playpower labs : diploma document

STUDENT : NIKHIL JOSHI

PROGRAMME : Post-Graduate Diploma Programme

DIPLOMA PROJECT

DESIGNING MATH BASED FUN EDUCATIONAL GAMES FOR WEB & TABLETS

Sponsor : Playpower Labs, Gandhinagar

GUIDE : DR. JIGNESH KHAKHAR

COMMUNICATION DESIGN FACULTY ( NEW MEDIA DESIGN)

National Institute of DesignGandhinagar

2012

New Media Design | Diploma Project

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Designing Math based fun educational games for web & tablets

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Dr. Khakhar Jignesh,Faculty & Project Guide,Coordinator - New Media DesignNational Institute of Design, India.

Lomas Derek,CEO, Playpower Labs.

Patel Kishan,COO, Playpower Labs.

Special thanks to my team members at Playpower labs : Ankit Patel, Chandradip Rana, Darsh Shah, Diwas Bisht, Nikhil Poonawala, Nirmal Patel, Part Rao, Priyank Kapadia, Sharan Shodhan, Vivek Fitkariwala for helping and encoraging me.

My parents, family and friends at NID for all the love and support.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.

2.

3.

4.

1.1

2.1

3.1

4.1

4.1.1

4.1.2

2.3

3.3

4.3

4.4

4.5

1.2

2.2

3.2

4.2

2.4

Synopsis

The company

Understanding Playpower Labs

Design brief

Secondary reserach

Company motto

Approach

Goals

Understanding Market

Web

Approaching devices

Math fluency

Target user group

Games and play

Casual games

Curriculum Mapping

Playpower Labs

Why?

Challenege and scope

Why Tablets are different?

How does it help?

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5.

6.

7.

8.

5.1

6.1

7.1

8.1

5.4

6.4

7.4

7.6

5.2

6.2

7.2

8.2

5.5

5.3

6.3

7.3

7.5

5.6

Primary research

Understanding technologies

Developing Games

First Game

School visits

Games designed for Tablets and

Building framework vs individual

Initial understanding

Literature review reflection in game

Product technical model

Scoring Models

The prototype product

Literature review

What was being Developed?

Understanding MDA framework

Educational Importance of Number line estimation.

How can games accelerate learning?

Research influences

Technical requirements altering

Understanding content development

Different mechanics used

Need of math games?

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9.1

10.1

11.1

10.2

11.2

11.3

11.4

8.3

9.4

9.2

8.4

8.5

8.6

9.5

9.3

9.6

9.7

9.8

9.9

Games

Conclusion and learning

Appendix

Refrences

Bubble POP!

Conclusion

Interviews

Learning

Content structure(BSNL)

Website

Video

The game redesign

Jelly Beans

Magnitude comparison

Concept it covers

Final game design

Results & Learning

Place Value

Right Wrong

Angle asteroid/Space coordinate

Clock game

Number jumble

Games conceptualized (Design Documents)

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SYNOPSIS

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SYNOPSIS

The project was aimed at designing and developing fun, engaging math based educational games that are backed by strong scientific research for students in K-7 grades in the US. The need of math games was to address a core problem in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education - Number Sense. Over 30% of 8th graders lack basic proficiency in mathematics infact, over 50% of all 8th graders could not place 3 fractions in the right order, from smallest to largest, according to a recent NAEP(The National Assessment of Educational Progress) test. This is a clear reflection of the need for effective educational interventions that improves number sense.

I started off by first understanding the current math based games/products in market, looking at research on learning science and difficulties children have in understanding mathematics.

One of the challenges of the project was to ensure that the games designed for the web could easily translate to the tablets/smartphones with minimal design changes. This required a detailed study of different products available on the tablets and their interaction style. At the end, a total of 11 games were developed covering various math concepts. Most of the games were mapped to the US common core state standards for Mathematics. Based on these mini games two iPad applications were also developed for the Apple App store.

Looking at my contribution to the entire product, I was the first designer in the company and paved the way for setting up a design team of four members. My responsibilities included understanding the research literature around specific mathematics concepts and then translating them to meaningful game design. Having a strong background in technology, I played an important role in bridging the design and development environment.

During the period of six months that I spent developing games, I realized the importance of the subtle decisions that one takes and their impact on the entire game play. Lastly, I perceive games to be something much more than just being fun; they are more of a culture now.


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THE COMPANY

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1.1 Company Motto

1.2 Playpower Labs

Playpowerlabs is an output of playpower.org , which is a high energy open-source community focused on creating high-quality educational games for underprivileged children around the world. The PlayPower Foundation supports the sustainable development, distribution and evaluation of effective educational games and other media, particularly for underserved children around the world.

Playpower was founded at MIT’s International Development Design Summit in summer of 2008, with the goal of developing culturally appropriate learning games for the world’s most affordable home computer.

Playpower labs aim at developing games to build core math skills that provide a foundation for success in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). They are a small team of developer, designer and researcher that work together to make learning fun and engaging.

“Designing games that are fun, engaging, backed by research and justify the platform on which they are played”


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UNDERSTANDING PLAYPOWER LABS

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2.1 Approach

At Playpower labs they have systematic curriculum design approach which is based on “backwards design”. Here, they start with a clear identification of their educational goals. So far, these goals have been to improve number sense. Then, they clearly identify which assessments they would use to measure number sense. This way, they get aware how to test whether their instruction is working. Finally, they develop games with the precise knowledge of what they are trying to accomplish.

