http://tinyurl.com/ydjsnxu

You will have to scroll to see this article.  There are lots of other articles worth reading in this issue.

Okay, what does that have to do with this last post? Probably not as much as

Drawing with the mouse takes some practice.

I’d originally thought. But the good news is my original inspiration for this story returned to me out of the blue.  And I think it’s as germane as I first considered it, at the beginning of this course. So I’m writing about a game that I’ve now twice become addicted and broken free of, called Line Rider.

If you recall with any fondness, the children’s story Harold and the Purple Crayon, you may appreciate the ingenuity of Line Rider. A simple, but ingenious idea, Line Rider is a Flash-based online game that allows you to draw a continuous path for a sled or motorcycle rider (depending on the version you’re playing) who travels along the path and picks up speed relying on a combination of gravity, momentum, energy, (possibly friction) and potentially other complex principles of Physics that may, or may not, be involved in the underlying design, depending upon which Bloggers you believe.  Frankly, “game” may not even be the right term for Line Rider, it is like a puzzle or an exercise in observation and application. The rules may not always make logical sense, but you will soon pick up on the nuances.

Poor drawing yields poor results.

My most recent obsession with Line Rider came at the expense of the productivity of several of my colleagues at an Investment Bank I used to work in. (Ironically, it was the first of the big ones to fail, no doubt in part due do the distractions of Line Rider). As the game spread from cubicle to office to cubicle, throughout the floor, a dozen or so analysts, associates, VPs and even Directors joined the cult, squealing and contoring as they watched their latest creations attempt to out cool one another’s course design, while building and improving upon previous attempts. Because the free version of the game does not allow you to save games the guy at the desk adjacent to my office actually left his computer on all night and weekends with the game site screen up so as not to lose his ongoing game.

Line Rider does not come with an eraser per se, but does allow you to draw over mistakes you’ll inevitably make. What at first seems to be an innocuous bump in your line, once tested may turnout to be a lethal launching pad. Early on you simply cannot anticipate the momentum your rider may have approaching any given section. What adds to the enjoyment are the happy mistakes you’ll make along the way, something that was clearly a mistake, may cause your rider to take off in some way you’d not anticipated, allowing you to build more bridges, slopes, bumps, jumps, to take him or her in any number of directions in this infinite space in which the game exists.    Needless to say, there are some amazing compositions of Line Rider online.  Amazing.  uh…mazing.

I have never been a great student of the hard science or mathematics, so I cannot attest to what, if any, formulas or principles of design might play a role in the quality of the design of the game. It certainly is not necessary to think in such terms to enjoy process. If you’re never played it, I encourage you to try. But wait until the holidays. You’ll want the extra time to recover.

Celebrity Calamity creators

http://www.celebritycalamity.com/

While searching for various games that focus on teaching young adults about financial planning, I came across a simulation built in Flash called “Celebrity Calamity.” In this interactive video simulation, the player assumes the role of Financial Advisor to a celebrity of their choice. This job entails balancing the cash in the checking account and managing all lines of credit, while also shopping for clothes needed by the celebrity, managing income from various gigs and other expenditures. Each round, the Financial Advisor has a limited amount of time to “collect” as much cash, and also buy certain items that come falling out of the sky.

The purpose of this game is clearly explained in an article on Employee Benefit News website http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/vider-games-use-stealth-learning-to-teach-financial-planning-2681044-1.html . Some employers who have expressed interest in the game said, they would like to integrate “the game into their employee education strategies to help reinforce financial planning messages.” Originally designed to encourage young women to learn how to manage finances, the fun navigation and topical relevance to general public makes this game applicable to a broader audience demographic.The game is an effective tool for  reinforcing financial planning messages because it grabs the learners attention, the material is relevant, the learner can quickly gain confidence in their abilities, and the learner will finish with a sense of satisfaction that they did well and “earned,” or gathered, money and goods for their celebrity employer. These four components make up a popular motivational learning theory defined by John Keller known as “ARCS.”

Attention, the first component of the learning theory, is the element in the game that engages and arouses the learner. Celebrity Calamity uses what Keller would call “perceptual arousal” to gain the attention of the learner.  There is an element of surprise or uncertainly to gain the interest of the learner. There is not an instructions section that the learner reads before playing. The learner must discover how to play the game as he/she goes.  This creates an element of surprise that keeps the learner wanting to explore more.  The game also requires the learner to “actively participate,” which is another factor of the attention component. The learner roleplays as a Financial Advisor, gaining hands-on experience with the subject matter.The learner is motivated to continue on with the game because the content is relevant to him/her, which is the second component of Keller’s learning theory.

Relevance is critical for a learner to feel the game is worthwhile to spend their time playing. Keller says that learning is relevant when it relates to the learner’s experience, possesses present and future worth of the content, the content matching the needs of the learner, the learner is able to model the behavior, the learner has a choice in their method of learning and organizing the information. “Celebrity Calamity” includes present and future usefulness, needs matching, and choice.  The aspects that have both present and future worth in Celebrity Calamity are the application of basic financial principles such as budget balancing and staying within a budget.  As I played the game, I found the content helpful in the way I think about budgets in my everyday life.  The game is dynamic and has elements of “needs matching” because there are elements of risk and potential for power.  The player has to quickly try and grab as much money and “goods” within the allotted time period, but there might be some consequences depending on what items the grab. If the player collects a lot of money, then it’s a positive risk. However, if the player grabs too many clothes or other “expenses,” then the player looses money out of the budget.   The final aspect of relevance that the player has in this game is choice. The player can choose which items they go after which will affect the outcome of the game.  They can move wherever they want to on the screen, and they can go to any location they want to. This allows the learners to use different methods to pursue their work or allowing s choice in how they organize it.

The final two components of the ARCS model that are used for learning motivation in this game are confidence and satisfaction.  Confidence helps the learner understand their likelihood for success. If they feel they cannot meet the objectives or that the time or effort is too high, their motivation will decrease. This game time limit was very reasonable, and there are many opportunities for success. The goals are relatively easy to accomplish, as well. Additionally, if the learner makes a lot of money for their celebrity, they can see the positive effects because their celebrity client is pleased. What better satisfaction is there than knowing that you’ve made someone like Brittany Spears’ day?? As the player goes through the game he/she experiences small steps of growth and feedback during the learning, which helps build confidence in he/her ability.  We see this after each round when there are little lessons that reinforce financial principles that pop up on the screen that also show the learner how he/she is doing.  Learner Control is also an important aspect of confidence.  Learners should feel some degree of control over their learning and assessment. They should believe that their success is a direct result of the amount of effort they have put forth. This is definitely the case in Celebrity Calamity because the learner is responsible for gathering the goods and money and making decisions about whether to pay for expenses by credit or debit.

The satisfaction component of the ARCS theory is also found in the Celebrity Calamity game. It is similar to the confidence component in the motivational theory, as Learning must be rewarding or satisfying in some way, whether it is from a sense of achievement, praise from a higher-up, or mere entertainment. This game makes the learner feel as though the skill is useful or beneficial by providing opportunities to use newly acquired knowledge in a real setting, i.e. making purchases and choices with the celebrity’s money as they would with their own money in real life. Shopping is a great context for learning about financial management because when learners appreciate the results, they will be motivated to learn. Shopping can be a very gratifying scenario for learners and it’s something they can easily understand, as opposed to balancing the books of a multi-million dollar company. A final aspect of the satisfaction component of the ARCS model is that the learners are not patronized by over-rewarding easy tasks. The learner has enough challenges and stumbling blocks in this game that he/she probably won’t feel as though they’ve been overally rewarded.

Attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction are all motivational tactic that make Celebrity Calamity an interesting, informational, and enjoyable game to play. It would be a great game for young and more mature audiences to experience to strengthen their financial acumen.

I recently purchased and opened an early Christmas present for the family.  This present for the “family” was the Wii gaming system.  I had not had much experience playing games on the Wii system, so I was a bit apprehensive about bringing this time sponge (or any video game) into my home.  As I was researching egame ideas, I found myself appreciating what the Wii system had to offer my family.  With two very  active children in my home the decision to buy the Wii was rather easy.  In the 8 days that we have owned it, I cannot be happier about the purchase.

One game that I have really enjoyed is EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10.   While I may not agree with Tiger’s off the course decisions or appreciate his driving skills, I absolutely love this game!  For years, I have played other versions of Tiger Woods PGA Tour  (PS2 and PC versions), and this one is the best.  I may prefer the graphics offered by the PS3, but you cannot beat the interaction on the Wii.

Playing only a couple of other Wii games, I was surprised about the sensitivity and accuracy (or lack of) of the golf swing.  Any slight error in the movement of the Wiimote during the swing caused the ball to fly all over the place, which just so happens to reflect my skills in real life.  There are so many other aspects of the game that I enjoy.  The graphics are decent, the crowds are entertaining, there is a good variety of courses to play, many challenging game/tournament options, but most all, I like the ability to interact and physically move with the game.  I have the option to play real time games versus other people (on line) or even the “pros” who you can challenge during real time tournament action.  The tournament scores of the “pros”  are updated and you get to compete against them live.

This game offers it all….  The challenge of improving your player’s skills and competing against other people in real time action is great.  This game is motivating to play because of the all the opportunities to make choices that impact the career path of your character (of which you also can create).   If you are a golf fan, you will definitely appreciate this game.  Enjoy!

Wii Motion Plus- Check out this clip of the swing accuracy!

I chose to profile Don Rawitsch, the creator of the wildly popular educational game Oregon Trail. Oregon Trail is computer-based game based on the history and facts of the American pioneers who traveled across the country in search of better opportunities in the Oregon territories in the 1840s. “The primary  objective of this game is to develop decision-making skills in the face of changing and sometimes unforeseen circumstances.” Players are to make the right combination of decisions regarding hunting, food rationing, health care, seasons/weather, and physical danger to ensure that their party makes it to the Oregon territories.

Considered a pioneer in the educational gaming industry, Don Rawitsch, began his career in educational games and technology when he was a student at Carleton College in Minnesota. Don “was looking for a way to use the computer in a history class for which he was the student teacher. In collaborating with his friends, who were both student teachers as well, they created Oregon Trail. In 1974, Don took a job at MECC–or the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium as it was known back then.” (source) Rawitsch has gone on to launch is own consulting firm, Rawitsch Consulting, where he assists small and medium Web-based businesses to improve business processes and client relationships.

I personally remember playing Oregon Trail in 1989 in the computer lab at school while I was in the 1st grade.  Because I did not have a computer in my home, like most people in the late 1980′s, this was my first experience with an computer game in the educational setting. I remember having to stop by the general store to buy supplies and to decide which buffalo to kill for dinner and pelts. There were many times when members of my party died due to disease and weather. While this is a difficult concept for young students to grasp, I feel it is important to let students have experience where their decisions impact the lives and well being of others, even if it is only a simulated game. I feel that Don and Oregon Trail are such an integral part of educational technology history because if you ask most people what was the first computer game they played at school, the answer would more than likely be Oregon Trail.

]]> http://edtec670.edublogs.org/2009/12/08/edgames-people-don-rawitsch/feed/ 1 http://edtec670.edublogs.org/2009/12/07/career-odyssey-board-game-review/ http://edtec670.edublogs.org/2009/12/07/career-odyssey-board-game-review/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:46:02 +0000 kssmith09 http://edtec670.edublogs.org/?p=4110

Career Odyssey Board Game

The Career Odyssey board game is designed to help players determine what may be a good career field for them. There are over 12 major career areas made up of 100 career cards that describe talents required in a particular field to be successful. The career cards also include information on employment numbers, job growth, average salaries, etc.

The game is designed for Grade 6 students all the way up to adults. This was a good range because it is important for kids to get a feel for what career fields they may be interested in so that they know what to focus on as they go into high school, start thinking about colleges, and deciding on majors. It is also helpful for adults who are looking to make a career change, who are entering the work forcelater in life, or just looking for ways to advance their careers.

While I believe that the concept of the game is great, the subject matter changes relatively quickly potentially making the game obsolete quicker than expected. In today’s economic environment, entire industries have been eliminated and created within the last 5 years, and will probably continue to grow, change, and die and the speed of innovation increases. I would change the cards to a digital device that can be updated by connecting to a computer or website to get updated career industry and skill information. This will help the stay current and provide a high level of relevancy to the players. Also, the colors of the board seem to be muted and dull and lack graphical excitement. Over all I feel that the concept of the game is good, but the execution could be updated for that we as a society search for information. I would also separate the level of complexity from Grade 6, high school, and adult into 3 different levels of difficulty so that the user will stay engaged and not feel that particular skills concepts are too difficult grasp or to basic to provide any benefit.

Original Post (10/27/09  here)

snake on a cell phone

As I thought of e-games or sims to write about for this month’s post, I tried to think of games that really held my attention but were in fact quite simple.  I almost immediately thought of Snake, which I (and many others I’m sure) used to play on my cell phone several years back.  This game was one that actually came for FREE on your phone and required the use of either the arrow buttons or the numbers ( 2,4, 6 and 8 ) to direct the snakes movement.  As the snake moved around, you needed to guide it to ‘eat’ the flower looking item on the screen to increase the snakes length, which in turn increased your points and level.  If your snake ended up eating its tail, then the game was over.

Performance feedback was an integral part of this game as you could see the snake growing (and speeding up) as you progressed through the game.  I found that challenge and curiosity also played a big role in motivating me to play this game – I knew that if I lost, I would have to start over from the beginning.  It was fun to see how long the snake would actually get… could it get to a point that it was too long and the game would end itself?  I never figured that one out.

Screenshots

Analysis

Tried and true motivators such as challenge, competition, and cooperation are just as valid today as they were just a couple of decades ago when computer games were still a novelty enjoyed by few.

The uncertain outcome of every card game (assuming no one cheats) makes each game new, unpredictable, challenging, and fun. Team games build relationships and a sense of community and give the players an opportunity to connect with one another. Card games foster competition, and allow each player to move up the “Flow Channel” and increase the challenge level as the game becomes boring, as well as increase the skill level when the game is too challenging (see Conditions of Flow, p. 71).

The challenge cards contain wonderfully creative ideas for games that you could use outside of game design for discussion or writing prompts.   This concept of using a game to design a game might even be a good final exam for EdTec 670!

I can’t wait to try it.

Looking back…

Because my experience with electronic games is limited to the handful of floppy disks that lived next to my family’s Apple IIe computer, I have found myself taking journeys into my childhood, trying to remember what those games were (other than Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, which I’ve discussed already)  Aided by various Google searches for “80s computer games”  I came across a title that, for me. was laced with a sense of nostalgic portent and gravitas.  The title is:  Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Simulator (which has been changed, after a lawsuit by Microsoft, to Chuck Yeager’s Advanced Flight Trainer.)

(Video demo can be found here).

It was a game I attempted only once, yet it conjures poignant memories.  This is because it was the one and only computer game that my father ever played.  And so begins a personal story that may or may not fit the guidelines of this assignment.

My father has never been a computer guy.  He appears, to outsiders, quite a cosmopolite, and most, I think, would be surprised to learn that he is one of the few stalwarts of the modern era who have yet to acquire a computer (my memories of him playing were on the family computer, prior to his post-divorce, computer-free bachelorhood).   He has never used the internet, and doesn’t plan to.  Devices in general are a source of anxiety, and I remember that efforts to take a family photo usually went something like this:  “Ready?  Okay, one, two,…  wait.  Hold on a minute, this thing’s not going off.”

The anatomy of appeal

So, in retrospect, the choice of a gadget-laden flight simulation game seems decidedly out of character. Yet I remember it clearly:  the vision, captured during late night trips to the bathroom, of my father’s intent face, lit by the greenish glow of the screen before him as he fiddled with the joystick and muttered celebratory grunts and frustrated epithets under his breath. It seems to me that this choice is a true testament to the powers of attractive appearance as well as fantasy, to hold sway over even the most unlikely would-be gamers.

I too, was initially taken in by the game’s attractive appearance.  I was amazed and -  oddly enough -  simultaneously proud and humbled to be living in an era when human beings had developed technology that caused the picture on the computer screen to respond to the movements of my joystick in a way that made it seem that I was really flying (a claim that today’s youngest generation of gamers would no doubt find utterly laughable).

At the age of eleven, I had lots of fantasies (starring in the Ice Capades, walking the streets of Calcutta with Mother Theresa, becoming a Rockette or an Olympic swimmer, and living in a donut-shaped, self contained, artificial environment that orbited around the earth combating the epidemic of overpopulation).  Piloting an airplane was not among these.  In fact, the proposition of getting on a plane, period, seemed downright terrifying.   So, for me, the visual attraction alone was not enough to motivate me to play.  I attempted to use the game once, and, facing the frustration that inevitably comes from learning to negotiate a virtual airplane over a virtual landscape without crashing into trees and buildings, I quickly aborted the mission, never to return.

For my dad, however, the fantasy element must have had more powerful sway.  He persisted in his pursuit of a successful flight for a brief but intense period.  It may have been a month, possibly three months; it may have been a year.  He played with intensity and dedication, for many nights on end.

What dreams may die

Eventually, he stopped.  For him, it was a private battle; he gave no verbal  indication of his success or failure then, and for some reason, even now, I feel a little funny asking him to relive it.  Because I know that what my father values most is an environment that he can control, and I also know that what a pilot must do, in order to succeed, is to surrender his faculties to a trust in the plane’s control panel, and this is something that I struggle to picture my father doing even in the comfort of his family’s empty living room in the dark, wee hours of the morning.  I suspect that, in the end, the challenge was one that he perceived to be too great, too insurmountable, to warrant his continued effort.  I wonder if there was a sort of epiphany, a moment in which he realized the futility of his efforts.  I suspect that the reality was much less momentous.  More than likely he played with vigor in the beginning, and felt his interest waning, over time, as fantasies of success continued to elude him.  I imagine that it waned and waned until, one night, he simply didn’t play, and like the proverbial Puff the Magic Dragon, the game remained where it would for the rest of my family’s time in the house where we grew up – unplayed and gathering dust, until there came a time when floppy disks (the kind that really were floppy) were no more.  Sometimes, the challenge is simply too great.

To have lasting appeal, a game must successfully walk the line between challenge and reward.  Though I have no doubt that Advanced Flight Simulator Trainer did this for many players; for my father and I, the losses ultimately outweighed the gains.

