Argon
International Game Developers Association
Argon is Hull Games Development Community's first project and started in October 2006. The main objective of the project is to create a game world where leaning KeyStage3 science is crucial to success and enjoyment within the game, rather games simply existing within a educational context.
The project had a number of social goals outside the main project pitch. Firstly, encourage the different years of the Design courses at Hull School of Art and Design and members of HullGDC to work more closely together so that the cross pollination of ideas can occur outside of the usual learning environment. Second, the project wanted to explore educational gaming and the willingness of educational facilities to use gaming as a viable means of teaching.
Table of contents |
[edit] Goals
To create a educational game that:
- Can be used as a learning space within classrooms to do scientific experiments that may be impracticable to demonstrate in a class room.
- Can be used by students to interact with each other during break time and out of school hours within a safe, moderated enviroment.
- Create interesting, solid game script, and mechanics that pupils will want to play.
- Instead of hiding educational elements that the pupil will more than likely discover; seamlessly incorporate these elements into the script and game devices so that the pupil has no desire to separate the Gaming from the education.
[edit] The Problem
Most games aimed at being educational either end up becoming too much of a game, with educational parts that can be ignored; or too much forced learning and no game play that will not encourage users to play outside of lesson times. The idea that sets our apart is that it takes into account that children who play games remember lots of different combinations of ‘moves’; they do this to give them an advantage over their peers. If these combinations of items or abilities could take the form of atoms with their Atomic Numbers, or the inputs needed to grow plants, or any other scientific device this could help them to remember basic facts to help their schoolwork.
[edit] Back Story
The year is 2156, a collaboration of the world governments has created the 'Argon' program. Space travel is a reality and humans have been living on the moon for the last 100 years, and mars had its first base 30 years ago. Recent advances in space travel technology have meant it is no possible to 'Fold' space and create a wormhole between two places millions of light years apart.
The company you work for(the players school) has been commissioned by the Argon project to send its top scientists and explorers to a far star system. The argon project hopes to solve the massive over population crises on Earth and the Sol system.
The company has setup a outpost on a desalt moon orbiting the main life-supporting planet in the stars system. Every year it sends a new group of scientists to the base and picks up any veterans who need to leave. Once at the based you will need to explore the planet, mine it to resources, conduct experiments and help the small base grow so that one day human can live on the planet and its moon.
[edit] The Idea
The game idea is based on the MMO template that currently exists, allowing lots of users to play together in the world, and work towards both their own and common goals.
1. Has many smaller immediate goals for players to complete whenever they wish to play.
2. Larger plot devices can be activated by the school Admin panel that encourage players to learn specific field and so tie in with classroom work.
- Example: The teacher could activate 'a power shortage' for the base. Players would need to find ways to gather or build different energies. This could promote the teaching of renewable energy supplies.
3. Combat is only ‘cartoon’ in its nature i.e. no blood, simulated violence, etc. Players use their robots to explore the plants dangerous environments. Any damage occurs to the robots and not the players Avatar.
4. The setting is futuristic to allow players to conduct experiments, more impracticable yet accurate experiments/‘gaming devices’.
- Example: Shields, Lasers, and terraforming.
5. The game promotes small amounts of eco-friendly play and healthy living to the user and reward them in various ways.
6. Its mainly KeyStage3, with simple GCSE science parts.
[edit] Science Themes to be Covered
Below are some of the basic topics being covered:
- Breeding and Variation
- Creatures Interacting with the Environment
- Material Properties & Physical Changes
- The Periodic Table
- Chemical Changes
- Acids and Alkalize
- Magnetism
- Forces and Motion
- Light and Sound
- Space and the Solar System
- Energy
[edit] Development Team
The development team is at this stage working on getting the main systems the game will work on into a rigid structure that would be fun to play but not outside the limitations we have set ourselves in relation to the educational content.
Joel Beardshaw - Project leader & Lead Designer
Ben Mills - Lead Designer and scripter
Simon Vickers - Game Design and 3D Design
A number of students from HullGDC are also involved with the project and will be updated here when their roles are solidified.
