Deep in the Cave

Science Pirates

2010-02-26T09:19:00.000-08:00

Science Pirates is cool STEM learning game from the Learning Games Lab at NMSU.

Science Pirates: The Curse of Brownbeard is a 3D educational computer game that communicates food safety knowledge in an environment of scientific exploration.

The USDA awarded NMSU a grant to develop interactive games that help mid-school youth learn about food safety procedures, such as hand washing, cooking food to the proper temperature, keeping raw meat and cooked food separate, and washing surfaces. NMSU's Media Productions unit has a strong history in developing food safety materials, including an effective games site for younger children in 3rd — 5th grades, "The Food Detectives Fight BAC!®".

Original game design called for online gaming simulations through which youth would design their own experiments, draw conclusions and make recommendations in all areas of food safety. However, early testing of prototypes revealed the lack of experience youth have in conducting experiment design, and the instructional challenge of preparing students to adequately perform this important science process.

Thus, the educational goal of Pirate Science shifted from one of understanding food safety issues through science processes, to one of understanding science processes to better change food safety behavior. That meant the educational focus became more centered on scientific understanding and processes, with the end result being a game that leads students through science processes as recommended through national science standards, while giving gamers a culminating activity of experiment design to lead them to better understanding of hand washing.

Download it and give it a try!

Here is some contact info if you'd like to follow-up with them directly:

Barbara Chamberlin, PhD

Associate Professor
Extension Instructional Design and Educational Media Specialist
Project Director, Learning Games Lab
NMSU Media Productions

Gerald Thomas Hall, Rm. 286
940 E. College Ave.
Las Cruces, NM 88003
http://www.learninggameslab.org/
575/646-2848 (work)
575/640-7230 (mobile)
575/646-4275 (fax)
barbarachamberlin@mac.com (iChat or AIM)
babschamberlin (Skype)

Great Lighting is such a treat ...

2009-12-23T13:32:00.000-08:00

For me, lighting and chroma management makes or breaks the experience, whether it's a game, film, TV show, or painting. My wife and I went to see Avatar a couple of nights ago, and the lighting and chroma was superb ... that's not to say that the direction, other VFX, character animation, etc. weren't amazing (because they were) ... but, for me, the lighting was a real treat.

What was particularly enjoyable is that this was true for the entire movie, not just for the beauty shots or a few VFX shots that are exceptional. For example, this shot of live action composited with UI animation is just one sequence that is representative of the entire film:

While I'm on the topic of great lighting ... something that I look forward to watching each week is CSI Miami - for just this reason alone ... it's the best lit show on TV right now ... hands down ... for example:

For a weekly TV episodic to reach this kind of production value is really noteworthy ... because it shows such a deep commitment to lighting each shot (especially on location) and then color grading in post production ... I wish more TV was like this!

IGC West - November 5-6 in LA

2009-10-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

The 2009 Independent Game Conference West is November 5-6, 2009 in Los Angeles a the Marriot Marina Del Rey.

The conference has 5 tracks over 2 days, and the sessions are current, topical, and our speakers know their stuff! The first keynote speaker is, Robert Ferrari, Vice President of Production for Sanrio!

One of the keys to the IGCs is the networking they enable. With our digital communication dependence (necessity?), it's hard to get face time with other game developers. The IGC Series provides this-there's time to meet with both local and far-flung developers, industry experts, new talent, and business veterans.

One of the best ways to meet people and show off your talent is the IGC Game Demo Night. This special feature has provided many people and teams recognition and financial success and is included with conference admission! Over the last 2 years, 20% of participants have received financial deals DIRECTLY related to this event!

For more information, visit the conference website at

http://www.igcwest.com/

Call for Papers - The International Conference on Education, Training and Informatics: ICETI 2010

2009-10-12T11:06:00.000-07:00

The International Conference on Education, Training and Informatics: ICETI 2010

International Conference on Society and Information Technologies: ICSIT 2010

Both conferences will be held collocated (at the same time and the same venue) on April 6 -9, 2010 in Orlando, Florida, USA.

The deadlines for both conferences are the following:

Papers/Abstracts Submissions and Invited Sessions Proposals: October 28th, 2009
Authors Notifications: November 23th, 2009
Camera-ready, full papers: December 16th, 2009

All Submitted papers/abstracts will go through three reviewing processes: (1) double-blind (at least three reviewers), (2) non-blind, and (3) participative peer reviews. These three kinds of review will support the selection process of those papers/abstracts that will be accepted for their presentation at the conference, as well as those to be selected for their publication in JSCI Journal.

Pre-Conference and Post-conference Virtual sessions (via electronic forums) will be held for each session included in the conference program, so that sessions papers can be read before the conference, and authors presenting at the same session can interact during one week before and after the conference. Authors can also participate in peer-to-peer reviewing in virtual sessions.

Submissions for Face-to-Face or for Virtual Participation are both accepted. Both kinds of submissions will have the same reviewing process and the accepted papers will be included in the same proceedings.

Authors of accepted papers who registered in the conference can have access to the evaluations and possible feedback provided by the reviewers who recommended the acceptance of their papers/abstracts, so they can accordingly improve the final version of their papers. Non-registered authors will not have access to the reviews of their respective submissions.

Registration fees of an effective invited session organizer will be waived according to the policy described in the web page (click on 'Invited Session', then on 'Benefits for the Organizers of Invited Sessions'), where you can get information about the ten benefits for an invited session organizer. For Invited Sessions Proposals, please visit the conference web site, or directly to http://www.2010iiisconferences.org/iceti/organizer.asp

Authors of the best 10%-20% of the papers presented at the conference (included those virtually presented) will be invited to adapt their papers for their publication in the Journal of Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics.

Indie Game Challenge Deadline - October 31, 2009

2009-10-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Indie Game Challenge deadline is just around the corner, so make sure to submit your game in time.