The stakes have changed

When I think of simulations, I think of Chuck Yeager and I think of my father.  I also, thanks to a recent video interview shared by Sue (here is a link to her Nov 17 post), think of James Paul Gee.  In it, Gee discusses the important role of games and simulations in the learning environments of the future.  Games and simulations provide continual, immediate assessment, they challenge the learner to learn and grasp new concepts on an as-needed basis, they require creative problem solving, and they are best experienced in a collaborative environment.  Such ingredients are vital in order prepare students to develop the mental capacities that will be most necessary for competing and thriving in the future, according to Gee.

Change the current paradigm of education?  Move the focus from a skill and drill, pen and paper test model to a dynamic, interactive, collaborative learning environment, where attraction, self-actualization, and reward are seamlessly interwoven with challenge, skill-building and assessment?  Talk about a fantasy.  Talk about a challenge.  But, oh! – What a vision.  How different it is from the way many of us have looked at education or games.

My father’s experiment in simulation was a product of a different era.  It was a matter of fantasy, and when the frustration of virtually living the fantasy outweighed the perceived reward, the experiment could be easily abandoned.

James Paul Gee’s vision may sound like a fantasy, yet it is one that, I think, cannot be abandoned so lightly, however challenging it may be.  We need to develop learners who will not be easily daunted by the challenge of an unfamiliar environment, because the reality is, as has been mentioned over and over again in various circles of would-be proactive educators, we are preparing them for environments that do not exist yet.

My father’s experiment with flying, via simulation, was the result of a fantasy that was so tangential to his actual life that it was never discussed, and when the experiment was abandoned it was only evident to those family members who had once observed him playing in the living room.  He couldn’t learn, as a successful pilot must, how to trust the controls, how to give his senses over to the technology of the strange new environment.  Ultimately, for him, it was not only too strange;  it didn’t matter enough in “real” life.  He could live his life as he had, with more or less the same degree of success, regardless of his ability to master virtual flight.

For our schools and our students, experiments in simulation might also be a matter of fantasy, as all worthwhile learning endeavors should be.  In a good simulation, play is intimately laced with the thrill of making sense of a new environment.  As Gee aptly notes, gameplay is an ongoing assessment.  You make decisions and your success or failure is directly affected be the decisions you make.  For our students, however, learning to negotiate unfamiliar environments is, and will continue to be essential.  Gone are the days when such pursuits were largely tangential to real-life success.  For our schools, success will require what Gee calls a “total paradigm shift”.  Thus undoubtedly will be frustrating and unnerving, especially for educators, who typically value most that which is already known and can be easily controlled (that is:  drilled, tested, graded, “covered” – in familiar, manageable, isolated parcels that have nothing to do with life as it is lived by any sentient being, and everything to do with what is wrong with the fundamental design of traditional educational systems).

Nobody likes to surrender control.  It is inevitably fraught with problems, laced with expletives, and requires a trust in forces that have yet to be mastered.  We don’t trust the controls; we haven’t developed the necessary coordination.  Initial attempts to fly inevitably crash and burn.  But for us, as educators, the fantasy is not tangential to real life.  The game, as Gee notes (and I am one of the most unlikely people to come around to believing this) can and should be recognized as a viable tool for preparation of today’s students: to have real-life success in unknown (and unknowable) environments.  Maintenance of such a fantasy is critical for educators.  Its preservation may be the only factor that keeps us from abandoning the game during the late-night hours when the challenges of play appear to outweigh the potential gain.  The potential gain is always a fantasy, and for educators it is far from tangential; it is a matter of life and death for our primary currency,  the development of ability:   the abilities of people, ideas, and environments, to change.

The game has amazing graphics which is a plus for any type of graphic war game.  Along with the great graphics is the storyline.  The setting is World War II and the storyline uses actual movie footage to show those playing the game the real feeling of being on the frontline.     There are two different subplots within the game and the player gets to be both individuals in the game.  You see the war from the American viewpoint as well as the Russian viewpoint.

To match the great plot as well as the amazing graphics there is an online component to the game.  You can play against others online in team or individual matches.  This raises the level of intensity of the game and makes it different each time because of the different players you meet each time you get online.

With Call of Duty: World at War it definitely has the FLOW.

Here's Mario in Level 1. In addition to Mario, players can chose to be Luigi or Princess.

asdfg ;lkjh.  Seem familiar?  No, it’s not online cursing.  Those are the home keys on a computer keyboard that, at one time, we either formally or informally learned.  How did you learn how to type?  Was it during visits to the computer lab back in middle school?  Was is through having to keep up during AIM chatting in high school?  Maybe it was just because your blasted teacher made you turn in typed book reports…so you struggled your way letter by letter until one day, before you knew it, your words per minutes were that of a veteran secretary?  Whatever scenario you can relate to, you are now a pro.

Here’s my story. . .

Way back in whatever grade it was, my Dad spotted a Scholastic book order form on the dining room table.  “Maybe it’s about time you learn how to type. Why don’t you pick software from here,” he said pointing to the form.  I picked Mario Teaches Typing.  Needless to say, my dad wanted me to pick Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing.  It was a classic.  But, being my dad, he had to keep his word.  I chose Mario, so Mario became my typing guru.

The Gist

In Mario Teaches Typing, players/students learn how to type (using all ten fingers!) at their own pace.  Players must pass one level to move into the next, but have opportunities to return to previously passed levels for additional practice.  A players advance, levels become more challenging.  These levels include, in advancing order, individual letters, words, sentences, and eventually paragraphs.  And, most impressively, Mario dissuades the cheater in us all!  During many, if not all, according to my recollection, there are animated left and right hands that mimic the proper fingers.  For instance, if you are asked to type a “y,” then the right hand’s index finger would light up.  

Motivating?

Yes, for three reasons.

(1)  Bonus points.  Players are encouraged to look at the screen instead of always at their fingers.  If the player pays attention to the screen, then there’s an opportunity to earn bonus points for hitting the correct letter.  The bonus letter is displayed fleetingly.  This motivates students to keep eyes on the screen and not glued to their hands.  Memorization is rewarded.

(2)  Praise from Mario himself.  Mario congratulates players for each level passed.  Additionally, a report card provides both positive and negative feedback (words per minutes, commonly mis-typed letters, etc.).  The idea is that players strive for improved report cards with each session.

(3)  Mario’s my friend.  Mario’s everyone’s friend.  He’s a familiar character to generations before and after me.  We all want to make Mario proud.  (Sorry, Mavis Beacon, but I don’t know you.)

Mario.  Not only are you my typing guru, but my hero too.

Helpful Links

Review by SuperKids Software – http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/reviews/typing/2/mario2/merge.shtml

YouTube, 5-minutes of Mario at various levels! – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQbxoOxxNiE

In considering motivation for this blog post, I couldn’t help but think, what makes electronic Solitaire so addictive? For the most part it lacks competition, since by the very nature of the name, one only competes with themselves. Of course, the software will keep score which is weighted by time and the number of moves it took to complete the game and compare it to previous scores. The greatest motivation is the challenge, an intrinsic motivation written about by Malone and Lepper in Making Learning Fun: A Taxonomy of Intrinsic Motivations for Learning. Successful completion of the game requires not only skill, but also luck, hence there will never be complete mastery. There is always a chance the cards are dealt in a manner impossible to win with. Lastly, the availability of the game continues its success – even the least computer savvy person knows Solitaire is located somewhere on every computer and that familiar deck of cards can be very comforting.

Klondike

In February 2009 Time Magazine published an article about Doodling and it’s usefulness in the ability to pay attention. Here is a quote from that article: “Doodling, in contrast, requires very few executive resources but just enough cognitive effort to keep you from daydreaming, which — if unchecked — will jump-start activity in cortical networks that will keep you from remembering what’s going on.” During my undergraduate years I often doodled in class and it did help me listen much more attentively to what was happening class but as the educational sphere has changed and so has the medium for my classroom experience I have had to find other ways to avoid such distractions.

While in a distance classroom, there are many distractions, instant messaging, general internet browsing, sorting emails are just a few. Generally when I am just trying to pay attention and am not taking notes (because the class and notes are often available after class is over) I will get sleepy. To avoid this I have been playing an egame called Bubble Spinner from time to time.

I am not really a big gamer so outside of being in a situation where I need to pay attention I never play or think to open up this game. My essential motivation for playing this game where I am just breaking bubbles until I get to none, is to avoid other distractions that might occur and keep my mind alert enough to pay attention. It seems a bit silly to me to play this game when I’m not doing something else in fact, often it remind

s me of Bejewled another one of my favorite pass time games that I play while w

aiting for something on my mobile device.

This motivation factor of avoiding distractions or being able to do something so mindless it keeps our mind from wandering is not always thought about but critically important in some of our day to day operations where we have to pay attention for longer than 10 minutes or the next commercial break.  Other games that fit this are Tetris, but that is timed which becomes problematic when I need to pause to pay attention to something.  And while I love word games and Sudoku I realize that would take attention away from my actual class as it would require thinking.

As relaxing as it is, however, being isolated in the middle of the woods in West Virginia provides perhaps a little too much downtime.  There is only so much napping and eating you can do before you start getting restless.  Now, there isn’t much in the way of computers or Playstations at grandma’s cabin, but as luck would have it, I happened to have my old cell phone on me  and, consequently, all my old cell phone games(I had lost my newer cell phone the day before).  So of course, I ended up spending much of the holiday weekend getting reacquainted with my favorite, absurdly addicting cell phone game, Bubble Breaker.

The brilliance of Bubble Breaker lies in its simplicity.  As you can see from the picture, the gameboard consists of a screen of differently-colored balls arranged in a matrix. There are five different colors: red, blue, green, yellow and purple. The game is played by clicking on any two or more connecting similarly-colored balls to eliminate (“bust”) them from the board, earning a variable amount of points in the process. The more balls eliminated at once, the higher the points added to the your score.  The game continues until there are no moves left – i.e there are no more like-colored balls adjacent to each other. The game immediately goes to the scoring screen, where statistics such as your Average Score, Total Score and your Total Games Played are displayed (performance feedback).

The challenge of Bubble Breaker provides the intrinsic motivation to play this game over and over again.  Every game begins with a completely random board, but the objective remains the same – eliminate the bubbles in the order that will result in the most points.  Each move depends on the move before it.  Depending on how the bubbles “fall” after each move, the point potential can change dramatically.  Its impossible to tell how any given board will play out at the start of the game.

The only depressing thing about Bubble Breaker, at least in this particular case, is the “Total Games Played” count the game so kindly displays for you of at the conclusion of each play.  Who would’ve thought you could fit 1,000 games of Bubble breaker into one holiday weekend?

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m slightly addicted to casual gaming, and Desktop Tower Defense is high on my list of favorite games. There are a lot of tower defense games out there, but Desktop Tower Defense is by far my favorite in the genre. The playing surface looks like a typical office desk. Waves of enemies (known as “Creeps” in the game) come across the screen, and your task is to stop them from reaching the other side of the desk. You can build various towers to attack the creeps as they cross the screen. There are several different types of creeps, resulting in the need for different towers. Nine types of towers have different benefits: some are inexpensive, some only attack air or ground enemies, some slow the enemies. My friends and I play multiplayer games and track our high scores using the game’s Group Scores feature so we can claim bragging rights.

I’ve spent a lot of time playing Desktop Tower Defense, and EdTech 670 has given me the opportunity to reflect on why this game is so enjoyable. Looking at it from Keller’s ARCS model, there are several features that make it a great game.

Attention: Desktop Tower Defense is anything but boring. There are many scenarios and variations in the game to keep any player interested, plus the graphics are entertaining. And if you master the built-in options, you can add another twist by playing online against other people.

Relevance: The built-in scenarios offer goals to keep the game relevant, plus there is familiarity between the different game modes.

Confidence: There are success opportunities for players of any skill level. Different game options can be turned off or on to suit the needs of each player. Plus, players have a lot of control over the setup and outcome of the game.

Satisfaction: The score within each game is a great intrinsic motivator to perform well. And the extrinsic reward (the possibility of being on a high score list) motivates players to excel. Plus you can build equity by using the Group Scores feature to track your progress over time and with your friends.

Overall, Desktop Tower Defense is a fantastic game. I’ve introduced it to people who admit that they don’t enjoy video games, and even they can’t put it down. My only warning is that you’ll find it difficult to accomplish anything else once you start playing, because all you’ll want to do is play Desktop Tower Defense.

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games is an electronic game for the Nintendo platform. In the game, players choose a character from the Mario Brothers or Sonic the Hedgehog franchise who have different levels of strength and skill or the player can choose a self-created avatar. Players then use a wireless controller and “nun chuck” attachment to compete (either against the computer or other players) in typical summer Olympic games such as archery, swimming, table tennis, and track & field events. Based on where the player places in relation to the other competitors, they are awarded points that go towards an over all score. After all of the predetermined matches are complete, players are awarded either a gold, silver, or bronze medal for their performance. As the player advances in level and skill new characters and games are unlocked.

From a motivation perspective, the ARCS motivational theory can be applied to how the developers implemented certain features to keep players engaged. Attention: Bright , vibrant colors and inspirational music (think Rocky) are present at all stages of the game. Also the crowd claps and cheers during matches or in games like archery, the spectators are quite but the sound of the wind is present. Players have the option of reading instructions and or practicing before participating in an actual match. Relevance: This game was launched as part of the campaign for the 2008 summer olympics held in Beijing, China and because the Olympics are a near-global effort, it was hard to go anywhere without hearing or seeing an advertisement for the games. While the actual olympic games are reserved for the most elite athletes in the world, Mario & Sonic allows players to fulfill their own personal olympic aspirations from the comfort of their own home with friends and family. Confidence: Players build confidence by having the ability to choose the events that they enjoy the most and then compete to improve their previous performance. As players continue to play, their expectation of success increases as their skill and mastery of the mechanics of different moves and opponents increases. Satisfaction: Players are provided with Positive consequences such as winning gold, silver, and bronze medals, achieving a personal best score and unlocking new players and games.

Battleship game board

This is an online version of the classic board game.  We’re studying how to graph points in algebra class, so we played battleship!  To be honest, I picked the game because it’s online, it looks good, and it deals with plotting coordinates (in particular, this was a good game because the coordinates aren’t labeled, which lead to lots of confusion).

As I stood in class and watched my students play, I was amazed at how engaged they were.  These are kids that tell me everyday about their favorite game on their PSP.  Or how their arms are tired from playing Wii boxing all night.  Or better yet, how they couldn’t do their homework last night because they were up until 4am playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  I played the game with three different classes and nearly every student was engaged.  Not just looking up front and paying attention, but eager to help a fellow player or take their own turn at the board.  It was incredible.

What makes the game really fun are the aspects of control and curiosity.  Their really isn’t any chance or luck involved in the game.  The player decides where to place his or her ships and so takes ownership over them.  The player also gets to pick which space to shoot at.  Some players opt for haphazard guessing, while others use a more methodical approach.  The best moments came right after a player would pick a space to shoot at.  Then they had to wait to see if it was a hit.   In that split second, you could hear a pin drop.  This was usually followed by a rather loud response from the class if the turn resulted in a hit.

These aspects of the game are probably true for the classic board game version too.  However, the look and sound of the online version was also very motivating for my students.  Instead of hearing another player call out “miss,” or “hit,” the game shows a splash of water or a large explosion (realistic sound effects included).  Thirteen year-old students liked this.  It offered them a fresh look at an old game which was enough to keep them interested until the game really got going.

The online version is a virtual penguin community in which players can choose the look of the penguin, as well as the name (screen name) of their penguin.  During the player’s movement around the virtual community they can move through various stores and community places, while interacting with other players, as well as playing mini-games to earn coins.  The coins earned by players can be used to purchase virtual items for decorating their igloos, purchasing a pet puffle or accessorizing their penguin’s wardrobe.  Although, there are membership dues for playing the online version of Club Penguin, non-members are able to move throughout the virtual community and interact with others, with limited benefits. At various times, Club Penguin has allowed players to donate their earned coins to charitable foundations, such as the Elizabeth  Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. 

About one year ago, Club Penguin Elite Force was released for use on the Nintendo DS platform.  This allowed players to play Club Penguin in their own virtual environment, while solving a variety of mysteries.  The player becomes a secret agent and is provided with clues to save another secret agent.  The makers of the game also provide the purchaser with a game card which allows the consumer to gain more coins in the online community.  While the DS version is more difficult in solving the secret missions, there are several online communities and blogs that provide secrets and cheats for getting through a mission.  I have found this a great benefit great when my son is so frustrated with the game that he is threatening to throw the game in the trash. 

On a recent trip to Disneyland, I noted that there were several pieces of merchandise that also tie into the Club Penguin market, including books, apparel and toys.  It seems that Club Penguin has become one of the greatest tie-in marketing campaigns for an e-game. 

As indicated by Lepper and Malone, Club Penguin seems to have all the factors for intrinsic motivation, both individually and interpersonally.  Club Penguin promotes challenge through guiding players to complete missions (DS) and find hidden locales (Online), thereby providing them with performance feedback as well as goal achievement.  It stimulates individual curiosity, by creating secret rooms or areas (both DS and online) that the players have to locate and explore.  It allows the player to have a sense of control, in that they are able to earn coins and make purchases to create a more enjoyable playing experience.  Even though the avatars are penguins, there are plenty of opportunities for individuals to play in additional worlds of fantasy, for example as agents or medieval knights.  Also because the online community is anonymous, it allows players to interact and role play with other players.  There is a great deal of competition in the online version with the mini-games, where you test your skills alone and with other players.  The DS version allows for plenty of competition and cooperation, in that players will usually discuss what missions they are on, and share clues as to how to unlock secret areas and solve missions.  I know that my son feels a sense of recognition when he can talk to his friends about his progress on both the online and DS versions and gets a sense of satisfaction when he can share his secrets.

Screen shot of Wurdle for iPhone

“Casual” Gameplay

Casual games are nothing new. They have been deployed electronically for years—how many people have killed time at work playing solitaire? The beauty of casual games is their simplicity. Take Wurdle for example: quick to download, quick to learn, and quick to enjoy playing. When the “New Game” button is tapped, a random jumble of words appears on the screen. From there, the player drags a finger over the top of the letters he/she wishes to connect to make a word. If a word is successfully identified, it will be recorded below. Players try to find as many words as possible in the allotted time. A user can select time limits as long as five minutes and as short as one minute. The perfect “while you wait” game.

Motivation and Mass Appeal

Wurdle is really nothing special, it’s not even the only Boggle knock-off for the iPhone. However, the simplicity is the point of casual games. Video game storylines continue to get more and more lengthy and gameplay has become more and more challenging, but there is still a large market for simple, easy to use and play games. In fact, casual games can be said to have the biggest potential market due to their mass-appeal. While video games have historically attracted almost exclusively men, developers have found that casual games seem to have a significant appeal to women. Firms have done extensive market research to learn how to attract female gamers and in the process they have learned that casual games are the one type of game that appeals to women without having to be specifically tailored to their interests. Casual games seem to have an almost universal character.

