Exercise C: Bond Breaker 2.

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I went out looking for a Physical Science related video game. One concept
that I have been looking to use video games with has been the topic of Atoms.
What I found was a game called Bond Breaker 2.0, this game is designed to
help students to learn the parts of the atom, their location as well as how they
can be used in other concepts such as chemical bonding and studying the forces
generated by the different parts of the atom. Mostly I have found that this
game will be great for increasing the students understanding of the atom. While
playing the game I assessed it based on the structure the game was based on,
the learning principles that the game reinforced, the objective of the game,
along with the mechanics that the game was designed around. These factors
have increased the playability of the game as well as the effectiveness of the
game from an educational point of view.
In the case of educational video games it is very important that the game
be challenging, but not too challenging. It must present the player with a
problem, but also give them an opportunity to solve it. This game does both
well, in that it is not too challenging but the puzzles provide the problem that
must be solved. The game itself is designed for the true gamer who likes to play
for fun as well as the student that does not play video games often. This is
achieved by offering a question mark on the game interface to allow the
unfamiliar gamer a hint as to what the objective of the level is, while still
offering the gamer the opportunity to explore and gain an understanding by
exploration. From an educational standpoint the information is very well
presented. It uses some technical terms but in a way that will be more
appealing and inviting to students. At the completion of each level the game
gives the player the option of follow up information to help reinforce the topics
covered during the level. This is extremely beneficial due to the fact that it
provides an ideal learning opportunity for players of multiple learning types.
The kinesthetic learner gains the understanding of the information from playing
the video game and the visual learner gains from the benefit of seeing the
simulation play out in front of their eyes, and the auditory learner gets the
benefit of being able to read the bonus information once the level is completed.
The structure of the game is one of a manipulating structure as
referenced from Katie Salens 12 Scenarios for Potential Uses of Gaming. This
was made evident as the game was designed as a simulation to give players the
opportunity to manipulate the atoms and the subatomic particles and witness
their interactions under certain conditions. This gives the player the opportunity
to experience and manipulate things that can not physically be experienced,
thus giving them a better understanding of the information being presented.
This is very popular for science related video games due to the fact that there

are a lot of standards that cannot be physically addressed but need some type
of model or simulation. The simulation part of it is not apparent at first glance,
not until the player gains more of an understanding of the information being
presented do they realize that the game being played is actually a simulation.
The initial observation of the game appeared to be a content structured game,
but level after level demonstrated that the actions the player was performing
were actually actions performed in nature that the student normally learns
about through direct instruction and will never physically experience and see.
Educational video games should follow the learning principles set forth by
John Paul Gee in What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and
Literacy, as well as the game mechanics found in The Gamification of Learning
and Instruction by Karl M. Mapp. The most important mechanic feature that
this game portrays is that of replayability. Within the realm of science one of the
keys to success is practicing the content being taught. The game is not one that
can only be played one time, it can be played repeatedly to provide support for
players who have not fully grasped the concept and reinforce topics. Once the
student gained mastery of the content being presented they can then begin to
create their own levels to the same information or new information to allow for
increased practice and even to help other players better understand the
content. The design also has several of the learning principles incorporated,
one of which is practice principle. The practice principle is coupled with the
replayabiliy mechanic due to the fact that the replayability leads to the practice
that is desired for a science based educational video game. The replayability
and design features also add another component that teachers love,
differentiation. Players who are struggling with the information can spend more
time playing the levels they are struggling with while the players who have
mastered the material can make new levels to demonstrate their understanding
of the material.
While playing this game it definitely lends itself to multiple classroom
discussions. The game is broken up into levels, however these levels
correspond nicely to the progression that discussions would normally take in
class. We normally begin with the basics discussing the basic subatomic
particles of the atom such as protons, neutrons and electrons. The opening
segment is simply dealing with the proton and the charge that it carries; they
even introduce the fact that protons will repel protons. Next they introduce the
electron and its location with respect to the proton, and then moving into the
attractive force that can be generated by the combination of the two. Once
mastered and the levels are completed the game then moves to assessing the
change of energy in an atom showing how the electron can change energy
levels as well as how the speed of the atom can change due to different types of

energy. The levels of the game continue to add bits of information for each
series in the levels. As the player progresses through the levels the game
moves into providing information on ions and how the energy can change, along
with the attractive potential of the ions.
Game deployment would be one that I feel would be opposite to what I
see as the normal model. The standard tends to be one that the information is
presented and then the game is played, however, I feel with this topic and the
game design that is would work best to use the game to activate prior
knowledge and introduce the information. This is where the discussion then
comes in, after a certain amount of play the class would debrief the information
gained from game play and expand upon it. The players would be given a
certain level number to play and a deadline to achieve it by so that groups can
be given probing questions designed to spark conversation around the topic of
that level. After the group discussions and a brief whole group overview the
student will be given an opportunity to practice again and finally complete a
reflection of the process. I would keep this process similar for the first few
levels, as the players gain understanding of the material I would make a small
change. Once the class reached a certain point they would reverse the process
and the students would get a whole group instruction and discussion first giving
the student the opportunity to gain understanding of the information of that
standard, then the practice aspect would be given in a project. This project
would be to design a level of the game that they have been playing. This level
should follow the same rules that they have already learned, but must simulate
the information in the standard that they were just taught. In this case the
student would become the Subject-Matter Expert in the game design process.
The project would be completed on paper and submitted as a group project.
Once all projects are turned in each group would be given the option to continue
with the project for extra credit. In order to get the extra credit the student or
team must take the plan that was drawn out and enter the editor mode of the
game and create the level that they designed.
The educational video game that I have discovered for my Physical
Science class for the topics of Atoms is Bond Breaker 2.0. I have found that
this game would be a great game for teaching the standard for atoms and
atomic structure. Bond Breaker 2.0 is a simulation taking on the manipulating
structures as the player is given the capability of manipulating the atom using
the subatomic particles introduced in the game. The learning principle, practice
principle, is presented in the game due to the replayability of the game giving
the player the practice needed to master the skills of the standard being
focused on in each level; as well as allowing for differentiation to accommodate
struggling players. The game deployment in the classroom would be seamless

as the game would easily lead to the discussions and projects throughout the
unit being taught. Overall the fact that the game can not only be used to teach
one standard but the entire unit, the player will only have to learn to play one
game and have it applied to the standards of that unit.