Register online at www.indiegamechallenge.com via the “How to Enter” icon.

Be prepared to provide your game name and genre (core, casual, cause).

Have information on hand to briefly describe the game, platform and hardware requirements, as well as the SDK version and middleware.

Submit your video game on 10 discs, each with an installer, installation and game play instructions, and copies of confirmation receipts.

Teams can have up to 15 members.

Teams can submit up to three games.

Only one iPhone application per team is allowed.

Questions can be directed to indiehelp@smu.edu and will be addressed promptly.

All entries need to be post-marked by October 31, 2009.

“Survive 2012″ iPhone Quiz Game

2009-10-12T10:54:00.000-07:00

Trigger Launches “Survive 2012″ iPhone Quiz Game -

Trigger created the “Survive 2012″ iPhone game for Sony’s release of 2012. The free quiz game challenges players to test their survival skills by answering disaster-related trivia questions. As players correctly answer questions, they advance across the globe with the goal of reaching higher ground in Tibet in order to survive the cataclysmic forces that will wreak havoc in 2012.

The application includes challenging trivia relating to land, air and sea disasters as well as a “Lifeline” feature allowing iPhone users to call someone from their own contact list. The game also has a GPS-based locator to indicate the user’s starting position.

This exciting new advergame demonstrates some very compelling mobile game features with important implications for mobile learning.

Visit the 2012 Movie Portal Site and play "Survive 2012": http://whowillsurvive2012.com/

Insert Coin Competition

2009-07-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

The Humana Games for Health (HG4H) team is looking to create a new video game that is innovative, entertaining, and has a health benefit. It doesn't matter if you're a developer, an avid gamer or just someone with an awesome concept to share; they want to hear about your idea.

Total prizes equal $10,000 for the top three winning ideas and a chance to see your idea published. Visit http://www.humanagames.com/insertcoin to read submission guidelines and submit your idea before the September 9th deadline!

SIAA Paper

2009-06-29T16:21:00.000-07:00

From Tim Holt on the listserv today ...

The SIIA (Software & Information Industry Association) has a paper out titled "Best Practices For Using Games & Simulations In The Classroom: Guides for K-12 Educators" which you can access on their website.

Here's a bit from the executive summary...

"We start from an assumption that games have positive impacts and our objective is to support the growth of this promising and emerging market. We have distilled the hard–won lessons from the schools and companies that have pioneered this space in order to provide guidelines to new users.

This paper is intended for teachers, administrators, policy makers and developer companies. They will get practical hands–on tips and insights on successfully integrating games into classroom practice."

AbleGamers Survey

2009-06-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

AbleGamers has an important survey that is designed to learn more about folks with disabilities and their use of video games - with questions about their opinion of the use of video games for rehabilitation purposes. They are asking for your help in getting the word out about the survey. Please share the survey with anyone you know with a disability and ask them to pass the word along as well. They are going to analyze and publish the results. We are interested to see how the results impact the gaming industry.

Please find the survey at Survey Monkey.

WOW for Math

2009-06-22T14:42:00.000-07:00

Lucas Gillespie believes that at-risk students do poorly in school because they’re not motivated by traditional teaching topics. Enter WoWinSchool, a wiki for educators to share World of Warcraft-themed lesson plans for after-school programs.

A sample writing and literacy lesson: “In fantasy literature, the bard plays a key role as a traveling musician and storyteller. What song or poem would the bards of Azeroth sing about your character’s adventures?”

The math lessons are the best part. “Healing Analysis: Which types of heals produce a greater number of recovered hit points during an encounter? quick burst heals, slower more powerful heals, or heal-over-time spells?” And then they send the kids to EJ.

Games for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education

2009-01-25T09:59:00.000-08:00

In October, 2008, it was my pleasure to join the production team collaborative of an NSF funded STEM game research project underway at the Center For Technological Literacy at Hofstra University in New York. I've joined the team as the Producer of the project's online multiplayer game, along with fellow SGDI production staff team members, Cecilia Mason and Ty Hegner.

Serious Games Initiative Taxonomy from GDC 08

2008-06-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

Ben Sawyer and Peter Smith shared their initial version of a Serious Games Taxonomy at the GDC 2008. If you are new to the topic, this is an excellent 'big picture' overview of the complexity and diversity inherent in our industry.

You can download the pdf doc at: http://www.seriousgames.org/archives/000219.html

Games for Health Trailer - 2008

2008-06-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

Now available on YouTube:

Part One -

Part Two -

Wii Fit

2007-09-23T17:01:00.000-07:00

Very cool new input device for Wii exergames ...

Digital Native Equity

2007-07-22T13:45:00.000-07:00

MMO player growth for girls is erasing the myth that girls aren't avid gamers.

This year's ESA report cited that the largest growth demographic for game players was the remarkable number of women playing MMOs and downloadable casual games and the growth in publishing new games for girls.

The blog of Scientific American reported that a new BarbieGirls MMO in the first 60 days of its existence has signed up three million members, and they're adding new members at the rate of 50,000 per day. It took World of Warcraft four months to reach its first million members. This is the fastest growing virtual world ever.

Scientific American Blog

Barbie Girls MMO

We are the machine

2007-06-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

Web 2.0.

We are the machine.

The machine is using us.

Seriously Mobile

2007-03-22T15:40:00.001-07:00

Among my lasting impressions from the Game Developer's Conference this year are two significant conclusions, (1) Serious Games is now a bonafide industry niche, (2) Mobile delivery is poised to move from low rez, casual content to full rez, deeply immersive content.

If follows then that as the convergent mobile device (Web, games, music, video, GPS, email, etc.) becomes ubiquitous in the U.S. - Serious Games on Mobile devices is poised for a profound impact in both education and marketing.