Simplicity seems to be the initial hook, but in terms of motivation, the thing that keeps people coming back is flow. Like Wurdle, the challenge of casual games is usually singular. With Wurdle the user is strictly focused on creating words. Not navigating a jungle or figuring out how many shield points is needed in a battle. Plus, the challenge increases, but on par with the player. As the player gets better, his/her high score increases, giving the player a new (and attainable) goal. The user can easily get lost in the flow of the game chasing after his/her latest high score. Plus, with the iPhone a player can be comfortably distracted in almost any miserable location or situation. Apple may not have created the casual game category, but the portability of the iPhone certainly seems to be helping the category grow.

More Info on Wurdle and Casual Games

• YouTube: Video of how to play Wurdle – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8t2-vDT_W8
• Wall Street Journal: Videogame Firms Make a Play for Women – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704882404574463652777885432.html
• Ezine @rticles: What Type of Women Play Casual Games? – http://ezinearticles.com/?What-Type-of-Women-Play-Casual-Games?&id=1898010

Home Screen

My seven year old son plays egames religiously.  He started off playing games at NickJunior.com and PBSkids.org.  A friend of mine introduced him to Nintendo8, a website that houses hundreds of old-school games.  He then quickly found his way to the realm of online egames.  About six months ago, I noticed my husband was playing online video games, one in particular he played ALL OF THE TIME: GemCraft Chapter  Zero.  Apparently my son showed him this game.  My husband would stay up for hours playing this game. He and my son would talk about the new gems they had acquired, how many monsters they have destroyed and especially the new lost amulets they have discovered.  After a few months, I sat down at my computer and googled the name of the game.  While my first experience was not very rewarding, I found myself wanting to go back to it to see if I could get any further on my next attempt.  While I do not find video games very tempting, this game quickly had its hooks in me.

Here is the basic scenario.  The player goes through this monster infested wilderness looking for lost amulets.  In order to reach new levels, the player has to destroy the monsters by building traps and towers and placing gems in them.  These gems shoot at the monsters.  The player starts with a very small amount of money, called mana, to purchase towers, gems and traps.  As the player kiils more monsters, the player accumulates what are called XP points.  The more XP points you have, you can adjust your skill level resulting in a variety of things: lowering the cost of gems, starting with more mana, improving the fire power of the gems, increasing the firing radius of the gem etc.  The monsters also have different attributes: speed and armor level.  There are eight different gems.  All of the gems have different qualities. For instance, the green gem shoots poison on the monsters and kills them slowly over a matter of time.  The blue gem slows monsters down.  The purple gem decreases the monster’s armor level.  As I play more of this game, I find more “hidden” levels and gain a more strategic edge for the game.

I have tried to evaluate why I find this game so fun.  I like the reward of the XP points.  I like that I have control as to what attributes I want to enhance throughout the game.  I like that I get to choose which level I want to play on.  This freedom lets me play a level that I think I can win, however be challenging at the same time.  I do not get bored with this game.  There are a variety of monsters and I like to hear the sound effects when I destroy the over-sized ones.  They let out this funny squeal.  I like feeling in control when I play; the game does not determine my next step, I do.  While the graphics do not hold a candle to the 3D graphics games, the scenes are interesting and the game is, well, borderline addictive.  There are at least 50 levels that I have played so far, each of which have nine different ways of playing.  I dare you to try it.  You may find yourself staying up until 2am on a work night, just as I did once, okay, maybe twice.

Memorial for Coast Guard Cutter Blackthorn in Florida

The U.S. Coast Guard established their Command and Operations School in 1986 at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.  The school is designed to instruct every Coast Guard officer who will be directly responsible for the navigation of a ship.  The two-week curriculum focuses on saving lives by teaching critical decision-making skills for avoiding collisions at sea while highlighting the proper application of the Nautical Rules of the Road and Operational Risk Management.  The backbone of the course is the Ship’s Control and Navigation Training System (SCANTS). SCANTS is a multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art, visual bridge simulator, where prospective Commanding Officers and Executive Officers spend hours honing their skills and demonstrating their ability to correctly interpret risks while out at sea.  Since it’s inception, the use of SCANTS has been expanded to cadets at the Coast Guard Academy and Officer Candidates at the Coast Guard’s Officer candidate school to introduce them to operations on different Coast Guard cutters.  Scants gives a graphical representation of what someone would see by “looking out the window” of a moving ship including simulated vessel movement.  The simulator can recreate the unique operational characteristics of any class of Coast Guard cutter, incorporating engine noise,  waves, sounds, bridge whistles, fog signals and water noises. These “cutters” are programmed to operate in many real and imaginary ports in all weather conditions.  The learner accomplishes the secondary objective of learning different ports as well.  The simulator is set up similar to the bridge of most Coast Guard cutters with input tools such as chart plotters, GPS, radar, and radios.  All of the action in each scenario is programmed in by an operator that can adjust the weather, visibility, mission requirements, vessel traffic, radio traffic, and casualties based on the expertise of the individual learners.  The learner manipulates the speed and course of the cutter by giving appropriate orders to other team members or physically moving the controls themselves for smaller cutter simulations.  After each scenario, the instructor debriefs the learner to capture lessons learned that can be incorporated into future scenarios. I have been in the SCANTS simulator about 20 times between my time as a cadet and the two times that I have attended Command and Operations school before reporting to an assignment as the commander or second in command of a Coast Guard cutter.  While at Command and Operations school, I found SCANTS to be an invaluable resource to refine my skills and try out new ideas in a low risk environment.  For example, in a scenario in which I noticed numerous vessels converging on me from different directions, I used the technique of speeding up rather than the traditional response of slowing down or turning right to try and avoid the other vessels.  I made this decision based on the capabilities of the cutter that I was operating in the simulation.  I used the same technique numerous times in real life once I took command of my own cutter of the same class.  I never would have tried this maneuver on my first cutter out of the Coast Guard Academy because it was much slower and not nearly as maneuverable as the cutter to which I was being assigned.

SCANTS visual simulator

SCANTS isn’t the only electronic simulation being used by the Coast Guard.  As the service builds new cutters, they are now incorporating simulators at their training centers in Petaluma, CA and Yorktown, VA in which entire crews can run through realistic simulations of their own homeport and operating area as a team in a low-risk environment prior to the Coast Guard taking control of the new cutter from the shipbuilder.  The Coast Guard has also used similar simulators to train their junior workforce by using commercial companies to deliver navigation simulations as part of training for their personnel that drive small boats.

SCANTS relates very well to Keller’s ARCS model.  The instructors capture your attention by giving you a mission brief before starting the scenario and going over lessons learned from several previous scenarios.  The relevance is definitely there with learners from the Command and Operations school getting ready to accept some of the most challenging, but rewarding assignments in the U.S. Coast Guard by taking command of their own cutter.  There are few jobs in the world where someone has such ultimate responsibility and authority over those in their command.  Additionally many of these prospective cutter commanding officers are coming from a job ashore and are somewhat rusty on shipboard protocol.  The SCANTS simulator has increased relevance by refreshing and refining their skills in a low risk environment.  A collision with another vessel in the simulator might earn you some ribbing from the other learners, but will not get you fired like an actual collision at sea.  For cadets and officer candidates, the relevance comes from learning how a Coast Guard cutter operates.  The vast majority of these soon to be officers are going to be assigned to a cutter out of the Coast Guard Academy.  In order to succeed at their first assignment, they need to report to their unit with some baseline knowledge.  The realism of the graphics, sound, and simulated motion of the vessel, and the ability of the simulator to adapt to the handling characteristics of any of the Coast Guard’s cutters also adds to the relevance.  The use of the SCANTS simulator will definitely improve your confidence in the navigation and handling characteristics of the cutter you are reporting to as well as your confidence in navigating through a port for the first time.  For example, I was familiar with the traffic patterns and landmarks in San Francisco Bay before reporting to my first unit, because I had already “been there” several times in the SCANTS simulator.  The SCANTS simulator routinely receives some of the highest ratings for its value in the entire Command and Operations school curriculum which signifies the level of satisfaction that learners feel after using this tool.  Personally, I think it is also the most fun part of the entire course.

Since the establishment of the Coast Guard’s Command and Operations School and the SCANTS simulator, no lives have been lost due to a Coast Guard cutter colliding with another vessel.  This realistic real life training has undoubtedly prevented at least a few Coast Guard cutter Commanding Officers from making tragic mistakes that would have ended their careers.  The Blackthorn tragedy illustrated that even an organization based on safety at sea has a responsibility to improve its operating procedures to ensure the future safety of lives at sea.

Until taking this class I never really understood the motivation and desire to participate in Fantasy Football. Yes, you can win money at the end of the season that can motivate many. But what else could drive over 72,000,000 people according to Answers.com to play Fantasy Football each season?

In my effort to find out why, I asked my boyfriend over dinner why he plays. He smiled and replied, “To beat my friends. There is also a chance to win money and I can use my football knowledge.”   His response was very interesting to me and I found myself thinking about our class readings about motivation in games and why we choose to play or not to play certain games.

Using the concepts developed by Maslow: Fantasy Football could very well be the perfect example of his model of motivation.  It includes elements of safety, belonging, and self esteem (levels 3-5). It does this in a number of ways. Safety can motivate a player by providing an opportunity to win money and thus use that money to meet specific life needs. Belonging can motivate as it provides the player with not only a feeling of belonging among their small group of friends but also gives player’s a topic to discuss with 72,000,000 of their closest friends. Self-esteem may also motivate by providing an opportunity for recognition, respect, achievement and mastery.

Fantasy Football is also a multi-player game with players competing against each other every week that can be a motivating factor since it allows players to feed their competitive urges. It also can motivate players by allowing them to meet up with their friends online in what we might call the ultimate Fantasy. After all isn’t it called Fantasy Football?

Go Chargers!!!

Today, I realized that there must be something intrinsic in me that makes me like to hunt. I am forever hunting for my keys, clothes, coffee, notes, papers, purse and just about everything else I don’t purposely choose to hunt for. It dawned on me that my most recent e-game was a game of hunting. I am kind of embarrassed to admit that something in me is motivated to sit for hours in front of Big Fish’s Huntsville and search and search for clues to solve the silly crimes they conjure up.

I seriously have to contemplate as to why I would sit here… accomplishing nothing of the many other, more productive things I could be doing, and play for hours. What was it about this game that “hooks” a player and more than that… reeled me in?
From the onset of the game my Attention was seized by the mysterious, detective type music that resonated with the badge and title bestowed upon the player. I was.. Flatfoot Mechelle, detective.
Huntsville is a small town that is experiencing a series of crime; 15 in all. You are to solve each case by hunting for several different objects located in separate locations throughout town. The objects are well hidden and each time you come back to a previous location for “clues” you are required to find different “clues”. After finding all the clues, your skills are tested to see if you can piece together a scene (like a puzzle) that shows the criminal in the act.
Perception is immediately captured by the many “hidden” objects. The caricatures and comedic tone of the game is almost like a slapstick “Get Smart”.
The goal and relevance is fed to the player through a barrage of typewriter stories that provide the case files and background info about town events and gossip. It feels very campy and not necessarily urgent… yet I keep playing.
There is very little learning with the exception of memorizing locations of objects. However, there are many successes that build the confidence of the player. With each case, some objects are repeated giving immediate accomplishment to the player. Creative crime characters made me want to see what crazy other people lived in this made up cartoon town.

What I like most are the many different titles they have for “detective”.. I started as a flatfoot, ranked up to a snoop and then on to many other fun titles for detective. It was satisfying to see my rank and badge change to a newer more distinguished name.
I guess mastering the hunt and finding things are necessary to be productive thorough life. I don’t know why I like it in the game, but I do, and will probably continue to practice this skill, whether I like it or not.

The homepage of WGT is where one creates their account. From that page, one can meet other golfers and become their “friends” (a la Facebook). One can also read and post to a discussion board. There is also a place to view all the playing stats you or your friend has achieved.  The homepage is also where you launch the pop-up where the game is played.

The game is free, but the equipment that you start out with is pretty limited and crappy, so of course you’ll want to upgrade your clubs and balls. This is where WGT makes their money. For about $40 you can completely outfit yourself with “tour quality” golf clubs and golf balls.

The game is played on actual world class golf courses from the US and abroad… St. Andrews, Bethpage Black, Kiawah Island are some of the courses one can play in this game. The makers have taken high def video and the animated player is overlayed on the images of the course. This makes for rich gameplay.

The game play is not hard to learn, but quite difficult to master. The better you play, the lower your rating gets. I think that this game is addictive, but there are only 2 full courses that can be played. Some of the game controls are a bit cumbersome and tricky to master. The multiplayer mode is the best though. This is where you can play a friend online. I enjoy playing my friends and talking trash to them via the chat mode.

All in all, for a video game golf fan, WGT is a fantastic option. It is hard, uses real courses and best of all, it’s free!

Genesis is an online text mud, or multi-user dungeon.  It is one of the older games in this genre, having been originally created in 1989 on the game engine coded by Lars Pensjo in Sweden.  It is an open-source game–that is, both the code and the content of the game have been a non-profit, group collaborative effort, although the copyright is owned by Chalmers Datorforening, Goteborg, Sweden.  The only graphics within the game are works of ASCII art.

Genesis is operated, maintained and built by an international community of dedicated “wizards,” who are “immortal” players.  Over the years many wizards have contributed to the building and maintenance of this game, and there are players who have lived in the virtual community of Genesis for almost 20 years:

“Bear in mind, Genesis, a complex, evolving but stable and balanced system was created just by students like you. It has two parts – the game driver, written in pure C, and a mud lib, the Mud operating system, implementing an object oriented language, a cousin of C++, called LPC (LP standing for the creator Lars Penjo’s initials).” (http://genesis.tekno.chalmers.se/students/index)

Based on the original idea of Dungeon and Dragon games, the Dungeon Master is the computer system itself.  Genesis is made up of “domains” based on fantasy themes, such as Gondor and Krynn (from the Dragonlance series).  Each domain is comprised of a network of areas made up of virtual “rooms,”, and players navigate from room to room with keyboard commands (for example, by typing in “north,” “up,” “climb tree,” “board boat”, etc.).  Each room contains a textual description that tells the player where he/she is, and various clues can be embedded in the descriptions.  You can examine items and search for objects.  There are hidden levers, secret passages, and occasional traps and other surprises.

In addition, some rooms contain special objects called “non-player characters” (NPCs) or “mobiles.”  These objects can also navigate around the game and interact in various ways with the player.  Some NPCs are helpful (a quest guide, a ship captain, a guild NPC, etc.), and some NPCs are creatures, monsters or enemy warriors that must be slain in order to loot items and coins or gain the object to a quest.

What motivates players to play a text mud?  I have heard some people say that playing a text mud is like walking into the pages of a book and becoming one of the characters.  All interactions of the player with the game and with other players is handled via text. Granted, this takes a good deal of imagination, and certainly text muds often appeal to players who are avid readers.  Genesis draws upon several familiar fantasy themes from books, such as Tolkien’s the Lord of the Rings, Ursula K. Leguin’s The Wizard of Earthsea, and Weis and Hickman’s Dragonlance series.

Certainly the sense of being transported to a virtual world is part of the motivation for playing muds.  Players often distinguish between “in-game” and “in real life” (or “out of character”).  Consider in this context Csikszentimihalyi’s theory on flow:

“In our studies, we found that every flow activity, whether it involved competition, chance, or any other dimension of experience, had this in common:  It provided a sense of discovery, a creative feeling of transporting the person into a new reality.  It pushed the person to higher levels of performance, and led to previously undreamed-of states of consciousness.  In short, it transformed the self by making it more complex.  In this growth of the self lies the key to flow activities.” (Csikszentimihalyi, p. 74)

In addition to the aspect of flow activity, a large part of the motivational design lies in the multi-player, social context.  There is a chat system, and email within the game.  In addition there are bulletin boards around the game where players are encouraged to express themselves.  Players can even rent “carrier pigeons” (NPC objects) to send messages to a player in another part of the realms.

Guilds reinforce social ties by encouraging players to team together and role play. There are also some magical guild spells that “telepathically” transmit messages to other players.  As part of role-play requirements, players may be encouraged to write books that are “shelved” in virtual libraries.  For example, the Ranger guild encourages its members to write books on the magical properties of various herbs and other objects that can be found in the game.

Richard Bartle, co-creator of a mud back in 1978 at the University of Essex, was quoted in an interview:  “Game worlds in particular are places of adventure and excitement, similar to the real world but apart from it. People go there as part of a hero’s journey – a means of self-discovery … When they’ve grown as people and become the individuals they set out to become, they have no need to play any more.” (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2007/jul/17/idcloseworld)

References:

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row.  Chapter 4: The conditions of flow.

http://www.genesismud.org/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2007/jul/17/idcloseworld

http://www.raphkoster.com/gaming/mudtimeline.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD

Then game play begins.  This is where the motivation themes come in to play.  First you have competition.  This choice is made when you choose which friends to play with and for the game you are competing against them to get a higher score in each level and a higher overall score to win the entire game.  During each round the challenge theme comes in.  The goal is to get as many words out of the given letters in the allotted time.  If you get all of the words you get a “bingo” which is the ultimate goal and the challenge of each round.  If you haven’t tried it yet, get on and give it a try but beware; you may never be able to stop.

What I’d like to share with you is not a review of this game, there are probably more then a dozen credible gaming sites which already have them, so go check out ign or gamespot. Rather, what I’d like to talk about is how this game fits into one of the motivational theories encompassing this class and games in general. In addition I’ll be talking about how Valve, the creators of the Half-Life series, Team Fortress series, Counter-Strike, Portal, and of course Left 4 Dead series, is revolutionizing how you buy games and creating a community all at the same time with their virtual store / community interface called Steam.

Left 4 dead is a gore fest first and foremost, there are survivors with guns and zombies. If you’ve seen the movie Dawn of the Dead, you have a pretty good idea of what happens. Although some will say its ruthless and repulsive, I think its genius, here is why. This game has the capability to play up to four people in Cooperative mode playing against the computer. The team has to work together to play through each level and use strategy and communication or else, the team will be left for dead. Having a headset with a mic is almost necessary playing this game. The team will work together to advance, they will need to heal each other, give each other medicine, rescue each other, and stay close. Evil lurks with every turn, and random hordes of zombies always keep the game play on edge. In addition to Cooperative mode, there is also many other modes which also rely on communication and team collaboration such as verses mode, where four players play the campaign while four other players, playing as the zombies try to attack them. Each team needs to work together to advance. Although it’s played with a controller or keyboard and mouse this game displays alot of interactivity.