In order to test the efficacy of the games, they first play test the games with kids to eliminate usability issues. Then, they collect data from the games and document whether there is a learning curve. A learning curve shows how students improve at particular items within the game, over multiple opportunities. While the learning curve is not proof that the game improves number sense, it does provide powerful evidence of learning. At this point, the games can be tested online, with thousands of players. They then run experiments with the games to identify knowledge component models (i.e., identify the specific skills present in our games that students are learning) and to investigate a range of game design factors to optimize player engagement and learning.

With the finished game, they then use a pre/post test randomized experimental design to evaluate whether students number sense improves as a result of playing the game. This experiment provides them concrete scientific evidence for the efficacy of the game, according to their original goals.

2.2 Why?

The games are designed to address core problem in STEM education, which is Number Sense.

There are several evidences to it such as: over 30% of 8th graders lack basic proficiency in math, in fact, over 50% of all 8th graders could not place 3 fractions in the right order, from smallest to largest, according to a recent NAEP test.

All these evidences points towards a clear need for effective educational interventions that improve number sense.

Another important aspect to problem that supports a digital intervention is, it is hard for teachers to provide individualized number sense instruction to students in classroom setting or their personal space.

That’s why Playpower created a set of games that provide highly effective practice activities for students, both in and out of school. The goal is to develop an intuitive understanding of math amongst kids, called “MATH FLUENCY”.

2.3 Math Fluency

What is math fluency?

Math fluency is when students can perform basic math without effort quickly and accurately.

Why is math fluency important?

When students are fluent in basic math, they don’t need to think so hard about basic concepts. This frees up their mental resources to focus on higher-level problem solving.

How is math fluency achieved?

Practice! Practice allows tasks to be performed faster, easier and with fewer errors. Over time, practice produces automaticity, where tasks can be done quickly, accurately and without effort.From tying your shoes to using computer programs to spelling, all performance begins with a lot of conscious effort. But with practice, everything becomes easy.

Why is math fluency so hard to achieve?

1. The main reason is that math fluency, like language fluency, takes lots of practice. Unfortunately, many students view math tests, math worksheets and math homework as tedious, boring, disengaging and frustrating.

2. The second reason why math fluency is so hard to achieve is that many students use slow and


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inefficient strategies when studying basic math. It’s like they don’t trust their gut sense! While students clearly need to understand the concepts behind math, thinking too hard about basic math functions can prevent students from succeeding in higher-level math. For instance, when solving an algebra problem involving 5+7, students shouldn’t be counting on their fingers, they should just “know” the answer.

2.4 How does it helps?

The learning games make it fun and rewarding to practice math skills. Unlike math tests, worksheets and homework, games make it possible to play around, experiment and even fail. Games that are designed introduce an element of competition and cooperation that can be extremely motivating for students.While there is a high bar of challenge for the players, the emphasis is on rewarding success, rather than punishing failure.

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DESIGN BRIEF

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Fig 1. Exloration and Age relationship

3.1 Goals

1. To identify a viable target user group. The decision would also include Playpower’s expertise at math based data analysis, their development skills and size of the market that was on stake. (Western (US) and Indian domain).

2. Figuring out a revenue model for the product. This becomes crucial in terms of placing playpower in the best slot.

3. What kind of revenue models will support a start-up like Playpower with a strong research backing but a new approach towards learning?

4. How do products go about analysing and visualizing the data they store while there users interact with the product. There needs to be a consciousness about the way one would show the data analysis gathered while user interacts with the product.

5. There was a need to study the in- game currency models for most of the sites and how were they being used in generation of revenues, if any?

6. To study the products that are present both on web and tablets? Are there any games that are present simultaneously for web and tablets? What is the interaction style for these games?

3.2 Challenges and Scope

1. The idea was to make small games that do not teach but partially assess the user. By partial assessment, the primary goal is not only assessment but to develop a sense of fluency in users. This fluency builds up with rigorous practice and hours of game play and it is called “MATH FLUENCY”.

2. Both India and the Western market were to be considered as the target population. It was still not clear if the product would be released in India or not. This makes the research work more challenging, as one needs to incorporate insights from both user groups while playing safe.

3. Most of the games need to be based on research

insights gained during research studies. The task would be to simplify these insights into meaningful game play.

3.3 Target User group

• Understanding based on Papert, Sugata Mitra, Resnick and Piaget

The target user group would include children’s from age 3 to 12. The rationale for such a target group would be their willingness to explore. Exploration ends with structures and structures are learned with age in our education system. So the target group is focussed between an age group where one is willing to explore and learn.

• Understanding based on CMU

Being mentored by CMU, there was another understanding of the user group which was heavily following the US government’s emphasis on STEM (Science Engineering technology and Math) focussing on K to 12.

*The expression is a shortening of Kindergarten (K) for 4–6-year-olds through twelfth grade (12) for 16–19-year-olds. • Target group based on the product, market

and revenue model

The final target group for the product was based on a strategic decision. The product was aimed at schools in US and India. Looking at the needs and building blocks of math at elementary level , 3rd to 7th grade


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suited the needs better.

• India or US?

Initially the product was aimed at US with the idea and the mentorship coming from there. As Playpower started with their research and user testing, they realized India to be a powerful market.

While researching, the curriculum studied was both from India and US, and insights came from both ends. Though, it was difficult to make a standard product for both parts of the worlds. The approach was to incorporate insights from both the United states and India, as it was difficult to narrow to one.

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SECONDARYRESEARCH(Precedent case studies)

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4.1 Understanding Market

The research started with understanding what exists in the market.

There were several platforms for which the product could be developed. In the beginning, Playpower labs was not clear about the kind of product they were aiming at, but the core direction was still about “Fun and engaging math games”.