The Impact of Video Games on Training Surgeons in the 21st Century

2007-02-27T10:35:00.000-08:00

A small US study suggests that surgeons who played video games have better keyhole surgery skills than those that did not. The study was performed by US scientists at Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York and is published in this month's issue of the Archives of Surgery. The researchers did the study because although anecdotal observations suggest that young surgeons who played video games were better at performing laparoscopies (keyhole surgery) than those who do not, this had not been empirically investigated.

Laparoscopy is a type of surgery where the surgeon has to handle small instruments and go into the patient's body via a small hole or incision, hence the term "keyhole surgery". The surgeon does the operation using a television screen to see where to move the instruments; her or she cannot look straight at the place they are operating on because it is inside the body and the keyhole is too small. The researchers found a strong link between ability to play video games and performing well in keyhole surgery.

The researchers studied 33 surgeons based at New York's Beth Israel Medical Centre. The participants had to play three different video games for up to 25 minutes to assess their current skill, and also answer questions on their past experience of playing video games.Their surgical skill were measured during a course that took one and a half days to complete. On the course the participants carried out a range of simulated laparoscopic and suturing procedures where their completion time and error rates were measured. The researchers also took note of the participants' level of surgical training, number of cases of laparoscopy performed, and the years they had been in medical practice. They then ran a cross-sectional analysis to compare participants' laparoscopic and suturing skills against video game experience and video game scores.

The results showed that 9 young surgeons who had played video games for at least 3 hours a week made 37 per cent fewer mistakes and worked 27 per cent faster than 15 surgeons who had never played video games. The 9 surgeons with past experience of video game playing also scored 42 per cent higher overall on the range of surgical skill tests. Also, the correlation between video gaming skill and surgical skill as measured by the simulation, was stronger than either the surgeon's training or experience measured in duration.

The researchers concluded that video games could help train surgeons who perform keyhole surgery. In an invited critique that accompanies the same issue of the journal, Doctor Myriam Curet re-iterates the warning that the researchers made in their article ""indiscriminate video game play is not a panacea," and invites the media not to distort the message in this study. She said parents still need to keep a check on their children's video gaming hours and the types of games they are playing. And looking at the robustness of the article, she points out that it has limitations such as the small sample size. She also draws attention to the jump from the results to the conclusion. The results showed that it was past experience of video gaming that correlated to present level of surgical skill.

Second Annual I/ITSEC Serious Games Showcase & Challenge

2007-01-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

A call for Serious Games entries for the Second Annual I/ITSEC Serious Games Showcase & Challenge has been announced!

Serious Game developers are invited to submit their original serious game to the Second Annual I/ITSEC Serious Games Showcase & Challenge. The goal of the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge is to identify innovative game-based solutions to training problems that could affect personnel and systems today and in the future. Expanded eligibility means an expanded base of competitors. Previous contestants and winners can be reviewed at www.sgschallenge.com.

Finalists in the Serious Game Showcase & Challenge will be selected by a panel of leaders in the gaming, industry and academic fields, and will be invited to showcase their serious game at I/ITSEC 2007, where over 16,000 attendees will view and vote on each of the finalists. Awards will be presented to the top finishers in each category.

The Challenge is open to a wide range of contestants, potential categories include student, individual / small business, and businesses larger than 500 employees. PC game entries (or compiled for PC execution) will be accepted from virtually any application areas including "mods", mobile, virtual worlds and original development and gaming content can be focused on any genre, such as business, education, government. So, whether game development is your past-time, your intended field, or your current business, if you can "mod" a game into a training solution, or program one from scratch, consider how you would use your skills to develop a serious game solution to enhance training. It could put your work in front of some of the best gaming and simulation industry companies in the world.

All entries will be judged by representatives in leading gaming, academic and industry companies in three primary areas: Solution to a Stated Problem; Technical Quality; and Playability/Usability. It is important to clearly define the problem or need that is being addressed, as well as the gaming or game technology solution involved. It is equally important that your entry be not only technologically sound in its development, delivery and user interface, but also engaging, enjoyable, and easy to use; providing a challenging and rewarding experience to the user.

Further, innovative approaches to any of the entered solutions are specifically encouraged and, as such, rewarded in the scoring. For the purpose of the Challenge, entries will be considered a game if they involve an assigned challenge and employ some form of positive and/or negative reward system. Entries will be considered a serious game if they use the gaming attributes described above to overcome a designated problem or deficiency, and provide appropriate feedback to the user about their efforts. Entered games must target users at the high school level, at a minimum.

Important Dates:

Abstracts ..............................Feb 15 – May 31, 2007

Submission of serious game entry .......August 31, 2007

Announcement of Finalist................September 30, 2007

I/ITSEC Conference .....................November 26-29, 2007

Virtools Dev 4 is shipping

2006-12-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

Visit Virtools.com for the latest info on Dev 4 that is now shipping and the new 3D for Life player capabilities.

For students and faculty, Virtools has announced new pricing that now makes it extremely affordable to learn to use Dev 4 - you can purchase a 1 year license for $141.00!!!! Visit Studica.com for the details on making this purchase.

Serious Games and the Dream Paradigm

2006-10-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

Don't miss this essay that is featured on GameCareerGuide.com from Stephen Schafer ...

"An authentic educational curriculum for an incipient millennium must be viewed from the standpoint of a thoroughgoing paradigm shift-from way outside the box. This essay is a perspective on the nature of the paradigm shift, the design requirements of a curriculum sufficient to address this mind-bending alteration in our perception of reality, and the place of serious games in the new educational paradigm.

It is a recommendation for curriculum design based on a complete reevaluation of the means, methods, and objectives of new-millennium education."

PIXELearning Business Games

2006-09-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

PIXELearning is a Serious Games company which specializes in applying computer game/simulation approaches to business education, vocational and management skills development.

