Learning from our Users

I am currently working on a game with a team of developers I met at this years Global Game Jam.

Our game in the jam was called "To Earth" and in Colombia we got recognition from the sponsors of the event as the best overall game of the jam, here is a link if you want to read more about it:

GGJ game site: http://globalgamejam.org/2014/games/earth



Since the day we finished the our 48 hour jam the team was very confident in the idea that we had. Therefore we all decided to dedicate any extra hours we could have to developing this game fully. Our end goal is to place the game in the Android Market.


We are currently on a testing phase. during the jam, we were able to test out the levels, and that little testing proved to go a long way. This is why we have separated 6 different levels and we want to test out the difficulty and how easy it is to understand.

If you want to help us out, just play the game below, and at the end just click on the little save button and e-mail us that file.

you can e-mail it to me to: danbahamon@gmail.com or you can contact us on facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/ToEarthGame


Thank you very much for your time and support!


Click here to play

for any of you developers wondering what the file is, it is simply an xml file that has the time stamps, the amount of tries and sequences the user tried. this will help us determine if the user is taking too long to solve, and if they are, we can take a look at what sequences they are trying, because it is likely that if they are trying a sequence too many times that the clue is not clear enough.

here are some screenshots of what the file looks like and how we visualize it in excel.

Learning how backgrounds make us feel

Backgrounds often go unnoticed, at least to our conscious self. But backgrounds tend to have a powerful effect on the way we feel while playing a game. They are not the only tool to make us feel different things but they are a crucial part of it.

I want to take a look at a few examples and see how we see them..

First lets take a look at Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze:

Here we have three different parts of the game, the first one is near the start of the game, deep inside the jungle, the second one is at the middle and the last one is near the end... 

In the first image we are starting the game, we are entering a new world, learning the controls, as you can see on that image we have clear skies and bright colors. This creates a happier mood. 

The second image is a bit darker, in a more crowded place, with little lines of light left. This creates a mysterious mood.

The last one you can feel the tension, the darkness, the redness, this setting makes us feel uncomfortable. It looks dangerous. This definitely creates an unsettling mood.

Now let's look at the Disney movie Frozen:

I picked three different screenshots of the song "Let it Go". Let's look at the screenshots first and then at the video.

The song is about the main character overcoming her fears and learning to be happy with them. The first part of the song she is sad, upset, this is why we have an almost completely dark background, with snow falling. It seems cold, sad and lonely.

The next part of  the song is when she is starting to realize she can be happy, all of a sudden there is no snow, you can now notice more things in the background, lighter tones. this is gradually letting us know things are getting better. 

Near the end of the song, after she is now free from her pain, amazingly enough the darkness is gone, the sun is out and a bright pink sky is out.

now lets look at the video:

My Thoughts:

-It is important to start with bright colors and happy mood to give the player a good welcome.

-When difficulty increases, colors should get darker and elements like snow, rain, or something else should be falling. 

-After completing the game, the backgrounds should change again to brighter tones and happier moods.

If I want happy tone: 

1. Bright colors, light blue, light green.
2. Open Spaces
3. Large world in the back.

Mysterious tone:

1. Crowded Background
2. Dark colors
3. Things falling

Tense Tone:

1. Sharper edges
2. Red Colors
3. Items falling

What other tones can we create? 

any suggestions on new things I could add to create the different moods?

let me know what you think.

Thanks

Learning from The Game Theorists

Today I watched a great video about what makes games fun. I want to relate what they said to educational games.

Here is the video:

Important Notes:
- Games satisfy our human needs
- Competence (feeling of mastery, completion and gaining powers)
- Autonomy (You have control, choosing their own adventure, meaningful actions)
- Relatedness ( You matter to others, multiplayer)
- Cultures


My Thoughts:
-I view games as a sport for the mind. They help us improve several skills and they help us live out experiences, much like the way dreams prepare us for failure by letting us "Experience" it beforehand.
-The success of achievements, the birth of extremely hard games, and the many level upgrades in games like WOW have shown that players really enjoy playing games in order to achieve greatness.
-Making choices in real life can be dangerous, we fear of making big mistakes and hurting others in the process. With games we are able to make many different choices, learn from mistakes and play out possibilities. The Sims proved to be very successful, allowing people to live out their dream lives and letting them make mistakes proved to be very enjoyable.
-There is no better feeling than beating your brother in a game of Fifa, or showing off your high score to your friends, we like to win and we like others to know it. Multiplayer games like many of the Nintendo franchises have proven to be very successful because they invoke that inner competitor inside all of us.


