Informal Design Activities

Interactive Museum # 1: Thursday, September 25, 2003 Save the Shells presented by Dr. David Noah http://www.panzainteractive.com/projects/save_the_shells/ Save the Shells is multi-media game created with Flash for the Georgia Museum of Natural History. The goal of game is to save the tortoise habitat from human development while learning about tortoises and their environment. The game has three levels. Each level plays like a single-player board game. The player starts at the bottom-left side of the screen and must reach the construction before the habitat is completely destroyed. A spinner and hidden question squares helps the player move along towards the goal. However, the months fly by on the calendar, creating a time limit for each level. Each level increases in difficulty from the previous. The first level requires the player to stop the construction. The second requires stopping of the construction and building a bridge between to habitats. The third and final level requires the player to stop the construction, build a buffer and a bridge and clear the excess foliage. A few negative comments, is that the game is difficult unless you know certain tricks. The game board is very large, so there is only a few paths that will allow the player to get to the construction before time runs out. It is also almost impossible to complete the level without landing on a question square or tortoise-copter square and receiving bonus moves. It would be helpful if the question squares were marked and the player had the choice to attempt the question. The game is beautiful. The graphics are great and very intriguing. The calendar is less stressful than a clock counting down would be. The tortoise health meter also gives the player extra time if construction starts to invade the habitat, which is a nice feature. This game also has excellent tortoise knowledge assessment. However, the knowledge is not reinforced as it could be. The questions provide knowledge feedback only when an incorrect answer occurs and the player asks for a hint. Players can merely guess the correct answer without learning occurring. Overall though, it is a great game. top

Interactive Museum # 2: Thursday, October 23, 2003 Physicus presented by Dr. David Noah http://www.viva-media.com/content.aspx?PageID=1277 Physicus is an educational multi-media game that reminds game players of Myst. The goal of the game is to teach and reinforce concepts in physics. This single-player game is simple, compared to many other computer games in existence, yet effective. Scenes are made up of sound and mostly static graphics, with minimal use of animation. The player can wander throughout the world tackling any number a challenges set forth. However, some challenges do require the completion of previous challenges. Each challenge requires the player to rely on their knowledge of certain physics concepts. If a player finds that they do not possess that knowledge, there is a 'laptop' where they can look up the information in lessons. A few negative comments. The game is long. It would be very difficult to incorporate the game in a classroom setting due to time constraints. Also, for those who are experienced with games like Myst, sometimes a challenge can be solved without knowing the required physics knowledge. The game would benefit from some reinforcement after a challenge is completed (Great! Here is why your solution works...). top

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