Review of Zoombinis Island Odyssey

September 14th, 2009

Review of the game Zoombini Island Odyssey created by TERC

Rating: star-rating-colouredstar-rating-colouredstar-rating-colouredstar-rating-colouredstar-rating-coloured

zoombinis-title
SOURCE: game screenshot, used for review purposes

Game Overview

Zoombini Island Odyssey is a puzzle-solving single-player PC game designed to help children (aged 8 and above) learn mathematical concepts drawn from set theory and logic. The player takes on the role of hero or problem solver in the fantasy world of the Zoombinis and the Zerbles. Zoombinis are little blue creatures that once inhabited Zoombini Island until it was invaded by the Bloats. Zerbles are orange creatures that form an integral part of the Life Cycle of the island along with the caterpillars that become moths that pollenate the fruit trees that the zerbles eat.

zoombini-sample-character zoombinis-zerbles zoombinis-moths zoombini-caterpillars
Above from left to right: A zoombini, a zerble, a moth and a caterpillar  (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

The player’s job is to help the Zoombinis bring Zoombini Island back from the brink of ecological devastation after the evil Bloats used up all of the island’s resources and left it in ecological ruins. 

The player begins by recruiting Zoombinis from a neighbouring island to help him/her in his/her quest to rescue the island. The recruited Zoombinis heroically sail from their home island to Zoombini Island. Each Zoombini brings with them a caterpillar that will be used to restart the Circle of Life on Zoombini Island. The player then helps the recruited Zoombinis solve 7 different puzzles  that help restore the island to its former glory.  After the player has helped these 12 Zoombinis solve the  puzzles , the player must go back and recruit 12 more Zoombinis. The puzzles gradually become more complex once the Zoombinis have successfuly completed them. The game finishes once 240 Zoombini recruits have completed their mission and restored Zoombini Island back to its once pristine state.

zoombini-restored-island
Pictured Above: A picture of the flourishing Zoombini Island after it has been rescued from ecological disaster. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

Game Play

Following a short cut-scene , the gameplay begins.

Task 1. Starting the Adventure

The first task that the player has to do is recruit 12 Zoombinis. The player can create 12 Zoombinis using the Zoombini generator pictured below or they can have the Zoombinis generated randomly. In this section there is no puzzle to solve, it is a mechanism used to help tell the story and gives the player a chance to customise the game characters.

zoombinis-recruiting
Pictured Above: The Zoombini generator allows you to customise the look of the Zoombinis that will journey to Zoombini Island. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

Once this has been completed, a short cut-scene shows the 12 Zoombinis sailing to Zoombini island, each carrying a pink caterpillar on their head.

zoombini-carrying-caterpillar
Pictured Above: All of the Zoombinis travel to Zoombini island carrying a pink caterpillar on their head. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

Task 2. The Catapult

Once the 12 Zoombinis arrive at Zoombini Island the player’s first task is to catapult each of the 12 Zoombinis onto the island. The catapult is pictured below. There are two items that can be loaded into the catapult’s chute: mud balls and boulders. Only the boulders are heavy enough to catapult the Zoombinis over the cliffs onto the island. There are exactly the same number of boulders as zoombinis, this makes boulders a very precious commodity – the player does not want to waste them. Whilst the mud balls will not catapult the zoombinis to the island, they can be used to test the mechanism of the catapult machine. Each time the player comes back to the catapult, the mechanism of the catapult machine is different so the player can use trial-and-error with the mud bricks to determine the sequencing required to catapult the Zoombinis onto the Island. 

zoombinix-catapult-task
Pictured Above: The players first task is to catapult each of the 12 Zoombinis onto the island. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

As with each of the puzzles, there are three layers of complexity: Not so hard, Oh so Hard and Very Very Hard. Once the player has achieved success at the easier level, the player can progress to the next level of difficulty.

Task 3. The Wall

Once the Zoombinis have been catapulted onto the island, the next challenge they face is “The Wall”. On the other side of the wall is a big tree – the tree that the caterpillars can munch on. Once the caterpillars have munched on the tree, they will be able to go into a cocoon to emerge as moths thus re-establishing the Circle of Life on the Island. In order to get the caterpillars to the tree, however, the player must “break the code” and place each heiroglyph block inthe appropriate position on the wall (see picture below).

zoombinis-wall-task-easy 
Pictured above: A heiroglyph block can be dragged from the bottom of the screen onto the wall. If all four heiroglyphs match the code being used, a Zoombini gets to go through the door. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

This puzzle requires the player to recognise patterns and form and test hypotheses. The player only gets a limited number of incorrect goes before the wall crumbles and locks the door on you. When this happens, the player must come back and have another go. The next time they come back the symbol mappings will be different.

As with the other challenges, there are three levels of difficulty. Each level a little harder than the one before. A screenshot of the hardest level is shown below.

zoombinis-wall-task-hard
Pictured Above: The Very Very Hard level in the Wall challenge. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

The additional challenges that the most difficult level presents include:

  • the blocks have three symbols on them instead of four thus making it harder to identify patterns
  • not all of the heiroglyphs on the wall  will be matched (i.e. if all the of the blocks are placed correctly on the wall, there will be gaps)
  • there is less feedback given when the player puts a block in the wrong place – in the first level of difficulty, blocks have lights on them that indicate how many of the heiroglyphs match the symbols on the block
  • a player can only make two errors before the wall will crumble
  • some blocks have more than valid spot where they can be placed. However there is an optimal position for each block. If the optimal position is not chosen, then this will stop another block from being able to find its position on the wall. 

