LET’S PLAY

Game creation
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Global Context: Scientific and technical innovation

Related Concept: Function, Perspective

Key Concept: System

Statement of Inquiry: The design of learning games needs to consider the requirements
of the teacher and the perspective of the student, while creating interesting and innovative interactions
Task - 1

A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for enjoyment. Games have been very
important for children and teens. Teens love playing different types of video games and they can
actually play it not stop. A survey says that in this world, more than half of the teen population use
electronic devices such as laptops, computers, smartphones etc. And almost 60% of this population
are totally into games. Hours and Hours of gaming cuts off their time for studies and other activities
and do make them indolent.

If games had a learning outcome in them, then games would help them in education as wells as make
them enjoy learning. Game based learning is a type of game that has a defined learning outcome.
Generally, game based learning is designed to balance subject matter with gameplay and the ability
of the player to retain and apply subject matter with the real world. Game based learning describes
an approach to teaching where students explore relevant aspect of games in a learning context
designed by teachers. Teachers and students collaborate in order to add depth and perspective to the
experience of playing the game.

Good game based learning applications can draw us into virtual environment that looks familiar and
relevant. With an effective game based learning environment, student work towards the goal,
choosing actions and facing and experiencing the challenges and consequences of those actions that
come along way. Through this we can actively learn and practice the right way to do things.

Let’s take an example of game which has a learning outcome,

- Minecraft

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 A perfect example that
describes game based
learning. Minecraft
education version and the
normal version not only
help students or people
study or learn subject like
Math, English, Science etc.
Minecraft Edu, is designed
to make the game more
classroom-friendly. The
mod allows educators to
incorporate their own curricular content and run a custom server for each of their classes. It gives
students freedom to create what they imagine allowing them to be creative which they could not be
in the real world. It improves the users thinking process and help them on critical thinking. Minecraft
also is a very social game, where students can play with other players and rely on them, when these
students work together, it makes a positive climate in the classroom and the teacher finds it easy to
teach and students find it easy to understand. It teaches the students about team work and people
who you don’t know become your ally through this game.

It teaches real world skills, in Minecraft you need resources and your thinking process plays a major
role in this. When to use what and what to save teaches the students cost benefit analysis and improve
in the financial skills. Making things in Minecraft takes a lot of time improving the student’s
patience. In a research, The Scientific American declared that Minecraft is an excellent platform for
making almost any subject more engaging.

Not just Minecraft, but there are plenty of these games which have a very strong learning outcome.
These games not only make students learn subjects but also teaches them real world skills, how to
communicate with a certain type of group etc. In game-based environments, we learn not only the
facts, but also the important, underlying how’s and whys. This understanding of deeper, more
abstract principles prepare us to perform consistently and effectively, even in new and unexpected
situations. Through games a person easily memorizes any fact and connects situations with the real
life work.

Not always classroom and a board can help students study or learn something. The interest of games
and with a learning outcome education can be very easy for students and thus makes learning process
innovative and effective.

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Task – 2

A- I have discussed to many people about game based learning, while discussing my friend, Ashish
Bhatt was having difficulties in a particular subject and he also loved playing games. That moment
I decided to help him by making a game which would help him improve in that subject. I made a
Questionnaire for him. The below link has Ashish’s responses.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1f7F9lyZNwdG4koBXmYge0QXaiiQFFNbV59scipkxvSY/edit#r
esponses

After studying his response, I understood that he was lacking behind in Mathematics but was very
interested in games and had a lot of knowledge about it. Math a common difficulty of this age
group. Sometimes math becomes a subject where you hardly understand anything. But through
games Math can be understood as well as make the student enjoy learning it. A game that has
different levels or achievements mixed with study of Math, can totally bring changes in the
understanding level of the client. Watching Math being solved on board makes you feel bored, but
a visual understanding actually remains in the student’s mind and help him understand things
better. Some questions take time to understand and the teacher would explain it for one lesson
only, so to understand it better game can explain the students more than thousand times or
whenever they want to.

