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When Your Homework is to Make Good Games

Posted by Zonk on from the learning-is-fun dept.

Over on Wired's site, Chris Kohler has up a great pair of features on the growing role that game design is having in education. He had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Henry Jenkins, one of the foremost authorities in the US on games and learning, to discuss the future of game-creation education. Schools all over the country are adding game design, art, and programming courses to their curriculum, and the article also mentions several high profile foreign programs opening in the near future. While the article is primarily about education programs, Kohler also had the chance to do a one-on-one interview with Mr. Jenkins. The piece has several interesting insights into how games and learning fit together as well as they do, as well as more details on the proposed Singapore/MIT game lab. Says Jenkins, "Some have said that the games industry has become so risk adverse that only a Miyamoto or a Wright can break through the formulas and generate truly original approaches to game design. Many observers have said we need to step outside of that system and provide some place where interesting new game prototypes can be incubated."

1 of 24 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Goes both ways by Tronster · · Score: 2, Informative

    look at the top ten best selling games in the last few years From some reading on a (hopefully accurate) Wikipedia page. Top 10 PC:
    1. The Sims (16 million)
    2. Diablo II (15 million)
    3. StarCraft (9.5 million, includes StarCraft: Brood War)[3]
    4. Half-Life (8 million)
    5. World of Warcraft
    6. Myst (6 million)
    7. The Sims 2 (5 million)
    8. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind (4 million, including Xbox release)
    9. RollerCoaster Tycoon (4 million for the original in North America alone)
    10. Half-Life 2 (4 million)
    That's 4 out of 10 that is a sequel. But on the console it's a different story.
    1. Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES - 18 million)
    2. Super Mario Land (Game Boy - 14 million)
    3. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (14 million)
    4. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (PS2 - 13 million)
    5. Super Mario 64 (N64 - 11 million)
    6. Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (PS2 - 11 million)
    7. Grand Theft Auto III (PS2 - 11 million)
    8. Gran Turismo (PS1 - 10.5 million)
    9. Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES - 10 million)
    10. Final Fantasy VII (PS1 - 9.8 million, includes Final Fantasy VII International)
    Pretty telling. I suppose there is some truth to the statement.