Task 4. The Planetarium

The caterpillars have now formed cocoons. The cocoons are in the crystal shaped like a pyramid shown at the bottom of the screen (see picture below).

zoombinis-time-task-easy
Pictured Above: The cocoons are hidden away in the crystal shaped like a pyramid at the bottom of the screen. The player has to use the coins provided to place the sun and the earth in the appropriate positions to match the time displayed on the clock at the top of the screen. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

zoombinis-planetarium-explanation
Pictured Above: The help screen provides players with additional details to help them solve the puzzle. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

If the player solves the puzzle completely, moths will hatch from the cocoons and they will be released from the crystal. If the player solves the problem, partially, only some of the moths will be released. The player can come back and have another go to release the rest of the moths.

The player solves the puzzle by matching the time shown on the clock at the top, middle of the screen with the time indicated by the sun’s position in the sky on the right hand side of the screen and the position of the earth relative to the sun on the left hand side of the screen. To move the sun and the earth, coins are dragged from the bottom of the screen and placed in the appropriate slot.

The game provides both auditory and visual feedback as the sun and the planet moves.

This challenge requires players to use their spatial reasoning, encourages them to form and test hypotheses and also requires the players to be able to read the time and do some basic addition.

There are three levels to this challenge. The hardest level introduces the idea of cycles of the moon. Not only does the player have to position the sun, moon and earth at the appropriate time but also at the appropriate time in the month (pictured below).

zoombinis-planetarium-hard
Pictured above: This is a screenshot of the Very Very Hard level of the planetarium. In this screenshot, the player has successfully lined the earth up at the right time and date. A moth can be seen flying from the crystal, ready to participate in the next phase of the game. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

Task 5. The Greenhouse

The fifth task takes place inside a greenhouse. The moths (on the left hand side of the screen), must travel across the field of snozzleberry plants in order to pollenate the seedlings on the right hand side of the screen. Each moth only likes a certain sort of plant. Some moths like plants of a particular colour, others like plants that have a particular sort of flower and others like plants with a certain number of leaves. The type of plant the moth likes is indicated on their back. The player has to find the appropriate path across the field for for each of the moths so that they can pollenate the seedlings.

zoombinis-moths-easy-02
Pictured Above: In this screenshot, the blue moth, the yellow moth and the red moth is making their way across the field of plants to pollenate the seedlings on the other side of the screen. The other moths are waiting on the left for the player to direct them to their path. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

The more difficult levels introduce new types of plants and new colours of plants. They also make the puzzle harder by giving the player a “magic swapping wand” that can be used to swap the position of plants (as indicated in the picture below). The “magic swapping wand” can only be used a limited number of times before it disappears. This encourages the player to try to use it in an economical way.

zoombinis-moths-hard
Pictured Above: The “magic swapping wand” is used by the player to create a clear path for the moths across the field to the seedlings. It must be used thoughtfully and economically as, if it is used too many times, it will disappear. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

The Very Very Hard level introduces beetles. Just like the moths, beetles only like plants of particular characteristics. The beetles are trying to cross the field from top to bottom. If a beetle cannot find a plant that has the appropriate characteristics that it will not budge from the plant it is on. A moth will not cross the path of a beetle, therefore the beetles can block the moths (as shown below).

 zoombinis-moths-hard-blocking
Pictured Above: If the beetles cannot find a clear path down the field of plants, they will be forced to stand still and can block the moths from progressing. Looks like the “magic swapping wand” needs to get to work! (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

Task 6. The Garden

Once the moths have pollenated the seedlings, the seedlings are ready to be planted in Arno’s garden.

zoombinis-planting-easy
Above: Now that the seedlings have been pollenated, they are ready to be planted in Arno’s (bottom-right of picture) garden. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

Arno is very particular about which seedlings can be planted in which hole. Only plants that share a common trait can be planted in the same hole. The player must use trial and error to figure out where the plants go. The player only has a certain limited number of tries before sundown – which is when the garden closes.

zoombinis-garden-arno
Above: In this example, only plants that have the same neck shape can go in the same hole. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

As with all of the puzzles, there are three levels of difficulty. A screenshot of The Very Very Hard level  is shown below. Notice that the holes are arranged in four separate plots of land.In this level, only plants with three traits in common can share a hole and plants that share a common characteristic will share a row, column or plot.

zoombinis-planting-hard
Above: In the Very Very Hard level of the Garden challenge there four separate plots of land. Only plants that share three traits can share a hole. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

zoombinis-planting-hard-example
Above: In the completed example above, plants that have the same leaf shape share a plot. Plants in the same row in each plot are the same colour and plants in the same column in each plot have the same type of neck. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

To complete this task before the sun goes down, the player has to sort and group the plants, formulate and test hypotheses and arrange the plants into a multi-dimensional array.

Task 7. The Corral

Once the seedlings have been planted in the garden, it is time to take some snozzleberry fruit to feed to the Zerbles. Each of the snozzleberry fruits can be defined by three characteristics: their colour, leafe shape and fruit shape. Each Zerble only likes to eat a fruit with a particular leafe shape, fruit shape and is a particular colour. The player must use the projector lights to figure out which combination of traits each zerble will eat. If the player feeds the Zerble the correct fruit, it leaves the corral and goes to the barn.