Implementing ideas into educational games:
-Allow players to level up, keep track of their progress and show them their options. Congratulate them when they succeed and motivate them when they fail.
-Give them choices, instead of mimicking the current school system, let them decide what they want to learn, let them choose their path, the order they learn things in.
-Add multiplayer competition, perhaps add a small handicap system to allow two differently skilled players to be able to play against each other. Mario kart is very successful at giving all players a chance to win.

Learning from Lebron James

LeBron James is one of the best Basketball players in the game today. Night in and night out he just manages to bring 100% of his abilities to the game.

What does LeBron have to do with educational games?

well it is very simple, James is the physical representation of self motivation, hard work and goal achievement.

Since he was in high school, many believed he was going to be the next great one. This may seem like a wonderful thing, but it also came with a huge magnifying glass. Every bounce of the ball, every jump, every word was under extreme observation. This leads to many flaws being pointed out, and many haters attacking him.


But LeBron is a prime example on how you should react to criticism, he took what other people where saying, filtered out comments that had no real worth (like insults) and took a look at what he needed to improve in his game. And this is what he does every summer, he focuses on a task, on a particular aspect of the game he wants to improve and he works at it relentlessly until in is no longer a flaw but an asset he possesses.

But lets focus now on how this mentality can help us make better educational games. Lets break down the process:

1. Learn about areas that need improvement.
2. Set goals
3. Work at them
4. Review results

With this in mind I have created VCM (Virtual Challenge Manager). The goal of VCM is to provide the player with a set of custom challenges that they can attempt to complete, and keep track of their progress, always congratulating them on their achievements. 

As an example you can think of how you play video games, let's say Super Mario Bros. In my mind, sometimes I decide "let me try and beat the game in under 10 minutes" or "lets try and pass the entire game with small Mario" or "Let try and get over 20 lives" and so on and so on.

This is a gamers mentality, always striving to improve and beat tougher challenges. What VCM would do is that you would automatically get a set of challenges you might want to tackle next, all in exchange of a reward (virtual currency). 

I have developed a demo of VCM for this blogs Learning Game #2. The game production is still in prototype stage, so ignore all the programmers art.. The goal of the game is to build groups of 6 circles. in order to build a group you click on a circle and move around to get a sequence of 6 (only 6, any more or less doesn't count). 

Let me know what you think:

As you can see every time you complete a challenge you are given a tougher challenge to attempt.

Learning from ASAP Science

Today I saw a very interesting video from ASAP Science, you can check out their channel here: Channel

The question of this video is a very important question for Educational Games,

Can Video Games make us Smarter?

Here is the video, check it out and we can try to analyze it.

Important Notes:

1. Increase in Cognitive function (Memory, Strategic Planning, Fine Motor Skills)
2. Increased Attention Skills
3. Object Tracking
4. Future Jobs
5. Skills are only good if you use them

My Thoughts:

1. These skills are key components to Problem solving, a trait everyone needs on an everyday basis.
2. This skill can help people focus and concentrate better, another trait that will help everyone do a better job at anything.
3. This could be related to multitasking
4. Anyone that is not fully literate in technology will be in great disadvantage in the future, having kids grow with educational games will prepare them for the future.
5. It is important for the games to also encourage activities outside of the house, to help kids understand how to use what they learn. 

Some time ago I did a game very similar to the one of the colors on the video, check it out and measure how good you can get.

Learning Game #2: Playtest

I have developed a prototype for the game, and hopefully you (the game dev community) can help me out with a little play testing.