In an article on SeriousGamesSource.com, Kevin Corti, who co-founded the company along with Suraj Rana, four years ago, explains that they have a narrow focus on business education and vocational skills development.

"... The serious games space is going ballistic right now and whilst I understand the decision of some companies to focus on the ‘sexy’ aspects; the military, medical and large scale public-funded philanthropy stuff, we feel that it is the more mundane areas that need to be and, indeed, can be improved. Anyone that has had to sit through a finance, management development, project management or presentation skills course knows how torturous that experience can be….especially if you are under 40. These areas may be unfashionable in much of the serious games space, but are the kinds of skills that are essential to enterprises of all sizes.

Secondly we are, as a company, committed to developing toolsets that will enable non-programmers to quickly create games-based learning solutions by themselves. That is a long and hard journey and it will be quite some before we get to where we want to be and to when the market is ready for that. However, it makes absolute sense to me that if we can remove the technical requirement from the development process to empower designers – and I mean learning designers – then what you have is a community of people who understand how people learn as well as the specific domain needs of their industry and organization. The eLearning market is an obvious example of what happens when you let the ‘tekkies’ define learning solutions. It is time that educators and trainers were given the tools to come up with their own solutions."

California Digital History/Social Science Program

2006-09-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

As an educator in California, it is easy to be discouraged by the lack of funding per learner and skewed priorities of the State governance - our children, and our adult workforce, simply doesn't have the benefit of an educational system that is befitting of a State that is this wealthy.

That said, I was pleasantly surprised today to read that last November, the California State Board of Education unanimously approved the "California Digital History/Social Science Program" developed by Pearson - and over 200 districts have already adopted it, including LAUSD.

What I find the most exciting about this announcement is the fact that this product from Pearson is SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) compliant - which means that Games Developers can create SCORM compliant digital game-based learning media that can be effectively added to this digital platform.

This is a huge leap forward for California. Deployment of a digital curriculum can help drive the conversion from treating digital technology as an appliance to finally providing faculty and students with an ubiquitous, transparent resource in every classroom across the curriculum/disciplines.

2006 NMC Horizon Report on Emerging Technologies

2006-09-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

The 2006 NMC Horizon Report on their Emerging Technologies Initiative highlights six technologies that the underlying research suggests will become very important to higher education over the next one to five years:

"Social computing, personal broadcasting, the phones in their pockets, educational gaming, augmented reality and enhanced visualization, context-aware environments and devices"

The report briefly describes each of the six technologies and provides examples.

The Emerging Technologies Initiative focuses on expanding the boundaries of teaching, learning and creative expression by applying new tools in new contexts.

A similar program to the Carnegie Mellon ETC

2006-09-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

It was very pleasant to notice that the Entertainment Technology Center at Carnegie Mellon has a list of similar programs to theirs, which includes Cerro Coso's Academy of Digital Animation under the headings of "Animation" and "Gaming".

Given the quality and general coolness of the their ETC, that's a warm fuzzy.

Time Magazine - "Do Gooder Games"

2006-08-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

Time Magazine writes about the use of Serious Games for persuasion ... with an article in its August 14, 2006 issue "Do Gooder Games".

"Call them playstations with a higher purpose. Activist video games--which use whiz-bang formats to address real-world issues--are scoring high with both kids and teachers. Given the success of the U.N.'s aid-relief game Food Force (with more than 4 million downloads in 15 months) and the MTV-affiliated Darfur Is Dying (more than 800,000 players since April), techno do-gooders are proliferating, and gamers are saving the world."

They do cite some other cool agenda games ... but, I had the sense that in this article the games appear as isolated accidents ... especially in the context of their title for the article ...

Nonetheless, it is encouraging to see more mainstream media coverage for persuasive game initiatives.

Deadman's Hand Advergame

2006-08-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

If you watch Deadwood on HBO (one of my favorites) you've been noticing a trailer for a videogame based on the series.

Fuel Industries created this advergame for HBO, which is called "Deadman's Hand". The Fuel team was able to produce this game in only six weeks using Virtools.

When I spoke with the guys from Fuel after their presentation at the 2006 Serious Games Summit (San Jose), they mentioned that they had a number of new game projects in their Virtools production pipeline.

"It gets deadset of the point, which I like in most situations ..."

- Al Swearengen

There are already over 1,400 champions registered ... see how you do.

Making History in Converse

2006-07-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

One of the more invigorating presentations at the Serious Games Summit at the 06 GDC, San Jose, was David McDivitt's detailed explanation of how his use of Muzzy Lane's "Making History" game has affected his course, his students, and the his outlook on the future of teaching Millennials.

What I found to be particularly exciting is that this is a report "from the trenches", David is a teacher and coach - not a game designer/developer or educational researcher. He explains how he used the game-based learning activity to augment his classroom instruction, what it takes to make that work well for his students, and his initial assessment of the impact.

You can read a recap of David's presentation in this article published on Serious Games Source.

Dimenxian Demo Available

2006-07-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

Tabula Digita has a playable demo of their new game "Dimenxian" available for free download.

If you have not yet had an opportunity to read about their project, they also have a complete brochure site that explains the project and their supporting research to date.

Their presentations at the Serious Game Summit [2006 - San Jose] were very impressive, and this playable demo is a significant step forward in the digital game-based learning arena as a model for small studio commercial viability.

Very, very cool.

USA Today Article - History of Serious Game Movement

2006-05-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

Movement aims to get serious about games
By Jinny Gudmundsen, Gannett News Service

... Known as the Serious Games Movement, this genre is "about taking resources of the (video) games industry and applying them outside of entertainment," says Ben Sawyer, co-founder of Digitalmill Inc., and one of the organizers of the Serious Games Summit. This means creating games that play roles in areas such as education, health, public policy, science, government and corporate training, he says.