The three images below are screenshots from the Not So Hard level, the Oh So Hard level and the Very Very Hard level.

zoombinis-corrale-easy
Above: In the Not So Hard level, the Zerbles will eat any snozzleberry fruit that has two particular traits in common. For example, the Zerble in the middle of the picture will eat purple fruits that have a clover-leaf.  (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

zoombinis-corrale-medium
Above: In the Oh So Hard level, the Zerbles will only eat snozzleberry fruits that have three particular traits in common. For example, the three Zerbles in the middle, bottom of the screen will only eat snozzleberry fruits that are blue, have the leaf structure shown on the left but aren’t shaped the same as the shape indicated at the top of the screen. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

zoombinis-corrale-hard
Above: In the Very Very Hard level, the Zerbles will still only eat snozzleberry fruits that have three particular traits in common. However, the projectors no longer tells the player which projector light is revealing what trait. The player has to compare the numbers of Zerbles in each section with the traits of the available fruits to figure out which Zerble eats what. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

To succeed in this level, players have to understand how to use the Venn diagrams created in the pictures above, collect evidence, observe and compare and formulate and test hypotheses.

Task 8. The Barn

The final challenge – and probably the hardest challenge – takes place in the barn. The Zerbles that you fed in the previous challenge are now in the barn and are ready to be paired together so that they can produce offspring when they are returned to their natural habitat. The spinning wheel at the top left of screen (see below) produces a set of characteristics that the offspring should have.

zoombinis-genetics-easy01
Above: The Not So Hard Level of the Barn challenge (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

The player must choose which pair of Zerbles will be most likely to produce that combination of offspring. In the Not Very Hard level, when a Zerble is are placed on the scales, the “x-ray stones” reveal which genes the Zerbles have. Once two Zerbles have been selected, the “gene pool” shows images of four baby Zerbles that would be produced as a result of this pairing. If the result matches the spinning wheel, then the two Zerbles leave the room and are taken to their natural habitat. If the player has too many unsuccessful goes at pairing the Zerbles, the water in the gene pool runs out. In the first two levels, the traits being examined are the type of legs the Zerble has: feet, wheels or legs. There is a rock-paper-scissors relationship bewteen the traits. Each trait is stronger than one trait but weaker than another trait.

zoombinis-genetics-hint
Above: Information from the game’s help system on the relationship between the traits. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

zoombinis-genetics-medium
Above: The Oh So Hard level of the Barn challenge. In this level, the xray stones don’t work – the player has to figure out the mechanics of the results for themselves. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

zoombinis-genetics-hard
Above: In the Very Very Hard level, the leg trait is no longer the subject of the comparison – it is the Zerble’s tails. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

What’s Next?

After a puzzle has been played once, if the player was unable to complete any puzzle in its entirety (for example, the player failed to get all of the zoombinis catapulted onto the island), the player can go back to it at any time to finish it off. Also, at any time, the player can go back to Zoombinis home to recruit more Zoombinis to help rescue Zoombini island. The game finishes when all 240 Zoombinis have done all they can to rescue the island. 

zoombini-island-map
Above: This map of Zoombini Island acts as an interface for the player to select the challenge they want to do next. (SOURCE: screenshots from game, used for review purposes)

What makes the game compelling?

Zoombini Island Odyssey is compelling because it:

  • is initially challenging to work out the game requires the player to do. When the player starts a new challenge for the first time, it can be dificult to figure out what to do. Trial and error is necessary to understand what is required. The in-game help can also be used.
  • allows for different approaches to be taken to the gameplay. At a macro-level, there are multiples paths to success. At a micro level, within most of the challenges there is more than one way to arrive at the solution.
  • has a play-mode and a practice mode. The practice mode allows the player to play any challenge at any time. The results of the play in practice mode do not affect the narrative progress of the game.
  • provides adequate in-game help that can be summoned when required. The in-game help is provided in both visual and auditory form – useful for young players who may not read well.
  • encourages the player to use but not rely completely on trial and error. Many of the challenges require a trial and error approach be taken in the initial stages of the challenge. If the player fails to learn from the trials they conduct, the player will run out of the resources required to continue the challenge.  If this happens, the player needs to complete the challenge again later. The next time they do the challenge, the player will have to use trial and error again to ascertain the patterns and rules being used in the new challenge.
  • always provides appropriate auditory and visual feedback. For example, in the Greenhouse challenge, when the magic wand is picked up, the player’s cursor turns into the magic wand and a chime is heard. When the player clicks on flowers to swap using the wand, each flower lights up and a sound effect is played.
  • has high quality 2d graphics, music and sound effects. The characters are cute and of a quality you would expect to find in a children’s cartoon and the voice actors have cartoon-like voices.
  • provides the player with many opportunities to make meaningful decisions and solve problems that affect the outcome of the game. 
  • provides the player with uncertainty at a micro level but not at a macro level. At the macro level, the player knows that if they manage to work out all of the puzzles, they will “save” Zoombini Island. At a micro level, the player cannot be certain that they will be able to solve each of the challenges before the mechanisms designed to limit the amount of aimless guessing the player does (such as the sun going down or the magic wand running out of magic or the wall crumbling). The player does know, however, that they can always come back and have another go at the challenge. 
  • uses an in-game reward system. As the player releases more Zerbles into their natural habitat, each Zerble flocks to its natural biome (climatic region). The more Zerbles the player releases, the more Zerbles they can see enjoying the island’s natural habitat.
  • continues to provide challenge throughout the game play. Even though the game requires much repetition of each of the eight puzzles, each time a puzzle is commenced, the puzzle has different parameters, therefore a new problem solving experience is embarked on. Also, the three different levels available in each puzzle continues to offer well-scaffolded challenge.
  • scoffolds the learning. Players are not able to progress on to the harder levels of challenge until they have had success at the easier levels.
  • gives just the right amount of penalty for not being able to complete a challenge. Players are always able to come back again to help the characters that they were unable to help earlier, however, each time they come back they have to solve a new puzzle based on the same premise as the last time they completed the puzzle. This approach limits the amount of aimless guessing that the player can do.
  • provides emotional immersion for the player. An evaluation conducted of the first Zoombinis game in the series said that the players felt emotionally invested in the characters (Murray, Mokros & Rubin, 1999)
  • uses the learning (in this case it is maths) as the game mechanism. The Maths is not an add-on to an otherwise ok game.
  • provides the player with different play modes. The player can choose to play through the challenges in order or go into practice mode where they can choose to play any challenge at any skill level.
  • uses the completion of challenges to drive the narrative forward.
  • comes with a manual complete with information for parents and teachers on how to maximise the learning opportunities of the game and it provides information about what mathematical skills the child is learning when playing each section of the game.
  • never makes the player feel like they have ended up in an irrecoverable position. The player can always go back again and take on the challenge another time.

