Educational Mini-Game Review x4!

Free Rice! is a fun little Quiz game that rewards the player with the donation of Rice through the World Food Programme. The game doesn't seem to have a specific target age group, but I would guess somewhere around the over fifteen crowd due to some vocabulary words that are not used very often until the High School/College level. The designers are attempting to teach the player meanings of word, basic interface interactivity, and that a single person can make a difference in the world. The last point, of course, is more conceptual, but nevertheless does not take anything away from the user experience. I feel the game is successful through an education standpoint in that it teaches you definitions to words you may not regularly encounter. I would say the game could be improved by have different quiz categories, but on second look I noticed you can change the quiz topics to different subjects. 4/5.

Pirates of the Preamble, oh my . . . A quiz based game with the premise that Pirates have buried the Preamble to the constitution in ten separate states. It asks questions dealing with civic knowledge and the constitution in order for you to find the missing pieces of the Preamble. Interesting premise, horrible game. I believe this may be helpful in a High School Civics or American History class, possibly, but some of the facts are really pointless and obscure. History buffs may enjoy it, but I had to restart about 6 times before completing the 10 questions. It could be improved by creating some type of meaningful play/reward other than just seeing a piece of the Preamble appear on the side of the screen. Oh yeah, the Pirate "accent" was also incredibly annoying. 1/5

Medical Mysteries is a game designed for people who care about science, obviously, and playing spinoffs of classic games in a "scientific" setting. I'd imagine the target age group would be High School and up, and it attempts to teach the player the different types of agents that can cause illness/disease, that this information is crucial to learn because of the premise, and that it is important to shoot the right cure at infectious agents falling from the sky. Yeah, I am being completely serious, I hated this game, and I feel like they ripped off George Lucas' droids. 1/5

INNOV8 2.0 (Created by IBM) is an educational simulation game comprised of 3 mini-games. Smart Traffic, Smart Supply Chain, and Smart Customer Service. I played Smart Traffic, in which you help a city lower congestion and pollution levels by using Business Process Management. The target age group put around the College level because it takes a good bit of logic and reasoning in order to balance different planning goals. The concepts being taught are action/reaction based and the delicate balance between cost and efficiency with traffic control. I really loved this game and I'm going to continue playing it! 5/5

Non-traditional Comics

Today I read two non-traditional comics that were both very interesting. Both used different techniques and were a browser based experience. I am uncertain of the title of the first (in another language) so I'm just going to refer to it as Twitch. The other comic I read was Scott McCloud's The Right Number, Part 1, and Part 2. I believe both of these works, although very non-traditional should be referred to as comics. No, panels are not laid out on a central page, but there is a consistent panel to panel type experience.

Twitch was far more experimental in my opinion, but it was a little over the top. Aside from the language barrier, it didn't seem to flow very well with the different sizes/framing done with panels. The audio/visual effects were interesting, but I feel that it was more about the effects than telling a story. Obviously if I spoke the language it would be a richer experience, but through visual images alone I feel like it could be summed up in one sentence. A girl sees a creepy looking guy with blood on him and he jumps towards her, the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Right Number from both a narrative and design standpoint. The panels were usually the same size, but sometimes they would be subdivided. It had a very interesting plot and I wish there were more parts that I could read. It used limited effects, but at the end of Part One when his eyes move it really emphasized the character's thoughts. Honestly, I loved this format because I am often times confused as to the order of reading with graphic novels. When a panel is presented by itself, I think it is much more straightforward, and I don't end up spoiling "what happens next" by glancing at the artwork on the page.

I believe The Right Number was highly successful while Twitch left much to be desired. It was not so much the format, but more the chaos created by having so many different things going at once. When I read a comic/graphic novel, I want to read a story and not see what someone can program through javascript. Definitely check out The Right Number because it is a very unique and interesting comic. I'd pass on Twitch.

Gaming Invasion: Level 1

Games are a great way to distract us from life. Virtually every person in their life has been told to "quit wasting your time playing games and be productive!" You may hear this every hour, daily, weekly, monthly, or once in a blue moon. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you've heard this phrase, or something to the same affect before in your life. Welcome fellow gamer to a multiple-level game entitled "Gaming Invasion". Ok, yes, you've probably called my bluff and I should've title it "Please Read My Blog", but it just didn't have the same ring to it. ANYWAYS, this is the first entry (aka level) in my blog series dedicated to explaining how far games penetrate into our lives. If you feel that you are exempt from this aspect, think again you ripe little n00b (slang for newbie, as in new to a game and inexperienced) because you are about to get PWNED!

Since this is only level one, I am going to stay away from any sort of technical terms and go for the easy kill. Life is a game. Cliche? Perhaps, but take a moment to think about it. Life requires planning (strategy), and the choices you make effect the outcome of your life. Yes, some choices, such as what to do with that five minutes after waking up may not effect your life goals. But, there is a real-time effect nonetheless. Actions create outcomes. Jumping off a porch while drunk may effect the next three months of your life, even if it seemed like such a great idea at the time.

If you are still reading at this point, I am guessing I managed to get your attention, and I will award you +3 karma points. Now, let's think real hard, make your brain work, and think of the physical controls you interact with, and the mechanism you use to create interactions. It's hard, I know, thinking requires effort, but here is the spoiler. You play the game! Your mental and physical actions interact with the world. There are some set rules, such as laws, sociological rules, and "world rules" also. Never forget, gravity is not always your ally! Gravity is great when you want to move a beer from a can to your red plastic cup, but it can definitely be a bitch when you decide to try and land a solo keg-stand! Stay alert, be prepared, trust no one. You may proceed to level two when I make my own choice on whether or not to write a second level. GLHF!