In this blog there are some interesting points of the game entitled The Secret of a Healthy Diet that are pinpointed. The blog addresses the number of subjects were used in the game. In fact, several participants were recruited. As a method of recruitment, school’s database was used. However, students that were not in  New York middle school were excluded. As a mean of collecting data, computers were used.

The game was presented  on a set of 50 cards, and there is a separate sheet on which players can read the instructions provided by the designer. To measure the responses, the performances of the players at school after they’ve played the game were considered. The conditions that were created and compared were students that have played the and those who did not. The experimental group was asking to play the game and the control group was not assigned to do anything. The data were still collecting on computer or notebook.

For the result of the experiment, a normal curve distribution representation with the mean of 100 were used. Students who kept playing the game had scores that fell on two standards deviation above the mean. However, those who did not spend too much time playing had scores that fell at one to two standard deviations below the mean.

IMPULSE! 

LEARNING ELEMENTS

The game is trying to teach a person the consequences of taking hallucinogenic drugs. That how while taking the drugs that they make decisions and choices that will affect they negatively. The dominant form of interaction would be that the player has a choice. The whole game is player choice in order to advance. I would say this supports the learning objective because every time someone takes these mind altering drugs they are taking a chance. The most affected by this game would be the cognitive processes due to the fact that the player will be making choices throughout the game and the players have to think about the decisions to make when they’re given the scenarios form the cards. The design attempts to affect the system because they are trying to capture the flag and decisions are important here since we make them every day.

FORMAL ELEMENTS

Two players can be engaged in the game. Players interact with each other in the game by making decisions that can affect the other player by making chutes. Chutes will block the opponent from capturing the flag. The primary objective of the game is to have the players to play a competitive game as well as have them understand that when they take hallucinogenic drugs they will be faced with decisions that will affect their life. The game objective does reinforce the learning objective. The rules of the game are they roll a die to determine who goes first they fix their flags and the first person to capture their opponents’ flag wins. Along the way the players will make decisions each turn they have that will complement the game and its learning objective. During the game each turn while the players make their decisions they earn tiles to help build their way to go capture their opponent’s flag. Depending on their situations which ever they choose tells them how many tiles they will receive. The conflict is introduced and maintained because right away players have to roll a die to see who gets to go first since they are playing to see who will capture their opponents’’ flag by using the tiles that will come from each turn. They can use these tiles to make ladders to advance or chutes to make their opponents fail. Well there are the choices to make chutes to stop the opponent from getting to the flag and even go back to the start. The limitation is fun because it stops the other player from capturing your flag. It contributes to the objective because the players are making decisions that affects them just like with using drugs you make decisions. The game ends with the person who captures their opponents’ flag.

DRAMATIC ELEMENTS

This game is not based on characters. The motivation is to capture the opponent’s flag and to have the least amount of consequences. The challenges would be the situation from the cards the players will draw and the choices they’ll pick. I would say try to achieve getting the most tiles to use it to build the chutes to block the opponent or make ladders. For this game well the players will be in a world where one person is red and the other is blue and they have to capture the flag. The general premise would be that you and your opponent are at opposite sides and you basically have to capture the flag but you have to go through scenarios dealing with hallucinogenic drugs and their consequences. The story uses a branching narrative. Player decisions are important to the game. The game is playful since it’s competitive. For Bartle’s Taxonomy I would say is killer because of the game’s competitive nature would really enjoy this game. Well tension and conflict is introduced by having the players deal with the scenarios on the cards they draw and the decisions they make. The building of the ladders and chutes are important too.

SYSTEM DYNAMICS

The tiles are the object properties since you are using that to advance to the flag. In the beginning rolling the die is what establishes who goes first. The cards that are drawn for the player and what they choose and what they decide to do with the tiles are important. The game fully support player choice. Well every turn the player makes a decision a new consequence comes about due to drawing cards. They can retrieve tiles. The information that is exposed to the player is that they know they have to use tiles to build ladders and chutes to either advance or block their opponent and they make decisions.