Further suggestions

I think the game is excellent. I enjoyed playing it myself as did my nephew. I do think that the game could go one step further by allowing users to get further invested in the narrative of the game by giving provision for user-generated content and hosting a sharing site for teachers to share how they are using the game in the classroom.

Reference

Murray, M., Mokros, J. & Rubin, A. 1999. Where’s the Math in Computer Games? Terc. Accessed from
http://mathequity.terc.edu/gw/html/handsonarticle2.html on 16/9/2009

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Review of Ayiti: The Cost Of Life

September 14th, 2009

ayiti-title

Review of the game Ayiti – the Cost of Life created by the high school students in Global Kids in conjunction with game developers at GameLab

Rating: star-rating-colouredstar-rating-colouredstar-rating-colouredstar-rating-outlinestar-rating-outline

Game Overview

Ayiti: The Cost of Life is a single-player simulation strategy game playable for free over the internet using a flash-compatible web browser. It is aimed at school students – although even adults will find the game challenging. The player takes on the role of managing the activities of the Guinard family – a family of 5 who live in the developing country of Ayiti. The player’s goal is to help the Guinard family get an education and improve their lives.

ayiti-family
Above: The Guinard family – Jean, Marie, Yves, Jacquline and Patrick. (SOURCE: screenshot from game, used for review purposes)

The game-play occurs over 16 rounds. Each round represents a season. There are four seasons a year so the overall timeframe represented by the game is a four-year period.

At any time, the player can click on a member of the family to view information about them. The information panel tells the player the character’s current level of health, happiness and education and also tells the player what the character is currently doing, the character’s current health status and the character’s current education status.
ayiti-character-statistics
Above: At any time, the player can click on a member of the family to view their vital statistics. This screenshot was taken at the very start of the game before the start of the first season. (SOURCE: screenshot from game, used for review purposes)

The game also keeps track of important information regarding the family’s progress as a whole. This information is always visible in a panel on the left hand side of the screen. Information that is stored includes:

  •  the total number of (educational) diplomas the family has collected
  • the amount of money (Gouds) the family has
  • the current living conditions the family is subject to – The living conditions can be changed manually but also change automatically depending on the level of income of the family
  • the items that the family owns (these are purchased from the store).

ayiti-left-hand-panel
Above: The panel at the left hand side of the game screen stores information about the status of the family as a whole. (SOURCE: screenshot from game, used for review purposes)

Money can be spent on school tuition, living conditions and items in the store such as books, bicycles, home remedy kits and chickens for the family farm.

The player’s goal is to keep the family happy and healthy for the four years. If both parents die, the game is over. If the parents survive, the level of success is measured by the amount of education each member of the family has.

Check out this Youtube video for a walkthru of one round of the game (Youtube video created by holymeatballs).

 

What makes the game compelling?

One of the reasons this game is compelling is that it is easy to learn what to do; but it is extremely challenging to master. The reviewer has played the game at least four times. On the most recent occasion, both parents and one child died of cholera. The remaining two children were scattered between different relatives and foster homes and lost all chances at a brighter future!

ayiti-all-died
Above: The game is compelling because it is difficult. (SOURCE: screenshot from game, used for review purposes)

Factors that make it compelling include:

  • the challenge and conflict within the game comes from the desire to accumulate resources so that they can help provide a better standard of living and education for the family, however, if only a resource accumulation strategy is applied to the game, the characters will become sick or depressed and will no longer be able to work to accumulate resources
  • a balanced strategy needs to be employed to take on the system effectively
  • it is free to play
  • the narrative is engaging
  • the 2D graphics are reasonably high quality
  • the game music and sound is reasonably high quality
  • the user interface is intuitive
  • it allows for differing player approaches – there is more than one way to “win” the game
  • there are no easy choices – every choice made within the game comes at the expense of something else
  • there is uncertainty – the player makes meaningful choices but is not certain how it will impact on the lives of the characters in the game.

Game Play

The gameplay bears similarity to Lemonade Stand style games and more complex tycoon games. The player starts each round (each round in this game is a season) with a certain amount of money. The player can use that money to buy things such as school books, home remedy kits, toys, a bicycle.

ayiti-store
Above: Money can be used to buy items at the store. (SOURCE: screenshot from game, used for review purposes)

The money can also be used to educate the family members.

ayiti-schooling
Above: Money can be used to educate family members. (SOURCE: screenshot from game, used for review purposes)

The player also has to decide what each member of the family will do during the season. Will they receive education, stay at home and rest, work the family farm, get a job, volunteer for a non-government organisation or go to receive medical treatment?

ayiti-work
Above: Family members can take on jobs providing they have the right levels of education and have appropriate transport. (SOURCE: screenshot from game, used for review purposes)

Once the player has decided where to allocate resources and what each family member will do for the season, the Start Season button is pressed.