4.1.1 Web

The target market was primarily distributed between two platforms, The “WEB” and the “TABLETS”. There were several products in the education learning domain, some aimed at providing teaching assistance to kids where others were just assessment systems. To name a few:

1. Apangea Math2. Brain Pop3. Edu Comp4. Educational Initiatives5. Ten Marks6. Extra Marks7. Dream Box Learning8. Khan academy9. Manga hingh10. Code academy11. Cognitive tutor12. Alice13. Sum Dog14. Haiku Learning15. IXL learning16. Power my learning17. Mathplayground18. PBS kids19. Aventa Learning20. Ted-Ed21. Think Quest

The research through these products revealed different models and tactics used by the producers. Tactics here refers to strategies employed by these products, while expanding their content and market.

Generally most of these products follow a similar

structure of licensing their products to schools.This allows them to keep track on students and their performance through different Interfaces. A general product model would look like one in fig 3.We were mainly focussed on products that were developing games and were using games as a medium for learning. Post the evaluation of many existing products, there were three web based products which had a huge impact on the research and understanding for the final product :

1. Manga high2. Sumdog3. Dream Box

There were some interesting strategies employed by each one of these products that sets them apart from the rest.

A. Manga high

Manga high consists of 16 math games and four exercise programs for students in middle high school. These online, flash-based games look and feel more like mainstream games than traditional “educational” ones. The graphics on the site are in “Manga” (Japanese comic book) style.

Characteristics

• Assignable

The product allows the instructor or teacher to assign a specific concept to a specific student.

• Blended Learning

The product lets teacher partially supervise the

Fig 2. Manga High free math based teaching resource [Image Source: Mangahigh.com]


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learning process and partially be the content that is being delivered. The product also provides teaching assistance.

• Informal Learning

It allows learning outside formal learning environment

• Supplemental

It provides additional instruction or learning opportunities outside the required curriculum.

• Interesting Points

1. An outstanding characteristic of Manga high is a social component that allows schools to enter into “math combat” with one another.

2. Its free for use as no licensing is required.

3. One can register as a school and generate as many accounts as one desires.

4. Every game has two versions. A simpler version and the hard version. So there are only 8-9 unique games on the website.

5. The site has an interesting “Prodigy” product. The product is more of an assessment test UI which covers up most of the concepts from the US common core stae standard curricullum for math.

A complete look at the website reveals, that the Prodigy actually covers 8-10 times the concepts covered by all the games on the games page. This is interesting in terms of strategy. The games provide the face value to the product where as the core is represented by a very simple UI in form of their Prodigy product.

Game structure

The inner game structuring of Mangahigh differs from one game to another, a close look at all the games reveal a uniform structure in some of the games.

Fig 3. A generic structure for educational products

Fig 4. MangaHigh’s Prodigy product[Image Source: Mangahigh.com]

Product Student Teacher Parents

School

Per Student License Assessment / Games Data Analysis

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Each game in Manga high teaches various concepts based on the game mechanics. The level of structurization is such, that the user themselves can decide the difficulty as well as the concept to be taught. This selection can also be directed from the teacher dashboard.

Revenue model

Manga high have two revenue models:

1. They give everything for free, their adaptive technology and the progress reports.

2. They have a “M-Sensi” functionality, where they charge the parents for giving students challenges, next tasks etc.

So the idea is to first addict students with games and allow schools to freely use their product, and then monetize from parents rather than schools.

B. Sumdog

Sum dog is an Avatar based free math games site. They offer free games which cover 120 numeracy skills, split in to 10 levels. The games are not religiously tied to any curriculum.

Characteristics

• Flexible

Sumdog has a very flexible platform, where the choice of selection of topic is independent of the game one desires to play.

• Assignable

The product allows the instructor or teacher to assign specific concept to a specific student.

• Multiplayer

Most Sumdog gmes are multiplayer, which means one can choose to play against other Sumdog users around the world.

• Games

Most of the games are devoid of narratives as they use Physics based mechanics to raise user’s interest in games.For example, physics balancing game in fig 7, where user’s focus shifts from answering to balancing and subconsciously one ends up attempting a whole lot of question.

Fig 5. Game structuring Mangahigh.

Fig 6. Sumdog’s fun multiplayer games for grades K-8 [Image Source: Sumdog.com]


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• Adaptive Learning

If one keeps getting the questions right, they’ll get harder automatically. If user have problems with a specific concept, Sumdog will help user practice by asking more questions related to the same concept.

• Interesting Points

1. The product has an avatar system where user can earn virtual currency. One can play games to earn coins and go shopping in Sumdog’s online shop.

2. Its free for use for students and parents. Teachers can generate up to 10 free licenses, but for schools they need to license the product.

3. The product is adaptive in nature, so it lets the system analyze the concepts one finds difficult and then set questions accordingly.

4. Single UI to assign topics, choose avatar and set games. This UI streamlines the process and is a boost to user experience.

Game structuring

The game structure in Sumdog is rather simple. The UI in the website lets the user select the topic (Concept to be taught) and the level, and then the user chooses the game that he wants to play. What is interesting here is that, the topics and the levels are independent of the game mechanics.

For example Mangahigh’s ICE ICE MAYBE in fig9 (A game teaching fractions)is entirely bound to the concepts of fraction and numbers on a number line, and cannot accommodate concepts like multiples etc.

All the other products have games that support the game play and the concept to be taught, but here Sumdog makes their platform independent of the concepts that are being taught. The product structure allows them to expand their list of concepts without being pushed to make new games.

Fig 7. Sumdog’s physics balancing game[Image Source: Sumdog.com]

Fig 8. Sumdog’s single UI approach[Image Source: Sumdog.com]

Fig 9. Mangahigh’s ICE ICE MAYBE[Image Source: Mangahigh.com]

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Revenue Model

Sumdog’s revenue model is quite simple.It is totally free for students. In case of teacher’s there are certain restriction (5 free activities, 10 student report and 25 free matrices).