This game has everything that Lepper & Malone want from a gaming experience. Challenge, the game is very fast paced and always changing. Although there might not be 80 hours of unique levels, or a free flowing world such as WoW or other mmorpg, this game has great replay value. On top of that, Valve includes over 50 achievements into the game, to keep you going back for more. Curiosity, Evil lurks around every corner, there are always new things to find. Better guns, ammo and medical supplies are randomly scattered every time the game is played. Players need to venture to new area’s to find these items to aid them in their adventure. Control, the player has many different game modes, guns and characters to choose from. Each game mode gives the player something unique to achieve. The player has control of their character through a first person setup. They are in direct control of what their in game character is doing. Fantasy, this game is built around the zombie movie format. You are in a movie while playing this, the game has options that come straight out of a zombie movie such as adjusting the level of film grain. This is a great all around story which puts you in the place of a non infected human trying to survive the onslaught.

Valve has created a gaming network to allow its players to play games such as Left 4 Dead in a program which melts, friends lists, personal profiles, forums and a online store all in one. They have had great success with this and it grows every day, with Many of the game developing companies a part of the system, Dell recently signed a deal with Valve to have Steam pre-installed on every Dell computer and to include the game Portal.

The greatest part of this is having the ability to have all your games at your fingertips without having to find each game disc. When purchasing games through steam they are downloadable and recorded as a virtual copy. As long as you have your password you have access to all of your purchased games. If you move, lose your hard drive or just want to uninstall the game, you always have the ability to quickly re-download the game and start to play. The friendslist and forums allow players from one game to collaborate and perhaps play more in other games, without losing that friendship. The friends-list also has a built in voice messaging system. Steam also keeps track of all your game statistics, from achievements to how many zombies you’ve killed, which gun is your favorite and your accuracy. This program also meets Lepper & Malone’s theory on Interpersonal fun.

Left 4 dead through Steam is a great experience for anyone looking to play an intensely fun game, as well as have access to many games in one spot.

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!

The challenge is to learn new routines and execute them correctly (in one game mode if you make 7 wrong moves, you must “leave the dance floor”). Players can compete against friends through 4 player party modes, seeing who can outdo each other. Players are curious of new routines, and curious to learn how to execute them, for possible use at a dance club.

The Fantasy is pretending you are an excellent dancer (even if you’re not), or that you’re at a club, on a stage, or in the spotlight. This game is an excellent way to have fun, entertain friends, get some exercise, and have a party.

I am a horrible dancer–one of those people whose friends make her dance for the entertainment (and laughter) of everyone around. This game taught me a few new moves to entertain everyone, and I”m not quite so embarrassed anymore…at least until the next version of the game comes out, and we all get together to play it at a party.

The simulator which was then located at the Naval station in San Diego, CA  was similar  to the Kongsberg Maritime Simulation & Training Maritime Offshore Simulator  pictured below.  The Dynamic Positioning Maneuvering Simulator is fully integrated with a Kongsberg  Polaris ship Bridge and  it features up to 360 degree visual system.

Most electronic game and simulator developers cannot afford a price tag in the millions to produce a simulator comparable to Kongsberg Maritime Simulation and Training Maritime Offshore Simulator,  and I doubt the demand would be high, however Ship Simulator,  released in 2006 as a PC game involves players participating in up to  40 missions; the more experience each player gains, the more missions the player can attempt.  More difficult missions become available as the game progresses. Additionally, players can create and exchange missions with other players of the game online.

The common motivation consistent in all three simulators is self-esteem, which is directly related to achievement as shown in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Ship handing is usually something that improves by repetition, the more you practice the better you become, improving confidence.  As each play/participant completes a level of simulation with little error, or in the case of Ship Simulator, completes and mission the player experiences a sense of achievement.

 For further information please check out the following sites:

http://www.marinesafety.com/about_us/history.php

http://www.km.kongsberg.com/ks/web/nokbg0397.nsf/AllWeb/5FBCFC569391B7AEC12575350036B5D5/$file/KM-simulation-brochure.pdf?OpenElement

http://compsimgames.about.com/od/gamereviews/fr/shipsimulator.htm

Peacemaker is an interactive game set around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. All its game elements are rooted in real life situations. In fact, it is so real that it includes pictures and videos from real events occurring on both the Palestinian and the Israeli side. To win the game, the player impersonating either the Palestinian president or the Israeli Primer Minister needs to make peace between the two nations and obtain a Nobel Prize.

The game can be played at three different levels: calm, tense, violent. This certainly appeals to a wider range of audiences and plays an important part in its re-playabilty. The player is first attracted by the neat design of the game and as the game unfolds is further engaged by by the real life images and footage.

As the ARCS model suggests attention is maintained not only by art but by the nature of the decisions the player has to make and their consequences on many intertwined levels. Players are also engaged because the content is based on intriguing real life events, but players with a special interest in the conflict, either because of their geographical location or because of their field of study, will find the game even more relevant to their personal interests and therefore more engaging. The designers understood that and made the game available in English, Arabic, and Hebrew.  A high level of satisfaction is reached when the player wins a Nobel and offers peace to the region. Such satisfaction is clearly sensed in one of the players’ responses after winning the game:”I did it, I created peace in Palestine!”

While the game offers Fantasy as players have a chance to be the “others” and experience the situation from their side, what seems to be the most appealing to the players though is one of the biggest motivational elements identified by  Malone and Lepper: challenge. The game seems to have a fairly simple objective, but as the real world events have unfortunately proved, it is one of the most challenging political crises that our world has been facing. And as the game builds on these events, the challenge lies indeed in making peace all while keeping everybody happy : your side, the other side, the external political forces involved and of course the media. As one of the Israeli students at Carnegie Mellon puts it, “I played as the Palestinian president, and it was very frustrating; it seemed that no matter what decision i took  Israelis kept provoking me.”

Control is another important motivational aspect of this game. The fate of the region lies in the hands of the player and in the type of high-level decisions s/he will make. This is why he is offered a range of military, political, or infrastructural actions.

The game was appraised by both game designers and educators. It won many awards and was even incorporated into the curriculum at Carnegie Mellon University in the Middle Eastern studies program in both Pittsburgh and Doha, Qatar.

While game play stays in the realm of virtual realities, the game seems to present a non-biased point of view and can certainly teach the player about the true nature of the conflict. I wonder if President Obama played this game before winning his Nobel Prize?

• Peacemaker promotion
• Peacemaker on Fox Live
• Peacemaker on Aljazeera

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.

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.

According to this article in the Los Angeles Times, construction is now underway on a 4,000-square-foot “Cyber-Interaction Observatory,” with plans calling for floor-to-ceiling projection screens, 3-D stereoscopic displays and gesture-based interfaces.  As a sign of how times have changed, the article notes that ten years ago, computer science instructors at UC Irvine tried to get approved a minor in computer games and were laughed at.  The idea was shot down, but now, “whatever hesitation there was seems to have faded, at least within academia.”  Dan Frost, an informatics lecturer who teaches a popular computer game development course, likens game analysis to “listening to Beethoven’s Fifth in a music appreciation class.”

The designers of this egame really thought about their audience in designing the simulation. Having been trained in CPR myself, I see the value of this simulation, and wish I would have had the opportunity to play it to practice my skills. I guarantee that I would have remembered more about how to do CPR given this opportunity. Not to mention, I would have gained experience in Second Life as well. Kudos to the designers for making a game that anyone interested in CPR would like to play and continue playing.

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.

Blueberry Garden

I too found the NYTimes article cited by Dana Ditman.  The mention of Blueberry Garden as a game of “curiosity and exploration” piqued my interest.  Unfortunately, it is currently a PC-only game and I have a Mac.  After spending way too much time downloading, installing, and ultimately unsuccessfully trying to run it with Crossover Games, I used a PC in the EdTec computer lab.  While I did not spend enough time to complete the game (my ineptness at electronic games might mean a long term commitment) I did get enough of a feel for it.

The Malone and Lepper article, Making Learning Fun: A Taxonomy of Intrinsic Motivations for Learning, identified an explicit goal and the computer keeping score as strong indicators of game preference.  Blueberry Garden is very different in that regard.  The goal is quite fuzzy, “find out what is going on there”, and there is no score.  There is also no timer, but time is critical because the world eventually fills with water and when you run out of air you return to a starting point.

The rising water level is a problem!

The 2D graphics are rather simplistic, yet it has an emotionally compelling fantasy appeal, supported by the music and sound effects.

The ultimate appeal of Blueberry Garden is to cognitive curiosity, for an audience that enjoys exploring an unknown world.

When preparing for this month’s blog, I researched a variety of online games.  Lacking the time and initiative to begin a complex, multi layered gaming experience, I had to settle on the quick, numbing and time killing offerings online.  These simple games are low in detail and script, but heavy in entertainment and additive qualities.  In celebration of the Thanksgiving holiday, I played a game called Turkey Xmas, A Festive Fling.  It is quite simple, relying on a drag and pull to stretch the turkey and then some left clicking to stay afloat, eating corn and berries, and trying to land in something cool.   It is a fair game, with a balance of small skills required and small challenge.  Still, it has humor (in the turkey landing and anticipation (with the click and stretch).

While researching for our e-game, we looked at a variety of games which focus on the environment.  One of these games was Recycle Round-up.  This game  requires a little more skill, has a little higher level of challenge, but offers very clear rewards to the player in both the endearing way that the gorilla responds to us and the wonderful soundtrack that plays in the background.  I might even go so far as to suggest that it is this entertaining soundtrack that is instrumental in  my gaming pleasure.

When it is all said and done, though, I prefer to play games which have a purpose.  And of these type of games, my favorite (at this time) is the Wii Sport games, particularly those which are done on the balance board.  I love the challenge of the ski race, relying on my core strength and sense of agility to round the flags and finish in a quick pace.  I have seen my talents in this game go from beginner (a couple of months ago) to almost professional (most of the time).  Wii relies heavily on feedback, perhaps to a fault, but it does keep you involved in the process.  It is also useful in reinforcing concepts of fitness which will help the player appreciate the task as well as to improve.   There is always a challenge, and the challenge is incremental.  As an achiever (according to Bartle, in Schell’s text), I enjoy the challenge of the various Wii games.  They are displayed on a virtual interface which is disconcerting at first as you are dodging shoes while playing soccer,  or trying not to fall into the water as you are grabbing fish out of the air.  With the addition of the clock (which encourages you to take a break after 3o minutes), the daily physical tests (which challenge you to stay below your actual age) and the cute graphics (a sad face when you do poorly and a jumping celebration when you do well), Wii Sports has much going for it.  I am most excited about the future of Wii Sports, however.  With the new remotes, the connection between ourselves and the game becomes even more solid.

This game is free and has been developed for the iPhone, but I was able to try it out on my computer at http://www.addictinggames.com/theworldshardestgame.html for as long as I could spare.  Although it took me 20 minutes to get to level 6 out of 30 and I had died 43 times, I would’ve tried to play to the end if I’d had more time.

The object of this game is to move your red square to capture the yellow circles while avoiding the blue circles.  Once all the yellow circles are captured, the player needs to move to the other part of the playing field, the green safety zone.  If you are touched by a blue circle you die, and immediately start the level again.  The blue circles move at various speeds and in different patterns per level.  Lastly, according to the instructions, your score can only be submitted upon completion of the 30th level, and the more you die the less you score.

The difficulty level of this game is pretty high compared to the simplicity of graphics.  So what motivated me to keep playing even though I died multiple times on almost every level I played?  This game took me to the upper most level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Self-Actualization.  Once I realized that this game is based upon pattern recognition and coordination, and the fact that I could repeat any level as many times as necessary, I saw each level as  challenge that I could confidently face head-on.  Pattern recognition is the common theme throughout all of my favorite games, and I didn’t realize it until analyzing this game from a motivational perspective.  Having the chance to use this talent (I truly believe pattern recognition is one of mankind’s innate abilities) gave me a sense of fulfillment even when I spent longer on some levels than on others.  I found myself trying the levels over and over again, bound and determined (motivated) to find the pattern and use it to my advantage.

I hope you try it!

The storyline focuses on the loveable saber-toothed nut-loving squirrel Scrat which you take CONTROL of in an effort to help him gather all of the acorns and find the end of each level. The in-game interface is extremely simple. The touch-and-go control system helps you assist Scrat.  All you do is tap the screen to direct Scrat where you want him to go.

Four different environments help to shape the CHALLENGE of game play. You will be traveling with Scrat through caves and caverns, snow mountain peaks and mysterious jungles – all in search of acorns.

The game is set up from a “side-scroller” perspective. As you work your way through the levels you will find obstacles like spikes, dinosaurs and various other types of enemies. It is up to you to use your ingenuity and CURIOSITY to help Scrat safely navigate through all of the chaos to find the end of the level!

One of the nice things is that the tempo and skill of the game starts out simple enough for everyone to enjoy but it gets more difficult as you make your way through several of the levels.  To assist you, there are signs that help teach you how to deal with all of the challenges Scrat encounters. All you have to do is touch them. Along the way you will also find acorns stashed in various places. Some of them are easy to get to while others can be quite challenging. And in addition to the game you will also see several other well known characters from Ice Age along the way – prehistoric pals such as Ellie, Manny, Diego and Sid complete the FANTASY!

If at any time you need help along the way, or if you just want to pause the game for a few seconds, there is a “pause” button in the upper left corner of the screen. Tap the button and the game will pause and bring up a menu that will allow you to start the level over, quit the game, or view how the controls for various actions work.

I will admit the game app is a bit pricey – $4.99 – but it’s well worth the hours of fun that the game provides. If you don’t believe me – watch it on YouTube!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT0kXvEw1sk

As I was trying to find my blog topic I was distracted and went to read some of the blogs that I follow. One of the blogs was offering a chance to win a free 3 month trial at a site called Jumpstart.com. Jumpstart.com allows users to create their own avatar and explore a 3D world where they can adopt a pet and have adventure that are focused on learning and creativity. So this doesn’t sound too different from the other second world applications and sites out there till you realize that this is a program this is designed for toddlers and older.The players are able to build houses and cars and all of the normal second life accessories .

Players travel to different worlds within the game and interact with the characters and collect coins to buy different items for Jumpee (avatar) They can also earn jumpstars which will allow them to se their name in the jumpstar hall of fame. The motivation for young kids is very apparent to earn coins so they can buy more things for their character. They also learn new skills in math and reading. While the players earn jumpstars their motiviation is to see their name movie up the hal of fame and to try and make it to the top.

My almost 3 year old has been learning how to use the mouse and was so excited when I told him I needed him to help me play a game online. He loved creating his own avataror Jumpee as the site calls it and giving him a name. He was so excited when he figured out that he could pick where his “little boy” could go. He was motivated to play the games becasue he was in charge of what the jumpee did. It took a long time for him to actually play any of the games becasue there was alot of “loading.” For young players who do not always the freedom to make their own choices the choices were so exciting and motiviating for hi

There is a blog that keeps users up to date on the latest additions to the game and world they are “living”in. http://blog.jumpstart.com/

The Jumpstart game also has Wii games that are designed for toddlers. Having just bought a Wii we are interested in how much he will relate to this game and if we will learn anything from itl

After some more play i am going to have my son give his review on the game!

I hate to admit it, but I actually don’t like playing e-games.  I stink at using controllers, I absolutely hate video arcade game sound effects (like nails on a chalkboard), and I can’t think of anything that would motivate me to play a game like Super Mario, WOW… even SIMs. (I really am an old fart, aren’t I? Oh well.) I can only think of one mainstream game that I enjoy playing now and then, and that’s Rock Band. I just pick up the microphone and sing along with my favorite songs from the 70′s and 80′s.

Rock Band is the latest creation of Harmonix (now owned by Viacom, Inc.) which was founded in 1995 by two computer music engineers from MIT (Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy)who set out to “create new ways for non-musicians to experience the unique joy that comes from making music.” Their first efforts were interactive theme park attractions that allowed non-musicians to create improvised computer music, including one at Epcot Center.

Going back to their vision statement, “the unique joy that comes from making music” is, I believe, a key motivator in this ground-breaking game. I think this lies somewhere in the 5th tier of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, self-actualization. Of course the game designers have also incoprated many other motivators falling within the 4th tier (esteem) including cheering/booing crowds and achieving goals which unlock new venues, repertoire, costumes and money for the band. However, I truly feel when playing this game, that it goes beyond these usual esteem-based motivators. The players truly feel that joy of making music, even though it is somewhat artificial. It takes the joy of listening to music performed by others to a whole new level that is ultimately more rewarding.

The game seems to be popular; you can find many sites, reviews, and even a forum with a quick Google. A brief analysis using Keller’s ARCS Motivation Model reveals some of the reasons for its popularity.

Attention (A)

The Victorian time period evoked through the story, the scenery, the dialog, and the objects you have to acquire in the matching puzzles is so exotic and foreign to us that it creates a new and surprising experience from something old, similar to the experience you might have driving an immaculately restored antique car.

The matching puzzles themselves are a bit incongruous for the Victorian setting, but they grab your attention with pinball-like sounds and visuals.

Having piqued your interest with the incongruity of pinball excitement overlaying a Victorian atmosphere, the game holds onto your attention with the challenge of solving the matching puzzles. In the first puzzle, you have to migrate the parts of a carpetbag to the bottom of the puzzle by arranging the medallions into groups of three, which removes them from the puzzle, very much like Jawbreaker.

The matching puzzle is presented again and again, but there is just enough variation to make each puzzle unique and to avoid boring repetition. For instance, in one variation, you have to migrate the objects to a key icon instead of the bottom of the puzzle.

Confidence (C)

As you solve each level, you learn a little about how to solve the next, more difficult, puzzle. Your confidence builds and you begin to develop strategies for solving the puzzles. But, you also learn that your strategies don’t work on every puzzle. As the puzzles vary, you have to modify your strategies, or throw them out.

On the forum many players complained that the ending of the game is too difficult, but having succeeded at the previous 80 or more levels, they have to confidence to spend weeks trying to solve the final levels.

Satisfaction (S)

Although each puzzle is unique, they all have a similar look and feel. When you match rows or columns of medallions and when you solve the puzzle, you are immediately rewarded with audible and visual feedback.