FUNCTIONALITY. COMPLETENESS. BALANCE.

The game is fully functional. The game at this moment is complete but it’s always open to more ideas and suggestions to keep it fresh. The game is balanced. The dominant strategy of the game is to see if you can get the least amount of consequences so you can use the tiles to get quickly to the opponents’ flag. The game is symmetrical.

FUN. ACCESSIBILITY.

The game is very engaging because the individuals who are playing get to make choices that affects their movement to get to the other side. They get to use tiles to move around. This promotes learning because while you’re on drugs you are making a decision and many things can happen while your mind is altered. The whole game is decision based where the player has to make decisions in order to get to the other side. The choices that are meaningful would be if the person chose to make a ladder or chute. It relates to the objective because in the game the person has to see who can make it first to their opponents flag the fastest. I would say there’s always room to add onto the game that it’s not broken. The game is straightforward. The game is entertaining and not boring since you get to be competitive. The obstacles would be if your opponent builds a chute where you have to go you end up going back to where you started from and have to start rebuilding again. Well if you like player choice games this would be fun to you. The game can be learned right away it’s not hard. Well you roll a die in order to see who goes first then they fix their flags, grab their tiles so they can build and shuffle the deck of cards each time it’s their turn they draw a card.

TUTORIAL

The Space Shmup tutorial was very challenging to create since it’s more detailed than the other two prototypes I made. This one was challenging but was interesting I never thought about the detail that goes into creating these games. It’s much longer to create there was more to code. I can say a lot of coding was involved with this. It was interesting I found myself at ease with unity using the system. I’m beginning to become comfortable with following the instructions for the system.