While this article is not entirely accurate (for example, the Serious Games movement began long before America's Army in 2002), it is a good sign to have mainstream media addressing that it has a "history".

An idea for a fun accounting game

2006-04-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Breaking the Grip of Dominant Ideas In Games:
What Serious Game Projects Have To Offer Entertainment Game Developers
- Tim Carter

" ... A few years ago I met a potential client – an institute for chartered accountants – who needed to attract high school students to their field. (I’m about to reveal what I think is a cool new idea…) I pitched to them what I saw could be a really fun and educational 3D game about accounting. (A fun game about accounting?… I see you looking doubtfully at this.) The thing about accounting is it really is financial reconnaissance (that’s why it’s called “accounting”). It’s not just about “bean-counting”; it’s about gathering financial “intel” – and “recon” can be an exciting thing: think about a scout behind enemy lines, or a forensic crime-scene unit doing detective work. ..."

U.S. Army Employs New Video Game Language Training

2006-04-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

U.S. Army Employs New Video Game Language Training

Gamasutra: A new video game training tool developed by the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute has begun to be used by the US Army and Marine Corps to teach soldiers about Middle Eastern customs and language.

Corporation for Public Gaming

2006-04-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

Serious Games Source

Why We Need a Corporation for Public Gaming
- David Rejeski

Serious Games Source: "However, serious games, like serious TV, are likely to remain a sidebar in the history of mass media. Non-commercial television floundered, despite millions of dollars of investment by the Ford Foundation, until the government stepped in and created a viable and long-lasting alternative. With similar vision and foresight, and a relatively small amount of funding, this could happen with video and computer games."

Australian Defence Force 'serious game' ADF: Aviator - Statistics

2006-04-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

Australian Defence Force 'serious game' ADF: Aviator

The creators of the Australian Defence Force 'serious game' ADF: Aviator have announced that the title, which requires full name and address registration before its free digital delivery, has been downloaded more than 7,000 times since its launch in October. This move comes as other countries move to use America's Army style recruiting tactics for their own nations.

The game, which was developed by Visual Jazz in conjunction with active and veteran armed forces aviators as part of the Australian Defence Force's attempt to appeal to young recruits, features realistic missions that give players a glimpse at what it takes to be a pilot in the army, navy or air force by simulating real missions across various types of terrain.

The Defence Force Recruitment (DFR) has revealed that 69 percent of the game's downloads have come from players between the ages of 13 and 25, with most of these falling between 13 and 19. Of these, 91.6 percent were male, while the remaining 8.4 percent were female.

"As long-time avid adopters of gaming for serious purposes, the military are well aware of the potential of serious games. The military invest heavily in the design, development and implementation of the serious games primarily for training and recruitment purposes," indicated Andrew Stapleton, a game researcher at Swinburne University of Technology, in a recent paper.

DFR also indicated that a new version of ADF: Aviator is in the works currently, and will feature joystick support, keyboard remapping and rotor wash effects. It added that subsequent versions will include more varied aircraft and missions, as well as more detailed environments.

04/07/06 - Jason Dobson

Games for Health Day @ USC during E3 Week

2006-04-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

Games for Health Day @ USC during E3 Week

"The Games for Health Project, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, TATRC, and USCâ€™s Annenberg School for Communication & Institute for Creative Technologies invite you to join us on May 9 for a full-day event devoted to the use of games and game technologies in health and healthcare, including an evening reception.

This one-day event, just before the opening of the Electronic Entertainment Expo will bring together researchers, game developers, and health & healthcare professionals for a series of talks devoted to how games and game technologies are addressing critical health & healthcare issues."

Civ IV Tournament at Brandeis University Internation Business School

2006-04-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

Civ IV Tournament at Brandeis University Internation Business School

The dedication of the Asper Center for Global Entrepreneurship at the third annual Asper Forum for Global Entrepreneurship honored Firaxis Games, Creators of "Civilization."

'Call For News/Submissions For New 'Serious Games' Content Site'

2006-03-31T11:10:00.000-08:00

Gamasutra's editors are pleased to announce that they will be launching a website devoted to the 'serious games' market (games created for training, health, government, military, educational and other uses), expanding from the already successful newsletter devoted to the issue. As a result, they are looking for both news and feature submissions for the site, which will launch in the near future.If you have news, including press releases, information on newly launched serious games, or opportunities for interviews with figures in the industry, please send them to news@seriousgamessource.com.In addition, if you work in or are familar with the serious game industry and can provide business-related articles, game 'postmortems', Soapbox-es, technical articles, or other pieces, in exchange for a small 'honorarium', please email editors@seriousgamessource.com, detailing the article you would like to write for the site.

Serious Games Showcase and Challenge

2006-03-31T10:25:00.000-08:00

The First Annual Serious Games Showcase and Challenge will occur at this year’s I/ITSEC Conference held in Orlando, Fl December 4-7, 2006. Student and very small business based Serious Games developers can use this as a venue to get their games in front of the huge crowd that attends each years I/ITSEC Conference. Last year over 16,000 people from over 40 countries were in attendance for the worlds’ largest simulation and training conference.

The overarching purpose of the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge is to identify innovative game based solutions to problems that could affect the Military both today and in the future. This means that the challenge is not only interested in the next first person shooter, but any game that solves issues within any area the military operates. Examples of militarily useful areas include: leadership, logistics, linguistics, maintenance, engineering, intelligence, reconnaissance, strategy, history, flying, ship handling, electronics, communications, acquisition, and business management, to name a few.

