Recently, as part of a minor reorganization, I have become a member of new group in my department whose task is provide early evaluation of emerging technologies as they relate to education. In that same time frame, I have taken on a new hobby of wood working with a focus on furniture making. It struck me […]
In the Spirit of a Field Trip
Last Living Dead Week, a week dedicated to any project of our choosing, I gave a presentation on how universities are like theme parks and how classrooms should be the attractions. You can find a link to that blog post here. Part of that presentation described how class time could be divided into three separate […]
First Person Fracking
Given the task of creating a 3D visualization of fracking, this blog post is intended to document and track the progress of said project. The tools I intend to use include 3D Studio Max and Unity with an ultimate deliverable using the Oculus Rift. If nothing else, we have been looking for an opportunity to […]
Baby Steps and Giant Leaps: Motivating Players with Achievements
While playing your games, players will most likely want to feel like they doing well. To keep them playing, players will need to feel they are getting better or at least recognize the potential to get better. This post describes two types of achievements that can inspire people to play your games and keep them […]
Attraction: Classroom
Recently I gave a presentation on how universities are like Disney World and how classrooms should be like the attractions. This post is based on that presentation. Universities are like Disney World. There’s an old castle in the middle of well manicured grounds. They both have mascots. There’s a gift shop. They have busy times […]
About me
I am a 1999 graduate of Kutztown University with a BFA in Communication Design. After working for media production companies for many years, I joined Education Technology Services in 2008 at Penn State University. I have a great deal of experience in organizing, planning, designing and programming many types of electronic media including web, CD-ROM […]
Why I made a game engine
FLAG was originally developed with two main goals in mind. The first goal was to create a system that contain reusable objects, process and code for creating educational games. Prior to FLAG’s conception, each game that ETS and the EGC was producing was essentially a one off. When a new game project came along, we […]
Simple Prototyping with Metrics and Events
This post describes a method of educational game design that uses metrics and events as pillars. It also describes a tool called WIND, which is part of the FLAG Game Engine. WIND provides an interface to design and simulate games based purely on metrics and events that affect them. The WIND editor can be found […]
Playing Teacher – Keys to developing quality educational games
This is a collection of my process, thoughts and experiences gained by designing three educational games for Penn State University. Each section begins by describing a concept or theory and concludes with a justified score of three case studies. Each case study is scored according to how well it represents the concepts discussed in the […]
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