You have to start with Instructional Objectives if you're going to create an educational game.
The trick is designing these in a way that translates into a teachable experience that's fun and sticks to what you're trying to teach.
The hard part is doing this well. It's kind of like translating a book to a screenplay. Some things translate well (scenery, dialog), but other things have to be reworked into a different presentation (timelines, inner thoughts, points of view, backstory).
If you're trying to teach based on recall, your game is going to be one big pop quiz.
If you're teaching rules, you need to create a plausible scenario where they can make the right decision based on the rules, and design the game in a way that creates enough opportunities.
If you're teaching attitudes, you have a lot more flexibility in gameplay, but the number of different interactions if often limited.
You need to think about whether you want the game to actually teach people the information, or whether it should be a testing tool. And, while with games you want there to be a clear winner, the idea behind education is to teach everyone, so make sure the losers aren't simply discouraged from learning about the topic.
You are so right. Most artists don't really make a lot of money.
Sure, some become a brand, and the brand makes money, but for the most part, you've got to do what you do because you love it.
I've known a few brewmasters, and they're great people who make awesome beer and can tell you all about the craft for hours and hours.
There's a high demand for their art, and no two brewmasters are the same.
Yet the pay is piss poor. Partly because you're always going to be able to find a fairly skilled brewmaster to fill the spot, and partly because the overall amount of time you have to put in is huge and difficult to reduce, even when you're an expert.
But, what a freakin' dream job for so many people.
As a lawyer I'm friends with told me years ago. That's what they call it in his industry, at least.
The time wasted switched from or back to a task you hadn't completed yet.
I agree with the article. One meeting can dramatically decrease the productivity for the whole day.
As a result I try to divide my time between all-day (or half day) tasks, and leave other days for things that take 1-2 hours a pop, including meetings.
Using the GTD (Getting Things Done) methods help organize things as well, but that's been covered many times here.
However, I am really excited that doctors of the future will have greater computer literacy.
The majority of doctors today work on paper and refuse to have anything to do with computers.
This is a huge drag on our medical system, and reminds me of stories where NASA scientists refused to use computers because they liked doing calculations by hand.
It wasn't until their hands were forced or the old guard retired that they could see the opportunities computers opened up.
The medical record of the future will not just be a digital repository for information, if will be a self contained healthcare expert system that will try to anticipate issues and provide interactive assistance and diagnosis.
Having seen several second life simulators/training sessions, I have to keep asking "Why?"
The benefit is that it is semi-standard and semi-cheap to do, and connects people easily.
But, the effort to create something useful for teaching is great. The benefits are minimal. The controls are frustrating and resemble nothing in real life.
If you really want to teach something well, you're better off creating your own instructional design and simulation. 3-D tools are cheap now.
I see this as an attempt at getting DARPA or SBIR money.
If you invent something cool and can figure out how it can have a military use, you can continue work on Uncle Sam.
However, it really sounds far from being practical. How big is the camera on your cell phone? If you needed a camera in the back of your gear, wouldn't you just mount one of those?
It's that last 20% of a project when I'm trying to nail down the last and hardest bugs, while the client is trying to slip in "edits" that imply major functional changes.
That's when have to pick up my @ss with both hands and drop it in front of the keyboard.
I would just like to point out that Narconon runs the web site you pulled this info from. According to Wikipedia:
Narconon is an in-patient rehabilitation program for drug abusers in several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and western Europe. Each Narconon center is independently owned and operated under a license from ABLE International, a Scientology-related entity.
Not sure if you know this, but with the latest release of Flash and ActionScript3, you have to be a coder to get ANYTHING done.
If you want pure linear animation, Flash still works great in the hands of designers, but the second you add a replay button, you now need to start coding.
Adobe shot themselves in the foot by pushing flash out of the hands of designers, taking away a huge advantage they had against HTML5.
Slashdot Mirror
You have to start with Instructional Objectives if you're going to create an educational game.
The trick is designing these in a way that translates into a teachable experience that's fun and sticks to what you're trying to teach.
The hard part is doing this well. It's kind of like translating a book to a screenplay. Some things translate well (scenery, dialog), but other things have to be reworked into a different presentation (timelines, inner thoughts, points of view, backstory).
If you're trying to teach based on recall, your game is going to be one big pop quiz.
If you're teaching rules, you need to create a plausible scenario where they can make the right decision based on the rules, and design the game in a way that creates enough opportunities.
If you're teaching attitudes, you have a lot more flexibility in gameplay, but the number of different interactions if often limited.
You need to think about whether you want the game to actually teach people the information, or whether it should be a testing tool. And, while with games you want there to be a clear winner, the idea behind education is to teach everyone, so make sure the losers aren't simply discouraged from learning about the topic.
