tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10351761402199492102024-03-12T18:51:26.994-07:00Swah DesignUpdates on my educational game projectsSwahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-65139828916660771352012-02-06T10:51:00.000-08:002012-02-19T13:56:56.115-08:00Mecanika featured on Decouverte<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mecanika just aired on the scientific TV show Decouverte, on Radio-Canada. You can see the <a href="http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/decouverte/2011-2012/Reportage.asp?idDoc=199493&autoPlay=http://www.radio-canada.ca/Medianet/2012/CBFT/2012-02-05_18_30_00_dec_3015_03_800.asx">10 minutes segment here</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The scientific show gets a viewership of 20-25% of Quebec's population, so hopefully this kind of report will get schools to consider using video games in their classrooms or as homework. </span><br />
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<a href="http://www.radio-canada.ca/emissions/decouverte/2011-2012/Reportage.asp?idDoc=199493&autoPlay=http://www.radio-canada.ca/Medianet/2012/CBFT/2012-02-05_18_30_00_dec_3015_03_800.asx"><img height="180" src="http://www.lametropole.com/assets/application/files/decouverte_rc.jpeg" width="320" /></a>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-46144032768117389422011-11-25T09:47:00.001-08:002011-12-14T09:36:45.852-08:00Speaking at MATI on December 1stI'll be giving <a href="http://sgmati.wordpress.com/2011/11/08/atelier-jeux-serieux/">a presentation at the MATI labs</a> on December 1st, at 12. It will mostly be about the research results, but I'll include a fairly detailed rant on the current state of educational video games.<br />
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EDIT: the presentation <a href="http://web.hec.ca/audiovisuel/melies/melies2/visionnement.cfm?version=14903">can be seen here</a> (french only)Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-26886001650857434872011-10-03T14:36:00.000-07:002011-12-14T09:38:02.143-08:00Physica in the press<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4WBaVvLuQVQ/TpziR4dRjKI/AAAAAAAAADM/_fyyo42g37I/s1600/metro.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4WBaVvLuQVQ/TpziR4dRjKI/AAAAAAAAADM/_fyyo42g37I/s320/metro.png" width="96" /></a></div><br />
UQAM and CREO did a press conference on Physica, the virtual world island for which the main game is Mecanika. Some articles followed. I wasn't expecting the metro journal to pick up on this!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.journalmetro.com/plus/article/985961" style="background-color: black;">http://www.journalmetro.com/<wbr></wbr>plus/article/985961</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.nouvelles.uqam.ca/uqamca/item/1841-le-labmecas-lance-trois-jeux-video.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: blue;">http://www.nouvelles.uqam.ca/<wbr></wbr>uqamca/item/1841-le-labmecas-<wbr></wbr>lance-trois-jeux-video.html</span></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.keek.fr/article/2970-decouvrir-la-physique-en-s-amusant"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: blue;">http://www.keek.fr/article/<wbr></wbr>2970-decouvrir-la-physique-en-<wbr></wbr>s-amusant</span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://jeuxserieux.ac-creteil.fr/?p=862" style="background-color: black;">http://jeuxserieux.ac-creteil.<wbr></wbr>fr/?p=862</a></span>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-22174338614734463982011-09-19T17:18:00.000-07:002011-12-14T09:38:17.602-08:00UQAM article on Mecanika<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OXs3dz87RAs/Tns9yF_AUrI/AAAAAAAAADI/1tVb8zJU_Jg/s1600/uqam.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OXs3dz87RAs/Tns9yF_AUrI/AAAAAAAAADI/1tVb8zJU_Jg/s400/uqam.png" width="296" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We're about to launch the Physica Island, where Mecanika is hosted. The university PR machine just got started. <a href="http://www.uqam.ca/entrevues/entrevue.php?id=936">Here's the brief article</a>!</div>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-16406647796729958632011-08-12T10:41:00.000-07:002011-12-14T09:37:46.060-08:00And we're live!The main game I've been working on in the last 6 months is officially out. It looks like we've got some pretty good comments so far.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/576762">http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/576762</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/576762"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wKAV9sxo3TM/TkVlWLGYgMI/AAAAAAAAAC4/cEULlCX5Ow8/s320/vampireVision.png" width="320" /></a></div>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-6710958573673676732011-08-12T10:14:00.000-07:002011-08-12T10:14:42.480-07:00Games for Change 2011 conferenceHere's a video of the conference I gave in June at G4C 2011 on Mecanika. You can see I was pretty stressed out (I estimated 200 people in the crowd), so pardon the mumbled words!<br />
