Gamers,
There are tons of educational online games that are available on the internet, the problem is that they are not very popular. Most of them have graphics that are so outdated, its no wonder why children and adults do not find them appealing. I know I don't. So, are most of these games not very popular because of graphics or is it simply because people are not aware of them?
Please take the opportunity to evaluate a game called "Animal Jam" (download in the app store for free) or click here: https://www.animaljam.com/en.
After evaluation, please answer these questions:
1. Would this game be more popular if it was on playstation, xbox, or nintendo? Why or Why not?
2. Would it be more popular if children knew about it?
3. If you have a child, do you think he/she would enjoy playing Animal Jam?
I look forward to all of your comments.
Charles
ReplyDeleteI think the game would not be appealing if it were on an xbox or playstation with the current graphics it has. I also believe to be able to have this game in one of those platforms they would need to spruce it up a bit the graphics are average at best. However, it looks pretty fun to play especially the way you can customize your own animal, which leads for kids to think creatively and learn how to design which is a great tool to get children to create and formulate new ideas. I think if more children knew about it would be more popular because it’s a fun and safe game and I could see my young nephews playing this game.
Alex
Alex,
DeleteI agree that this game would never make it on the popular consoles with the graphics and it will never be as profitable as Modern Warfare. However, you are right, it is a pretty fun game.
. Would this game be more popular if it was on playstation, xbox, or nintendo? Why or Why not?
ReplyDeleteI do not think it would make those consoles enough profit. maybe on on of the smaller ones like the Nintendo Switch.
2. Would it be more popular if children knew about it? I do believe it would be more popular if they knew about it. It was actually fun to play. I downloaded it to test it out.
3. If you have a child, do you think he/she would enjoy playing Animal Jam?
I let my 7 year old play it and he really enjoyed it! Especially the eating the bugs game! I had to take my phone back from him after 30 minutes of playing.
Andy
Pitt,
ReplyDeleteIn response to your questions about Animal Jam, I can say that personally I do not think that it would be a popular game in any of the major gaming systems. The activity and the story line in the game does not seem that it would keep up with what is currently on the market. Not enough individuals would follow this to ensure that profitability would out weigh the cost of development.
If there was a story line that was developed in a children's book or a TV show. The marketing for a product of this nature would be the only way that it would move forward in a setting away from education.
I think children of ages ten and below would be the target audience for Animal Jam. My Six year old would play this for hours, but my 14 year old would think this is a bit of an outdated game with no real excitement. It would have to keep up with tenager games such as Fortnite, which in this time would be pretty difficult. I truly believe that this game has a specific target audience, but that is it's limitation.
Teachers could even use this to help kids break the monotony of instruction and provide a game that will help them with reading. So there are many options that could be explored that would make this use of gamification work in education.
Thanks for sharing this info. My six year old is definitely going to enjoy this.
Walt
Pitt,
ReplyDeleteMy kid will give any game a chance, but I do think he would keep playing this one. To answer some of the other questions you posed. I think any game or developer lives and dies by the consoles they are used by. I remember when I was a kid we had a Nintendo, because it was way better than an Atari, but also because it did not really have any competitors at the time. Later, when the Super Nintendo hit the streets along with the Sega Genesis, kids were torn. There were Sega kids and Nintendo kids. Sega took a big bite out of Nintendo’s bottom line because they targeted the teens with more violent and graphic games as well as their ad campaign. Nintendo did not want to compromise its values and morals and paid a price for it. Still today, you see the divide between PC, Xbox, and PlayStation gamers. It would be nice to see some more educational titles on these platforms, but the almighty dollar will always win out. If you get a chance check out Episode 5 of Netflix’s “High Score”, it gets into the platform battles of the mid-90’s. Also, the whole series is pretty awesome if you have not seen it yet. Till next week!
-Donny
Pitt,
ReplyDeleteI actually don't think the game would be better on a different gaming platform like Xbox because the graphics used in the game are not enhanced and possibly not something interactive enough to make a company money as its currently designed. I think they would need to invest a considerable amount of money to have the graphics needed to make it a game that would be on Xbox. That said, I think it would be a popular game if more people new about it online. I think games are not as popular online because people don't know about it.
I allowed my children to play it and they enjoyed it. In fact, they wanted to play it again later after I originally pulled up your blog and started to respond. I actually miss some of those old school games that you could access online. But I grew up on games like Oregon Trail and old online classic game of snake where you moved around a box and consumed pellets and as you grew you tried to not run into your tail or you would not change levels. Great post. This blog, and discussion of games, brings back great childhood memories. I look forward to reading more.
Anthony
Pitt,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog. I like the interaction you provided with the link to the game. After exploring this game for game-based learning, I am not sure it provides much benefit. When dealing with game-based learning educators need to be careful with the purpose and intent of the game. This game I feel would be popular for a young child. It provides hand-eye coordination and the ability to build upon the game. You move through collecting coins and setting up your den. The interaction is good throughout the game, but this game provides no educational content. I see this game as a pre-k to Kindergarten age specific game. This game would not be popular for Xbox or PlayStation as those game systems are designed for an older player. I am not sure the concept from the program designer as it applies to education. This is a huge pitfall of educational game-based learning is that teachers are not expert software designers and software designers are not excellent teachers. There is a huge gap in purpose for this game. I appreciate the interaction for the week. Great post. Have a great day!
-Kevin