Whilst most of the game’s decisions are made before the season starts, there are some decisions that the player can make during the season . Decisions that the player may have to make during the season include whether family members should stop working if they are sick, whether they should seek medical treatment and which level of treatment is most appropriate and whether to spend more money on hurricane-proofing their house.

If the money gets low or the health of a family member gets really low, some decisions are automatically made by the game. For example, if a family member gets really sick, they will be no longer able to work and will be forced to go home. If the family runs out of money, all family members receiving medical attention or education will be forced to return home.

Larger Culture around the Game

The game provides some extra ways to engage with the game content. These include lesson plans for teachers and other supporting information such as maps of Haiti (the country which the game is based on) and links to other supporting materials. Check out this page on the Unicef – Voices of Youth website for more information.

Why was the game created?

Goal 1.

Ayiti: The Cost of Life was developed to educate people around the world about the complexity of the issues facing people living in poverty in developing countries. Its key message is that no single factor can account for success.

Goal 2.

The game development process itself was used as a tool to promote digital literacy and career awareness for underserved youth as part of the GlobalKids Program. This game was designed by high school students in collaboration with a professional game development company.

Did the game achieve its goals?

Goal 1. 

Whilst there were some shortcomings in the evaluation of the game, it does appear that the game’s goals were achieved at some level. The evaluation conducted suggested that individuals playing the game had a fuller understanding of the complexities associated with living in poverty than they did before playing the game.

Goal 2.

The evaluators conducted two separate focus group meetings with six students involved in the program. These focus groups revealed that as a result of their involvement in this project students learnt many lessons including:

  • respect for each other and other people’s ideas
  • how to share their ideas and listen to the ideas of others
  • how to work as part of a team
  • increasing their computer skills
  • understanding what goes into making a game.

Watch this youtube video created by students who made the game.

Shortcomings of the evaluation

A large-scale survey was conducted with players of the game to ascertain whether it was useful in educating people about the complexity of the issues facing people living in poverty. The survey took the form of a pre-gameplay question and a series of True/False post-gameplay questions.

Shortcoming 1. The pre-gameplay question

The pre-gameplay question asks players to identify a strategy that they intend to use to play the game as depicted below.

pre-question-ayiti
Above: Before playing the game, the player is asked which strategy they will choose. (SOURCE: screenshot of game, used for review purposes)

The problems with this pre-play question all centre around the Happiness option:

  • the text describing the Happiness option is chopped off mid-sentence
  • the heading used for this section does not match the content of the answer. Many people choosing an answer to this question would be so keen to skip to the actual game that they may read the heading and not look at the rest of the text.

Even though the happiness descriptor is probably the most balanced strategy, players probably would not select it based on the incompatible heading and the fact that not all of the text for the descriptor is not present.

Interestingly, even in the game evaluation, the evaluators chose to replace the heading happiness with the heading survival stating that “although the survey instrument referred to the theme of happiness, we refer to survival in our analysis as it is a more accuracte reflection of the content of the corresponding statements”. The reviewer believes that survival is also not an appropriate heading for the description. In fact, this heading really is about having a balanced game strategy. It is likely, though, that if the word “balanced” were used as a heading on the screen pictured above that most people would choose that option. The reviewer believes that this evidence is enough to question whether a valid strategy has been used to evaluate the success of the game.

Shortcoming 2. The post-gameplay questions

The post-gameplay questions were a series of eight true/false questions as depicted below.

 post-question-ayiti
Above: After playing the game, the player is asked a series of 8 true/false questions. (SOURCE: screenshot of game, used for review purposes)

There was a technical glitch in the version of the game that was evaluated and the final question did not appear. This problem was subsequently fixed, however, no data was included in the evaluation that contained responses to the final question.

The evaluation split the statements into pairs around the themes money, health, education and survival and classified each statement as an absolute or a relative statement. See the image below for more details.

themes-comparison-table-ayiti
Above: Table used in Nudell, Brunner & Pasnik’s evaluation report 2007. (used for review purposes)

The percentages of users who chose to check each statement was then calculated and compared with the percentages that chose the initial game playing strategies. It should be noted that a player is able to mark both the absolute and relative statement in each category as being both true, both false or one true and the other false.

 ayiti-evaluation-analysis
Above: Table used in Nudell, Brunner & Pasnik’s evaluation report 2007. (used for review purposes)

Whilst this does provide some useful data and it would seem to indicate that those who played the game demonstrated  some level of understanding of the complexities associated with living in poverty, given the issues with the questioning techniques used how valid is the data? Could other statistical methods been used to further prove the association? Is using a survey as the only means of assessing player understandings useful? Should other methods of evaluation such as focus groups have been used? 

 

 

Image Attributions

http://www.unicef.org/voy/images/costoflife_banner_180×150.gif (Used for review purposes. If you are the copyright holder of this image and wish it to be removed, please add a comment to this blog entry.)

Other images are from the game’s evaluation report and are screenshots of the game. All are used for review purposes. If the copyright holder of this information wishes it to be removed, please add a comment to this blog entry.