Internet Marketing Association (IMA) Special Event

2006-03-29T14:36:00.000-08:00

"A special event presented by the Internet Marketing Association (IMA)
The Internet continues to be the fastest-growing marketing tool being adopted by today's small to medium sized businesses and enterprises alike. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from the experts on how Gaming is fast evolving into a 35 Billion Dollar marketplace."

http://www.imanetwork.org/

April 20, 2006, 6:30 - 8:30 PM - Hilton Hotel, Orange County/Costa Mesa, CA

Make-believe Tanks: a Report from the Trenches of the VizSim Industry

2006-02-03T21:29:00.000-08:00

Make-believe Tanks: a Report from the Trenches of the VizSim Industry
by Holger Gruan

"... We all have read a lot about serious games companies that apply game technology to VizSim-like training and learning games. As you will see, there are a lot of similarities between the games industry and the VizSim industry that make VizSim companies attractive to game developers."

"There are things that make the traditional VIZSIM simulation business different from what you probably will experience in the game business." ... Read the rest of this Feature at Gamasutra.com>>

Clark Aldrich's Learning Circuits Blog

2006-02-03T11:33:00.000-08:00

Visit Clark Aldrich's blog for Learning Circuits

Forest Simulator

2006-01-08T17:28:00.000-08:00

The Forest Foundation - The Virtual Forester Simulation teaches about forest management and how California Law provides for a sustainable forest, both now and in the future.

Truckers Train with Serious Games

2005-12-31T09:22:00.000-08:00

CARLISLE, Pa. — Dennis Colwell stared hard at the side-view mirror and gripped the steering wheel before attempting to maneuver around a pickup parked between his 18-wheeler and the loading dock.

"If I make it, it's going to be paper thin," Colwell said to his instructor, Jay Gamble. But the implicit request for guidance was denied: "If I wasn't here," Gamble reminded Colwell, "what would you do?"

Colwell took a deep breath, put the truck into gear and inched forward.

In many ways, this scenario could be found at truck driving schools across the country. But Colwell's experience at Schneider National's training program was very different from the industry norm in one key respect. He wasn't driving, or even sitting in, a real truck.

Instead, he was in a classroom, buckled into the seat of what looked and sounded very much like a high quality video game but was actually a state-of-the-art training simulator.

The virtual parking lot Colwell navigated was created with animation software, though the experience was quite realistic. Three wide-screen monitors gave a 180-degree field of vision. The simulator was equipped with a steering wheel and clutch that put up life-like resistance, an electronic dashboard that tracked the truck's vital statistics and a horn, which Colwell honked before backing up.

Those who have never driven a big rig would need at least a few hours of instruction on double-clutching and shifting before they could drive a simulated truck without having it stall out.

Top-notch simulators have been used by the military, commercial airlines and public safety agencies for years, but Schneider, based in Green Bay, Wis., is one of only a handful of U.S. trucking companies making big bets on the technology.

(by Brad Foss, Associated Press, December 29)

The Caffeine Forge

2005-12-13T12:06:00.000-08:00

Check out the "The Caffeine Forge"

Serious Games: Improving Public Policy through Game-Based

2005-11-28T16:56:00.000-08:00

This paper examines the promise of game-based simulation as applied to public policy:

Foresight and Governance Project
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Publication 2002-1

Serious Games: Improving Public Policy through Game-Based
Learning and Simulation

The United Nations’ first computer game

2005-11-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

The United Nations’ first computer game – Food Force – was conceived and developed by the World Food Programme – a frontline agency for fighting world hunger:

http://www.food-force.com/

The idea for this game was originally proposed by an Italian field worker named Paola Biocca, who died in the line of duty in Kosovo in 1999. The game is dedicated to her. It came from a belief that young people could learn from games… that “young people were left out of the discussion of world hunger.” Roche added that every five seconds a child dies from hunger, and since Live Aid 20 years ago, the situation has gotten worse. “We will lose this fight if we don’t do something about it. We decided that we needed to target future decisions makers.”

Gamasutra Article - Serious Game Assessment

2005-10-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

"Serious games, like every other tool of education, must be able to show that the necessary learning has occurred. Specifically, games that teach also need to be games that test. Fortunately, serious games can build on both the long history of traditional assessment methods and the interactive nature of video games to provide testing and proof of learning."

Read the article on Gamasutra.com

School Matters - The Games Children Play

2005-10-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in education and are new to the concept of using video games as immersive learning environments ...
Watch this terrific 30 min streaming DV overviewing the use of video game-based learning.

Podcast: Video Game-Based Economic Development Courses

2005-10-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

Video Game-Based Economic Development Courses and Social Impact Assessment

Listen to the podcast (downloadable mp3 file). "Serious games" for Economic Development Courses and Social Impact Assessment.

Serious Game: DS Training for Adults

2005-10-06T20:57:00.000-07:00

Check out this Lost Garden review ...

"... DS Training for Adults is yet another a truly fascinating game title that straddles the edge between pure entertainment and practical software. The direct translation of the Japanese title is a good description of what to expect: ‘Whip your brain into shape under the supervision of Professor Ryuta Kawashima of Tohoku University's Advanced Science and Technology Joint Research Center”

At first glance, DS Training for Adults is a very simple quiz game that was built in under 4-months. It also happens to be a runaway commercial success in Japan, selling over 500,000 copies and show no signs of slowing down. What is happening here?"

Super cool.

Ed Game Articles at Innovate

2005-09-21T16:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some excellent articles on digital game-based learning at Innovate ...

“Game-Informed Learning: Applying Computer Game Processes to Higher Education” by Michael Begg, David Dewhurst, and Hamish Macleod

“Changing the Game: What Happens When Video Games Enter the Classroom?” by Kurt Squire

“simSchool: The Game of Teaching” by Melanie Zibit and David Gibson

“What Can K-12 School Leaders Learn from Video Games and Gaming?” by Richard Halverson

“Epistemic Games” by David Williamson Shaffer

“What Would a State of the Art Instructional Video Game Look Like?” by J. P. Gee

2 Gamers Conduct the LA Philharmonic by Joystick

2005-08-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

By Susan Carpenter, Times Staff Writer

"GAMERS get to control a lot of things in the videos they play. They choose their characters, their weapons, where they go and what they do. And Wednesday, during "Video Games Live" at the Hollywood Bowl, they will get to control something new — the L.A. Philharmonic. For a portion of the two-hour video game music concert, the actions of two gamers playing live on stage will actually direct the 105-piece orchestra.

