 points.

Special Items

Buy your student one of these items if you think they could use a boost in a certain area. Students can have only one item at a time:

• Sneakers
  
  This item improves the student’s athletic skill.
• Brushes and Oils
  
  This item improves the student’s artistic skill.
• Laptop
  
  This item improves the student’s studying habits.
• Cell Phone
  
  This item makes the student more social.
• Driver’s License
  
  This item makes the student cooler.

Change Clothes

Click here to cycle through different styles of clothing. Changing a student’s outfit will cost 250 points.

Events:

• Big Test
• Big Game
• Art Show
• Prom
• Graduation
• Party
  
  

How to Win the Game:

Once a certain amount of the major events are complete, the graduation button is unlocked. It is then possible for the student to be able to graduate and complete the game.