This quote from the forum addresses both the frustrations and the joys of the game, “For months I was stuck on day 81. I played the game under 4 different names and always got stuck on that last one. I tried it again yesterday and cannot believe it is so simple. I have now completed it four times in a row.”

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.

So I set about finding out what all the hub-bub was about. You can plow your fields, plant and harvest crops, visit your friends’ farms and fertilize their crops (which is infinitely preferable to actually doing that particular task!), buy seeds and animals and other things from the market. You gain money by harvesting crops and selling them, as well as selling other things, like the pile of maple leaves some thoughtful kinsman gave you! Experience points are gained by performing certain tasks, and these points increase your level and earn you awards, such as the highly coveted “Pack Rat Award” that I attained after playing for only 15 minutes. Helping out on friends’ farms and sending them gifts augments your journey toward higher levels, but really, how many of my friends indeed play Farmville? Imagine my surprise when I clicked on the “My Neighbors” button and found….16 people, not including the ones who continually invite me to play, on that list! All ages, job descriptions and education levels were fairly well represented, including one middle school principal and a couple of COMETeers.

Now for the analysis. Individual Motivation. While there is not really one clear goal for playing Farmville, players do earn virtual money, which enables them to buy other items for their farm. This, along with attaining higher levels which enable farmers to “unlock” new elements of the game, offers the element of challenge. Curiosity seems to be fairly inherent, as evidenced by the number of people who try the game out in the first place, but it is continued with the wonder of what the game creators will next add to the market place…a baby turkey? perhaps a carnival tent or ferris wheel? a harvest table or a pile of maple leaves (I must ask, pile of leaves…why??)? Yes, all of the aforementioned items are available for a limited time only! Fantasy is another motivation that many egames have ingrained. Ingrained. In-grain-ed. Get it? Yeah, I know, dumb farm joke. Never the less, where else but Farmville can one find pink cows, blue hay bales, and strawberries that are ready for harvest in 4 hours? (I hear tell the “where else” is Farm Town, but I ain’t goin’ there!) Control is another feature sure to keep hayseeds motivated. Don’t like where you put that last section of purple fencing? You can move it. Tired of looking at that birdbath? Sell it. Garden getting cluttered? Store all that excess in your brand new pink tool shed!

Mooving on (yeah, that was cheap, but what the hay?) to interpersonal motivation. Cooperation in this game lends itself to  interpersonal motivation, since to help one’s neighbor gains one not only recognition, but lands you monetary rewards as well, which also adds to that individual challenge aspect of the business. In terms of recognition, other players can thank you for helping out on their farms by helping out on yours or sending you gifts. And let us not forget the “King of Compost,” “Crop Whisperer,” or “Pack Rat” ribbons to be earned! These mighty symbols of recognition will be published on many Facebook pages! Think of the applause! Competition, while not a blatant source of motivation in Farmville, is still evident in the ever present farming levels of your neighbors. And more so when you visit their farms and see all the great stuff they have! Just how long do you have to play to get a pond and a dairy farm?? Well, I don’t know, but I best be getting back to my farm. Got some strawberries that are ready to harvest!

Farmville

This is a free online educational game made by LearnDirect. It is mostly for children but is also to help parents brush up on their ‘maths’ and English skills to help their parents. This game has two players, you the parent, and your child. You put in both names at the beginning of the game. It seems to all be Flash based animation. I noticed right away it is not as fluid as the JumpStart 3D online world for kids. My 7 year old daughter loves the Jump Start world.

This online 3D world has all of these interesting imaginary creatures and a very interesting story line. You and your child are in the viewing position of looking out into the world rather than being slightly above and behind an avatar as in the JumpStart world. So you do not have an actual game character that you choose and can see and maneuver through the world.

The setting is on an island where you and your child travel along with various travel guides helping you get through the various tasks and puzzles. You are stopped frequently at different points and are faced with various spelling or math puzzles that have to be solved before being able to continue on with the journey. It is interesting because they will have a puzzle for both you: the “big one” and your child the “little one” to solve. Things like a word(s) being scrambled and you have to reorder them or the child having three numbers that have to come to a certain total through a combination of adding some and then subtracting that total to the remaining number.

There are also ‘just for fun’ terrain obstacle maneuvering mini-games where you guide one of the game’s characters to swim or fly through an obstacle course to retrieve and return certain items that are related to the overall goal in getting through the game.

I played this Lugula game with my seven year old daughter for a short time and didn’t get to finish it. She really wanted to finish it and seemed very engaged while playing.

The graphics have wonderful vibrant colors yet very slow animation as far as watching one of the story guide’s characters walk from one side of the screen and then start communicating with you. It’s fluid when you finished a puzzle and your view quickly travels along the path to the next place where you meet another guide. Again, I think it’s all flash based to allow for distributing it over the internet.

I will think about this game using some of the elements of Keller’s ARCS model:
The initial novelty of a different fantasy world, combined with various multimedia elements caught my daughter’s (and my) attention. The puzzles didn’t seem overwhelming to my daughter so she seemed to feel confident in trying to solve most of the puzzles. However, several times she chose to opt out of the puzzle where you could choose to “skip this puzzle” to move on through the game.

I can’t say there is any relevance for any learning goals I have or my daughter has that would relate to the game. So this was not a factor in maintaining our motivation. However, I’m sure it would align with some curriculum standards on her grade level.

The satisfaction seemed to be in the excitement of exploring the virtual world and after solving the puzzles. Another satisfaction was that I could also play along with my daughter and even had parts to play in the story as far as helping solve puzzles when it was ‘the big one’s’ turn.

Over all I would recommend this game for children and their parents to play. I can’t say what the age range is for since they didn’t say on their site. However, it seemed to be around the level of my daughter who is in second grade. So probably several grades like 2nd-4th I would say would be in the correct age level.

And there are loads of educational resources and games for kids (and adults) around the prize winning topics.  For instance, the 1923 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine was awarded for the discovery of the hormone insulin.   Students can learn more about that prize, about diabetes and insulin and, finally, play a game in which they care for a diabetic dog.  Nobel prize topics and associated educational information and games range from physics (transistors), medicine (blood typing), economics (trade),  to peace (prisoners of war).  There is a game for every topic; each game is about 10 minutes long.

Red Cross Prisoner of War Game

I completed the Prisoners of War game, which commemorates the Red Cross Peace Prize wins in 1917, 1944 and 1963.   When you start this game, you must first prove your knowlege of the Geneva Convention III to assume command of the Prisoner of War camp.  You set up your camp by demonstrating knowledge of the elements of a POW camp (e.g., must have separate facilities for men and women).  When your prisoners arrive, you determine if they each meet the POW criteria.  Finally, you’re given a number of POW Camp management scenarios in which you must choose the correct response.  You’re given feedback, with links to the appropriate citations in the Geneva Convention III documentation.  I was stunned by how involved I got in this game.

Malone and Lepper criteria evaluation

The game was Challenging (which was revealed in my score), yet there was documentation (the original Geneva Convention III documentation as well as additional resources that could be accessed before, during and after the game).  The content wasn’t dumbed-down for a younger audience and appeared to present situations that were realistic.  There was feedback throughout the game and prompts to refer to additional resources.  This accommodates all types of players ; both those who want to move slowly through the game and those who are happy to guess and see what they got right (and the feedback for wrong answers).  Based on their performance as the POW camp commander, players are rated  as either a Humanitarian Champion, Well Intentioned Humanitarian or a Sadistic Swine.  I rated Sadistic Swine – here’s the feedback I received at the end of the game:

The game appeals to players’ curiosity, by creating interesting scenarios and options.   You are really curious – is the doctor who works for the enemy army considered a POW?  Answer: No, but he should be treated as one under the Geneva Convention.  What should you do when a local official calls you and wants to use POWs to work on a construction project?  By using a realistic construct (you are building a POW camp and processing incoming POWs) and engaging scenarios, this game makes it difficult NOT to be curious about the outcomes.

The game allows some player control, for instance, by choosing some of the symbols that will be used and how much you wish to refer to reference materials throughout the game.  It is a linear game, however, in which you move from scene to scene, so control from that perspective is limited.

Finally, the game makes much of fantasy.  The photos and drawings throughout the game are dark, dreary and a little scary.  There is a prison-like theme to the soundtrack.  You are asked to inhabit the role of a POW camp commander and every scenarios is built around this role.  I was surprised at how effective this was in what was actually a pretty simple game.  The text and the artwork really added to the realistic feeling of the game.

If you are interested in building educational games – these are really good ones to check out as an example of how you can add visual appeal and persuasive text on what appears to be a simple platform and a limited budget.

• Challenge: The levels progressively became harder and posed a different kind of challenge for different types of landscape.
• Curiosity: The Super Mario Brother’s world looked colorful and contained interesting characters and enemies; you couldn’t guess what would happen next.
• Control: While the basic control was simple, executing them in timely manner in different circumstances was a challenge.
• Fantasy: Especially on the earlier games, not much back story was given on why Mario, a plumber, was going after Koopa, the antagonist, other than to rescue the princess.  With exotic landscapes and interesting NPCs, it was a great fantasy setting.

Then with introduction of Nintendo 64 in 1996, Mario went 3D and the game play for Super Mario games ceased to be a simple, side scrolling platform games (at least for games outside of handheld consoles).

Thirteen years later and after releasing many more  Super Mario games, Nintendo released another Super Mario Brothers  game earlier this month for the Wii console: The New Super Mario Brothers.

After looking at couple screenshots, I began to wonder.  What’s so ‘new’ about it?  The game looked to have gone back to the old 2D platform style.  However, after watching couple of gameplay videos, I was hooked and eventually purchased the game.

While the basic game mechanic stayed the same if you play in the single player mode, it now added a multiplayer mode; you and up to three other people can play together in a cooperation mode at the same time!  Although it might seem like a minor update, this actually changes the gameplay quite a lot and adds Malone and Lepper’s three interpersonal motivations:

• Cooperation: You and others can cooperate, helping each other along the way (some levels highly encourages cooperation) to finish a level.
• Competition: Or you can compete to see who gets the most coins through out the level.  Another (more evil) way is to race ahead while the others lag behind, hogging all the glory (I was at the receiving end of this)
• Recognition: The game allows for players to create a protective bubble around them, allowing less skilled players to create the bubble when in trouble while the more experienced player can finish a difficult part of the game before being released, giving recognition to more experienced players while reducing frustration for the novices.

It is a great move by Nintendo’s game designers to reinvent the 2D Mario Brothers game with the multiplayer mode.  I especially felt that the addition of bubble option was well thought out since it encourages cooperation (another player has to pop the bubble) and allows less skilled players to play with more experienced players.

This game is aimed at children ages 8 and older.  When I look at the California state standards, I see that there are two third grade science standards that this game teaches.  The first one is where students know examples of diverse life forms in different environments including deserts.  Another one is that students know that living things cause changes in the environment in which they live.   Sometimes the changes are detrimental; sometimes the changes are beneficial.  Using Keller’s ARCS model, this game is very relevant.  I see that there are 38 different mammals, birds, and reptiles.  There are also a variety of trees, shrubs, and grasses.  In the course of a game, the populations of different animals will fluctuate for different reasons.  To help players feel confident, there are two levels they can choose from – easy and hard.  They can also get advice from many different people throughout the park.

Then I was introduced to Where in the World is Carmen San Diego.  Again feeling involved in the chase, waiting for that burglar car to scroll by as you made an interview, knowing if it didn’t you had flown to the wrong place – all of this drew me into the game and motivated me to play time after time.

In both cases I felt like I was doing something.  I was getting somewhere.  And the progress and involvement made me want to play again.  My brother is a RPG addicted – he even works on the games for a living.  I just can’t get into some of these new games.  They are so complicated and massive, I feel like I am always falling behind as I play.  Oregon Trail and Carmen San Diego were just the right level of challenge and fun to make it worth playing.  I felt successful, yet I didn’t always win, and that is what drew me in.

I love horror films.  I can watch them morning, noon and night until I can’t sleep!  My problem is I can’t get anyone to watch them with me so I tried a few of the horror games.  Although I love horror movies, I can’t play the horror games.  I just get too scared, like playing the last Clive Barker game, yet 5,000,000 copies of the newly released Resident Evil 5 just sold!  That’s right, 5 million and version 5.  That’s a lot of shooting up zombies and deadly creatures!

What motivates these gamers to purchase and play these games such as Resident Evil, Evil Dead, Doom and House of Dead (just to name a few)?    

• Resident Evil 4 has the scariest moment ever in horror gaming when you get decapitated by a chainsaw wielding zombie.
• Silent Hill 2 has the most complex puzzles to solve and horrible imagery (you can barely see as you walk around in the fog) that remains with you even after you shut the game down
• Resident Evil 2 is filled with spine- tingling action
• Condemned Bloodshot graphics are so gruesome that the game was banned in an entire country – I guess the realism of being torn apart by blunt instruments is just too much for some people to bear

As I researched the top 23 horror games, I felt a little queasy and I was reminded once again of why I don’t play them.  What motivates these gamers you ask?  It has to be the aesthetics; the artwork combined with surprise, curiosity and very creepy audio.  Visit http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/207596/the-23-best-horror-games/ and take a look at the graphics from the top 23 selling horror games and see if you agree.  Make sure you view all 3 pages because they start with the 23^rd game and move down to the number 1 game.  Don’t view them on an empty stomach because you may lose your appetite to eat.

Disclaimer:  I don’t play or promote any of these games.  View the site at you own risk.

Race through six different worlds with absurd characters.

As the mother of three boys there’s been an evolution of video gaming systems and games in my house for the past ten years. We’ve seen gaming system after gaming system upgraded. With the exception of the Wii, I’ve not really been interested in playing video games and I’ve managed to find other ways to entertain myself…mostly movies, books, and wine. When I do play video games I quickly get frustrated and give up. I mean how do my kids manage to drive their cars around these crazy racetracks, drifting, jumping, avoiding obstacles…when I can’t even manage to get my car to go in a straight line and stay on the track…and that’s without the wine.

So of course when I was asked to choose a motivating, fun e-game to review I went my resident experts…well, actually one resident expert…my eight year old. He recommended Cyclomaniacs at a website called http://www.addictinggames.com/index.html. I thought he had to be on to something if the site was called “addicting games” and so I checked it out. (Actually I’m relieved he was the only child home because I think I’d be reviewing the new release of Call of Duty if my teenage sons were home…and the thought of testing that game is a tad too intimidating.)

The six different worlds of Cyclomaniacs

Apparently Cyclomaniacs resembles Nintendo’s classic NES racing game Excite Bike. While this game is available on many gaming websites, here’s how the Addicting Games website describes Cyclomaniacs, “Race tilty style against nine other opponents! Finish a few races and start saving your money. Upgrade yourself, and start unlocking increasingly absurd characters. Mr. C? Crouching Badger? Mr. Farty Pants?” This is a 2D side-scrolling bike game that involves tricks like wheelies, front flips, and back flips. There are 26 tracks, 20 different characters or riders that you can unlock, on 6 different worlds like Planetoid, 70 achievements, and 20 bike horns. To advance in the game you have to win races and score points by doing wheelies, flips, and other tricks during the race. Scoring points allows you to unlock new characters and worlds.

Sir Collin is one of many charcters you can unlock in Cyclomaniacs.

Check out a thorough, amusing review of the game on Casual Gameplay http://jayisgames.com/archives/2009/08/cyclomaniacs.php

What makes this game motivating to play? Malone and Lepper’s Taxonomy of Intrinsic Motivation for Learning defines classes of “individual” motivations (challenge, curiosity, fantasy, and control) and “intrapersonal” motivations (cooperation, competition, and recognition.) If you refer to Malone and Lepper’s Heuristics for Designing Intrinsically Motivating Instructional Environments as a guide for designing motivating learning experiences, you see that several of these classes are incorporated into this game’s design:

• Challenge

1. Goals-the game has clear hierarchical goal system and a player can set both short-term and long-term goals. A player wins a race and score points to unlock both the next race in another world and a character. The game also gets continually more difficult as a player moves through the different worlds.
2. Uncertain outcomes-There is a range of outcomes for each race in the game and the outcome is dependent on a player’s performance. If a player loses a race, he repeats it, and tries to beat his performance.

• Curiosity

1. Sensory-the game has music and each race is set in different, attractive environment. The characters are comical. The game has 20 different horns to blow while you race.
2. Cognitive-young players enjoy the competition and can relate to a bike race.

• Control

1. Choice-once a world and character are unlocked a player gets to pick which world to race in and which character to race with.

• Fantasy

1. Emotional-a player imagines he is one of many comical characters as he race in fantastical worlds, like the Moon. Young players enjoy the fantasy of performing back and front flips on a bike.

So what are you waiting for! Go flip for Cyclomaniacs. And by the way, I can manage to ride in a straight line on this game so I think I may just be addicted.

Tropico 3 is the latest version of what are informally called the “god games.”  This genre started in earnest with the SimCity line and The Sims but probably reached its best rendition in the Civilization series.  In these games, you have complete power over almost all facets of a society or city with the goal of basically keeping everyone happy as you grow your city or society to something bigger.

In Tropico 3 you are the dictator, or El Presidente, of a small Caribbean island.  By building up some industry and infrastructure you try to grow your population all while either raising your people’s standards of living or padding your Swiss bank account or both.  As a measure of how well you are doing  you stave off coup d’etats, rebel assaults, even invasion from a superpower.  (See the Tropico 3 trailer )

The designers at Kalypso have done a great job of giving the player multiple pathways to success.  You can play the evil dictator and oppress the people, making them live in shanty towns and paying them slave wages, or you can be benevolent and build free clinics, churches and schools.  Each method can be effective but it’s so much more fun to be bad.  One of the great features of the game is you can click on any of your “people” to see what they are thinking (ala the Sims).  If someone is thinking about voting for another politician there is a convenient target next to their name which allows your secret police to “remove” that loser.  But everything has its consequences, and there are only so many people that can “disappear” before someone in your own military decides you’ve lost it and engineers a coup d’etat.

To tie this into gaming theory, Tropico 3 operates best at the fourth level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Self Esteem.  All god-games appeal to those of us who are motivated to control and be judged.  In this game you are judged by the “little people” you rule.  There is a popularity index, and a respect value (and many more).  To stay in power you must be either loved or feared (or both).  How these indices are affected by your actions as El Presidente are what you must understand and master to win the game.  Tension is created when you are seeing your popularity or respect index drop and you can’t figure out how to reverse it.  As Mr. Schell writes:  “We have a deep inner need to know how we stack up.  And when we aren’t happy with how we are judged, we work hard until we are judged favorably.” (The Art of Game Design, pg 128)

From an educator’s point of view, the most promising aspect of Tropico 3 is the ability to create your own scenarios.  The game itself is quite educational for teaching politics, competing priorities of a society and working within a budget.  However, with the scenario creator it becomes possible to set up historic conditions of say Cuba under Bautista in the 1950′s or Grenada right before the US invasion.