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<a href="http://vimeo.com/27304765">http://vimeo.com/27304765</a>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-56668754804131882842011-06-29T11:24:00.000-07:002011-06-29T11:24:05.848-07:00Mecanika available in EnglishI just realized I never posted the link to the english version: <a href="http://gameforscience.ca/physica/">http://gameforscience.ca/physica/</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://gameforscience.ca/physica/images/ecran_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://gameforscience.ca/physica/images/ecran_02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The guidebooks and english videos will be available by the end of summer 2011.Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-64834435386829351812011-06-28T19:43:00.000-07:002011-12-14T09:38:31.839-08:00Mecanika at GLS<div class="MsoNormal">I went to Games+Learning+Society to present Mecanika’s impact in Quebec classrooms, and was surprised by the amount of physics games I saw there. <a href="http://www.glsconference.org/2011/program/event/189">Here’s the description</a>. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">It turns out that most physics games out there do not seem to have results as strong as what we've recorded. I just submitted proceedings on the actual results, which I'll link to here later. But briefly: the game caused a large measurable increase on the Force Concept Inventory, and that effect was observed whether or not we added classroom debriefings and detailed guidebook activities about the game. These results are pretty solid since we used a control group and pre/post tests. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So my goal right now is to put this game in front of as much teachers as I can, for free. They don't even have to look at the game themselves! As long as they ask their students to play it at home, they should see a difference in students Newtonian conceptions. </div>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-53819443137211038002011-06-21T15:18:00.000-07:002011-06-21T15:18:31.737-07:00Magazine articleAffaires+ published an article on the life of being a contractor, and wanted me to be part of it. Here’s a sneak peak! (French only)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pp9smkUH888/TgEYmbnf6GI/AAAAAAAAACY/kkHQW-bOD_8/s1600/affaire_plus_travailleurs_autonomes_page_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pp9smkUH888/TgEYmbnf6GI/AAAAAAAAACY/kkHQW-bOD_8/s320/affaire_plus_travailleurs_autonomes_page_3.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-46934645929696721222011-03-07T14:41:00.000-08:002011-03-29T12:44:51.679-07:00French version of Mécanika out!I finally got the French version of Mecanika out to the Physics island of Science-en-Jeu (English version coming soon). I'm currently using the game in an experiment with approx. 200 students, and the learning outcome as measured by the Force Concept Inventory will be available this summer of 2011. <br />
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<a href="http://www.science-en-jeu.ca/physica/">Essayez Mécanika!!</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9x3KIKbqGnI/TXVe06CxIWI/AAAAAAAAACQ/tcaZVTIookU/s1600/mecanika.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9x3KIKbqGnI/TXVe06CxIWI/AAAAAAAAACQ/tcaZVTIookU/s320/mecanika.jpg" /></a></div>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-72634290649169851042010-11-01T09:00:00.000-07:002010-11-01T12:43:59.586-07:00Mecanika submitted to IGFI'm submitting Mecanika to the <a href="http://www.igf.com">IGF contest</a>. I've got no idea if I've got any chances of being selected, since I'm presenting a game which has a larger agenda than just being fun. We'll see how well educational games are received by the industry!<br />
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Here's a link to a video trailer I made for this. Make sure to check out the other linked videos. <br />
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<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0yCTHV9Qv44?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0yCTHV9Qv44?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="344"></embed></object>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-22592255789724792032010-10-14T12:50:00.000-07:002010-11-01T12:44:22.545-07:00Meaningful Play 2010 PosterGoing to East Lansing to have people play Mecanika<br />
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<a title="View Poster on Scribd" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/39345771/Poster" style="margin: 12px auto 6px auto; font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; -x-system-font: none; display: block; text-decoration: underline;">Poster</a> <object id="doc_736554148640700" name="doc_736554148640700" height="600" width="100%" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" data="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf" style="outline:none;" > <param name="movie" value="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf"><param name="wmode" value="opaque"><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><param name="FlashVars" value="document_id=39345771&access_key=key-1qtlxo5ud09epky99uj6&page=1&viewMode=list"><embed id="doc_736554148640700" name="doc_736554148640700" src="http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=39345771&access_key=key-1qtlxo5ud09epky99uj6&page=1&viewMode=list" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="600" width="100%" wmode="opaque" bgcolor="#ffffff"></embed> </object>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-21367128630001238482010-09-13T09:53:00.000-07:002010-11-01T12:44:13.571-07:00Mecanika videoJust uploaded a french video on youtube detailing the basic gameplay.<br />