 

References

Nudell, H., Brunner, C. & Pasnik, S. 2007. Playing for Keeps Evaluation Report. EDC | Center for Children and Technology. Accessed from  http://gamesforchange.org/resource_uploads/c1c5600b0026a083e5b3f67beea27040/21219805895P4K_Year_2-Report.pdf on 14/9/2009

Unicef 2009. Voices of Youth – Game: Ayiti: the cost of life. Unicef. Accessed from
http://www.unicef.org/voy/explore/rights/explore_3142.html on 14/9/2009

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Review of Re-Mission game

August 31st, 2009
re-mission title graphic

Review of the game Re-Mission created by Hope Lab

Rating: star-rating-colouredstar-rating-colouredstar-rating-colouredstar-rating-colouredstar-rating-outline

The Story

The year is 2027. Due to significant improvements in Science, nanobots are used to fight cancer. The player takes on the role of Roxxi – a humanoid nanobot who is charged with fighting cancer cells, protecting the good cells and being involved in managing the treatment -related adverse effects.

Roxxi - the miniscule humanoid nanobot Roxxi – the miniscule humanoid nanobot

Play begins by porting Roxxi into a cancer patients body for her first mission.  Once the cancer has been defeated, the mission is complete and the player can play another mission. There are 20 missions in total. Each mission takes place inside the body of different cancer patients. The cancer patients are male and female, from different parts of the United States and have different types of cancers and therefore require different forms of treatment.  All patients are adolescents and young adults. 

Why has the game been created?

Research indicates that adolescents and young adults are less likely to adhere to self-administered cancer treatments such as oral chemotherapy. The game aims to help young people with cancer feel like they have power over the disease in an effort to increase treatment adherence. It was created with support from medical staff with knowledge of cancers and their treatment.

Did the game achieve its goal?

According to the research study that was conducted alongside this game, an increase in adherence to self-ministered cancer treatments of the adolescents and young adults who played the game increased. Self-efficacy and knowledge of cancer and its treatment also increased.

Interestingly, there was no increase in self-reported measures of adherence, stress, control or quality of life.

This indicates to me that when evaluating the effectiveness of serious games, subjective self-assessment by the player may not be the best measures to use. This may be because the game player is not always aware of what they are learning within the game – the learning is implicit. If the learning were overt, maybe the game would not be quite as fun? If it is important that the learning be explicit to the player, perhaps extra activities need to be conducted outside of the game as a supporting mechanism to the game-play?

After having played the game myself, I think it would help you feel better about your treatment and give you a better understanding of the side effects and their treatments. I don’t think the game alone would effectively educate you about your cancer treatment – however, this is not the main purpose of the game. The game would be a good reinforcer for concepts introduced by the doctor.

About the Game & Game Play

Re-mission is a 3D, third-person shooter PC game developed for adolescents and young adults with cancer. The game is made available through hospitals and can also be downloaded for free from the internet.

The game is a one-player game. However, there is limited two player functionality. Two players can play simultaneously using one computer. When playing in two-player mode, there are two arcade-style missions that can be played. The two-player functionality seems to be an after-thought and as such is not as immersive as the rest of the game.

Check out this youtube video for an introduction to Re-mission.

Culture built around the game

In an effort to embed the game inside a larger culture, there is a supporting website with information about cancer and a large amount of user-created content. Sections of the website featuring user-created content include:

  • What’s up doc? – a space where kids with cancer can have their questions answered by professional medical staff
  • Top 10 lists created by members  - top 10 lists are compiled after kids with cancer share their responses to a variety of stimulus questions like “When you visited the hospital, what are some nice things the hospital staff did for you or other patients?” and “What foods made / make you nauseous during treatment?”
  • Art & Poetry  - below is a sample art piece
    art work sample from the re-mission website user-created art work sample from the re-mission website

This community to share user-generated content was an excellent addition to the game although it looks like it is no longer being maintained. The most recent entry in the Art & Poetry section was Feb 2008. The community section of the site looks as though it was be fairly carefully moderated – which can stifle creativity but given the age group the game is aimed at and the sensitivity of the subject matter – this was probably both wise and necessary.

Likes and dislikes summary

 

Game Aspect What I liked What I disliked
Wider culture of the game The provision of a companion website to provide more support for adolescents and young adults with cancer. Unfortunately the companion website appears to be no longer updated.
It attempts to relate to both genders by:

  • Avoiding stereotypical images of women. Both Roxxi and Dr West (the inventor of the nanobot technology) are female.
  • Using a shoot-em-up game mechanic (FPS are most popular with boys).
  • Providing cancer patients from both genders and a variety of ethnicities.
Statistics are kept of hit rates. Some players may replay particular missions in an effort to increase their player statistics.
Game play The keys to be used in the game could be configured. Not all keys were necessary when learning how to play the game although they would probably be used to master the game. The keys to be used on the computer keyboard to control the character are reasonably complex to remember (more than 10 keys on the keyboard as well as the mouse can be used in gameplay).  I think this game may be easier to play using something like an Xbox controller.
The game has some cheat codes embedded for people (like me) who don’t have great hand-eye coordination. Whenever I played, I turned on invulnerability and unlimited ammo.
There are some two-player missions. Two-player features are tokenistic – they seem like an add-on after the fact.
There are two optional tutorials and 20 missions which provides quite a bit of gameplay. Each time you complete a mission for the first time, a new mission is unlocked. You have to complete the missions in order. In a way this is good, as they get harder the further you go. However, if you are looking forward to playing out a scenario inside someone who has the same cancer as you, it may take you a while to unlock this mission.
The game is a third-person shooter (as opposed to a first-person shooter). This helps you identify more with your character, Roxxi. The game is a third-person shooter (as opposed to a first-person shooter). Having the back of the character at the front of the screen can make it more difficult to aim at targets correctly.
It is easy to know what you are expected to do:

  • Each level lists a small number of clearly defined goals. These usually consist of:
    •  destroying a certain type of cancer cells in the patient’s body.
    • Releasing some sort of treatment such as relaxation tap to help the patient cope with the side effects of the treatment.
  • Arrows show you where to go.