The schools can buy a subscription to get detailed progress report on the students, to analyze their strong and weak skills.

C. Dream Box

Dream Box is a highly adaptive learning math program for students at the K-5 level. It is best used by individual students on their own (but in a classroom setting). The system creates an independent path through the material for each student. It assesses students’ skills based on how they solve problems rather than on a single end-of-session assessment. (For this reason, the company calls it an “intelligent adaptive learning system.”)

Characterstics

• Adaptive

The product adapts content to the knowledge level of the learner.

• Activities and Games

The product relies on activities instead of just games for learning purposes.

• Engaging

Dream Box uses a toolbox of feedback (audio, visual, games, certificates). Students choose avatars and take part in games and challenges.

• Supplemental

The product provides additional instructions or learning opportunities outside the required curriculum.

How does it work?

Students pick a character (avatar) from about three dozen choices. With that character, they can engage in activities in four adventure themes (pirates, dinosaurs,

Fig 10: Sumdog’s product model


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and pets), each with 8 stories. One can then visit the Adventure Park and the Carnival etc.

The program uses “interactive virtual manipulative” such as sliders or bars. It can continuously monitor not just a student’s answer to a problem but the strategy the student adopts to solve the problem.

Dream Box’s software captures every mouse click students make and can adjust for 60 different parameters of student behaviour, such as how quickly they answer questions, how many “hints” they use to get an answer and so on. The program stores data based on thousands of students and derive user insight to help them learn.

Revenue Model

The product directly seeks money for different licences it provides:School use:• License cost per student: $20 per year• “Unlimited” school site license: $7,000 per yearHome use:• Individual licenses: $12.95 per month for one child or $59.95 for six months.

4.1.2 Approaching devices

The application market related to tablets and handheld devices is flooded with application on kid’s and education. There are several good products and companies that develop learning products.

The main area of focus was “Apple App Store” and the apps studied were mainly concentrated around math’s based educational ones.

Some of the good educational apps studied were:1. Brain Pop2. Brain Tuner3. Dragon Box4. Telling Time5. Math Blaster6. Astro Math7. Monkey Math8. Pop Math9. Rocket Math10. Wings11. Hungry Fish

12. Math Frogs13. MathBoard14. ChalkBoard15. A day with a difference16. Adding apples17. Bugs and Buttons18. Didackto19. Marble Math20. Motion Math(Wings, Zoom, Hungry fish)21. Number sense

Entertainment Games

22. Cut the rope23. Angry Birds24. Where is my Water25. Tap the frog26. Subway Surf27. Fruit Ninja28. Yellow Fins29. Temple Run

Most of these apps cover very specific concepts.There are companies that have different apps for different concepts (Motion Math has different apps on fraction and addition). Some of the products were designed to leverage the touch and different gestures on Tablets, but the major bulk were designed to be easily ported to web.

App store

The App Store is a digital application distribution platform for different mobile applications developed and maintained by Development giants like Apple, Google and Nokia. The service allows users to browse and download applications from their devices and install them on the device itself.

There are number of App Stores for different mobile platforms. The biggest of them is the iTunes store from Apple. Some famous App Stores are listed here:App Store (iOS), the official Apple online application distribution system for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch• Amazon Appstore, an online application

distribution system for Android devices.• Mac App Store, the official Apple online

application distribution system for Mac OS X.• Windows Phone Marketplace, the official

application store for the Windows Phone.• Windows Store, the upcoming application

distribution platform for Windows 8.[41]

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How does it works?

The only motive placing an application on these App Stores is to rank them higher when related keywords are searched. On web platform we call it SEO – Search engine optimization.Most of the big companies running these stores have their closely guarded algorithm for determining where an application lands.

Some of the generic steps could be formulating a constant stream of updates, adjusting the price tag, and giving users a way to spread the word about the app.The pricing on the app is smartly adjusted, more than the purchasing power of your target group, the pricing from your competitors makes a huge difference.

Many famous app developers mention “social networking, uploading features, and challenging friends” important for an app . Some functionality built into the game to include features like friends lists, challenges, and leader boards are beneficial. They make applications more discoverable.

Another interesting point would be to set an actual date for app release instead of releasing it automatically after it gets approved. [40]

If the average time to get reviewed is ~7 days, and then a couple hours for review, the app is set to go for sale 9 days from your submit day. [40]

Key Learning

1. Successful games on tablets are FAST. The game mechanics should allow one to be fast and there should be equally potential reaction from the game (in terms of positive/negative feedback).

2. Most of the apps aimed at teaching simple but specific concepts. The crux of these apps lies in different mechanics that were used to enhance user experience and engagement.(Though web products include teaching concepts, games on tablets don’t really teach)

3. One of the important learning’s, studying app interfaces was to make big buttons and clean user interface.Clean user interface here stands for minimalistic and readable.

4. Another important task about designing an app interface is to make it intuitive. The user should exactly know what needs to be pressed and which action initiated what reaction.

5. Animation is always minimal. Studying all the major games including educational ones revealed, how minimal animation is used with smart backgrounds to create a dynamic composition.

Here are some apps that really inspired the product and laid down standards for Math based educational application development:

1. Meteor Math2. Motion Math (Math Zoom)

A. METEOR MATH

Meteor Math encourages users to blast numbered meteors together to find the correct mathematical solution.

As the player progresses the game becomes harder and the pace intensifies.

Features

• Develops four principle mathematical functions; Addition, Subtraction, Division and Multiplication.

• Suitable for all ages, with carefully graded levels. .

Fig 11. MindShapes Meteor math[Image Source: http://itunes.apple.com/in/app/mete-or-math]


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• Drills that help your child develop super fast ‘Mental Math’ .