The game rules are very simple. In this prototype you need to make sequences of 6 circles. in order to make a sequence you click on a circle, and while you are holding the left button down you are able to move around adjacent circles and color them.

Only sequences of 6 circles are allowed, so if you do sequences with longer or shorter amounts the computer automatically will erase what you did. The goal of this level is to get 9 sequences of 6 circles.

Here is the game, please share your thoughts and ideas, let me know if you are able to get to 9 groups, also let me know if you feel it is too hard or too easy. Thank you in advanced.
(email:danbahamon@gmail.com) or twitter @danbahamon

Learning from Vik Nithy

I just viewed a very interesting video on Why We Procrastinate

Here is the video:

Even though I find this very helpful for our everyday life, I don't want to concentrate on that. Instead I want to explore an idea that came to my mind while watching the video. I want to analyze what he talks about and relate it to games for education. 

First he talked about the Amygdala, a part of the brain designed to trigger a response when we feel threatened and that it shuts down a very important part of our "working" brain called the Prefrontal Cortex. I can't help but think of students all over the world with fears of making mistakes, failing a test and how their performance is greatly affected by how they react to the situation. 

Vik gave some really good points on dealing with procrastination, which in a sense were tips on preventing anxiety and not triggering the amygdala fear response. here is the Bullet point list:

1. Plan Goals
2. Plan Time
3. Plan Resources
4. Plan Process
5. Plan for Distraction
6. Plan for Failure

these are all really good tips, many of these I do on my everyday life for doing work I need to do, here is a couple of examples of how I do this:

As you may notice, I like keeping track of things, but it is an extra load of work to do this, therefore it is not something easy for kids to do. 

But we are lucky enough to not be dealing with paper any more. Computers would be able to open up a screen and help the kid determine what goals they have for the session, also keep track of achievements and keep them motivated in order to reduce any chance of discomfort.

My Thoughts:

This is how I envision these key points being integrated into a game to help keep the student focused and entertained.

-Have a pop up screen where the player chooses what to work on, so if it is a multiplication game, they can determine if they want to work on their fives, or their eights. This should allow for them to clearly determine how this will benefit them.

-Let them set a session time. the game could have short, med or long mode. at which the student would not feel forced into playing longer than what they would like.

-Resources is a tricky one, as the game should have all elements integrated.

-Process is another hard one. I could see maybe in a logic game, a player determining what strategy they are going to use. but it is also very hard to integrate.

-Distraction is a key challenge. they need to stay focused, so adding some distractions or mini games can also act as a stress relief moment. Something like the little side islands in Super Mario Galaxy

-Failure is inevitable, but I think a good way to add failure into the game is with a story. everyone likes a comeback, everyone roots for the underdog, so maybe, with characters you are able to create a story for the player. something like saying it was a great chance, but now, "name of player" you must gather your tools and get ready to try again. the town needs you!

Anyways, this was a very interesting video, I know I viewed it from a completely different point of view, but I have a strange feeling that there is a key element for educational games hidden somewhere in what he said. 

Expect some prototypes of these ideas on the next Learning game from Impudia (the Math game).

Learning Game #2: Artificial Intelligence (A*)

Today I want to share some AI programming that I am doing for the Math game.

The Game: I will not go over the game description at this moment, but the goal is to build groups of colors out of a board. For example the game shows a multiplication 5x7 then the goal is to make 5 groups of 7 by coloring the circles.

The Challenge:

The board in the back needs to be randomly generated. so that it can dynamically create levels for players to play without already knowing the answer.

Road Block #1:

I need to make sure to come up with a good way to remove circles, I could run into trouble if I randomly remove them....

Solution #1:
Instead of randomly removing blocks I will do a labyrinth solve approach..

Think of what you do to quickly solve a labyrinth. You start from the end and go backwards towards the start

With this line of thought, I want to create a complete path, that uses as many circles as the multiplication (5*7) = 35. Once I have that I will remove any of the items that are not being used

Problem #2:
For the creation of the path I used A* algorithm, the only issue with this was that the computer was having a meltdown trying to figure out all the possible paths. My algorithm would stop when a path of length 35 was found. The only issue was that the computer exit out of the game before reaching that. it would crash after creating 4 million different paths.