Smitty provides verbal advice throughout the mission.
If your sound is off, you can still play the game as all text is subtitled.
Voiceovers, sound effects and graphics are high quality. The game is played inside the human body and you can definitely tell that it is inside the human body but it also has a similar feeling to being in space. I guess, for a miniscule nanobot, the human body would feel like outer space.
The game gives good aural and visual negative feedback for both positive and negative occurrences.
The main decision systems at play are about ammo and energy conservation versus destroying the enemy. If the player doesn’t stop and get a power-up or an ammo top up at the required times, the mission will have to be restarted. However, every second the cancer cells are not destroyed, they keep multiplying thus making the player’s job more difficult.   Decision system is not complex – for 90% of the game, you mostly  just have to go and shoot cancer cells (this is to do with the game genre).
Game provides challenge – cancer systems get harder to fight ad require greater accuracy as the player progresses through the levels. This encourages the player to pay attention to the current micro challenge with the macro challenge being at the back of the mind. Type of challenge used within the game:

  • MOSTLY physical coordination (speed & reaction time, accuracy & precision)
  • A LITTLE: Exploration (spatial awareness, locked doors & traps)
  • A LITTLE: economic (accumulating resources)
  • SOME: time pressure- if you don’t shoot clusters they keep multiplying
 Only small amount of conflict (ammo / multiplying cells).
Narrative The cut-scenes within the game were high quality (great graphics, audio and script) and humorous. The cut-scenes always took place between Roxxi and her mentor, Smitty. Although the cut-scenes are reasonably short, you cannot escape out of them even if you’ve entered the mission before.
No patients die in the game.  If you do not manage to defeat the cancer before the Roxxi’s power runs out, she will power down and give you the opportunity to play the mission again. There is little uncertainty in the game – you know that if you keep shooting the cells, eventually you will defeat them.
The characters are easy to identify with as the game follows a typical super-hero narrative structure. The characters featured are:

  • Roxxi – the hero
  • Smitty – acts as a mentor to Roxxi (the wise old man)
  • Dr West – the inventor of Roxxi & Smitty
  • Cancer patients – the inside of the bodies of a variety of adolescents and young adults provide the settings for the game’s action
 The game is USA-centric – all cancer patients are from the USA.
Each mission mixes treatments with ways to combat the side-effects of the treatment (eg. Release 8 relax taps to facilitate deep breathing)
Narrative structure – follows typical super-hero narrative structure but has the right balance of gameplay and narrative.

 

References and Links

Kato, P.M., Cole, S., Bradlyn, A.S., Pollock & B.H. 2008. “A Video Game Improves Behavioral Outcomes in Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer: A Randomized Trial” in Pediatrics 122 (2): e305. (2008)
Accessed from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/122/2/e305 on 1/9/2009

Straylor. 2009. Re-Mission – A video game for kids fighting cancer (youtube video).
Accessed from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBfKo3FsC-Q on 1/9/2009

Hopelab. 2009. Re-Mission: a game for young people with cancer (website)
Accessed from www.re-mission.net on 1/9/2009

Image Attributes

http://www.flickr.com/photos/musigny/148258023/ (used under Creative Commons Licensing)

http://www.re-mission.net/site/community/ap.php?sid=61&id=2 (Used for review purposes. If you are the copyright holder of this image and wish it to be removed, please add a comment to this blog entry.)

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Rules of Play

August 17th, 2009

The textbook for my Game Design subject is Rules of Play by Katie Salen & Eric Zimmerman.

rules_of_play_front_page_photo

In this post (and proably future posts) I am going to post some useful information from the book.

I think these two definitions of meaningful play are worth further consideration:

Meaningful play in a game emerges from the relatonship betwee player action and system outcome; it is the proces by which a player takes action within the designated system of a game and the system responds to the action. The meaning of an action in a game resides in the relationship between action and outcome. (descriptive definition)

Meaningful play occurs when the relationships between actions and outcomes in a game are both discernable and integrated into the larger context of the game. Creating meaningful play is the goal of successful game design. (evaluative definition)

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computer-augmented games

August 13th, 2009

I’m currently reading this article on computer-augmented games. The paper was written in 2003. It explores how sensors, ad-hoc wireless networks,embedded computing and new output devices can be used in games. It focuses on games that have traditional characteristics such as social interactivity, co-location, and the tactile and visual qualities of some games. It is looking at ways new inteaction style can open up in game play. Some points from it that interest me are:

  • sensors could be used as alternate input devices eg. accelerometer in the wii controller
  • RFID sensors produce interesting possibilities
  • examples of game mechanics are trading, bidding, negotiation, story telling, roll and move and role-playing
  • The website boardgamegeek uses game mechanics as a way to categorise games. It contains more than 40 distinct mechanics.
  • As part of their research, the researchers ran a conference to get ideas – Maybe we could do that?
  • Some ways computers have been used to augment traditional games include:
    • randomising events
    • hide and reveal information
    • computerised toys such as the aibo are programmed to play simple games such as peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek with their owner
    • high-precision body tracking through head-mounted displays
    • tiles were used as a story-telling device. By combining different tiles together, the player can hear different elements of the story.
    • location-based and proximity-based games.
    • biofeedback including brain-wave sensors.
  • Some game mechanics that have arisen as a resut of computer-augmented games include:
    • computerised clues -  computer controls distribution of clues
    • espionage – players get information about other players resources
    • pervasive gaming – game is played continuously, it may be intertwined with daily activities
    • superimposed game world – game is superimposed on a physical environment that is also inhabited by non players
    • secret partnerships – players are divided into teams but the don’t know who is on their team
    • body-mapped avatar
    • player-undecidable conditions – the computer keeps track of conditions which are very hard or impossible for players to decide the state of, the computer uses this information to steer gameplay