B. MOTION MATH (ZOOM)

An animal adventure through the world of numbers. The game allows children to zoom in number lines exploring the concepts related to units and number lines.

Features

• The game uses concrete objects to represent abstract numbers: from dinosaurs in the thousands down to amoebas in the thousandths.

• Fun animal animations and sound effects help elementary school children master the number line.

Fig 12. Motion Math zoom[Image Source: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/motion-math-zoom]

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4.2 Why Tablets are different?

4.2.1 Understanding the context of usage

When talking about tablets, we need to understand the need and the context in which they are used. With a huge boom in the tablet market, tablets are able to make their own place between laptops and mobile phones, which has considerably increased the amount of time people use to spend on a mobile device.

When thinking about the context, try to answer the following questions:[33]

• How will the user interact with your app? Whether seated on their lap, held with both hands, or on a tablet stand?

• How long will the average interaction be? Seconds, minutes or hours?

• Is the ideal way of interacting with the app horizontal or vertical? Sometimes a specific orientation will be ideal for the user. How will you attract the user into using it the way you want them to without restricting the orientation and limiting the user experience?

• When will the user be interacting with your app? In the morning as they drink their coffee? At night, lying in bed? How will the time of day or the environment they are using the tablet in affect their interaction?

• Do you think your content best fits the tablet as a medium, does it justify itself on this medium.

4.2.2 Considerations while designing for tablets

1. Apple has a relative standard of when and how to use the tablet interface in their iOS Human Interface Guide.Based on the research, we stuck to the basic gestures in our games. Customized gesture will require custom programming, from user’s point of view, he will need a hint if the interaction isn’t intuitive, or give them another way to interact with the app and help them discover the less-intuitive gesture interaction.

2. Fat Fingers

As frequent users of tablets know, small buttons are frustrating. You constantly tap the screen, turn your finger to find the active area, and if it’s close to other buttons, you could hit another button altogether. Small buttons that have a narrow area of activation are just frustrating. It’s a widely accepted fact that larger buttons, regardless of the device or interface, are easier to find and interact with.[33]

3. Helping Hands

Even if your app doesn’t have writing or drawing interaction, it’s important to keep the user’s handedness in mind. Most users are right-handed, but providing the option to change the controls to accommodate left-handed people might be worth the time, especially if the app requires the user to access controls while directly interacting with the screen.[33]

4.3 Games and play

4.3.1 Why games?

• Games are a form of fun. That gives us enjoyment and pleasure.

• Games are form of play. That gives us intense and passionate involvement.

• Games have rules. That gives us structure. • Games have goals. That gives us motivation. • Games are interactive. That gives us doing. • Games have outcomes and feedback. That gives

us learning. • Games are adaptive. That gives us flow. • Games have win states. That gives us ego

gratification. • Games have conflict/competition/challenge/

opposition. That gives us adrenaline. • Games have problem solving. That sparks our

creativity. • Games have interaction. That gives us social

groups. • Games have representation and story. That gives

us emotion.[3]

With all these opportunities and qualities, games give a chance to interact and create information. Information which is meaning full as well as engaging


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for us.Games as an act lets you think, strategize, understand, interact, involve, absorb and perform. This entire process is wrapped inside the envelop of games.To progress in a game is to learn; when we are actively engaged with a game, our minds are experiencing learning a new system.The very obvious difference between games and traditional schooling is that good games always involve play, and schooling rarely does[13].Games include PLAY!

4.3.2 What is play?

Play is a term employed in psychology to describe a range of voluntary, motivated activities normally associated with pleasure and enjoyment. Play is most commonly associated with children .

Many prominent researchers in the field of psychology (including Jean Piaget, William James, and Sigmund Freud) have viewed play as endemic to the human species.Play is often interpreted as less serious; yet the player can be intently focused on his or her objective, particularly when play is structured and goal-oriented, as in a game [34]. Accordingly, play can range from relaxed, free-spirited and spontaneous through frivolous to planned or even compulsive.

4.3.3 Play and games

Games by contrast, tend to have defined goals. Games allow a sense of free play which the child pursues on his own terms. While in the game, the child accepts failure as a possibility.Games lay challenges which look worth attempting and channels player’s effort.Gaming is play across media, time and social spaces. It includes interaction with physical matter, digital artefact, humans (Parents and siblings) as well as games itself (hypothetical character and situations).

Games need a player with an attitude to challenge, accept, learn, absorb, being creative and fail. Without a willing player a game is a formal system waiting to be inhabited.[27]

A casual game is a video game targeted at or used by a mass audience of casual gamers. Casual games can have any type of game play, and fit in any genre. They are generally identified by their simple rules and shot game plays.

Most casual games have similar basic features:

• Extremely simple game play, like a puzzle game that can be played entirely using a one-button mouse.

• Shot engaging game plays.• The ability to quickly reach a final stage.

4.4 Casual Games

4.4.1 Casual gamer

“Casual gamer” is a loosely defined term used to describe a type of video game player whose time or interest in playing games is limited compared with a hardcore gamer. For this reason, games which attempt to appeal to the casual player tend to strive for simple rules and ease of game play, the goal being to present fast game play experience that people from almost any age group or skill level could enjoy.[42]

4.5 Curriculum Mapping

4.5.1 CBSE/GSEB

The team at Play power Labs had to understand how they would establish a relationship between their games and what is taught in the classroom. An important task was to develop games which were meaningful to the students within the age group of the desired grade. Therefore they tried to figure out the level of questions in mathematics to be asked, such that the student is able to co-relate it with what is being taught in the classroom. The need was to map, which age group learns what kind of concepts in each class, from Grade 1 to Grade 7 in the Indian curriculum. With access to all the textbooks of GBSE as well as CBSE, the topics learnt by each class in mathematics with the overall concepts were documented.

