Stacie Townsend has been a teacher for thirteen years and has taught science, language arts, and reading and math intervention to kids ranging from kindergartners to eighth graders. (She’s also my mom.) She’ll be helping me with design, scheduling, and advice for the creation of the game. The following is the transcript of a short interview I had with her where I asked some questions about the project.
Q: What age range would be best if the game will include addition and simple multiplication?
A: Five to ten years old.
Q: What less obvious aspects of math should be included in the game?
A: You should show the reversibility of addition and multiplication. For example, 3 + 5 and 5 + 3 are the same.
Q: How should the difficulty of the game scale? What help should they receive on problems?
A: Start out easy, and gradually get more difficult. Have lots of ‘rewards’ or praise for being successful. If they get stuck on a problem, visualize the equation so it is easier for them to solve, or have hints that appear.
Q: What should the visual appearance of the game be?
A: Bright colors, but not to the point of being distracting or annoying.
Q: What kind of progression should the game have?
A: Maybe a picture that is uncovered by completing problems, or stars that are collected as you play.
I’m glad for her support, and I’ll continue to ask questions and draw on her experience as the project progresses. With her help, the work is going smoothly and the project is on track!
Your mom will certainly be of continuing help throughout this project when you are ready to fine tune the material and graphics. I'm hoping youo will show me the bet way to make a video game, too, so we can add that to the robotics class curriculum next year. (hint, hint).
ReplyDeleteWell, since you are creating an educational game what better mentor would there be than an educator? Clearly your mom already has a good ideas. I can't wait to see the final product!
ReplyDeleteGood choice for a mentor. Having your mom as a school teacher seems like it will help you for your game development.
ReplyDeleteYour mom seems like a very good mentor for this project. She seems to know exactly what will keep the kids captivated, but at the same time help them learn.
ReplyDeleteOne thing to keep in mind about game design is award systems. something that gives the player a drive o move forward. You know that "Just one more level" kind of feeling. Its whats kept WoW a live for so long. i recommend checking out the you tube channel Extra Credits for more info.
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