Posts on “ serious games ”

On February 13th, BrainPOP was thrilled to host student leaders from Global Kids and Mouse Squad for a “serious game jam” at BrainPOP Headquarters.  During the 2 hour event, student leaders from Global Kids led a “grow a game” activity that encouraging their peers to consider the role of values in the games they know and love.  Next, in small groups, students playtested and manipulated “Buckets” a new categorization and relationship assessment game that we’re developing here at BrainPOP. The student input was phenomenal, they provided all sorts of creative ideas for how to change the mechanics, data and interface to make the game more fun, effective and useful for the classroom. At BrainPOP we host events like this for a number of reasons.  First of all it’s wonderful to provide opportunity for students to learn about the process of game design from professionals in the field.  Second it’s great for our designers at BrianPOP to get authentic feedback and suggestions directly from the most important members of our audience: students! You can’t build a successful game without concrete feedback from your audience.   Finally, it’s through events like this that connect students, teachers, parents, and professionals with shared interests… Read the Rest»

We’re gearing up for the Games for Change Festival coming up on in NYC on June 20 – 22. This is an event we’re big fans of and have been attending for years! Games for Change is the leading global advocate for supporting and making games for social impact. The annual Games for Change Festival is the largest gaming event in New York City and the only international event uniting “games for change” creators, the public, civil society, academia, the gaming industry and media. The 8th Annual Festival is happening in New York City on June 20-22. This year’s lineup includes Vice President Al Gore, Pulitzer Prize winner Sheryl WuDunn (co-author of Half the Sky with Nick Kristof), Laura Hartman (head of Zynga.org), world-famous game designer Jesse Schell, in addition to numerous case studies on recent “games for change” projects with the World Bank, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Veterans Affairs, Knight Foundation and more. Attendees of the Festival can enjoy over 30+ hours of keynotes, presentations, panels and more. This year’s Festival will feature multiple games and learning activities and workshops. Monday’s “Inspiring Digital Kids With Game Design,” sponsored by AMD, is a day-long program for educators and organizations looking… Read the Rest»