It is my hope that we as educators will become savvy enough game designers that we could take the Tropico 3 game engine, tweak it a bit and come up with some very fine historical simulations that put the learner into a place and time in history where they make the decisions and see how it unfolds while comparing their simulation to what actually happened.

modern warfare 2

I thought I’d eliminated the game Call of Duty- Modern Warfare 2 as a potential for review, but then my 22 year-old son saw my earlier blog comment on it and felt the need to enlighten me.
The platform is Xbox 360 and the current game is online, multiplayer. As far as aesthetics, the graphics are absolutely incredible, detailed, and realistic; it almost looks like photography and film in some areas of the game.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 battle scene

The theme is to survive, to strategize and to kill the terrorists. This makes the game timely and gives the player a sense of power over what many today feel is a helpless situation. The story line branches, and players choose levels of play. Choice is a major incentive; players not only choose single or multi-player games, but also choose from a vast supply of weapons, attachments, colors, side-arms, Perks, and strategies- just to give a few examples of choice.

Each mode of play changes drastically from one level to the next always surprising and requiring new tactics of the player. Surprise and tension are everywhere, and the fast paced action keeps players alert and a bit anxious. Adrenalin runs high. There is no down time. Surprise exists in the form of how other players choose to arm themselves, where enemies hide, and in that the player never knows where he will pop up on the map (respawn) after being killed. Wherever that is, it presents entirely new challenges and requires new strategies.

From Maslow’s needs perspective, this game appeals to the most basic levels—security, stability and freedom from fear and builds, through multi-player games, to friends, then achievement, mastery and fulfillment by reaching a high rank.

The greatest rewards seem to be the feeling of accomplishment through collaboration with other players and improving one’s rank in the game. Both sons (ages 13 and 22) like knowing not only their own rank status, but also the other player’s status. That way they know where they stand and how hard they have to work to beat them.

Both said they would like the classroom to be like this—where you know where you rank among your classmates. As trumpet players, they likened it to 1st and 2nd chairs. You know if you are second chair, you need to practice more and try harder. They wondered why everyone’s grades are kept so secret when they could be used as competition and motivation.

As far as the violence, they both gave me the same disdainful look when I asked. They felt it was no more violent than Wile E. Coyote blowing himself up with ACME dynamite, or Elmer Fudd at the wrong end of a ruptured shotgun. And it is nowhere near as realistic as most police TV shows where actors are pretending to be injured or murdered. They pointed out that my Dale Evans six-shooter and air rifle hadn’t turned me into a hardened criminal.

So, my conclusion from their insights, is that maybe they are learning a lot playing these games. Maybe we as teachers can incorporate these same engaging elements into classroom instruction.

I also know I feel even better when they put down their controllers and pick up their horns; when I hear Maynard Ferguson coming from the living room instead of sniper fire.

I work in higher education and learned that a recent study found that 86% of undergraduates would like to have learned how to improve their financial literacy during college. There is a need for learning about budgeting, savings, dealing with loans, debt, etc… especially with this economy and I’m excited to see that there are games addressing this need. At my University, we have CashCourse, however, it is not very well received or utilized.

In the article, Jack A. Naglieri, a professor of psychology at George Mason University, explains how online educational games peek the interest of students who are growing up in the digital age. He states that the digital medium is perfect for reaching the younger generation.

I was thrilled to read all of the games available, and that the games are teaching more than just finances. Students who play the games improve their math skills as well. Check out the article if you get a chance!

Personally, I would love to develop games like these someday to teach students about music, art, science, social studies, and all of the other subjects that are being dropped off the radar in schools due to budget cuts and a strong focus on math/language test scores.

Did you know that revenues from video games – even before the latest Wii, PlayStation, and Xbox systems emerged – surpass the money made from Hollywood films annually?  Why?

Psychologists at the University of Rochester wondered the same thing.  These researchers believe that the fun of playing video games is actually trumped by the opportunities games provide to fulfill basic psychological needs, like achievement, freedom, and connectedness.  An echo, in my opinion, of Keller’s motivational ACRS theory.  In short, people enjoy video games because they find them intrinsically satisfying.

But just how satisfied can one person be when it comes to video games?  Luckily, my husband (who will remain nameless in this blog post) was willing to test the boundaries of the human experience in this area – unknowingly, of course.

Not too long ago, my husband discovered that he could download video games onto his mobile phone.  He decided to start with one that he was familiar with from childhood: Tetris.  After many hours of refining his skills on the game, he was soon able to extend play for longer and longer periods.  In fact, thanks to the handy pause feature, he played a single game for two months, reaching level 68.  Then… he just stopped; and hasn’t touched the game since.

What happened?  Curious about his motivation to play the game that peaked and then disappeared, I questioned him on his experience.  He said that he continued to play the game each day because he wanted to see how long he could keep it going.  Then after a while, the game reached its maximum speed and level of difficulty.  “The game just couldn’t get any faster,” he remarked.  And just like that, he lost interest.  Once the game dropped in attention, relevance, and satisfaction, there was no more motivation to play.

So how much is too much Tetris?  Apparently, two months and 68 levels.

Players are motivated by two factors, the competition of matching the images and the satisfaction of revealing the background image. Unlike regular Memory, the players learn from the pictures. The descriptions are targeted towards students. They’re straightforward and easy to understand. The players gets the name or a name for the object, like binary star or Pinwheel Galaxy. This allows them to “put a face with a name” so to speak for the object. I think this appeals to various kinds of learners, those who may recall information visually or textually.

Astronomy holds a fascination with the general public and especially kids. All of the kids I interact with in my job really love to look at astronomy images and learn about the object in the image or how it’s made. Spitzer Concentration really taps into this interest.

That said, applying theory to a game or simulation is a little hard for me since I really don’t play (or care about) electronic games, so I enlisted some of the boys in my Fantasy Football League to at least point me in the direction of an interesting video game. After a lot of nostalgic musings, I’ve decided to take a stab at analyzing the Nintendo NES game, Contra. (I mean, the appeal of two marines (Bill and Lance) saving humanity by defeating the severely pixelated Red Falcon is lost upon me. Maybe I lack the requisite amount of testosterone or something.)

Anyway, you can actually play the game online, so I checked it out and promptly died three times within like a minute. That said, this analysis is more or less gleaned from my friends and online commentary of what it is like to play the game.

First, according to Cracked (which, I admit, isn’t the most reliable source, but seems to be backed up by my FF League), Contra is the second “most irritatingly impossible old-school video game.” So, if it’s really that frustrating, why do people, including my friends, seem to recall playing it with such fondness? I think a lot of it comes down to the challenge and competition aspects of the game, both of which Malone and Lepper identify as key factors to intrinsic motivation. Apparently there is nothing more motivating than being able to steal lives from your fellow player to up the competition factor. (Contra was the first game to allow players who lost all their lives to steal a life from another player. According to Matt, from Guilty By Association, “This also resulted in reset games, black eyes, & a week without speaking to each other.”)

I also think that fantasy factor increases the intrinsic motivation for playing this game. Research by Malone and Lepper suggests that through this factor, learners (or in this case players) “use mental images of things and situations that are not actually present to stimulate their behavior.” Have you seen the crappy graphics on this thing? In order to play this game, you NEEDED to project your own illusions of reality on the thing to make all the pixels meaningful—a limitation of 1987 technology which unintentionally made the game even more fun and motivating.

In the end though, the greatest and also most frustrating thing was using the cheat to get 30 lives instead of the measly 3 that the game allowed you. As they write on the Cracked website, the saddest moment of the game is “Running through your evil foes, resolute in your 30-lives-induced superiority, and watching the extraterrestrials’ island explode … only to slowly realize that you couldn’t even win a video game without cheating. “ Yes, and this, among many other reasons, is why I don’t play video games. Or read Faulkner (without the Cliff Notes handy).

Dynasty Warriors 6 by Koei

The Dynasty Warriors series by KOEI is currently in its 6th incarnation and is truly a guilty pleasure. Basically, you can win this game by having a Mountain Dew and two calloused thumbs. How then, you must ask, is KOEI able to keep releasing this hack-n-slash game over and over again? I think it has to do with their ability to draw the player into the history depicted in the game, and by  slowly adding in little extras along the way.

In the game, you control a general or other important figure in China’s history. The game is  actually based upon the historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, in which three warlords vie to unify and control all of China. While the game play itself is quite simplistic, destroy anything that stands in your way, there are a few strategic elements involved that keep the player engaged. Upgrading weapons, having hidden items that appear only when you trigger certain events, and having different game scenarios occurring on the battlefield in real-time, all add up to addiction. Also, with every new release of the game, KOEI adds a few more playable  historical characters. While the first game had around 16 characters, the roster now has grown to 41!

Still, with all of the bells and whistles that the game can offer, the most interesting thing about Dynasty Warriors is that you are playing through battles and events in history. While this is not anything new in gaming, it provides a new insight into a different culture that, growing up in America, you aren’t usually exposed to. The game (in its last few releases) provides a huge historical database for characters included in the game and even for some that are just in the novel. Also, the game gives the player a detailed synopsis of the events that occurred during the period of the game. I found myself enjoying reading all of this material just as much as I enjoyed playing the game. It also made me interested enough to purchase the novel and read it! (See! I told you I was learning about history!)

Finally, if you have an interest in this game or learning about this period in China’s history, there is a really great film that has just found a limited release in the USA and features just one of the great  battles in Dynasty Warriors! The film is Red Cliff, directed by John Woo. I have seen the Hong Kong version of the film which is about 4 1/2 hours long, but the theatrical release is only half that and Amazon has it for VOD.

It really is sneaky how they can get you to learn stuff, and I hope that’s a lesson I can learn to help my students – learning without realizing it! Maybe it’ll also help with the PS3 guilt trip too

First, let me describe a little more about the game.   After you select a character for yourself, you get to choose between two partners for your law firm, each with his/her own constitutional specialty.  Next you enter your law firm and several thought bubbles lead you through the directions on how to play the game.  Clients begin walking through the door and you have to match them with a lawyer who is an expert in their case.

If there is a match, the lawyer and client go to court.  If they win, the firm gets “prestige” points which can be used to hire more lawyers.  You can also lose points by not helping clients quickly enough.  If there is not a lawyer whose expertise matches the client’s needs, the client may decide not to wait and leave the firm.  When this happens, the firm loses points.

While there is no explicit goal explained at the beginning of the game, which is one factor that makes a game popular according to Malone & Lepper’s article, the goal quickly becomes apparent as soon as you help one client.  The goal of Do I Have A Right is to match a client’s situation with the correct lawyer to win as many cases as possible.  There are a number of attributes that make the game highly motivating as described by Malone & Lepper.  One of these attributes is challenge.  At first the game seems easy because the flow of clients is manageable.  This quickly changes.  As the amount of customers increases, you find that you do not have enough lawyers to help all the clients who are waiting.  You must earn more prestige points to hire more lawyers.

The uncertainty of which client will be coming in and trying to hire the correct lawyer makes the game more challenging and fun.  The developers of DIHAR also provided feedback in the form of analyzing the case at the beginning.  If you click on key words from the description of the client you get bonus prestige points.  Players also receive feedback when they get a client/lawyer match correctly and when they win a case.  The player gets the most “prestige” point on wining the case.  This type of feedback helps promote a payer’s self esteem which is another important motivational aspect cited in Malone and Lepper’s study.  Two other motivational attributes in DIHAR are choice and control.  Players have control over which clients to help.  Choice is an important factor in the game when you are allowed to pick from the many lawyers to hire and have to analyze their constitutional specialties.   Do I Have A Right is a highly motivating game for players and an excellent review tool for any teacher covering the Bill of Rights.

My point, however, is that passion of mine is what got me interested in the game through Facebook called Cafe World. One of my dreams has come true (to be the chef-owner of a neighborhood bistro) through this game. I get to prepare various dishes on my four stoves and feed my Facebook friends who visit. Once I get a Masters’ Degree I will be able to devote more time to its upkeep, hire a few more wait staff, re-do the floors and create more exciting dishes ;0)

It is so fun for me to pretend that I have this little restaurant to maintain when I can. It fulfills my basic need located on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs of self-esteem and self-actualization. I really feel like I am good at owning my own business and preparing good meals. Now, this happens for a brief moment when I have lost myself in the game as I must keep up with the cooking time and serving it to my friends who have visited. I like to wear the chef clothes and boss around my sister who I hired as my one and only waitress without her permission! It is really fun for me to play.

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.

Teachers can sign their students up to participate. Once the students log in, they can create an avatar. For each game, they have 60 seconds to correctly answer as many math questions as they can. For the middle school level, the questions were basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems. The students compete in real time against up to three other students (chosen randomly) from around the world. Students can play over and over again. Practice starts about one month before the actual World Math Day.

Mathletics, the creators of this online game, have definitely employed Lepper & Malone’s strategies of interpersonal motivation as follows: Cooperation – students work together to set a new world record. Competition – students compete against each other to see who can answer the most questions correctly. Recognition – the top students and classrooms are recognized on the website’s “Hall of Fame.” There are also prizes (medals, trophies, and certificates) and according to Keller’s ARCS Model, these extrinsic rewards can contribute to a student’s satisfaction.

My students were pretty excited and engaged. I heard them talking about how they competed against a student from India or Australia. My top 7^th grade student answered thousands of math questions. Even lower level students were motivated to play and beat their own personal best score.

Sound like something you can use with your students? Then don’t forget to check out their website starting in February for information on World Math Day 2010!

Piano stairs – TheFunTheory.com

The first online game I found 10 years ago was one called Literati by Yahoo Games.  Same board set up, with your double word squares, and your triple letter squares. You could play with just one other person, or even have games of multiple players going. Each player would play at their own pace and make their move the next time they logged in.  Alternatively, you could join a live game where it was timed and all players played online right then and there.

Another online Scrabble-like game is one of my current favorites: Lexulous! It was once called Scrabbulous, and it is available as a Facebook application.  Not only can you play games with the people in your “friends” list, but other Lexulous users around the world are available to you as well. One of my favorite things to do is play Lexulous Blitz, which is a 4 minute timed game that you play with multiple players in which all players try to put their words down to make the most possible points before those 4 minutes run out. No time to think, just put a word, ANY word down!

A few individual motivators that come into play for Scrabble include those of challenge and uncertain outcome. The goal of the game is to be the one and only winner, meaning you have created the words that garnered you the most points out of all players. Vocabulary skills, and strategy in terms of placement of your words are key here. Also, the fact that the outcome is uncertain provides an even bigger challenge. No matter how awesome you are with vocab, it is the uncertainty of the letters you draw that could cause you to, for example, end up with all vowels or something and then you are up a creek.

Some interpersonal motivators also draw players to play this game, including cooperation, competition, and recognition. In terms of recognition, online versions like Lexulous offer a player and their track record to be published for all to see. If you click on a player’s profile, you can see how many games they have won, what their best word was and how many points it gave them, etc. Sometimes it’s just that recognition motivator that will prompt someone to say hey, I want to play Lexulous today to increase my published word score!

Now if you’ll excuse me I must log into Facebook and make my next Lexulous moves.

I also enjoyed multiplayer games, where everyone works together towards one common goal.  When you, or you and your team, achieve something it is an indescribable combination of stress, excitement and happiness all mixed together.

But just recently I discovered a new type of motivation, which was the feeling I get when I play a game where I know I am somehow contributing to a greater good.  This new type of motivation, this desire to make a difference, moves up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs from just “Belonging-Love” and “Self-Esteem” tier, to  the “Self-Actualization” tier because to some this type of activity brings a sense of fulfillment.  (To read a little more about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as it relates to games see The Art of Game Design, by Jesse Schell)

Here are 3 examples of gaming sites that allow you to play a game, while making a difference in the world.

The first example is Free Rice.  Free Rice is a very cool gaming idea.  It allows you to select a variety of subjects to test your knowledge, but the best part is that every time you get a correct answer you donate 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program.

What makes it fun is that you can select quizzes on geography, foreign languages, math, and English vocabulary to name a few.  I find myself playing this game for hours sometimes just because I am learning new things while I am making a difference!  If you have not had a chance to try this out, I definitely recommend book marking it and when you have some downtime have some fun and help fight hungry!

The 2nd example is the Hope Arcade.  The great thing about the Hope Arcade is that all of your favorite online games like Bookworm, The Game of Life, Scrabble, TextTwist, Bejeweled, etc. – just to name a few are all accessible through this website.  Every time you choose to use this site money is donated to the March of Dimes.  Some games are free to use, others cost money, but if you are going to pay to play anyways you might as well allow your money to go to a great cause.  $.77 of each dollar supports research and programs that help moms have full-term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives.

The 3rd example is Lil’ Green Patch.  Although this is not technically a normal or traditional game, it’s a Facebook app. but it still falls into my making a difference category!

When you use Lil’ Green Patch you are saving the rainforest one square foot at a time.  Each day that you log into your Lil’ Green Patch and send plants to your friends you save the rain forest.

Part of the game is earning Green Bucks, which can be used to make your Green Patch unique by purchasing  various items like a house or a sign for your own Green Patch.  You can also buy green bucks as well.

The money collected from any personal donations, as well as from the Lil’ Green Patch sponsors, who donate money towards saving the Rainforest every time you use the app. is donated to charity organizations!  Recently a large donation was made to The Nature Conservancy

So far the Lil’ Green Patch community has saved 183,244,167 sq ft of Rainforest!  I have contributed 68 sq ft to this total!

So if you are a busy person who just feels like they do not have the time to sit around and play games, at least consider taking a few minutes to try out some of the games I mentioned here.  At least you get to have a little break from your hectic life, and you can feel better about your actions because you can know that it was time well spent because you made a difference some place some how!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/magazine/15videogames-t.html?emc=eta1

http://www.fishtycoon.com/

Early this year my niece came to visit me, and at the time she was really interested in pets, and fish in particular. At the time of her visit we went to the Aquarium, afterwards she couldn’t stop talking (in great detail) about the various colorful fish we saw. One day while we were out waiting for a table at a local restaurant, (when she was tired and ready to eat on the verge of a meltdown) I pulled out my iphone, and franticly searched for an app that would be suited for her-and I found Fish Tycoon. I unknowingly found an app that would end up pulling me and my boyfriend into it. I hate to admit it, but there were times when one of us was waiting on the other because they had to “feed”, “breed”, or “heal” their fish.

