Update #2

Prototypes!

So I am posting this a little later than I wanted.... but this is what I have been working on since the last post into early March!

 I have been working on how to put all of my requirements into a single game. I drafted up a few ideas on paper last month and recently got some feedback from other students, people in my field, kids, and adults about which format sounded like the most fun and made a good learning environment.

Scavenger Style?: Many people stated that a scavenger hunt would be very entertaining but, would limit the ability to learn from other people's answers. This option is also not good for scalability, convenience of play, or independent gaming. For those reasons I decided not to move forward with a scavenger style game despite its positive feedback.

Physical Board vs. Online: An overwhelming majority of people prefered online gaming as opposed to a physical board game. Advantages for this also include being able to access the game from any location and decrease overall cost of producing the game. I will be moving forward with a predominantly online game.

Team vs. Independent Play: Most people preferred team play however, I asked if having the ability to play in a team and independently was important and some people (mostly the student group) said it would be nice to play independently for review. I will focus on a format that utilizes teams but, will try to incorporate an independent player option.

There are so many options for format and set-up of my game so getting feedback helped me narrow down my options. I was surprised by how many different online game formats were available but, it was also quite overwhelming.  Due to the feedback I received, I knew I needed to make a game that involved online team play.

I looked through many different gaming platforms before finding Kahoot. Kahoot allows me to create decks of multiple choice cards that are run though as a group or individually. Players go to the Kahoot website and enter in the game pin, make a nickname, and then can see other players/teams playing the game with them. Points are awarded for correct answers and the fastest answer. People can play individually or as a team- which checks off one of my requirements. I can also edit/add cards to the decks at any time which makes it editable- checking off another box. Lastly Kahoot can be played with 4000 or 1 player at a time which makes it scalable- another requirement taken care of. Lastly I thought the format was fun- with integration of music, sounds, and leaderboards to help make the learning process enjoyable.

I feel good about finally selecting a format/site for my game; it eliminates a lot of stress created by the what-ifs. Now I just need to start making topics (planets) and question lists for each one. I also need to decide on how someone ‘wins’ the game- points vs levels. I need to make instructions- I am hoping to do this in the form of a video introduction. Lastly I would like to create some fun images/artwork to use with each deck of cards but, I will wait till my prototype is more stable to start this process.