B- In a survey conducted in America, a conclusion was declared that most of the students
understand things better visually rather than reading or learning through books. Many adults as
wells as students are very use to the latest technology as we are using this type of electronics for
quite some time. Typing gets much more comfortable rather than writing notes every time. When
you type you concentrate more which makes your understanding skills even better. Through game
based learning students can improve in their thinking process, their understanding level and
enhances their problem solving skills. Some students lack in a few subjects as they not catch the
topic that very moment, and then class moves on and move to the next topic, whereas in games
which have a learning outcome they move with the users speed and help them explain the topic for
how many times the user want to. If achievement being added in game based learning students can
get more confident and can actually make them answer well because they are very sure, and
achievement motivate them. While studying virtually student take education more seriously as they
enjoy doing that, while studying from books students feel more stressed and they lose confidence
because they are not sure whether they have attempted the question correctly or incorrectly. Games
also help them comprehend complicated topics. With me, I was having my chemistry class and I
was introduced to balancing equation. At first I did not get it. Later after watching a video of it and
playing a multiple choice question game helped me understand things better and the concept was
then very clear for me.

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Task – 3

ENDLESS OCEAN

About the Game

- This game allows us to

explore the world’s ocean and
waterways learning about
aquatic habitats and sea life
- In this game kids can
become divers and this is a two
player game on Nintendo, so 2
players can play it at the same
time and explore the oceans.

Key Elements of this Game

- It has a lot of information about marine life and marine habitats

- The game has many type of characters which will make the player enjoy the game.
- The game has more than 300 species of animals who live under water.

Advantages of the Game

- The game has a very strong educational outcome

- It allows great interaction between us and the marine life
- Provides information about underwater caves and trenches
- Kids can explore different marine habitats and shipwrecks.

Changes that can be made to the game:

- The game can provide extra description when the player discovers a new species.

The interaction level of this game is very high as the game has provided a lot of objectives in
which kids find lot of information about all marine species, plants, and habitats.

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CITIES: SKYLINES

About the Game

-The game is a city building

game, and also based on
managing in real life conditions.

- It includes real life living

conditions such as tax, hospital,
security, resources and politics.

- The bigger the city the more

amount of income you earn but at
the same time it becomes difficult for the player to handle the big city.

Advantages of the Game and key elements of the game

- As, you live according to the real life conditions you have to be aware of everything that is
happening in the city. It enhances your thinking process and increase your planning skills
because you need to see whether someone is facing problem and then you would have to
solve it. There has to be a well maintained trading system and economic system.
- The game is very good for kids who study about economics or business management or
Geography.
- It also has a very strong learning outcome
- It also helps on the player’s strategy level

Changes that I would want to make: After playing this game, I found a problem that traffic is a
major problem, controlling it is very difficult but can be managed. Another problem, is that the whole
game has plain grassland. Hills and mountains can also tell us about habitats in the mountain.

The game is totally interacted with the player by helping him and giving him task about managing
the city and suggests us for making it better. And tells us how it can be destroyed.

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LITTLE BIG PLANET

About this game:

- It is a puzzle platformer
game.
- It all starts with Sack boy,
the game's playful main
character who looks like a
crocheted hacky sack with arms, legs and shiny black button eyes. You can
customize him to look like whatever you want, adding goofy clothes or
hairstyles to suit your taste.

Key Elements of the game:

- Kids can create their own world and manipulate everything in them.
- When you complete all your training activities, you let your imagination run
through, building and creating anything you want on your very own island.

Advantages of the game:

- It develops your logical thinking, problem solving and spatial orientation skills.
- Playing the game's levels teaches you how to build in, and manipulate, the
LittleBigPlanet environment through a series of problem-solving activities and
challenges.

Its interaction with players is also very high as it guides the player at every objective
and help them in the challenges. The game was introduced by the White House in 2009
to teach kids science, technology, engineering and math skills outside the classroom.

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Task – 4

Relevance : After my research done it tells me that most of the students all around the world face
problem in Mathematics. And a majority of that % are very much interested in the game. I can see
that the game can become a very big solution for this and help this community. In Order to solve this
problem I will create a game that will help these students.

Product Features:

- The game will be in a MCQ format which will make the player more interested.
- It will be in English language and would support Mathematics
- There will be revision and test functions.
- It will have timer, Pause button, No-Music button to make the game more engaging.
- There will be visual and audio questions which will not make the user feel bore

Rough Process : I will plan out every step required for my game through flow charts and follow them
later. I will also make rough game drafts on the software to get an understanding about how the game
is used.

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Resources: I will use Game salad, or Unity to create my game and will use Adobe Photoshop for
making and editing characters and buttons and backgrounds needed for making the game.

Time Scale: I will complete the game in the time – span of 3-4 weeks.

Target User : The target user of my game would be mostly people who are weak in Mathematics.

Outcome: Eventually, I hope that my game would be used in school by teachers and students will
have a impact on students and make them better in mathematics.