Solution # 2:
This one was a brain teaser. I knew that I was doing the right algorithm, but it was just too expensive, I couldn't cut corners because my path had no directions, no rules, the goal was to get a path that covered 35 blocks. But for every path I was getting around 3 new paths, here is just a small chart to demonstrate how chaotic this is:

As you can see, just 16 blocks in, I would have over 4 million paths! There is no way I could get to 35

In order to mitigate with this one, you will be surprised but my solution was extremely weird. I just decided that I would only allow for 20 paths to be created, that way after 700 paths I would already reach a solution. 700 paths are created in almost no time. 

Problem #3:

Solutions where working but I guessed the solutions where just boring, I was getting big blocks all the time

As you can see, this is boring.... not quite what I had in mind with the design sketches.

Solution # 3:

In order to solve this one I was able to come up with a nice solution, instead of building a path of the exact length (5*7)=35 I decided to create an extra one for each group = 5 groups of 8 = 40. then I would remove every 8th circle...

Check out the resulting file, click on the screen to just randomly create new paths....

Learning from Candy Crush Saga

Today I want to take a look at Candy Crush Saga, they have been very successful at attracting the casual market. their game is played by people from every age group.

For educational games, it is very important that the graphics are attractive and fun in order to get kids full attention.

Backgrounds:

 Notice how the background of the main level has a board game style, also it has many different elements like stars and pictures of your friends.


Characters:


I am not much of a fan of this 2D art, they obviously try to emulate a Popsicle show, but it seems a bit limited to me.

Messages:


Perhaps one of the best visuals the game has is the "Sweet Message" this message appears when the player gets many points in one move. this immediate feedback is great to motivate the user to continue playing as they are doing a good job.

This visual comes next to a sound effect that also congratulates the player.




This visual appears when you finish a level. Some times the user takes days or weeks to finish a level, it is important to give them a great positive message congratulating them and leading them to the next level.

Level:


The items in the level have a great shinny look. notice the highlights in the green and blue candies. also notice how the hud is very simple, most of the visuals is the game board.
The combination of colors also works really well.


My Thoughts:

-Have shinny and Bubbly elements.
-Congratulate the user after a big effort.
-Have constant positive messages for minor achievements.
-Sound effects really help you motivate the player.

Learning About technology in the Classroom

Here is an interesting video about using technology in the classroom

"Technology will not replace teachers, but teachers will be replaced who don't use technology"

Important Notes:
-Students Love it
-Engages the four key components of Learning
-Professional Development
-Makes life easier for teachers
-Improves test scores
-Helps students with low attention spans
-Learn from the experts
-Encourages completion of homework
-Saves Money
-Remove Obstacles


My Thoughts:
-Kids love looking at animations, interacting with the screen, listen to nice sounds and feeling in control of what they are doing and watching.
-Games will allow kids to compete with fellow students, collaborate with them and measure their own progress while playing the game.
-Technology literacy is crucial in today's world. and there is no sign of that changing any time soon. Kids can quickly learn new technologies, while adults are much slower to learn new things. This is why it is very important to teach them how to use technology early on.
-Teachers will soon learn that technology is nothing more than a great tool for them. it reduces tedious tasks and it assists them in learning about their students.
-Technology will adapt to the student needs, this will help them learn at their own pace, keep them motivated and this will result in kids ultimately learning.
-I don't believe too much in labeling students as low attention, I think they are just kids, and they get bored from class, it just makes sense they want to do fun things.
-Technology will open the world to knowledge from all parts of the world. This has been a main reason for my passion for educational games. I want every kid on the planet to have equal opportunity to learn.
-Homework can definitely be much more fun this way.
-A lot of free apps, will change the business of schools.
-Apps can adapt to any disability the kids may have.

Learning from Conrad Wolfram

Today I watched a TED talk video from Conrad Wolfram and I just wanted to share some thoughts on what he has to say:

Important Notes:
-"No one is very happy with math today"
-"Stop teaching calculating, start teaching Math"
-Why teach math? (jobs, living, logic)
-80% time doing Computation in schools
-What is math? (question, formulation, computation, verification)
-Don't make computers teach kids how to do math by hand
-If you really want to check if you understand math write a program to do it.


