About Games

Games -Based Learning  

Computer games are not just for fun - they can be seen as learning tools in the classroom, writes Poppy Masselos. The games industry globally outsells the film industry and growth is predicted to continue at a rate of 20 per cent for three years. By 2008 it is predicted the global games industry will be worth about $73 billion a year, with the main centre for games in the Asia/Pacific region. Factors driving these figures include the popularity of hand-held game consoles, new generation consoles with embedded online capabilities, new mobile phone technology and the increased popularity of broadband. Queensland is the epicenter of games development in Australia with the state being home to world leaders in game development. In recent years, Queensland's game developers have been discovered by global publishers including Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Electronic Arts and THQ.

They've discovered Queensland's powerful combination of fresh local creative talent and relatively low production costs. Local game development industry names include Auran Games, Doien Studios, Fuzzyeyes Studio, Gridwerx and Halfbrick Studios. QANTM College in Brisbane offers the only bachelor degree in interactive entertainment in Australia. This degree, with specialisations in games programming and animation, prepares graduates to undertake operational, developmental and managerial roles within the entertainment industry.

Many secondary schools are involved in the QANTM Media in Schools program, which facilitates the delivery of nationally accredited certificate training courses in digital media to students, including digital imaging, video, audio, 2D and 3D animation, web and interface design and digital media theory.

 

Software for creating games

Creating computer games can be as much fun as playing them. Commercial computer games are developed by teams of highly experienced programmers, art designers and sound technicians with million-dollar budgets. However, students can start creating games with some of the following software. Klik and Play is an easy way for beginners to start creating their own game. Klik and Play is a free programming tool for schools that utilises a point-and-click interface to create a game by clicking buttons, navigating menus and dragging elements on screen. With just a few clicks, the novice computer user can create multilevel games. Kahootz provides a set of 3D multimedia tools that allows students to be become storytellers and to design and create their own 3D world.

When you start using Kahootz you begin with a scene. Into this scene you add a world. Into the world you add objects which you can animate and move. Objects can also be cloned. You can also change the camera angle and move through the world. There is also an active online community where Kahootz students and teachers can publish their work and exchange their work with other members of the Kahootz community.

The software is now used by many schools throughout Australia. Kar2ouche and MediaStage offer students highly creative and interactive multimedia authoring tools. They are being used in hundreds of schools in the UK. Kar2ouche can be used by students to create storyboards, animations, publications and their own virtual worlds. MediaStage allows students to create virtual shows using virtual characters, 3D environments, 3D props and a virtual camera and lighting rig. Macromedia Flash is an excellent tool for creating games if you are serious about games development. It has a complex scripting environment that allows the creation of sophisticated games.

Sim School is a classroom simulation program funded by the Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Teach with Technology program of the US Department of Education. It's similar to flight-simulator software for pilots. The player assumes the role of a teacher, is responsible for student needs, makes instructional decisions and evaluates the impact of their actions on student learning in order to succeed at the game .

Education and game -play

Many parents and educators still tend to think of video and computer games as purely frivolous entertainment. However, there is an emerging coalition of neuroscientists, academics and game designers who are working to make parents and educators aware of the enormous potential for learning contained in the gaming medium. A UK study by Teachers Evaluating Educational Multimedia has shown that certain games can help youngsters to learn logical thinking and develop computer literacy.

The study concluded that simulation and adventure games -- such as SimCity and Rollercoaster Tycoon, where players create societies or build theme parks -- developed children's strategic thinking and planning skills. Parents and teachers also thought their children's mathematics, reading and spelling improved. The investigation into the habits of 700 children aged seven to 16 also found that, far from being a solitary activity, children preferred to play games in pairs or in small groups.

Games to Teach project

The challenge for game designers is to build in educational material so that their games could be used in the classroom legitimately. Companies already are jumping at the opportunity. Microsoft has sponsored a Games -to-Teach project at MIT which is building games for learning difficult concepts in physics and environmental science on the Xbox and Pocket.

How games are used:

1. Pilots use flight simulators for training.
2. Racing car drivers use driving simulators for training.
3. Sims City is used for educational purposes as it contains a model economy.
4. Town planners use the rendering technologies used in games to model the effect of changes to urban environments.
5. Internet advertising uses mini games to sell new products.
6. Firms including IBM and Nokia use quiz games to test workers' knowledge
7. The US Army uses a game as a recruitment tool.
8. Pfizer uses a simulation tool to model its drug development process.
9. PricewaterhouseCoopers use an elaborate simulation to train auditors.

Generation Xbox skilled up for life

Eight to 10-year-old students at Kurwongbah State School north of Brisbane recently worked on a Microsoft Xbox trial in an integrated studies unit called ''Can Games Give Me Skills for real life?'' written by teachers Heather Wessling and Robyn McNee.

Students investigated the way in which children play, study and analyse computer games, and people's perceptions and interactions with them, to develop their argument that games give them skills required for the 21st century.

Denise Tarlinton of Kurwongbah is one of the new wave of teachers who puts much thought into her teaching and the development of exciting, engaging and worthwhile units that have a focus on the development of critical literacy skills through game study.

''We use the Xbox as you would any other tool in our programs and find great success with student engagement,'' she says.

Learning to play - playing to learn

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