Fish Tycoon is a virtual real time fish breeding game. The object is to breed and cross breed fish until you find the 7 Magic Fish and solve the genetic puzzle-there are a total of 441 fish you can breed. You will have to buy supplies like meds, eggs and special plants and then sell some of your fish in your virtual pet store. If you have enough money you can buy new supplies and customize your virtual aquarium, with scuba and ship statues, even a live seahorse.

The fish are beautiful-have fantastic life-like movements and tendencies but the store leaves something to be desired. The iphone screen is tiny to begin with, and when in the store (viewing from the vantage point of the ceiling) it is just too small. And it looks a bit primitive.

Playing Ricochet

Saturday evening my partner Brad and I came across the Microsoft Store unexpectedly when we were killing some time cruising the mall. It remains the second store in the world, the first in Scottsdale Arizona. When I walked in I was very hesitant because I felt like a traitor to Apple, but after touring the unique displays and playing around with the awesome new technologies my apprehensions evaporated and my visit became an experience.

A team member of the store took the time to tell me more about Project Natal and show me a pre recorded demonstration: Microsoft Store – Mission Viejo – Project Natal Demo

No Strings (or Controllers) Attached. Introducing Project Natal, a revolutionary new way to play: no controller required. See a ball? Kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it. If you know how to move your hands, shake your hips or speak you and your friends can jump into the fun — the only experience needed is life experience.

Growing up in the error of digital media, I have seen some amazing advancements, but Project Natal is the most innovative interactive media system yet. Project Natal’s sensor tracks player’s full body motion, there is no controller, instead the player uses full body movement to interact. Avatars respond to voice commands, facial expressions and interact with player’s every motion. One can even sync their Natal with another system (in a different location) and players can play together live. Another great function is that Project Natal will connect to any Xbox 360.

Playing Milo and Kate- the player interacts with Milo or Milly, a young child, and their dog Kate, by performing real-life actions

Player may be motivated to participate using the Project Natal system because they will create experiences not available on any other medium or console, involving full body control in a virtual 3D environment, including using one’s voice. There are no control to learn, and your can play the games just by using your body. Games range from full body athletic competitions promoting heath and wellness, in such game as Ricochet, the entire body is used to bounce balls at blocks. Other beta games include a creative and collaborative experiences like the Paint Party, where the player “paints” on a canvas by making throwing motions to splash paint. Player can choose colors using speech recognition, and can pose to make stencils.  Although a release date and price has yet to be released on the system, Natal can hook up to any Xbox 360, giving current Microsoft gaming fans a start-up advantage.

Personally I am not active in the gaming community (I don’t own any system, the last one I have used is Super Nintendo), however, my brief introduction to Project Natal has intrigued my imagination and inspired me to want to join the game when its released.

To see some amazing demonstrations of Project Natal visit Microsoft’s Xbox website.

GTA has created it's own nice

After browsing through the blogs I found there was no in depth review of the highly popular and controversial video game series: Grand Theft Auto.  GTA has no doubt become every wannabe Bart Simpson/ Eddie Haskell’s dream come true and every parent’s worst nightmare manifested in the form of a cartoon like video game.  I decided to cover this game because I felt that it needed to be discussed, rather than being shoved into a dark closet to be forgotten about by people of a conservative disposition.

The original GTA format

Grand Theft Auto is a video game that revolves around the obvious title; stealing cars.  This simulation game puts the player in the position of a hardened criminal where the objective of the game is to pass all the levels with the highest possible score or money. The player is given various options or missions to complete in order to proceed to the next level of game play.  The majority of the missions revolve around breaking the law to some extent, whether it be street racing, chauffeuring mafia bosses around town, or committing gangland type assassinations.

Grand Theft Auto was originally released as a PC-CD Rom game in 1997 by DMA, now known as Rockstar Games which is based out of Edinburgh, Scotland.  DMA ,aka Direct Mind Access, was started in 1988 by David Jones.  DMA is also responsible for their most popular game LEMMINGS. Yes LEMMINGS!! Which has become one of the most popular early PC games that has sold over 20 million copies on 21 different gaming platforms.  Grand Theft Auto has now become their primary bread winner which now has 10 standalone versions with 3 expansion packs also available.

From GTA Vice City; an obvious play off the hit show Miami Vice

So why is it more popular now than ever?  The original GTA was a “top-down version” where the player has bird’s eye view looking upon a 2 Dimensonal environment similar to other games like The Legend of Zelda on the original Nintendo.  The original version was popular because it was provocative, not because the gameplay was the coolest or cleanest.  Finally in 2001 the first 3D version was released for the Sony Playstation 2 console which was also the top selling video game of 2001.  The 3d version was huge improvement in gameplay and how a player interacts within the environment.  Many of the video games created after GTA 3 were built on virtually the same platform.  GTA3 allows the player to roam freely throughout the environment, do almost anything without affecting the game’s storyline in anyway.  This new and exciting concept is known as Sandbox in video games where structure of the game is open and the player can choose to participate in the story at their own pace.  Sound familiar?  Many of the new titles being released  now use the Sandbox concept and has revolutionized the way video games are now designed.  For me, the Sandbox concept sounds like an instructional designer applied some  asynchronous theory combined with Keller’s ARCS model to this game.

When I first played GTA has college age student, I found myself diving into the character’s role and the addictive movie like storyline which quickly grabbed my thought process.  Attention diverted!  The story echoes that of classic mobster movies like Godfather which made it easier to understand the concept of organized crime. Relevance achieved!  The gameplay starts off with easy missions that lead  into other story line related adventures which encouraged me to keep going in the game.  Confidence check!  After I passed the entire game a list of statistics is given to the player which determines the progress passed and how much the player has yet to achieve.  This enhances the video game because instead of being passed once, the game can be  played over and over with “choose your own adventure” scenarios.  Satisfaction successful!

A live action screen shot from GTA4, the graphics only get better in movie mode

So what does the release of GTA and its multi-million dollar success say about our society?  All it really says is that human nature hasn’t changed much in the last several thousand years.  This video game appeals to the male violent instincts that have continually plagued our civilizations.  Some would say that the release of this game is a social and moral indicator of worse things to come.  This video game is a reflection of what IS ALREADY GOING ON in society not a creation of the crime that devours our streets when most people are home sleeping.  Much of the GTA series is generic rip off of The Godfather, Goodfellas, and Scarface, which are three ULTRA-Violent movies that were released before I was even 5 years old, before I received my first Nintendo (I’m 25 now!).  I wasn’t able to watch those movies as a child because they’re all Rated R and mother knew better than to let me become desensitized at a young age.  Those movies were designed for a specific audience in mind (Males 18-35 years of age) so it should come as no surprise that GTA3 is designed for the same age range as well. Personally, I would NEVER let my children play GTA because I would not buy it for them, a mistake many parents have made due to ignorance and whiners.  GTA is made by adults for adults, not for children!  Parents are responsible for teaching kids morality not the MEDIA.

GTA4 in movie sequence

It’s easy to blame the ills of our society on video games and the media’s undeniable influence.  Have we lost control? or have we as humans (especially Americans) just become negligent and lazy when teaching our children.  Have we left our kids to electronic baby sitting instead of good ol’ Mary Poppins discipline?  I’m not here to push politics onto anyone, but Obama was onto something when he said “parents have to do their job too. We’ve got to turn off the TV set, we’ve got to put away the video game, and we have to tell our children that education is not a passive activity.”

One of the things of the Wii balance board is the aerobic dance.  I found it challenging and fun to play along on my board.  However, I worried about the potential for falling or incorrect footwork with the older population.  Today I stumbled on a game which is friendly to the older adults and which encourages active participation.

Here is a link to the slideshow presentation.  Maybe this would be an idea for the egame.

The reality is, MMORPG is an extremely popular form of video game, utilizing online subscriptions to continue game play with other players across the globe. Some interesting facts:

• MMORPG subscriptions totaled over $1.4 billion dollars in 2008.
• The MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW) is estimated to hold 11.5 million subscribers according to Wikipedia. [1]
• According to the WoW website, they define a MMORPG as “an incredibly rich and active environment in which interesting things are constantly taking place. MMORPGs provide thousands of hours of game play, with a nearly infinite variety of goals to achieve across a vast world covering miles of land and sea.” [2]

What do these games provide that allow for such a loyal and lasting following? Here is some of what I’ve learned:

***********************

An Uncommon Wallflower

Like many addicted to social networking, MMORPGs provide a huge range of social interaction. Richard Ryan, a “motivational psychologist” at the University of Rochester has studied video games and concurs with much of what we have learned in class. He points out that many video games satisfy basic psychological needs, and players often continue to play because of rewards, freedom, and a connection with other players [3]. This is evident with some MMORPG players who claim to do better socializing online than off.  Based upon two other informal polls – the Daedulus Project and MMORPG.com – other factors that attract players include teamwork, community, and developing personal relationships (anonymously or not).  [4] A quote taken from a male participant of a research study done by Nicholas Yee reveals,

“To succeed in EQ (Everquest) you need to form relationships with people you can trust. The game does a wonderful job of forcing people in this situation. Real life rarely offers this opportunity as technological advances mean we have little reliance on others and individuals are rarely thrown into life-or-death situations. ” [5]

Considering a MMORPG.com survey identifies the average user as spending 4-8 hours per day playing MMORPGs, it’s difficult for me to  believe that socializing to this degree is better spent behind a computer rather than meeting someone face-to-face. [6] But for others, I guess this works.

Following the Leader

Players of MMORPGs indicated in Yee’s research study that role-playing allowed an opportunity for identity exploration, and testing skills and behaviors. Games become a safe testing ground for actions which otherwise might be too intimidating to replicate in real-life. One participant explains,

“When I play my male characters, other male members of the party will listen to me better, take me more seriously. In my male form I could give orders and have them listened to, where as a female, my characters aren’t always taken quite as seriously. [female, 22].”

This control and recognition becomes very distinctive in MMORPGs.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, when players feel out-of-control or lose their confidence derived from the games, it can prove detrimental, as seen with documented suicides in some Asian countries. [7]

Virtual Ecomonies

A small, yet unique component of MMORPGs are their virtual economies.  I discovered that in China, companies (“workshops”) are formed explicitly to offer virtual commodities of video games, in exchange for real money – an attempt to link them to  “real-world” economies. World of Warcraft has been arguably the largest environment for these exchanges. Chinese gamers, or “gold farmers,” literally play day and night collecting as much Warcraft gold for a customer overseas who pays them to play. Game companies generally frown upon such illegal activity. [8,9] Final Fantasy and Warhammer Online apparently have dedicated departments to deal with removing real money trading in their games. The general consensus by gamers is that this modification of virtual trade destroys games, creates uneven competition, and is ultimately bad for business. However, Second Life and Entropia Universe both link their virtual and real-world economies by using real money in exchange for in-game currency with little debate. [10]

Elf or Wizard?

A final observation I made was the theme many MMORPG players choose. In a MMORPG poll of over 20,000 members, 42% said they’d prefer their games to be of the medieval fantasy genre. Science fiction was a distance 19%, with the remaining percents spread widely across the categories of Anime, Western High Fantasy, Super Hero, Real World War, and others. [11] We know from our studies that fantasy is definitely an attraction of games – the letting go and escaping of reality. Still, with so many diverse games on the market, I thought this was intriguing how so many players would gravitate to this  time period.  One could say that there’s a public affinity for this genre, which carries across from video games to the movies.  As an example, the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter films (comparable counterparts) each hold the title for highest grossing box-office trilogy and highest grossing franchise, respectively.  [12,13] I guess as adults, we might never outgrow childhood play of castles, dragons and knights in shining armor.

**********************

I liken MMORPGs and their players to dedicated Comic-Con attendees. On the outside, the public sees Comic-Con-ers as those crazy costume-clad fanatics drooling in anticipation of the latest movie spoiler. MMORPG game players may be stereotyped as drifty teenagers, or uneducated or unemployed losers. On the contrary, Yee’s study showed 50% of the MMORPG participants had full time jobs. Most were over the age of 25. And most were men or women who viewed it as a cheaper form of entertainment. It seems the stigma of video gamers – particularly those of the role-playing genre –  has quite a while to reinvent itself. In the meantime, if I’m feeling the need stretch my leadership skills, or find an alternative to Facebook, I’m tempted to up the ante and use my credit card.

References:

[1,10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMORPG

[2] http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/splash-battlenet.htm

[3, 7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction

[4] http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/archives/001298.php?page=4

[5] Yee, N. (2006). The Psychology of MMORPGs: Emotional Investment, Motivations, Relationship Formation, and Problematic Usage. In R. Schroeder & A. Axelsson (Eds.), Avatars at Work and Play: Collaboration and Interaction in Shared Virtual Environments (pp. 187-207). London: Springer-Verlag.

[6, 11] http://www.mmorpg.com/features.cfm/view/polls

[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_farming

[9] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho5Yxe6UVv4

[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_film_trilogy

[13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_(film_series)#Box_office

You begin the game as a disassembled robot ejected from a foreboding machine city into a vast junkyard. By clicking over various hotspots, and with the help of some limited onscreen tips, you soon figure out how to put yourself back together. You head off to the city where the backstory unfolds. There is a love interest to find, mechanical and cognitive challenges to overcome, and numerous intrinsic rewards to earn along the way.

It is difficult to describe this game without sounding trite. It’s whimsical, quirky, fanciful, original, eccentric, and incredibly charming. You must solve puzzles along the way while you explore Machinarium City, but if any prove too difficult one visual clue is available per scene and other hint options become available as the game unfolds.

The game hits the motivational jackpot. As described by Malone and Lepper*, games need to be intrinsically motivating. Machinarium is thoroughly challenging, strongly appeals to one’s curiosity, places the fate of a cute little robot directly in the player’s hands and mind, and envelops each participant in a beautifully rendered, stylized, and fantastical machine city.

Each puzzle I’ve come across has been solvable and rewarding, but not without a modest investment in time. Players are given feedback by the robot (a shake of the head) if a requested action is not possible. The puzzle or proximal goal associated with each new location introduces the right amount of uncertainty into the gameplay. As you attempt to solve each puzzle you are also reminded of your distal goal through cute visual memories that pop into the robot’s brain and onto your screen. The feedback is clear and immediate. If your idea works you gain entry into the next location, failure means you must rethink and possibly retool.

You quickly become emotionally connected and motivated to help your new friend reach his goal. If you are the type of person that likes to understand how things work, or are a science teacher like myself, this game pulls you in by appealing to your curious nature. I sometimes felt that taking a break from the game was letting my little buddy down.  I’d stare over at the screen and watch him relive his memories of happier times and I’d feel a bit guilty until I returned and got him through to the next location.

Visually, the game strongly connects to your cognitive curiosity. I often found myself thinking that I clearly understood the situation in a particular scene, only to have my first attempt at a solution fail miserably. Players must pause to take in the details within each environment thoroughly before attempting to solve a puzzle too quickly. What seems obvious, may not truly be without close inspection.

Machinarium is an emotionally satisfying and richly involving game that I highly recommend. Also check out an educational game developed by the same designers.

*Malone, T. W., & Lepper, M. R. (1987). Making learning fun: A taxonomic model of intrinsic motivations for learning. In R. E. Snow & M. J. Farr (Eds.), Aptitude, learning, and instruction: III. Conative and affective process analysis (pp. 223-253). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

I play this game with my AP Gov students every year

when we learn about congressional elections and how

every 10 years (after the census) politicians of both

political parties, Democrats and Republicans, redraw the

lines to genuinely reflect their constituencies.  The

controversy is whether they should be drawing the lines.

lines or an independent body.  In California, voters

in the 2008 election decided that a 14 member commission

comprised of Democrats, Republicans, and representatives of neither

party selected from the registered voter pool in a

multilevel process would now draw those lines.  The new

census will begin this January, so it will be interesting to

see what happens in California politics.

In terms of the redistricting game, students will

take the path of a liberal or conservative politician and draw

district lines based on a mission that is selected.  Each

mission (1-5 varies in difficulty, 5 being the most difficult).

Mission 1 = Fundamentals

Mission 2 = Partisan Gerrymander

Mission 3 = Bipartisan Gerrymander

Mission 4 = Voting Rights Act

Mission 5 = Reform

For a history of where the term gerrymander comes from

follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbridge_Gerry

Players will have the ability to simulate the considerations that

politicians must take into consideration when drawing the lines

for their particular districts, e.g. demographics, opposing political

parties, fairness and equality.  Not only will players draw

and have to redraw the map for their district, they will also

have to get feedback from the state legislature, state governor,

and the state courts.  Finally, they will have to submit their

map for approval.  For players, the reason I find this game

“elegant” is because it is fun, funny (esp. when the opposing

side gets angry), visually appealing, and players can actually

simulate the “redistricting” process.

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!

I think that Wii Fit & Sports are a conglomeration of creative games that reach all ages and motivate people through competition, challenge, and fantasy. Older individuals that cannot play tennis like they use to can do so with their virtual reality character. Siblings or families can compete for gold, silver, and bronze. And of course there is challenge with swinging the nunchuck or moving ever so carefully on the balance board.

With 60% of adults, as well as a high percentage of children, who are overweight or obese, this game is a

great resource for individuals looking to get back into exercising or losing weight. In the article, Physiological Responses While Playing Nintendo Wii Sports, the researchers found that playing Wii Boxing and Tennis achieve an “adequate intensity that provides cardiovascular benefits and both games elicit energy expenditure” (Source).

Wii Fit & Sports games engage individuals through a variety of motivational techniques and they help your well-being. What could be better!

I have really tried.  I tried because I am taking a class about games, and I think it is important to find something to like about what you are studying.  Also, how could one hope to get an “A” in a class about something you can’t stand? I started the semester thinking, “OK, Deb, now this will be your chance to see what you have been missing all these years.”  First assignment, the ubiquitous “Tell about yourself” posting.  Easy enough – just copy and paste from earlier classes.  Hold on here, “List your 3 favorite games?”  I can’t even think of one, and I am supposed to think of three?

It’s not like I did not have lots of opportunities to play lots of great games.  Growing up, my parents made sure we had a good supply of board games, and they would even sit down to play with us.  I occasionally played card games, mostly when I was babysitting.  In college – and I know I am dating myself here, bigtime – I was aware that people were playing Pac-Man and Pong, but I looked on those kind of people with disdain.  I just could not understand why anyone would want to spend their time that way.   Later, as a mother, I continued the tradition started by my parents and played lots of Chutes & Ladders and Candyland with my children.  It drove me nuts, but I did it, because I knew that the act of sitting down with my children to share an activity was important.  When they could play with each other (without me) I was secretly relieved.

