Gamestar Mechanic

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gamestar Mechanic is a game and online game community designed to teach the guiding principles of game design and systems thinking. The game is published by E-Line Media and supported by a partnership between E-Line Media and the Institute of Play.[1]

Project history

Initial development of Gamestar was supported by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation based on a grant proposal authored by James Paul Gee and Eric Zimmerman. Initial design and development of the game was by Gamelab in partnership with Katie Salen, The Institute of Play and the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Lab (AADLC) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The game was released commercially in the Fall of 2010 and is currently supported by a partnership between educational game publisher E-Line Media and the Institute of Play.[2]

Audience and game play

The game is optimized for youth ages 8–14. Players learn the principles of game design by playing a narrative-based Quest where they play, repair and build games using the in-game design tools. As they advance in the Quest, players also earn "sprites" (characters, avatars, enemies, etc...) for use in their own games. At any time, players can switch to their Workshops and make an original game using the assets they have earned. Players can publish their games to an online community within the platform called Game Alley where other users can play and leave feedback on their games.[3]

Playing on the website is free of charge, but there are premium options available for both consumer and educational use.[4]

An Online Learning Program is also offered in which students can take an online course in game design with an instructor and receive video feedback on their designs from professionals in the game industry.[5]

Usage

As of September 2012, the game has been adopted by over 200,000 users who have collectively made over 250,000 games that have been played over 5 million times. Over 3,000 schools and community organizations have adopted the platform.[6]

Awards

Gamestar has won numerous awards for excellence in educational technology and children's media including

  • 2012 American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Top 25 Best Website for Teaching and Learning[7]
  • 2011 Kids at Play Interactive (KAPi) Award: Tool for Digital Creativity and Empowerment[8]
  • 2011 International Serious Play Awards Gold Medal Winner[9]
  • 2011 Indiecade Awards Finalist[10]

References

  1. ↑ "More About Gamestar Mechanic". Retrieved 6 April 2012. 
  2. ↑ "Gamestar Mechanic Credits". Retrieved 6 April 2012. 
  3. ↑ "What you can do with Gamestar Mechanic". Gamestar Mechanic. Retrieved February 3, 2012. 
  4. ↑ Stefanie Olsen (November 1, 2009). "Educational Video Games Mix Cool With Purpose". New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2012. 
  5. ↑ "Gamestar Mechanic Online Learning Program". Gamestar Mechanic. Retrieved 2012-09-20. 
  6. ↑ Faith Merino. "Resetting Education: Does "edutainment" get results?". VatorNews. Retrieved 20 September 2012. 
  7. ↑ "Best Websites for Teaching and Learning". American Association of School Librarians. Retrieved 2012-09-20. 
  8. ↑ "Winners Announced for Second Annual Kids at Play Interactive "KAPi" Awards at CES 2011". Children's Technology Review. Retrieved 6 April 2012. 
  9. ↑ "2011 International Serious Play Award Winners Announced". Educational Games Research. Retrieved 6 April 2012. 
  10. ↑ "2011 Festival: The Finalists". Indiecade. Retrieved 6 April 2012. 

External links

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