GAME ELEMENTS ANALYSIS
Game title Get smart
LEARNING ELEMENTS
Learning objective – What is the game trying to teach? What learning experience is the game attempting to create for the player? To learn new words and learn how to spell
Primary game mechanic – What is the dominant form of interaction the player has with the game? How does this support or obscure the learning objective? Learning the word on the flash card, spelling it, saying and finding that exact word in a sentence.
Physiological/cognitive/social/behavior processes – Which of these systems is most affected by the game design? How does the design attempt to affect this system? The most affected systems are psychological and behavioral. The physiological aspects would be the brain power involved in the learning and the behavioral aspect would the behavior they show after playing the game, either happy or sad.
FORMAL ELEMENTS
Number of players – How many players are engaged in the game? How do players interact with each other and the game (e.g., competitive or coorperative)? One, or can be two if trying to make it competitive.
Game objective – What is the primary objective of the game? Does the game objective reinforce the learning objective? The primary objective of the game is to help dyslexic children to spell and learn new words.
Rules and procedures – What are the rules of the game? How do these complement or conflict with the game and learning objectives? The participants have 3 attempts to win the first round to accumulate points, in order to move to the next level.
Resources – What items are accrued during the game? What resources are spent? What governs the exchange of resources? Rewards or points are accrued to move on to the next level.
Conflict – How is conflict between players or game elements introduced, maintained, and resolved?
Boundaries – How does the game prevent players from behaving in a certain way? How might this limitation be fun? How might it contribute to the objectives? If the participants to lose all 3 chances to move on to the next level, they have chance of starting over.
Outcome – How does the game end? Does the outcome conflict with the objectives? The game ends when the participants is able to say, spell, and red a whole sentence at a given time.
DRAMATIC ELEMENTS
Character – Who is the main character? What is their motivation? What is the relationship between the character/avatar and the player? The participants, points accrued and trying to unlock the next level.
Challenge – What challenges are presented to the player/character? What skills must the character/player learn or master? 3 chances to win a level or start over.
World building – In what fictional world does the game take place? It’s a non-fiction game
Premise – What is the general premise of the story? learning
Story – Does the story use a linear, branching, or emergent narrative? How do player interactions relate to the narrative? It’s a very linear game; win a level and move on to the next.
Play – In what way is the game playful? Of the many types of play, which is most prevalent? Which of the players in Bartle’s Taxonomy is most likely to enjoy this game? It’s very playful, if played competitively
Dramatic arc – How are tension and resolution controlled in the story? How does the story create conflict in the game? There’s tension when the participant is trying to figure out the word.
SYSTEM DYNAMICS
Objects – What objects are used to build game systems (e.g., houses in Monopoly)? Cards
Properties – What object properties are required for the game systems (e.g., house values)? Points or rewards
Behaviors – What object behaviors are required for the game system (e.g., buying)? Accruing points
Relationships – What are the basic relationships between system elements? What controls the dynamics of the system?
Economies – Does the game system exist as an economy (e.g., Monopoly or SimCity)? If so, how does the economy change over time? no
Emergent systems – What new systems emerge from game play? Are there procedurally generated systems? New levels to the game
Interacting with systems – What information about the system is exposed to the player and what is hidden? How do players interact with the system, control the system, and received feedback from the system? Every aspects of the game is exposed to the players, the levels, points accrued, what to do to unlock the next level.
FUNCTIONALITY, COMPLETENESS, & BALANCE
Functionality – Is the game fully functional? Yes.
Completeness – Is the game complete? Is there a voice not being represented? The game is quite complete
Balance – Is the game balanced? Is there a dominant strategy? Is the game symmetrical? If not, is the imbalance intentionally part of the design? Yes the game is balanced, nothing unrelated to the game pops up, everything in the game is expected.
FUN AND ACCESSIBILITY
Fun – Is the game engaging? How do elements that support engagement promote or obscure learning? It could be when the participants gets frustrated, but can be fun when it is played in a competitive manner.
Player choice – What choices are meaningful in the game? How do these relate to the objective? The choices meaningful in the game are to start over if confused.
Fun killers – Are there parts of the game that are broken? What parts feel like micromanaging? What parts of the game are stagnant or boring? Are there insurmountable obstacles, arbitrary windfalls/calamities, or inconsequential choices? The part of the game that might be boring is when the participants get stuck trying to figure out the word.
Accessibility – How easy is it to play the game? How long does it take to learn the game? How do players learn how to play? The game is very easy to play, because the game starts with baby steps then progressively get challenging.

Learning Elements:

The game is trying to teach students the concept of math, and their area of struggle. To analyze each word problem to identify the given information and to develop strong problem solving skills. I am making a game that is suitable for beginners  and non beginners who are just starting to become familiar.

They are to solve math problems along their way.

Formal Elements:

2-4 players may be engaged in the game. The way the players interact may be competitive.

The rules of the game is each player begins at start, their goal is to reach to the finish line.

player is required to roll a dice.

if they land of a pick a card, they are to grab a card from the math deck and solve it.

If their answer is correct they move forward 3 times

if their answer is wrong they move back 2 times

they goal is to get to the finish line before anyone else does,

the math deck is based on their grade level and struggle

The conflict between players are maintained, each player is to focus on reaching to the finishing line by solving word problems.

The game prevents players from behaving frustrated because of the struggle they might have with  word problems. To prevent they may seek help from other players. if they solve it correctly they move forward 5 times and if wrong they move back 2 times.The game end with the player who first reaches to the finish line.

the game is competitive

Dramatic Elements:

Students motivation is to get their superhero to the finish line.

challenges represented to the player are the word problems.

The skills the player will learn to master is analyzing word problems and being able to develop strong problem solving skills.

Functionality:

The game is fully complete and functional, it is also balanced and symmetrical.

Fun:

The game is engaging and the elements supports engagement to learning. The math deck are based on the area of struggle and grade level.the choices are meaningful because they must be able to solve word problems in order to get to the finish line.its a simple and easy game. It is easy to learn, students may be able to learn the game within 2-3 rounds.