My thoughts:
-Math is a very unpopular subject in schools, the majority of students tend to think that it is too hard or that they are too dumb to understand this. I am completely against this idea, I think math is something everyone can understand if they are presented with the information in a fun way and they are given time to understand at their own pace.
-Calculating is boring, long, and can easily lead to making mistakes. and it doesn't really proof that the student knows math. they just know a part of it.
-I really like the logical part of math. it is perhaps why I feel it was my favorite subject, it just makes sense, and it helps you start thinking logically
-Check out this website for computation! https://www.mathway.com/
-I liked the definition of math that he gave. for me it is crucial to pose the right question.
for example, if there is a family of 4 and they have $2,000 per month, how should the money be distributed?
in this case, a very basic math mentality, would simply divide $2,000 by 4 (giving each member $500 to spend), but a real math solution would look at factors that are not just right there, it would lead to more questions, like how much rent do they pay?, debt?, school? it would look at a problem with a broader view.
-This one really gave me something to think about, in the past I have worked on making games teach calculation, when I could be trying to make the games be more of applying math logic to play.
-Here is a great link for those of you that want to give this theory of programming math a try!  http://projecteuler.net/

Learning Game: Math Basics

Math is known for being a very tough subject in school. Many students struggle to learn and master the subject. My next game will attempt to identify when students have a problem with addition, subtraction, multiplication or division and it will adapt to help them practice and solve their issues.

The game should also be used to help teachers motivate their students and help them identify when students are having problems. 

Learning Game: Art Duels Thoughts

It was a very exciting experience to have the game show in school. Overall the experience was really positive. A good way to measure success is by seeing if kids smile, laugh, tease each other, and if they want to win.

Here is the game



My Thoughts:

Positive:
1) Kids really liked the visual questions. Having questions that require attention more than knowledge helped all students get involved and motivated them to participate.
2) Painting reinforcement. Using the same painting but asking different questions helped students form different connections to the painting.
3) Student Interaction: I found out that asking them questions about what they thought of the game ended up giving me great feedback, they were really helpful.


Negative:
1) Points took too long to show up
2) Students didn't use helpers (they just guessed the answer in 5-10 seconds)
3) No incentive to win made them not really care about competition. Students from all teams would answer the questions.

Learning Game: Art Duels Complete

Today I finished Art Duels, the final game had a twist from what was originally planned, I was able to meet up with the art teacher and some students and we decided to move from a pong game to a trivia game. Here is a screenshot of what the game looks like:

The game is a multiple choice trivia, with 3 tools to help students answer the question (look in books, look in cell phone, more time). Each tool will reduce the amount of points the students will get if they answer correctly.

During Arts week we will have a 30 minute window to play the game. The game will have 4 teams and 8 questions for each team.

I will follow up this post with my thoughts on the experience.

Learning Game: Art Duels (Part || Assets)

This post will concentrate on breaking down the Assets part of the game:

First lets Highlight our current list of important elements:
Assets: Stylish, Story line, Congratulate, Motivate, Challenge


Now a look at each element on the list:

Stylish: I am thinking about something like a boxing match publicity, facing off two boxers but in our case, two painters:

I really want to think of something cool for the HUD, something that makes it seem like a sports channel is showcasing the battle:

For the story line I think that the theme is perfect for telling the story with a timeline:

To congratulate the player I really want to have messages like Candy Crush has:

Finally in order to challenge the player I want to add a little personality to the players by adding a little smack talk before the duel, something very similar to Street Fighter:

Obviously sound will be playing on all of these cases, later on I will take a look at sounds.

If you have any more references to the type of art I am talking about please feel free to share them so that I can take a look at them.

for an overview of the project take a look at this post

Learning Game: Art Duels (part I:Introduction)

Art Duels is the name of the first game developed under this blog. I will incorporate all the details noticed from all the previous posts.