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The exercise was helpful in designing the content of the games for specific age groups. Moreover, while going through the textbooks of various standards, many visual images were used in textbooks to create clarity and make concepts explicit for the student.

The student in a specific grade makes a transition from visual backed understanding (i.e. pictures of various objects are used more rather than textual content) to text-based understanding. For example in CBSE textbooks of Grade 5, It was found out that the images used, to make a student understand concepts in mathematics were considerably reduced. At the end of this task, the overview of what concepts were taught in each grade was documented (i.e. from Grade 1 to Grade 7).

An overview of the documented data of the curriculum is as follows:

• Concepts like Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication and Division were defined for each grade. Like in grade 1, only single digit addition is introduced. The concept of carryover is not taught.

• There is an introduction to various kinds of measurement in each grade.

• Understanding of visual information in textbooks (which means gaining knowledge what kind of visual information is used in textbooks to make them understand concepts)

An important understanding that was discovered while exploring the curriculum of the CBSE and GSEB textbooks was that, there could not be any element in the game which is outside the vocabulary of student, since he/she would not be able to relate to it while playing the game. For example a timer which

counts up to a double figure would have no meaning to a student who has not learnt numbers up to double figures.

The following table shows how the curriculum was mapped on the basis of study on the textbooks as well as some products.

4.5.2 United states Common core standards

After studying the Indian curriculum, the US common Core standards were studied. The US common core standards are religiously followed by major products in the US.

The common core state standards are designed for consistent; clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them.

The common core standards lay different knowledge components at different grades for students to achieve.

Based on observations, the US common core state standards are closely aligned with different state board curriculums practiced in India (CBSE & GSEB).Having planned most of the games, we mapped games to different knowledge components that they relate to.

Fig 13: CBSE & GSEB books, grade 1-7

Fig 14: CBSE & GSEB based curricullum map


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The concept mapping (Fig 16) of different games allowed us to understand the scope of each game clearly. It also helped us support each of our game and gave us correct tangents for content creation practices.

Fig 15: United states common core standards for math.[Image source: http://www.corestandards.org/]

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PRIMARYRESEARCH

5

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5.1 School visits

For understanding the end user, there was a decision to visit some schools and ask questions that would prove essential in developing the games. After a few discussions within the team, few questions were prepared for the teacher/anyone related to education within schools.

5.1.1 Observing and understanding classroom setting

The initial visits to the schools revealed the nature and context in which the product was to be placed. Initially it was assumed as a wrong approach studying Indian classrooms, when the product primarily was for the US audience.

In discussion with team members placed in US, the playpower team finally decided to go about observing and gathering insights from Indian classrooms . One of the key reasons behind the decision was to see the difficult terrain for the product (Internet speed, slow machines).

Some of the primary observations and understanding from the class rooms were:

1. Most of the computers do not have flash. Adobe does speak about their 99% penetration on desktops, but that is not true.Though flash isn’t the problem. It’s very difficult to make interactive products for school, independent of these platforms. It’s an obligation for school’s to have these platforms installed as a prerequisite.There was a need to clearly communicate this to clients when they buy the products.

2. Generally a single section has around 50 students but none of the computer labs were equipped with 50 computers, so there is a possibility of two students sharing a computer.This gives a new tangent to think about multiplayer games that could be played on a single screen.

5.2 Literature review

One of the most important parts of the research was the precedent studies that happened. This included reading through books, articles and research papers.

Personally the most insightful information and understanding was developed while reading research papers. There were several areas which were to be researched. Some of those were:

1. Educational games frameworks.2. Designing digital games.3. Understanding how learning happens through digital artefacts.4. Studying good user interface practices.5. Understanding interaction design for tablets and web.6. Understanding different game genres.9. Visual ergonomics (colours, animations and their impact).

Most of the readings had a big impact on the understanding of user psychology and their understanding of the world around.

The research domain was restricted between the age group 7-12yrs, though most of the research findings were aimed at much larger set of audiences.Some of the most interesting and important research readings that inspired and impacted the game designs are listed here:

1. Piaget’s Constructivism, papert’s Constructionism: Whats the difference

This paper talks about two of the most renowned educationist and child psychologist of their times. They both believed that knowledge is actively constructed by the child in interaction with their world.Teaching is always indirect. Kids don’t just take in what’s being said. According to them projection of the inner self and ideas is key to learning.

Learning: The reading gives a clear idea, as to why teaching is not the only way for student to learn. It also supports the notion of games for math, which lets one build his own understanding of these concepts in terms of knowledge.

2. Children’s Acquisition of Number Words and the counting system

The paper talks about children and their understanding of the concept of Number words and related numerosity. The problem here is to


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understand that the number words do not refer to individual items, or to properties of individual items, but rather to properties of set of items.

Learning: This paper gave an understanding as to how children look at numbers and related concepts. This gave a realization that we have already mastered and taken these concepts for granted.

3.Moving Learning games forward

An extensive paper that talks about history of educational games and how they have evolved. The paper talks about the entire platform (Mobile, Tablets, desktop, Gadgets) on which games are available and aims at answering many question related to design and development of educational learning games.

The paper presents a good critique on categorizing what could be called as a game. It suggests looking at strength and challenges of both classrooms and games. there is a need to situate educational learning games at the intersection of both where they are most productive.The writer emphasizes that a good games always involve play, schooling rarely does.

