Well its been a while, but with a few random ideas to toss out, I figured it was time for the next edition of "Almost All Things Considered... But Not Really". Enjoy!
Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment
A nice write up on DDA (or Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment) in video games. The post explains what DDA is, as well as some good and bad examples of how it is implemented. Though certain electronic tests have been using a similar idea for some time, the concept of DDA is something that, if done right, could most certainly make a big splash in EduGaming.
The Philosophy Behind Bioshock
Most FPS (first person shooter) games are about as deep as the kiddie pool. There is no question they are are fun, and you better believe they sell. But as far as games go, they don't tend to be particularly thought provoking. So its no wonder that a game like Bioshock, with its Andrew Ryan ethos (shown below) and "little sister" morality questions has received an extraordinary amount of acclaim.
Though
I have yet to finish it to the end, I most certainly appreciate some of
the questions that drive Bioshock. Little did I know however, that my understanding
had only grazed the surface.
The linked interview with Ken Levine (creative guru behind the game) revealed an a depth to Bioshock far beyond anything I had known.
Bioshock, as it turns out, was heavily influenced by the Objectivist theories of Ayn Rand. A first person shooter inspired by philosophy? Did I blow your mind? It certainly blew mine. I won't ruin any of the details in the interview, as I highly recommend checking it out yourself. But this has opened up an entirely new set of possibilities as to how games might be used in education. It might be time to sit down with a copy of Bioshock and touch up on my Ayn Rand and whip out a sequel to my Assassins Creed breakdown. Very cool stuff.
Air Force 2.0
Not to be outdone by the Army's "Americas Army" commercial game/ recruitment tool, the Air force has recently turned out a white paper outlining a 22 year strategy to improve the education of current and recruitment of future soldiers known as Air Force 2.0.
A particularly relevant quote from the press release:
"Air Force 2.0 is defined by three areas: knowledge management that discusses how the Air Force operates; continuous learning that covers how the Air Force develops people; and precision learning that explains how the Air Force delivers learning."
Oh rly?! That sounds mighty interesting indeed! Though I havent had a chance to read the white paper itself (its sitting on my desktop taunting me), I'm particularly intrigued by "MyBase" - an education delivery tool / social network (Funny how MyBase sounds amazingly like an extremely popular social networking site...). I have a feeling I'll be coming back to this one after I've had a chance to check out the paper itself.
An Objective Documentary on MMOGs
I'm pretty curious about the release of Second Skin, a documentary that follows the lives of 7 real people as they live through some of the draws and downfalls of living a life in a virtual world. My hope is that this documentary will objectively showcase some of the good, and just as importantly some of the bad things that can come with getting too engrossed in virtual worlds. And if the trailer is any indication, it will do just that. Speaking of the trailer, you can check it out the on the website, or if you are a click minimalist, just hit the jump to youtube.
Thats enough for now. Enjoy whats left of the weekend!
Images from Kotaku.com and militaryplaques.com
Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment
A nice write up on DDA (or Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment) in video games. The post explains what DDA is, as well as some good and bad examples of how it is implemented. Though certain electronic tests have been using a similar idea for some time, the concept of DDA is something that, if done right, could most certainly make a big splash in EduGaming.
The Philosophy Behind Bioshock
Most FPS (first person shooter) games are about as deep as the kiddie pool. There is no question they are are fun, and you better believe they sell. But as far as games go, they don't tend to be particularly thought provoking. So its no wonder that a game like Bioshock, with its Andrew Ryan ethos (shown below) and "little sister" morality questions has received an extraordinary amount of acclaim.
Though
I have yet to finish it to the end, I most certainly appreciate some of
the questions that drive Bioshock. Little did I know however, that my understanding
had only grazed the surface. The linked interview with Ken Levine (creative guru behind the game) revealed an a depth to Bioshock far beyond anything I had known.
Bioshock, as it turns out, was heavily influenced by the Objectivist theories of Ayn Rand. A first person shooter inspired by philosophy? Did I blow your mind? It certainly blew mine. I won't ruin any of the details in the interview, as I highly recommend checking it out yourself. But this has opened up an entirely new set of possibilities as to how games might be used in education. It might be time to sit down with a copy of Bioshock and touch up on my Ayn Rand and whip out a sequel to my Assassins Creed breakdown. Very cool stuff.
Air Force 2.0
Not to be outdone by the Army's "Americas Army" commercial game/ recruitment tool, the Air force has recently turned out a white paper outlining a 22 year strategy to improve the education of current and recruitment of future soldiers known as Air Force 2.0.A particularly relevant quote from the press release:
"Air Force 2.0 is defined by three areas: knowledge management that discusses how the Air Force operates; continuous learning that covers how the Air Force develops people; and precision learning that explains how the Air Force delivers learning."
Oh rly?! That sounds mighty interesting indeed! Though I havent had a chance to read the white paper itself (its sitting on my desktop taunting me), I'm particularly intrigued by "MyBase" - an education delivery tool / social network (Funny how MyBase sounds amazingly like an extremely popular social networking site...). I have a feeling I'll be coming back to this one after I've had a chance to check out the paper itself.
An Objective Documentary on MMOGs
I'm pretty curious about the release of Second Skin, a documentary that follows the lives of 7 real people as they live through some of the draws and downfalls of living a life in a virtual world. My hope is that this documentary will objectively showcase some of the good, and just as importantly some of the bad things that can come with getting too engrossed in virtual worlds. And if the trailer is any indication, it will do just that. Speaking of the trailer, you can check it out the on the website, or if you are a click minimalist, just hit the jump to youtube.
Thats enough for now. Enjoy whats left of the weekend!
Images from Kotaku.com and militaryplaques.com
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