Here is a quick summary of all the Thoughts taken from the previous posts:

Assets: Stylish, Story line, Congratulate, Motivate, Challenge

Interactivity: Simple, Variety, Visualize Controls, Intuitive

Education: Focus Student, Repetition, Doing, Solve a problem

Engine: Unique, Time-Based difficulty

Deadline: February 28,2014

Goal: To teach kids about famous painters (their style, their time period, location)

Project Overview:

This game is going to be part of a workshop. Students will be drawing with styles of their favorite painter (ex:Monet, Manet, Picasso, Botero...) and after they are done painting I will place their art inside of a previously build game so that they will end up with a video game created by them. 

The Game: 

A very similar game to the very popular Pong. The goal here is to have a simple, casual and fun game that kids can share and compete with their friends.

here is a screenshot of Pong for anyone that is not familiar with the game:

Feel free to share your thoughts, any advice is very well welcomed. 

Learning Math Engine

This is a small test of how the engine of the game can adapt to the user:

Answer True if the equation is correct and False if it is incorrect. 

As you might have noticed, the more questions you get right the questions get harder....

How does this work?

The code above lets you see some of the logic, basically if they get the question right, then I see how fast they answered it. if they answer the question in about 3 seconds I then increase a streak variable.

Once that variable increases the difficulty increases.


Here is an image of a sample run I made:

As you can see, by the time the timer ran out I was already solving 2 digit questions

I will share a small test I made, playing this game, 20 times with 5 minute runs for each try. 

The colors indicate difficulty, the length of the color represents the amount of time I took for that difficulty.

Notice how the first run i was only able to reach level 6, but right near the end I was able to answer level 8 questions.. 

Obviously this brings many thoughts to mind is this really improving my math skills? 

test it out and maybe you can let me know if you feel you have improved. 

But going back to the subject of this post (Engine) I want to highlight the fact that the interactivity of this game adjusting the difficulty always kept me challenged and it somehow allowed me to reach higher levels than before.

My Thoughts:

-Everyone is different, adapting the difficulty makes the game more the right amount of challenging for players.

-The 8 answer streak seems to work but more testing is needed to proof that it is correct

-The 3 second rule makes the game very challenging but it might also need to be adapted depending on difficulty

-Times seem to be reduced with repetition 

Learning to be Fit

I wanted to start the interactivity element with a great game by Nintendo... Wii Fit.

The reason I chose this game is because I believe this game motivates people to exercise, it teaches them about healthy habits and it does it all while you are having fun.

When I was living in orlando I got a Wii Fit, and for many months it allowed me to track my weight, get on a routine and lose some weight. The only downside was that I would make a lot of noise and I ended up not using it too often in order to not bother my downstairs neighbors.

Important Notes:

-The game controls are very simple to use.

-There is a nice variety of ways to play games.

-You can visualize how good you are using the controls.

My Thoughts:

-The controls are pretty intuitive, this helps anyone start playing and then they can improve over time and learn how to master the controls. Complex controls will easily drive people away from a game, even if it is a great game (this sort of happened to me with Zelda's Skyward Sword)

-The variety in the controls help keep the game interesting, I remember doing some running and then just relaxing with a little game that just required me to hit some soccer balls, and then jumping into an intense boxing workout. This really allowed me to spend more time than I would if it was just one type of control.

-The visual and sound feedback really helps the user adjust and learn little details on how to improve. So for example on a game to teach music, you could visually display the tempo, or perhaps the notes in order for the student to notice immediately a mistake without having some sort of punishment for missing it. 

Learning from Cartoons

Graphics and sounds are the front page of videogames. I do not believe that they define a good game, but they can easily make a good game great.  I wanted to learn a bit more about art, and I thought of a great company that knows a thing or two about entertainment. Check out this video interview of the creators of Hanna-Barbera (Joseph Barbera and William Hanna).

Interesting thoughts:

-"Success came due to a Novelty Look"

- "Good Stories, and Great Voices"

-"We are invoved in the D.A.R.E progam"

-"You have to make it Entertaining or they are not going to watch it, therefore they won't get the message"

-"Don't hit them in the head with it"

My Opinions:

-It is very important to have a nice looking game, not always about higher resolution but maybe if you can have some stylish art it can help attract new users.