An interesting section from the paper discusses different kinds of freedom that a player might want to access:

1. freedom to fail;2. freedom to experiment;3. freedom to fashion identities;4. freedom of effort; and5. freedom of interpretation

Learning: The paper lays down some important learning game design principles. Some of them led to important design decision in the game design process. Following is a list of some principles based on the learning:

• Choose Wisely

The hype around the education gaming market pushes whole lot of games. Games work well for many audiences, topics and contexts, but they may not be the best tools for all kinds of topics in every context. There were many attempts at games about topics Like Photosynthesis, but most of what results is not a game at all, but a more typical routine

classroom activity (like flashcards) with a score and the name “game” attached to it. One must consider what it is about this topic that may (or may not) be appropriate as the basis of a game.[27]

• Think small

There could be two reasons in support of thinking small:1. Sometimes the right choice is to make a small casual game, because that style of play meets the learning goals of the activity.2. At times it might be useful to create a small prototype of a game to test the fundamental concept before going for major development effort.

• Put learning and game play first

The principle raises a question over the famous discussion of “Who came first, the technology or the game play”. The paper suggests that both should be considered simultaneously. Good educational games will consider both the learning goals/content and the game play at the same time, with enough flexibility to iterate between the two to change one or both simultaneously.

• Play Everywhere and Anywhere

Mobile games played on cell phones, PDAs, or iPods are becoming more common and more sophisticated. People can play these games for minutes at a time in their personal spaces – on the bus, waiting in line, and even while on the go.

Educational games can use this style of play, and

Fig 17. The photosynthesis Game[Image Source: Moving Learning games forward]

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can be designed to take advantage of the personal spaces in students’ lives – the time between classes, before school, after school, going to and from school, etc.

• Define the Learning Goals

The success of learning games would depend on success of students and that could only be reflected through data gathered while playing. It is imperative that researchers and developers more clearly define their learning goals, and corresponding assessment tools should be developed.

There is a need to simplify the process of data logging and data analysis. Another important aspect with data, is the meaningful visualization of data for all the stakeholders of this ecosystem to analyze and understand.

The success of educational games depends on their ability to enhance learning and of these tools in quantifying learning.

4. Howard Gardener, Multiple Intelligences and education

In his book gardener goes against the old age belief of Intelligence being a single entity that was inherited; and that human beings initially a blank slate could be trained to learn anything.

He divides intelligences in seven different categories however he maintains that none of these intelligences operate independently.

Learning: The theory has helped us to reflect on our practices. It allows people not to look at intelligence as magical black box but as something that is very specific to an individual.As a game designer it allows them to design mechanics around a single intelligence simultaneously leveraging the other.

5.Colour scheme preferences of elementary school children in their school environment

The paper talks about colour preferences. There are

different aspects of colour preferences like culture, Education Level, past experiences, Memories, History, perception of colour, age gender and the psychological and physiological conditions of the user.There were some interesting points raised when paper talks about different established colour preferences:1. A research suggested that women might prefer pink as a legacy of their fruit gathering days when the preference helped them identify the berries from the foliage.2. A neuroscientist argues that small differences between girls and boys are amplified in their socialisation and hard-wired into their brains with no biological preferences.

Learning: There is no scientific evidence that boys prefer blue and girls prefer pink. Up until the early 20th century, the trend was the opposite and baby boys were dressed in pink and girls in blue. There are also some small studies suggesting that adults of different cultures have different tastes in colours. It’s clear that colour preference is learnt rather than innate.

6. Eight ways of thinking about problem Solving

An interesting paper that summarizes that a problem solving process has three steps:

1. The data2. The goal3. The method

Each one of these can have different states: given, familiar, unfamiliar and incomplete

Learning: From a game designers perspective it lets them define problems. The paper allows them evaluate the content of educational games and see if there are existing problems and what level of problem solving would be required from the user’s end, to attain the final goal.

7. Game based learning : The learning revolution

The writer suggests that digital games based learning


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enables the learners to actually experience a given subject rather than just reading about the subject.

Learning: The idea of the paper is to understand games as a medium to stimulate motivation and stimulate engagement of learners in a positive way.

8. Perception in Visualization

An interesting article that talks about “Preattentive processing” in humans. There are some properties of human visual system that are called “preattentive”, since their detection seemed to precede focused attention.A simple example of a preattentive task is the detection of a red circle in a group of blue circles A viewer can tell at a glance whether the target is present or absent. There are various features that have been identified as preattentive:

1. Target detection2. Boundary detection3. Region detection4. Counting and estimation

There are several theories proposed to explain how preattentive processing occurs within the visual system.

Learning: The preattentive cognition theory gives an insight over how our brain channels the visual system, this includes object that would be more accessible visually in comparison to others.

This understanding proved very helpful in designing intuitive interfaces for fast paced games.

9. Blooms Taxonomy

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a useful way to categorise knowledge and skills. This Taxonomy categorises learning into three domains: knowledge (Cognitive Domain), skills (Psychomotor Domain) and attitudes and values (Affective Domain). When developing learning objectives for a game, one may need to write objectives from each of these domains.

A major focus is given to the “Cognitive Domain”. The writer categorizes knowledge in six different levels, going toward the tip of the triangle.

Learning: Blooms taxonomy presents a strong approach to evaluate learning. The six categories of cognitive domain allows people to understand learning process as a six step process which starts with remembering and ends at creating.

In terms of game design at times this map is reversed where user create in the first act (Age of empires) and learn as the time passes on. Though while designing games one can always visualise the user, going through these steps in the process of achieving the goal.

5.3 Research influences

1. Jean Piaget

Fig 18. Preattentive Processing: searching for a target red circle based on a difference in hue.[Image Source: http://www.csc.ncsu.edu/faculty/healey/PP/]

Fig 19. Bloom’s Taxonomy[Image Source: http://ww2.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm]

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- WHO?

