Papa Midnight

Sunjammer

Ketsuban

The author neglects that simulations - say for training pilots - clearly aren't meant to be fun. Now Stone Cold's creamery game is obviously not in the same league as a hydraulic simulator, the intent remains. I wonder if the job the game purports to model - a ice cream 'jockey' - is anything BUT mindless and boring. I would imagine not.

Typing programs are tedious, but they're meant to teach what - that right - a repetitve task. I just don't understand - does the author want the next Mavis Beacon to use the DoomIII engine? Games have a variety of roles, and entertainment is not their only virtue.

"...that games like The Sims and Grand Theft Auto make us smarter by training the mind in adaptive behavior and problem-solving."

And this is patently obvious. However, the approach he advocates - make a game fun then sneak in the educational stuff - just won't fly for most projects. If you want to teach math, it's got to be pretty central to the design spec.

"I know not to trust Mohandas Gandhi if he offers me an armistice."

This is the problem with these sorts of pseudo-educational games. Having no knowledge of history is better than a completely fantasy one. The idea that Gandhi would even be involved in waging war - well - essentially it teaches people stuff that makes them look stupid at parties.

The Commissar

mobiusxxiii

Doomstink

Ally-san

hoorayforcorn

The easiest way is to add interesting facts into the game's story. I still remember all the tiny pieces of real science used as the basis for Parasite Eve's plot, and games like Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors are based on real historical figures and events, even if they're highly exaggerated. Hell, you could even work lessons into the very gameplay itself. Instead of mixing generic red and blue chemicals to solve a puzzle, why not use some basic, real world chemistry and teach the player a thing or two.

BryT

" One more attribute of The Messenger that deserves mention is its skill in cradling the story in a historical context. Quite a rich history, too. A key feature of Morgana's gadgetry is the inclusion of a virtual history book which visually and orally chronicles the past of the museum as the residence of some of France's most famous -- and infamous -- kings and queens. It was originally built in the 12th century as a fortress for protection against the advancing English. The 13th century sees the fortress turning into the home of Charles V, and during the Renaissance (16th century) is occupied by Francois I whose wife, Catherine de Medici, builds her own addition. From there (17th and 18th centuries) the palace is abandoned by Louis XIV (he moved to the suburbs, which we know as Versailles), and moved into by a host of artists, idle noblemen, has-been courtesans, derelicts, and prostitutes. Later on (19th century) the former palace, though no longer home to royalty, is cleaned up and ambitiously added on to, thanks in large part to Napoleon. Finally (late 20th century) the French government vacate their offices in the Richelieu wing and hand it over, completing the Louvre's transformation into a great museum. "

That's from an Epinion review I wrote about the game. [www99.epinions.com]

I'd love to see more games like this, where the education is sort of 'snuck into' the content and helps set the tone.

Intrepid_Homoludens

juliopalio

etc etc. games are very educational, just not PRACTICAL. Kind of like high school. ^_^

juliopalio

Civilization is by far my favourite.

zutto

Rishathra

Oyn

Piraat

From TFA: Liberal deployment of the word blaster can't hide the fact that you're choking down something that's supposed to be good for you.

Except yes, yes it does, especially when you're a little kid and the only things that really stimulate you are color and sound.

UltraMagnus

I think you missed the point. Games like Oregan Trail and Carman Sandiego were fun, and they just happened to teach you stuff along the way as well. That is what the article is about. A game that is built to be educational tends to be very dull, while a game that seeks to entertain can teach you stuff without you wanting to blow your brains out from bordom.

EmeraldDragon

The reason edutainment titles like Math Blaster are so popular is that a kid can pick it up for 10 minutes at school and maybe learn just a tiny bit, and multiplied across a school year may actually learn quite a bit. I remember the edutainment games of my childhood, including The Oregon Trail, Carmen Sandiego, and SimCity. Each of these games can be digested a little bit at a time, without the complexity of something like Civ or a 4X space game which have the capacity to teach kids more but only work for people with long attention spans. Kids simply don't have the time to spend 6 hours completing titles like these, and if they do have that kind of time then the parents are not providing enough activities apart from video gaming / television.

Edutainment is a good thing, because at the very least it's schoolwork and at the very best it can be something that's a great game AND a great edutainment title, like some of the titles I've mentioned. I think edutainment developers would do well to support popular, inexpensive consoles of late like NDS or Wii.

UltraMagnus

Anemone

fj2

pikachumariachi

Nadams1229

DylanGallagher