Game Design Expo
Published December 18th, 2009
Category News, Press, Found
By Lizzie
Tags
Thanks to all who attended the Game Design Expo last night, particularly those game developers who participated in the challenge! The event was a success by all accounts! The judges were impressed with the developers’ ability to build a learning game for the Xbox 360 or Microsoft Zune platform using a specific design pattern. The grand prize went to Super Transformation, by Alec Jacobson, Murphy Stein and Yongming Hong, a platform style 2D game, in which the user drives a character through levels by laying down geometric transformation portals. The 2nd place winner was Prime Beef by Eric Rosenzweig. The object of this game is to defeat all alien cows on the screen by selecting a factor that divides the number or polynomial on the cow and shooting it. The 3rd place winner was EcoSim, by Melissa DiFranco, Kai Johnson, Younyil Kim, an ecosystem simulation game in which the player creates and maintains an ecosystem with dynamic interacting elements through a series of game missions. The 4th place winner was The Recipe Ruler by Rachit Parikh, Edgardo Molina, Keith Grigoletto. Recipe Ruler is an interactive game that teaches mathematical concepts, with an emphasis on proportions and conversions. By adjusting the original recipe, players build math skills and successfully meet demands for varying quantities of different goods such as cookies.
Congratulations to the winners! Thank you all for celebrating these initiatives in learning game development with us.
Video footage of the event will be available via vimeo in the near future. Stay tuned!
Robert Sapolsky’s Class Day Lecture 2009 Lecture at stanford—Why Humans are the Uniquierest Animals
Published November 21st, 2009
Category Found
By Charles Hendee
Tags
So, (I know I shouldn’t start a sentence with ‘so’, but I am trying to be colloquial) I saw this vido on BoingBoing. Professor Sapolsky’s talk is wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. I repeat, stupendously wonderful. Though, that is not why I am posting it here. There is a specific section that interests me. At about the 26:30 mark the Professor Sapolsky starts to discuss dopamine release in a problem solving monkey. As it turns out, a monkey’s dopamine level shoot up as a task, which it know how to complete and is thus rewarded with a snack, begins. It anticipates the reward, and is excited at the chance to prove his/her self, therein receiving the snack. As an aside— this result, I am sure, boosted the dopamine levels of the scientists running the experiment. At this point, the reward is added 50% of the time. The dopamine shot up to double the previous level. Sorry, I’ll cease reiterating what you can watch. The salient point is when he makes the comment about social engineers making a killing working in Vegas convincing people that they are winning about 50% of the time, while they are in reality winning much much much less often.
I poked around on the googles and the bings and the yahoos— as it turns out, game makers are at least vaguely aware of the effects of increased dopamine in players in a sort of pleasure zone. I wonder if game makers in general and educational game makers specifically use this sort of technique to increase the level of pleasure experienced by player of their games.
Of course, there is always the issue of game addiction. Might there be a risk of ’addiction’ to a game if the players are pushed into an unnaturally high level of mental arousal? Is it bad to be addicted to something that is widely considered to be beneficial?
Some sample Physics games….
Published November 19th, 2009
Category Found
By Roshini David and Diane Ludin
Tags fun, mini-games, Science Learning,
These are sample games that use the principles of physics. What we like about them is the immediacy of player interaction.
Gravity Master:
Love this game!! Uses physics concepts. My entire office was addicted to it! 
http://www.media.perthnow.com.au/multimedia/2008/12/html/gravity.html
OE CAKE:
Physics again. Here’s a demo video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WskcClEGdVs
Research Findings on Gender and Games
Published November 2nd, 2009
Category Found
By Jan L Plass
Tags gaming, gender, Research,
Designing games to appeal to female and male players may seem elusive, but gender and gaming has been and continues to be the focus of hundreds of research studies. The Michigan State University Serious Games Initiative maintains the investiGaming site that lists research articles on gender and gaming.
NY Time Reviews ‘DJ Hero’—One more game in the main stream
Published October 31st, 2009
Category News, Found
By Charles Hendee
Tags casual games, games in culture, nyt, schiesel,
SETH SCHIESEL wrote an interesting review of FreeStyleGames‘s new DJ Hero. He starts with a brief discussion on the influences of games such as Guitar Hero, WoW, and the Nintendo Wii in bringing game-play to the cultural mainstream before he gets into DJ Hero and it’s chance to bringhip-hop, electronica, techno and house to a wider audience.
Now hip-hop, electronica, techno and house music finally get their turn as a game with DJ Hero…Anchored by a spectacular and altogether groovy collection of original mixes, DJ Hero will certainly be the life of millions of parties around the world.
It’s a good read. In fact, it almost makes me want to try the game out. Link
Effecting a Change of Behavior Through Fun
Published October 10th, 2009
Category Found
By Charles Hendee
Tags behavior, Environmental Hacking, fun,
This is a wonderful video about the results of making stairs fun.
From Alltop: Piano Stairs