This "interactive symphony," as the event's founders call it, is one of the more intriguing segments in an already groundbreaking show. A conductor, watching the video game play out on a screen on the Bowl stage, will lead an orchestra that has rehearsed five musical sequences based on the action of the game."

VideoGamesLive.com - Due to the huge success of the first show at the Hollywood Bowl on July 6th, 2005 (over 11,000 in attendance) they are currently restructuring the schedule to include 15 more venues and cities!

Games for Virtual Rehabilitation

2005-07-27T18:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight on ABC news, there was a segment on a doctor that was using a video game simulator to treat post traumatic stress syndrome for vets returning from deployment in Irag.

Here's a couple of interesting links to research on this use of serious games:

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of PTSD Symptoms in Cyberspace, NYU

Virtual Rehabilitation Keynote, Rutgers

There's even a conference regarding the use of games for health.

Video Game Training for Hazardous Materials Emergencies

2005-07-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

MSNBC featured a clip today on the Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center's serious game project- Hazmat: Hotzone.

"Current hazmat training occurs through classroom lectures that are occasionally supplimented by large scale field exercises. Unfortunately, due to the high cost and logisitcal difficulty involved, these field exercises can only be staged once or twice a year.

Hazmat: Hotzone is not intended to replace either the lectures or the field exercises. Instead, this program is designed to fill the training gap that exists between these two methods. It serves as an affordable mechanism to apply classroom knowledge and reinforce what has already been learned."

Advertising in Games West

2005-07-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

The Advertising In Games Forum brings together advertising agencies, leading brands, game companies and technology companies for the first time.

The forum identifies and examines the opportunities and pitfalls in the use of advertising in video games and provides a unique assessment of the driving forces that are shaping this market.

The huge growth in game playing audiences among key demographics offers a new and an unprecedented opportunity for agencies to connect brands with content savvy consumers. The conference program features pioneers and practitioners from both the agency/client and game developer perspectives and will provide critical information on how advertising can add realism and revenue for new games and offers insights on the range of options and ROI available when considering games as a new medium.

Online Course Designed as a Game

2005-06-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Campus Technology reported today that in 2000, Dr. Rodney P. Riegle, a Professor at Illinois State developed the first online course designed as an online game - and over 1000 students have attended.

Visit the game and check it out for yourself. Very, very cool.

Game Industry Forecast

2005-06-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

The Game Industry Forecast Report published by the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin [6.6M pdf] is a "must read" if you are at all interested in the near future of gaming.

Game Design Job Article

2005-06-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

Working So Others Can Play: Jobs in Video Game Development
by Olivia Crosby, contributing editor to Occupation Outlook Quarterly

You may find this hard to believe, but playing video games could be the first step to a career ...

Before Rendering

2005-05-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

Local News "Gets Serious"

2005-05-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

It was a pleasant surprise to see the local Bakersfield affiliate broadcast news department do a feature yesterday on the Education Arcarde at the E3 Expo underway in LA this week.

In this feature, they played an interview clip with one of the authors of "GOT GAME - How the Gamer Generation is Reshaping Business Forever." It just so happened that this book was sitting in my lap when the broadcast occurred.

Serious Games gets a feature run at dinnertime.

Cool.

LA Times - Geek Fun Isn't Frivolous

2005-05-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

The LA Times Opinion Section ran an article by Raph Koster. He is the chief creative officer of Sony Online Entertainment.

"It all rests on our learning to take games seriously. If we continue to consign them to the ghetto of frivolous playthings meant for children (fail to update our mental models, as it were), then we'll continue to see unreasoned fear in the headlines. If we, on the other hand, learn to see games as important, we'll open doors for both the medium and for society in general.

When you see the media blitz accompanying E3 this week, try to keep that in mind. It'll seem crude and loud and desperate for attention. But this is a medium in its infancy, just realizing its potential, and most babies tend to make a fuss. When games grow up, they'll help save the world."

I don't know about saving the world ... but, they're sure to change education as we knew it!

I'll be there this week, at the Education Arcade and the E3 Expo ... and it is sure to be exciting .... in a geeky kinda way.

Thanks to Kathy Dawson for the article link.

Get Serious at the League CIT in Dallas

2005-05-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

If you can make it ... I'm presenting at the League CIT in Dallas Oct 23, 2005

I'm presenting in Session Track 1: Emerging and Future Educational Technology

"Each year, Track One focuses on an emerging technology believed to be of particular interest to educators. For the 2005 CIT, the special focus for Track One is Gaming and Simulations and Their Implications for Community Colleges. As increasing numbers of faculty members use games and simulations to support learning and more and more community colleges create gaming and simulations academic programs, what are the pros and cons educators should consider? Proposals targeted toward this focus area should encourage an exchange of ideas about how community colleges can anticipate and meet future educational, training, and organizational needs related to gaming and simulations."

My Presentation Title is: "Get Serious With Virtools to Create Simulations and Educational Video Games"

Here's a description: "Serious Games hold significant promise for today’s learners. In this forum, experience first-hand how Virtools is used in an Online Game Prototyping course where faculty and staff learn to create and distribute their own simulations and educational video games. Participate in case-study critiques of games that have been created in this course, and leave with a greater knowledge of how to proceed with serious game production at your own institution."

