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All Aboard the Nerd Boat
Forbes is running an article detailing a most unusual cruise. 180 Computer Science profs were brought together on a Royal Carribean ship to talk about bringing computer games to the classroom. Despite the topic, there was a lot of serious discussion. From the article: "After Microsoft's Luehmann praised the technical sophistication of three new Xbox 360 games (Mass Effect, Too Human, and Gears of War), a silver-haired professor raised his hand and commented: 'You just showed us three very sophisticated and very violent games, and I'm sure they're good for something--though I don't really know what that is--but what I want to know is, when will you make a videogame that's really useful? When will you make a videogame that's going to teach my students chemistry?'"
That's one helluva idea for a game. :)
McGyver style.
The new engines would finally allow for that level of sophistication.
Create a database of 1000-2000 different chemical reactions, then give objects besides the standard "texture, lightness, weight" properties the property of chemical composition. Give player a lab to prepare stuff. Then let them loose on missions, using at first simple stuff like black powder, later play with transporting a canister of nitroglicerine across Manhattan in public transport, then do more advanced stuff, fill a building with hydrogen-oxygen mix, smuggle dissolved gold in fuel tanks, etc, all the cool stuff you can do with chemistry.
Cool!
Anagram("United States of America") == "Dine out, taste a Mac, fries"
When will you make a videogame that's going to teach my students chemistry?'"
Newsflash: Your students don't want to learn chemistry. They want to beat up the hooker and get their money back, run away from the cops in a flashy sports car, and unload an entire arsenal into the local shopping mall.
That's why Grand Theft Auto 3 is the most successful franchise in history, and Mavis Beacon Teaches Chemistry hasn't even gotten to the drawing board stage yet.
Civilization taught me history and geography, Sim City taught me business and government, the Total War series taught me military tactics, the Sims taught me about relationships, Pro Pinball taught me, uh, how to play Pinball, Chessmaster taught me how to play chess and Doom taught me the proper use for a chainsaw.
Computer games taught me everything I know...
Why would Microsoft go on a cruise that is specifically designed to identify games as an education source, only to highlight and force-advertise their 360 lineup? It would be no less transparent if Sony showed off the latest version of GTA or if Nintendo showcased Mario 128. What do they have to gain other than a shallow attempt at advertising, and hopefully a few more consoles moved?
That said, the prof might be a little out of his element (I have a hard time finding a "silver-haired professor" being a gamer of any means, although that is a generalization and I could be wrong), but his question is at least somewhat valid. What is stopping someone from incorporating, say, chemistry elements into a crafting/spell casting system? Think Secret of Evermore (or World of Warcraft if you can't think back that far) where real-life elements and compounds create items and objects. True, it would be a transparent attempt (kind of like "The Bible Game" being nothing less than pure religion dressed up as a game), but would it really be all that bad? I can imagine at least a capable system involving some marginal knowledge, at which point someone *could* theoretically benefit and gain some knowledge.
This could be stretched further, but at that point it becomes difficult to pinpoint great examples. Describing true physics in a game using the Havok engine? Applying that mentality to space games in an attempt to teach some rudimentary physics, and possibly theoretical (string theory)? I dunno.
At the end of the day I'll admit I'm looking for my games to be fun, not giving me a lesson on something. Although I must admit, Civilization does a handy job of giving some background knowledge on key historical topics (if you take the time to read the blurbs, I mean, and I haven't played one since Civ2 so I don't know if the recent incarnations carry this data also).
I'm not scared of anonymous cowards.
They always left or obscured out a crucial piece of the bomb recipe.
So, the majority of users would be stuck, leaving a few of the more gifted and determined ones to work out the remaining details. Then you pray to Darwin that this minority takes reasonable precautions (your game should teach them that too).
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Sup at least in Japan, all three of Nintendo's educational Brain Training series games have sold over 1 million units since May. Brain Training 2, released 5 weeks ago, has already sold over 1 million units. So...if educational games can work in one area of the world, they might work in others. Maybe not, but still, there's a new and powerful precedent. Not to mention, educational games are exceedingly cheap and quick to develop compared to blockbuster titles. So in terms of a business perspective, it's blatantly obvious that such games have merit.