At your job, when you disagree with others, you might actually be right a large percentage of the time, based on your geeky knowledge of the area.
In marriage, if you marry someone as smart as you (and you should), when you disagree, you'll find you're only right 50% of the time.
Get used to it.
How about SGML coders?
20 years ago you had to pay hundreds of dollars an hour for someone to hand code SGML.
Now, you can get a high school kid to code you up some XML that does the same thing.
You are so right. Most artists don't really make a lot of money.
Sure, some become a brand, and the brand makes money, but for the most part, you've got to do what you do because you love it.
I've known a few brewmasters, and they're great people who make awesome beer and can tell you all about the craft for hours and hours.
There's a high demand for their art, and no two brewmasters are the same.
Yet the pay is piss poor. Partly because you're always going to be able to find a fairly skilled brewmaster to fill the spot, and partly because the overall amount of time you have to put in is huge and difficult to reduce, even when you're an expert.
But, what a freakin' dream job for so many people.
And they don't rubber-neck. They don't break down. They don't get pulled over for speeding tickets,
Oh, wait. Never mind.
No, no, no.
Thrashing is a nautical term that goes back to the 1400's. ;-)
As a lawyer I'm friends with told me years ago. That's what they call it in his industry, at least.
The time wasted switched from or back to a task you hadn't completed yet.
I agree with the article. One meeting can dramatically decrease the productivity for the whole day.
As a result I try to divide my time between all-day (or half day) tasks, and leave other days for things that take 1-2 hours a pop, including meetings.
Using the GTD (Getting Things Done) methods help organize things as well, but that's been covered many times here.
It's more important to verify your business need than to validate your new idea.
$25au?
That's ridiculous. If that were true, I wouldn't post that on a public forum.
Sparkplugs cost like, uhm, a dollar.
Stick to your guns.
(Although yeah, clean up the upload interface.)
However, I am really excited that doctors of the future will have greater computer literacy.
The majority of doctors today work on paper and refuse to have anything to do with computers.
This is a huge drag on our medical system, and reminds me of stories where NASA scientists refused to use computers because they liked doing calculations by hand.
It wasn't until their hands were forced or the old guard retired that they could see the opportunities computers opened up.
The medical record of the future will not just be a digital repository for information, if will be a self contained healthcare expert system that will try to anticipate issues and provide interactive assistance and diagnosis.
Having seen several second life simulators/training sessions, I have to keep asking "Why?"
The benefit is that it is semi-standard and semi-cheap to do, and connects people easily.
But, the effort to create something useful for teaching is great. The benefits are minimal. The controls are frustrating and resemble nothing in real life.
If you really want to teach something well, you're better off creating your own instructional design and simulation. 3-D tools are cheap now.
My experiences with large corp and gov't clients tells me otherwise.
I see this as an attempt at getting DARPA or SBIR money.
If you invent something cool and can figure out how it can have a military use, you can continue work on Uncle Sam.
However, it really sounds far from being practical. How big is the camera on your cell phone? If you needed a camera in the back of your gear, wouldn't you just mount one of those?
Phase I is really too early to get any hope up. Most "promising" drugs that enter Phase I don't make it to the end of Phase III (FDA approval).
I, for one, welcome our new Mormon overlords.
I've never had a problem STARTING.
It's that last 20% of a project when I'm trying to nail down the last and hardest bugs, while the client is trying to slip in "edits" that imply major functional changes.
That's when have to pick up my @ss with both hands and drop it in front of the keyboard.
I would just like to point out that Narconon runs the web site you pulled this info from. According to Wikipedia:
Narconon is an in-patient rehabilitation program for drug abusers in several dozen treatment centers worldwide, chiefly in the United States and western Europe. Each Narconon center is independently owned and operated under a license from ABLE International, a Scientology-related entity.
And what did you learn from your experience with therapy?
What worked for you?
What didn't?
Building friendships and relationships required some skills. Including communication, trust, empathy, listening, and others.
If you're in your 20's and don't have these skills, go see a therapist.
Seriously.
Spend some time working though whatever issues you have and building the skills you need to be balanced and happy.
The rest will come naturally.
111 comments and you're the first one to point this out.
At least someone is thinking out there.
Had the dev version on the phone which was great, but at one point bricked my phone.
I've never seen a portable device add so much functionality on a regular basis.
Not sure if you know this, but with the latest release of Flash and ActionScript3, you have to be a coder to get ANYTHING done.
If you want pure linear animation, Flash still works great in the hands of designers, but the second you add a replay button, you now need to start coding.
Adobe shot themselves in the foot by pushing flash out of the hands of designers, taking away a huge advantage they had against HTML5.
http://blueboxsw.com/jktest/index10.cfm