Game: Health Genie

Learning Elements:

The game is trying to teach players about the gene mutation MTHFR. To help them understand what is a healthy diet. It is a card game that you need to think fast which food is healthy for the baby. It is a competitive game that you can play with two or more people. Physiological/cognitive/social/behavior processes are all used when playing this game. The player is given the material of just foods and maybe other external factors like smoking or alcohol, and the player needs to decide what passes through to the baby. Being timed and playing against others makes it more interesting.

Formal Elements:

2 ore more players can play this game. As many as the cards can allow. Players have to pick the healthiest foods from a pack of cards before the timer and whoever has the most wins, The game does enforce the learning objective because you learn which foods are  gluten free. It begins to be easy to remember because you look at the name, picture, and player may say the food out loud and that becomes a better chance of it staying in the players mind. The player’s have a lot of freedom during this game. The only things that they can not control are the food that they are given. And the other external factors like drugs and alcohol if that pops up in a food stack. This makes it fun because you have to work with what you got to make it. Using the specialty cards can health if the odds are not in your favor and you get a bad food deck.

Rules:

The rules are in the amount of time given; feed the baby the correct foods. You cannot trade cards unless you get a special blue card. You may get a free pass if you get that in your stack of food cards. This may conflict because the player can simply throw down any card and not really learn the whole point of the game. There are specialty cards. Cards that can add extra time, give free passes for more points, or trade cards with a player. There is a card that guides the player on what to do each level. The players have to look at it before they begin the level so that they know which food stack to use.

Game Title: Health Genie

Methods:

There were 5 subjects used. Two of them were friends who were interested in my game. They just wanted to help me and told their friends to try it out also. It’s a two player game so I had people play against each other. Since I did not have a sand timer, I used my phone and set it to 30 secs and shortened the time to make it more interesting. I had to figure out scenarios and change the food options for each level which made it a little difficult for me. I realized he more detailed I make the game, the better it will be. To collect data, I wrote it down on a piece of paper. I wrote down their name, age, ethnic background, male or female, and who won or lost.

They were given playing cards of different foods. They were told to give the baby gluten free products and they needed to think fast on which foods are gluten free. The time is limited and they need to sort through the cards before the other player. I explained to them in person the rules to make sure they fully understand my game. I need to make a card that has the directions.

Results:

2 out of the 5 had a better idea of what foods were best for the baby. Some had a little trouble but got better at it as they kept playing, They learned by copying the other player in a way. I need to make the game more interesting by figuring out a way to add more factors or situations. I should have created a survey for the players to fill out to know what I need to work on to fix the game and what they learned from the game.

This blog is a continuity about the game “The Secret of a Healthy Diet”. You are not going to read a lot today because there is no major modifications that have  been done in the game during the last few weeks. The game is in the phase of testing. Some propositions are made by players about how to change the game. We considered all of them, now we are trying to find which one would be the best.

As you may see, the title of the game is always the same. I think some considerations will be made in order to make the game more interesting. For example, one critic of game suggested that the game could be a competition game. This suggestion was analyzed by the designer, and found that it could work. However, any modification that might be made in the game will be focused on how to reinforce the learning objective, that is how to facilitate middle school students making good and healthy food choice that would boost their learning ability.

As we mentioned earlier, the game is now in a phase of test. We already conducted several tests. Most of the players found the game playable, and does supports the learning experience. However, we know that the game is not perfect, and that is why we really give a lot of interest to the critics. For, they are the only mean that could help us to attain our goal.

Today i was faced with the same questions that were presented to me in the previous week with my game. All though The answers to the questions are still the same i have added a new twist to the game to make it even more challenging for people. Instead of the guesser just having to face distractions from the other team, the guesser will have to be doing another activity. For example some activity’s that i have is for the guesser is to solve math problems, dribble a basketball, catching a ball, and etc. Not only will this make the game even more difficult it will make the game much more fun for players to play. My previous game was very simple and it was proven to be true in class on Wednesday. But i think that this twist to the game will make it more challenging and more appealing.