For further exploration:
- boardgamegeek – www.boardgamegeek.com
- Björk, S. et al. (2001) Pirates! – Using the Physical World as a Game Board. Proceedings
of Interact 2001 IFIP TC.13 Conference on Human-Computer Interaction.

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board game research

August 13th, 2009

I am currently studying a subject in game design at QUT as part of a Masters in IT. As part of the assessment, we have to design a board game. I’m currently gathering my ideas. The links below are some places that I’m going to look for inspiration.

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James Paul Gee – 36 Learning Principles

August 13th, 2009

Gee has derived a set of learning principles that he believes could transform learning in schools.

Check them out here:

http://mason.gmu.edu/~lsmithg/jamespaulgee2

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Defining game play, game design

August 13th, 2009

A game= rules + game play + culture built up around the game

Rules: formal qualities of the game object itself, inner essential strucure of the game

Play: what we do with games, focuses on actual experience of game players, emphasises human experience

Culture: emerges in overlapping the games world and the world at large

Common Motivations for play

  • immersion
  • fantasy fulfilment
  • human interaction
  • excitement
  • reward
  • challenge
  • addiction

Game Design 

  • should be player centric

 Game concept stage

  • What is your game play?
  • Why will it be compelling?
  • Who is it for?
  • What is the player’s role?
  • How will you fulfill the player’s dream? How will they get their reward?
  • What genre is this?
  • What world is this happening in?
  • Start with the high concept statement

Game Concept

  • High concept statement
  • Player’s role
  • Primary game play mode
  • Genre – or differences
  • Target audience
  • What machine will it run on?
  • Licensing?
  • Summary of game levels – beginning to end
  • Short description of the game world

Elevator Pitch

  • 3 sentences telling people the basics and why they care.

How do you get ideas?

  • research
  • brainstorm
  • think
  • inspiration
  • feedback
  • present

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Game balance

August 12th, 2009

Characteristics of a balanced game include:

  • if the player has optional routes to victory no one strategy will produce a guaranteed win ahead of the others (no dominant strategy). Player choices should be based on their personal preferences not on which choice is likely to create victory.
  • the game provides reasonable choices/strategies.
  • players must perceive the game to be fair
  • game is not too easy and not too hard
  • there is a balance of power between the players
  • player skill affects the outcome of the game more than any other factor (chance should be used sparingly). Chance can be balanced by:
    • using it frequent challenges with small risks and rewards
    • allowing the player to choose actions to use the odds to their advantage – this gives experienced players the opportunity to learn about the odds and use them to make good decisions
    • allowing the player to choose levels of risk. 
  • any player who falls behind gets the opportunity to catch up
  • the game should not end in a stale-mate (or at least not too often)
  • there should be no sudden changes in game’s difficulty
  • consideration of player time required when particular choices/strategies are made/used
  • the game shouldn’t ask the player to make critical decisions without adequate information
  • consideration of skill balance across levels

Ways to balance stronger strategies with weaker ones include (transitive relationships):

  • imposing direct costs on using each strategy (eg. superior strategies cost more)
  • imposing hidden costs on using each strategy (eg. giving a ferrari a smaller fuel tank).

Intransitive Relationships (such as those in rock, paper scissors) can provide balance to a game.

Objects within the game that the player control should have unique game roles. This allows for more interesting decisions to be made. Success can depend on using the appropriate objects in the appropriate combinations.

A game can have positive achievement – when the achievement causes changes of state to make the next part of the game eaiser (eg. speed bursts, powerups):

  • don’t provide too much power
  • raise the difficulty level as the player proceeds
  • allow collusion against the leader
  • use chance to reduce the size of player rewards.

One way to balance games is to use symmetry – what one player gets, all players get (each player starts with the same resources to face the same challenge to try to meet the same victory condition)

Virtual worlds are intrinsicly unbalanced. Long-time players accumulate more resources. Must give new players a chance to earn resources.

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Conflict (and competition) in games

August 12th, 2009

“Conflict in a game can be direct or indirect, violent or non violent, but it is always present in every game.”

Chris Crawford

Challenge without conflict is predictable. Conflict enlivens and animates challenge.

Forms of conflict include:

  • single player vs single player
  • group vs group
  • one against many
  • every player for him or herself
  • single player vs the system
  • individual players competing side by side vs the game
  • a group of players vs the game.

Some ways to create competition include introducing game scoring systems, having levels of achievement, game statistics, objects that players compete/cooperate for.

Games should aim to “provide a rich space of possilibity that supports a range of conflict”.

Game design elements that lead to conflict include:

  • number of players that can play
  • players play simultaneously
  • players take turns
  • high score list
  • player gets constant feedback about their relative scores
  • game pause allows players to directly compare their scores and other game statistics
  • computer-generated opponents and obstacles that players face together
  • players are opponents for each other
  • direct conflict between players
  • resources for which players compete.

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