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<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vtowgk3W9ZI?hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vtowgk3W9ZI?hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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Edit - just finished the English version.<br />
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<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qC4_SmYVCvc?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qC4_SmYVCvc?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="344"></embed></object>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-38449257865157203072010-09-11T08:33:00.000-07:002010-11-01T08:53:54.373-07:00Introducing: MecanikaThis is the little game I've been working on in the last year as part of my Masters at <a href="http://www.fse.uqam.ca/">UQAM</a>. The name is Mecanika, and is a mix between Lemmings and World of Goo. The goal of Mecanika is to collect stars with little rocks by creating a path of impulsions, accelerations and rotations. It will be freely available as a flash game on <a href="http://www.gameforscience.ca/">http://www.gameforscience.ca/</a>. This project is financed by the <a href="http://www.inukshuk.ca/">Inukshuk initiative</a>, which allowed <a href="http://creo.ca/">Creo </a>to create a physics Island on their website to host the game. I am myself doing this project for free, and it is surprisingly still easy for me to get motivated by it.<br />
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The point of the game is to:<br />
A) Have fun<br />
B) Trigger misconceptions commonly encountered by physics novices<br />
C) Be a fun homework that teachers can then use as a tool to address student's misconceptions<br />
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There are enough educational "games" out there that make you answer questions, apply formulas, and otherwise fail to exploit video games learning potential by trying to force a school's curriculum in preexisting game mechanics. Mecanika takes a different approach: it is a game about solving tricky physics puzzles, which hopefully will change how you think about physics, thus laying out the foundations for a proper education in the classroom.<br />
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Here are some screenies:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rDHAsPcoyms/TIueLfamUiI/AAAAAAAAAAM/tafJM9G95rA/s1600/0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="403" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rDHAsPcoyms/TIueLfamUiI/AAAAAAAAAAM/tafJM9G95rA/s640/0.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rDHAsPcoyms/TIueQBBimtI/AAAAAAAAAAU/_WJd0Xuzeos/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rDHAsPcoyms/TIueQBBimtI/AAAAAAAAAAU/_WJd0Xuzeos/s640/1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rDHAsPcoyms/TIug-D0ip3I/AAAAAAAAAAk/A_Tqcrm8jFI/s1600/2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="404" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rDHAsPcoyms/TIug-D0ip3I/AAAAAAAAAAk/A_Tqcrm8jFI/s640/2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rDHAsPcoyms/TIueLfamUiI/AAAAAAAAAAM/tafJM9G95rA/s1600/0.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rDHAsPcoyms/TIueR0fLEbI/AAAAAAAAAAc/W2W5U18MaXM/s1600/3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="406" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_rDHAsPcoyms/TIueR0fLEbI/AAAAAAAAAAc/W2W5U18MaXM/s640/3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Mecanika will hit the interwebs on Winter 2011. In the meantime I will post my progress here.Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-82905935189356599492010-09-11T07:54:00.000-07:002010-09-11T08:39:19.251-07:00Refraction wins Disney Grand Prize!A game I've been working a bit on with Zoran's team just won the <a href="http://www.learningchallenge2010.com/">Disney Learning Challenge 2010</a> contest, against really good games. Congrats!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://games.cs.washington.edu/Refraction/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Refraction</span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rDHAsPcoyms/TIuicKCjM-I/AAAAAAAAAAs/DC3o6LTSPKI/s1600/4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_rDHAsPcoyms/TIuicKCjM-I/AAAAAAAAAAs/DC3o6LTSPKI/s320/4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1035176140219949210.post-17579714021548826772010-09-11T07:38:00.000-07:002010-09-11T07:38:58.126-07:00Welcome!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">I kept repeating myself in the last months that I lacked a public space to show my work around to people, so here's my first attempt at this. I'm not used to have my voice heard on the tubes. I think this is going to be mostly a list of interesting game design principles I learned both from Bungie and my own work on educational game projects. </span></span>Swahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06857778448986027024noreply@blogger.com0