This is the presentation plan:

1. Demonstrate Virtools and the instructional media/lessons used to deliver the online course.

2. Preview the contents of the CD provided to each participant with sample lessons from this demonstration.

3. Visit the online course in session and experience the instruction first-hand.

4. Critique games produced by students in the course in a case-study discussion of the successes and challenges.

5. Question and Answer Wrap Up.

The Year of the Plague game

2005-05-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a project that you might find exciting ...

In my online game design program the students are creating an educational video game called "The Year of the Plague". This is a PC based video game to played multiplayer in a PC lab or online multiplayer offsite.

The gameplay is: you start the game in the center of London in 1666. You must escape to the St. Giles area without catching the plague. In order to play, you must intensively study Defoe's "A Journal of the Plague Year".

Course delivery/curriculum activities for the game are being designed for single session small group (50 minutes) and also semester long "hero's journey" student team campaigns.

The prototype will be ready in August.

The subject matter expert is Dr. Corey Marvin, a Professor of English at Cerro Coso. His specialty is medieval literature.

We're looking for faculty that are interested in beta testing next Fall ...

Playing the Course

2005-05-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

Playing the Course: Game Emergence and Online Learning Communities
By Jim Kiggens
California Virtual Campus, Professional Development Center

As educators in the online environment, we work to promote the development of virtual learning communities that will engage learners. But, ultimately it is the learners who determine whether a virtual learning community emerges.

In the arena of online multiplayer game design, developers endeavor to design games that will also promote the emergence of a virtual community. Game developers design to incorporate emergent properties in their games to enhance the user experience. Multiplayer online games facilitate chance encounters, collective recreational activities and spontaneous social interaction.

Emergent interaction varies the user experience depending upon group dynamics, therefore, prolonging social participation. In this way, emergence creates a game that is more engaging and the resulting virtual learning community engages the player to persist in playing the game on an ongoing basis.

Digital game based learning associations and initiatives are highlighting the new opportunity available to educators today in incorporating the intrinsically motivating environments of multiplayer online games to promote emergent virtual learning communities where the learner develops his or her own understanding through a social process of experience, practice and participation.

Game skills pay off in real life

2005-05-14T13:23:00.000-07:00

RESEARCH FINDS BENEFITS OF VIDEO GAMES IN UNEXPECTED AREAS
By Mike Antonucci
Mercury News
May 10, 2005

At the Charles Schwab company's call-center headquarters in Phoenix, human resources vice president Chip Luman has learned a secret about financial services technology and the employees who operate it:

"Video-game players often display exceptional business skills."

``The people who play games are into technology, can handle more information, can synthesize more complex data, solve operational design problems, lead change and bring organizations through change,'' said Luman, 38.

Luman is among a host of professionals -- in fields including business, medicine and education -- who have noticed a surprising number of social benefits from the increasing time that Americans are spending with ``Super Mario,'' ``Rise of Nations'' and ``The Sims.''

Moreover, almost all the games they cite are mainstream hits from an industry that often is vilified as brainless and exploitative. Some of the games that have the most positive potential are either famously controversial or rated Mature because of violent or provocative content.

Does Education Evolve or Collapse?

2005-05-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

The clarity of Seymour Papert’s vision was remarkable, and his analogy of the collapse of the former Soviet Union and impending collapse of the education system as we know it was striking. I completely agree with his opinion (in 1998) that our current method of education was/is not relevant for the learners and the societies that depend upon it.

But, I don’t believe that a total collapse will occur. I believe that we are already seeing today that the Millennial generation of learners is causing such a rapid evolution that education will be forced to evolve before that collapse could occur. This megachange in education is going to “just happen” much in the same way that the web “just happened”. It wasn’t planned, it wasn’t administered or governed, it just happened.

I am completely convinced that the use of online multiplayer games for elearning will be the single most significant factor in this coming megachange, on a scale comparable to the advent of the web. The incoming generation of learners are game players. Online multiplayer games are the ideal environment for constructivism. The technology exists and it is already capable of “localizing” – allowing a global community of learners to participate with language being transparent. So, if you can situate learners into a social learning environment that is ideally suited and with which they are already familiar, and this environment can extend the learning environment to a truly global scale, and the technology required to do so is already being used by millions of users world-wide, how can it not be the future of learning?

What if you met someone that told you that they were teaching at the college level. And, in the course of the conversation they stated that they don’t use the web, they didn’t care for computers, and they felt that neither were appropriate in their classroom or curriculum? What would you say?

In one year, or two years, maybe three years downhill with a tailwind … not incorporating multiplayer gaming may be just as unthinkable.

What do you think?

Serious Games Help Stroke Victims

2005-05-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

Video Games May Help Stroke Victims, by Jamie Stengle, AP writer.

Boring, tedious, and painful are all adjectives that I would use to describe physical therapy ... using game immersion to keep the patient engaged in the therapy is such a terrific idea!

Very, very cool.

Thanks to my OTL classmate Cynthia Taylor-Denes for this article link.

Scholar.Google.com

2005-05-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

www.Scholar.Google.com

Totally cool.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."--Arthur C. Clarke

It is alive!

2005-04-17T17:21:00.000-07:00

Soul of a new studio ...
It's official, it has a name ... therefore it is.
Sandstorm Interactive
Christened in the wee hours of Friday, April 22nd.
The instructions on the label say "just add money"

No kidding

2005-04-17T17:13:00.000-07:00

"Warning: objects in the mirror are closer than they appear"

Alone in the crowd

2005-04-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

Brick and mortar ... doesn't build community.

Soul of a new studio

2005-04-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

Soul of a New Machine is a favorite book of mine. One of my latest adventures brewing here in the cave is the launch of a game studio startup. As that unfolds, I think it will become my Soul of a New Studio thread ...

Devising names has recently become the bane of my existence. Name the blog. Name the book. Name the course. Name the program. Name the studio ...