The thing is, I can think of a jillion ways I like to spend my free time, both indoors and out, and they tend to involve literature, art, music, nature, food and friends.  I think if I wound up snowed in, holed up in a cabin with no books, newspapers, magazines, internet, or television, and there was a stack of games, I probably would indeed play them – over sitting there doing absolutely nothing.  So yeah, for me, games are better than doing nothing.  I honestly don’t think there is any hope for me, so please don’t send me a link to a game that you are sure will win me over.  It is a good thing I do not have aspirations in a field where games would be important.

That said, I am a teacher, and I teach kids, and I do recognize that those kids I teach, for the most part, LOVE games.  Especially the electronic variety.  In my class, we utilize several online learning programs that have games as a component.  The beauty of it is, the students have to do a certain amount of work in the “learning” mode before they get a chance to “play” the games.  The game is held out there as the reward, and boy does it work.  It amazes me to see the simplicity of some of the games designed for these programs, yet they work some kind of magic on these kids.  And of course, they are still learning, even though they think of it as playing, and we’re all happy.  So I can say, in all honesty, that I like the games that OTHER PEOPLE PLAY.  Just not me.

A Grade 5-8 Science e-game

Instructions are provided on the web site to guide teachers to use this game.  These include: (1) tips for using the game with students, (2) assessment criteria and discussion questions, (3) different design concepts catering to business people and middle school students, (4) research data supporting the effectiveness of using this game, and (5) standards the game aims to achieve for the students.

At the start of the game, students (individual or in team/group) are introduced to the idea of product design in an interactive and user-friendly interface.  They are guided through a systematic approach: (1) understand the various needs and considerations for designing cell phones for senior citizens, (2) design the cell phone by selecting from a range of parameters, and (3) evaluate the prototype by analyzing from different user perspectives simulated by the computer.  Depending on the outcome of the evaluation, students have the option to proceed to the production phase and market the cell phone or revise their designs.  When the students are ready to mass produce their cell phones, the computer will then simulate the market sales and the strength of their cell phone design will be based on the sales results.  Students can then print out the results and submit to the teacher for evaluation or grading.

Select the different parameters to meet the design goals

I find this game to be a quality class activity. It is meaningful and short enough (10-15 minutes) for the target student group (Grade 5-8) to complete within a standard class period.  Of significance, it exemplifies the the ARCS model in motivating learners:

• Attention:  The game contains colorful graphics and made use of both text and audio to engage both the visual and auditory sensors of the students.  It is suitable for hearing impaired students.
• Relevance:  The topic of interest (cell phone) is familiar to the students and they will find it easy to put the theories into practice.
• Confidence:  The game provides a scaffolding approach to build the knowledge on engineering design.  Students can learn on their own pace and has the control to revise any area they do not understand.
• Satisfaction:  The prototypes students designed are evaluated through a computer simulation and this provides instant feedback on their learning.  Subsequently, the sales report will inform the students whether their designs are marketable or require more work.  Students who understood the design process and cater to the needs of the target audience will then be rewarded with good sales results.

Check out my cell phone and the sales results!  It’s my first attempt and I think it can be better.  Do you think you can achieve a better result?  Start designing your cell phone now =)

Sales results based on my cell phone design

I remember as an elementary and middle school student the game Mad Libs.  Every year I would beg my parents to give me money when the book fair came around so I can buy a bunch of these (they looked like notepads).  Basically, Mad Libs is an educational game that has a focus on English grammar.  Each page has a story where words are left out.  Each word that is left out has a line and one of the  parts of speech (noun, verb, adverb, adjective etc…) listed underneath it.  You fill in the blank space with your own words.  When you would read the story, it would sound very ridiculous and funny.  This is a great game to learn the different parts of speech.  However, I also remember playing Mad Libs in midde school where we would fill in the blanks with inappropriate words.  Technically, we were using the words correctly in a grammatical sense but maybe not so much in an educational sense.  For more information on Mad Libs, go to www.madlibs.com and www.madlibs.org.

from Flickr user sabrina.dent, Creative Commons, Some Rights Reserved.

So I decided to turn to the 1016 “friends” I have on Facebook to get their input on something I know very little about . . . mostly because I’ve blocked all the notifications about the plethora of games/apps (I am unclear on the difference at this point) that one can opt to waste, er, spend time playing on Facebook.

I received more than sixty comments to my queries about what games/apps people play and why.  Sixteen people actually made a point of responding to say they DON’T play these games at ALL, thankyouverymuch, and their reasons included that it’s a waste of time, they prefer face-to-face interaction, they find them creepy or annoying, and they worry that they’re addictive.

Not surprisingly, my respondents had similar things to say about why they DO play them.

The people who responded to my status-update-of-a-question play such games/apps as: Wordscraper, Fish Wrangler, “Farm & Fish games,” Kidnap, Farmville, Packrat, Café World, Restaurant City, Scramble, Typing Maniac, Yoville, Farkle, Bejeweled Blitz, Battle of the Bands, FarmTown, WordDrop, Lexulous, Pathwords, Island Paradise, Mafia Wars, Reign of Vampires, Castle Age, Happy Horse, and Pet Pupz — just so you know.

Their reasons for playing smacked of both intrinsic and extrinisic motivators: there is a social aspect, they’re competitive, and they exercise the brain.  These same respondents, however, also called the games addictive (at least five different people used this word) and time wasters.  They use them to procrastinate, distract themselves from reality, or to pass the time at work.  (Shh, don’t tell about that one. My friend sent his response in a private message so as to maintain a low profile.)

What became very apparent is that in discussing these games, my friends expressed a great deal of self-awareness.  They knew why they played these games.  They knew what they wanted to get out of them.  Or, at the very least, they may not have known what they were getting into, but they know now to either limit themselves to three games (my unemployed brother on disability knows enough to set limits because of the time these things eat up) or to stop after things start getting ridiculous — or the guilt of their starving virtual pets or wilting virtual crops gets to be too much to bear.

I live far away from all my family and many of my friends, so I could appreciate one recurring theme in the comments I received: these games enable people to share an activity with friends and family who live far away.  They’re already using Facebook to keep in touch, but this provides a way to interact without necessarily having a topic to discuss in writing.

I have a friend who is a sociology grad student, and this friend has a theory: “We are culturally programmed to attain markers of success — car, clothes, conspicuous consumption items. These games are basically a model of this. Work, achieve, display achievement, get praise.”

I found that fascinating, and not at all surprising coming from a sociologist.  Another fun justification was that the games some people play give them a chance to “work out” parts of their brain they don’t ordinarily use every day.  Puzzle-type games, word games, and fast action games were cited as even possibly warding off Alzheimer’s.  We certainly don’t know all there is to know about how the brain works, so I guess anything’s possible.

Finally, a very pragmatic response, which received a few “amen” and “ditto” comments, was that these games are

1. easy to access, without a need for installing anything or buying anything additional

2. where you already are (on Facebook) anyway, providing an additional way to interact with peers, and

3. simple enough to pick up and run with — without having to learn a complex rules system

So, if your peers are impressed by such things, success in these games can bring you recognition and admiration, in addition to providing a way to pass the time, keep oneself sane and cerebrally alert, and satisfy the need for competition.

But I’m in grad school, so I don’t have time for any of that.

simSchool is an online simulated classroom experience with students from a variety of backgrounds and with a variety of characteristics. The player with the role of a teacher in the game is supposed to make series of instructional decisions and needs to respond to students’ comments and questions. The player should also consider each student’s specific learning style, verbal and behavioral characteristics. In this game, player as a teacher can choose his classroom size (1, 5, or 18 students).  The difficulty level increases by number of students in the classroom. Players can choose the learning environments –urban, suburban or rural. Then they can see the students’ profiles, academic abilities, emotional characteristics and learning style. Students’ behaviors in this game are unpredictable as in the real classroom. So, player as a teacher should understand the students’ problem from his statement or posture and make decisions to help the students in that situation. Free trial (with a group of 5 students) is available on the game site. Also you can purchase this game for $12 yearly. 3000 written student profiles supported by many small performance differences between students and the tasks that teacher designs gives the players a relevant working environment.

If you want to read more about simSchool, visit:

http://innovateonline.info/pdf/vol1_issue6/simSchool_-__The_Game_of_Teaching.pdf

If you want to play simSchool, visit:

http://simschool.org/

I found an online version of Risk almost immediately at GameHouse (http://www.gamehouse.com/online-games/risk-online), and I used to love playing Risk, so I tried that first. I played a short game and quickly remembered why I enjoyed it. The strategy, the flow, the suspense, and excitement of the attacks are all still there even though the other players aren’t.

But, that’s playing against a computer, and I don’t think I can actually call it a board game, unless I play against a person. It seems to me that the real difference between a board game and an electronic game is the interaction with other players.

After looking a little further, I found a game site called It’sYourTurn (http://www.itsyourturn.com/). The list of games is short (http://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?gmavail_am) and the website is primitive, but the process of finding partners is very cool.

After you login, you go to AutoMatch (http://www.itsyourturn.com/pp?automatch), select the game you want to play, add a few more details, and submit your request for a game. As soon as partner is found, you receive an email with a link to the game. Click on the link and you’re taken to the game page where you find the game board and other information related to the playing the game.

Playing a game can take a long time, though. After you take your turn, an email is automatically sent to your opponent. Then, you have to wait for an email letting you know it’s your turn again. I’ve been playing a game of checkers (the same game) with an opponent for 5 days now, and we’ve made 8 moves.

Even though you play with a real person on It’sYourTurn, at least I assume it’s a real person, the interaction is minimal.  So I thought, what about Second Life (SL)? I’ve spent a little time in SL and even attended a virtual conference in SL. I like the environment and it is almost like being with real people.

Sure enough, I found several references to board games, although some of them are actually links to gambling site. Among others I found Procyon Games that sells games for use in SL (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Malrif/131/137/28) and the Dream Park for Free Games (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bowstring/153/162/68) , where a few games are free to use. But, there wasn’t anyone else there.

Anybody want to explore playing board games in SL?

Check it out at: Sorry, I’ve Got to Go Save My Brain

I think this game was designed primarily for the purpose of having fun, however it can actually be quite educational when it comes to thinking “out of the box” (puns not necessarily intended, but I will take any laughs I can get!). The game features about a bazillion different cards (ok, only 1008. But speaking as the graphic designer for our game, which only has about 300 different cards, that’s a lot!) entitled “Red Apple Cards” and “Green Apple Cards.” The red apple cards have the name of a person, place, thing, or event, and the green apple cards have a characteristic of a person, place, thing, or event.  Players get seven of the red apple cards, and they have to decide which of these best compares to the green apple card read by the “judge” (one player who is neutral for that round).  The judge determines the best comparison, and the person who played that red apple card is awarded the green apple card, and players need a certain number of green apple cards to win. The red apple cards also have explanations of the terms on the cards, such as what olive oil is, who Norman Rockwell was, and the green apple cards have synonyms for the characteristics listed on them.

Doesn’t sound like that big of a deal until you actually play the game. People start “lobbying” the judge to pick a particular card, and thus justifying either their own, or perhaps another’s, comparison. A lot of very interesting, albeit rather tangential at times, conversation can ensue. As you can imagine, sometimes the comparisons are a little flimsy, but the lengths people will go to in order to defend theirs begets some really great debate! The game also has variations built in, such as finding a comparison that applies to two things (2 for 1 Apples), finding the opposite of something (Crab Apples), or switching the green and red apple cards and playing the game (Apple Turnovers).

So although it probably wasn’t designed to be an educational game, you can certainly learn a lot; connections you hadn’t heard of or thought of, new ways of putting things, and thinking creatively. Learning or not, my family and I really enjoy this game. I mean, think about these: Taking a bath; salads; rednecks; olive oil; and Norman Rockwell. Which would you associate with the characteristic of “revolutionary?” Try thinking inside the box on that one!

 This game has a great overall idea-choosing a goal for your life and experiencing situations and having to make decisions that will ultimately impact you reaching your goal.  The downside is that it’s a little outdated as far as how it looks, at least in all the images I was able to find on the Internet.    It’s very easy to play, with the play being similar to Life and Monopoly. 

Before Mario, games were generally stationary where as Super Mario Bros. popularized the scrolling screen.  Mario progresses through levels by running from left to right avoiding obstacles along the way.  Kids and adults alike were motivated to play Super Mario Bros. based on this new style of gameplay, multiple characters, and the general story line of Mario saving the Princess.

Motivation for Mario can be explained by the Expectancy theory.  Expectancy theory is a combination of three elements:  valence, instrumentality, and expectancy.  Valence is described by the value of the outcome.  The idea of ‘saving the damsel in distress’ was a value that Americans were seen doing in many movies of the time.  Instrumentality states that there is clear path and you know what to expect.  The goal of avoiding obstacles and overcoming the stage boss is clear.  The last element, expectancy, is described as the ability to complete actions.  Super Mario Bros. is a good game in terms of expectancy because the difficulty starts off easy, with high levels of success, and ends with high difficulty stages that are still achievable.

SET setup

As I mentioned in my September blog, I am a huge, and I mean HUGE, fan of SET.  I was first introduced to it by my uncle when I was about 9.  And, truth be told, I am a natural.  So, since this month we’re suppose to write a post on an educational game, I’ve got only one thing on my mind.  SET!

SET is an educational game for groups of any size.  It requires players to use and develop pattern recognition and logic skills.  A player must also be speedy because the goal of the game is to be the first person to find a “set.”

How do you play?

Here’s how a player makes a “set” according to the official product description:  

The object of the game is to identify “sets” of three cards. Each card is unique in its four features; color – red, green or purple, symbol – diamond, squiggle or oval, shading – solid, striped or open, and number – 1, 2 or 3. A “set” consists of three cards on which each feature is either the same on all of the cards, or different on all of the cards.

Why it works?

SET works because children and adults (6+ years) find entertainment in the same game.  Better yet, children  and adults can play simultaneously!   From my observation, many kids prove to be better at pattern recognition than adults.  On occasion, I bring SET into my tutoring center. It’s one of the few rowdy homework break activities I allow. The students get excited.  Crowds form.  The rules are relatively simple, and the kids teach each other and even their tutors.

Why it doesn’t work?

It’s been known to cause fights!  Player 1: “Who said SET first?” Player 2: “I did!”  Player 3: “No, I did!!”  With a feisty group of players, I recommend someone take on the role of referee.  One person makes the call, and that is that.

Ending note:  Calling all San Diegans. Is anyone down for playing SET with me??

Helpful Links

Detailed Rules & Tutorial  http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

For individuals, here’s an online solitaire version!  http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02games.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

The game is fun because it employs a number of different types of actions, such as pictionary, general trivia, spelling (although backwards), clay modeling, act out, etc. This offers something for nearly everyone. The game is easy to learn and is seemingly more fun to play with a large group with numerous teams. We have always enjoyed battle of the sexes, where the men at the party play against the women. Gender bragging rights is always good fun. 

I’m not sure how educational the game is, but it does require the players to partake in a number of activities the tap into different intelligences. There’s auditory, visual and kinesthetic activities that players involve themselves with. So as an educational game, I dont’ think that Cranium fits the bill, but as a game to show of individual intelligences, Cranium is fantastic.

As far as game play goes, the game can be a bit choppy. The game board is an average, race to the end type of board. There are two different paths one can take. That depends on whether a team gets a question correct at the right time.

In all, I like the game. If played a lot, there may be a need to get an updated set of cards since the number of cards in the original box are limited. It is quite fun to be played with a group of people in teams in a social setting.

First it was Mexican Train (a dominoes variation), then it was Rummikub. Favorite games were chosen in streaks, then we’d get bored and search the cupboard for something different.  One day, my friend Deb asks “Do we have Scrabble?”  Everyone groans, “It’s boring! It takes too long!”  “No!” she says, “I know a different way to play that’s really fun!” We’re skeptical, but we trust her, Deb knows what’s fun. Sure enough, we became addicted. Now, it’s rare that we play anything else.

What is this different way to play Scrabble that’s actually fun and addictive? Deb called it Speed Scrabble (not to be confused with playing regular Scrabble with a timer).

Here’s how you play:

1. Leave the board and the little tile-shelves in the box.
2. Turn all the tiles upside down in the center of the table.
3. Each player takes 7 tiles.
4. Someone says “go!” and each player flips their tiles right-side-up and begins trying to create their own little crossword puzzle in front of them with their 7 tiles.
5. When someone first incorporates all 7 tiles into a crossword pattern, they yell “pull” and everyone has to take one more tile.
6. At anytime, players can rework their crossword patterns, they are not stuck with their original arrangement.
7. This continues until there are no more tiles in the middle, and the first person using all their tiles wins the round. Or, if you feel like doing a little math, the player with the most points at this point wins (points in crossword minus points not used). We never feel like doing the math!
8. Depending on how many players, rounds can last from 5 to 20 minutes.

How is this more fun than Scrabble?

This game offers all the same educational benefits as Scrabble, but it is more fast-paced and fun.  Each player is very focused on building words as quickly as possible, feeling the pressure as other players force them draw more tiles.  As the tiles in the middle dwindle, the frantic pace of the game increases even more. Because the rounds are short, there is plenty of opportunity for losers to win on another round. This keeps the game light and engaging for children and adults. After doing a little research I found that there are actually a few marketed versions of this game out there. Two similar versions created in the 90′s – Pick Two! and Take Two, and one created in 2006 called Bananagrams. By the way, this is a great illustration of how games are routinely copied or reinvented.

Click to see video of family playing Speed Scrabble

Click to see video of family playing regular Scrabble

I thought it was interesting that game designers and game players have created other versions of Scrabble. In fact, there is an entire page on Wikipedia on Scrabble Variants. Let’s face it, Scrabble is a great classic game, but perhaps is not always the most fun game in the world. Check out these two videos of families playing standard Scrabble versus this modified version.

What we can learn from alternate rules…

Looking at each of the variants of Scrabble outlined on Wikipedia might serve as a great resource for us as we work on modifying our game designs to increase the fun factor.  What other games can you think of that seem to have multiple variations?  Think about a time when you played a common game with another family or group of friends, and they played it differently then you.  Was it better? Why?

Now in looking back as an educator it is a great game for its audience – preschoolers (ages 3-6). They learn to take turns as well as recognize and understand the value of basic numbers. The biggest challenge is to get the preschooler to sit still long enough to play!