-Stories are great tools for engagement, people like to relate to stories, this could easily be replicated in games that teach history, but perhaps a fun challenge could be teaching something like multiplication using a fun storiline that helps kids understand the importance of learning something.

- The voices are something very special, I still remember certain voices from cartoon shows in the 90's, A good voice in a game can be used to congratulate, motivate and challenge the kids to do better, it will also help the games seem more "human" and personal.

-I was pleased to be able to find a connection with what they do and what I want to do. At the point where they talk about teaching children about certaing things and being involved in the D.A.R.E progam. It is important to use something that is fun in order to teach.

-the last two quotes are very important MAKE IT FUN! don't fill the game with facts and tasks, entertain them and they will be able to learn.

Learning about Teamwork

Welcome!

Thank you very much for taking the time to visit the blog. I want  to give you a brief explanation of my goals with this site and how YOU are a key part of it.

I have always have a very strong passion for making fun, educational games. I have developed over 50 games, although most of them are not educational. The reason why I decided to make this blog, and the reason I hope you join my quest, is because I am very aware that the fastest, most effective way to make a good solid game is with TEAMWORK.

You have great skills in a particular area, any area, I am sure you have many things you could teach the rest of us. My goal is to create a blog where very talented people from around the world share their thoughts on how to improve a particular area of an Educational game.

I have broken down the game development of an educational game in the following elements:

Assets: Art and Sounds
Education: The learning component of the game
Engine: The game engine that holds the whole thing
Games: A look at educational games to learn about what works and what needs improvement
Interactivity: Making the game Fun
Market: Analysis of what type of technology is currently available and how teachers adapt to it.
Tests: Testing the games that get created.

I will be posting very often on the blog, but I don't want to be analyzing everything by myself, I want to hear your comments, I want to see your work, share it with the community. If you feel like having a post on the blog, send it over, I will gladly add it for the community to learn from it.

THANK YOU for your time, and hopefully one day we will have great working games at every school.

Daniel Bahamon (danbahamon@gmail.com)

Learning about Learning

Today I want to take a look at education. In order to make a successful game we need the game to provide education to the players.

I tried looking at many different videos, but this one was the one that I really felt a connection with. I really feel that the current system of teaching is by far less effective as it can be. For me a multimedia approach to learning can end up building very strong connections in our brains.

Important Notes:
-Learning by Doing
-Take you away from distractions
-The more you use a skill the stronger the neuropaths are
-When you experiment with new ideas or solve a problem you create new cognitive maps
-New pathways need to be reinforced, otherwise they vanish
-Reinforce with Positive feedback, practice using skills, mental rehearsal of using skills

My Thoughts
-Interactivity involves many parts of the brain and it can help create more paths
-A focused student can really improve their learning, I remember spending long hours in school thinking about anything but what the teacher was talking about, if I had focused then I could have learned a lot more.
-Repetition makes perfect, you see how NBA players make amazing shots, but in reality they practice those same shots hundreds of times per day.
 -I wonder if there is a way to make kids associate new things they are learning with things they do every day, maybe that way their ideas would be reinforced daily..
-The idea of having the user take their knowledge and think of how they would use it in real life sounds like a great idea, I was always amazed at how many kids would ask their teachers a very simple question "When am I going to need this?" it seems like an instinctive question to me.

Learning about Educational Games

Educational games are the future of education, there is much to learn about them, but if one thing is certain, is that they have the power to change the way we view education. Here is a list of some of the key goals educational games have:
 1) Engage students and increase their desire to learn.
2) Entertain kids and allow them to explore their knowledge.
 3) Test kids with new and improved methods.
4) Adapt quickly to a fast changing world.
5) Connect the students using social media elements.
6) Become powerful tools that teachers can use to manage their classrooms.

As you can see, it is a very complex goal, this is why I decided to make this blog. I know that each element is crucial to creating a successful goal and the only way to achieve success is to work together and explore all kinds of possibilities.