Jean Piaget (9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a French-speaking Swiss developmental psychologist and philosopher known for his epistemological studies with children.Piaget placed great importance on the education of children. As the Director of the International Bureau of Education, he declared in 1934 that “only education is capable of saving our societies from possible collapse, whether violent, or gradual.”[46]

- AFFECT

Piaget clearly says that “Teaching is always indirect” Kids don’t just take what is being said[13]. One need to create a system where, they are allowed to explore indirectly rather than pushing things on them (As in playpower’s case, where the games are not meant to teach but to allow practicing and enjoying math). He understands knowledge as experience that is acquired.

2. Seymour Papert (MIT)

- WHO?

Seymour Papert (born February 29, 1928 in Pretoria, South Africa) is an MIT mathematician, computer scientist, and educator. He is one of the pioneers of artificial intelligence, as well as an inventor of the Logo programming language.Papert worked on learning theories, and is known for focusing on the impact of new technologies on learning in general and in schools as learning organizations in particular.[43]

- AFFECT

In paperts constructivist theory which is highly inspired form Piaget. He moved from universal to individual learner. He terms projecting our inner feelings and ideas as true learning. Expressing these ideas help us shape our world while we communicate with others. Papert gives huge importance to media and context in shaping ones ideas as building blocks of learning.

3. Mitchel Resnick (Lifelong Kindergarten) - WHO?

Mitchel Resnick is LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research, Director of the Okawa Center, and Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab.He explores how new technologies can engage people in creative learning experiences. Resnick’s research group developed the “programmable brick” technology that inspired the LEGO Mindstorms robotics kit. He co-founded the Computer Clubhouse project, a worldwide network of after-school centers where youth from low-income communities learn to express themselves creatively with new technologies.

- AFFECT

So where papert and Piaget laid down their understanding about kids and learning . Mitchel resnik clearly applies these theories in tangible products. Looking at SCRATCH as a programming environment for kids to lego Mind storm and further computer clubhouse initiatives. The idea is to empower kids with materials to explore. [44] 4. Sugata Mitra(MIT)

- WHO?

Sugata Mitra is a leading proponent of Minimally Invasive Education. He has a PhD in Physics and is credited with more than 25 inventions in the area of cognitive science and education technology.

- AFFECT

The most interesting thing about Sugata Mitra is his belief in child being way more intelligent than we expect them to be. He believes in solutions that complement the framework of traditional schooling. A solution that uses the power of collaboration and the natural curiosity of children to catalyze learning.

Sugata Mitra’s “Hole in the Wall” experiments have shown that, in the absence of supervision or formal teaching, children can teach themselves and each other, if they’re motivated by curiosity and peer interest.


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5. Howard Gardener (Theory of multiple Intelligences)

- WHO?

Howard Earl Gardner, an American developmental psychologist who is a professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education at Harvard University.

He is famous for his “Theory of multiple intelligences” which states, not only do human beings have several different ways of learning and processing information, but these methods are relatively independent of one another: leading to multiple “intelligences” as opposed to a general intelligence factor among correlated abilities

- AFFECT:

In his works gardener clearly distinguishes eight different types of intelligences. Describing all these intelligences he clearly explain the understanding and signs of each of these, he also points at ways through which one can develop these specific intelligences.

6. Arvind Gupta (Toys from trash)

- WHO?

Arvind Gupta is an Indian toy inventor and populariser of science.

- AFFECT

For almost 30 years, Arvind Gupta has been taking his love for science and learning to the children of India. He’s the dream teacher we all yearned for. Gupta has travelled to over 3000 schools, demonstrating captivating science experiments to wide eyed children. What sparks their imagination further is that Gupta uses only everyday garbage as the building blocks of these experiments.

He takes trash and creates unforgettable experiments and experiences for children. An encore purpose for everyday trash is a wonderful by-product of his work.[45]

5.4 Literature review reflection in game design.

There were some major design decisions taken based on the readings in the precedent studies, some of them are listed here:

1. The human visual perception listed in “preattentive processing” dictated the clean UI approach in most of the games.

This dictated the big elements and playing around with high contrasting colours in games. The idea was to support easy visual access to different elements.

2. The paper on problem solving helped to frame questions in form of real problems.This paved way for creation of good problems for users by either providing less data or making the user face an unknown method.

3. With an understanding on visual numbers and their relationship with Numeracy as a concept, games like “Jelly beans” were developed.

4. Relating learning with engagement and immersion helped in developing games with interesting animations and small narratives.

There was a reflection of engagement in form of objectives and different game design elements like different kind of bubbles in bubble pop.

5. A paper suggested, that there is no born colour preference in kids[11]really helped the justification for bright colourful elements in game design.

5.5 How can games accelerate learning?

There are some major points to support games intervention in learning:

1. One of the most important fact about games is “There’s no instructor”. Children and adults of all ages learn how to play some of the most complex games, and pick up spectacular Skills, without any up front instruction.

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2. Massive amounts of feedback, failure and Rewards are possible within a single game.[19]

3. Players learn how to learn through the dynamics and the strategies they aquire within the game play.[19]

4. Learners are able to take risk, learn by failure and have to constantly push them for the next task. The idea is to try things out, test them and try again.

5. Inside games your acts are aimed at more than learning. You play different roles including a participant, teacher, creator, of course learner.[27]

5.6 Need for math games

Math skills need quite a lot of practice before they become embedded in one. Practising math skills over and over again can be rather boring. That’s where playing math games can help. There are so many different games to help one master all the different mathematic skills, that learning math becomes fun.

Most of the math games are designed to address a core problem in STEM education, Number Sense. Over 30% of 8th graders lack basic proficiency in math, in fact, over 50% of all 8th graders could not place 3 fractions in the right order, from smallest to largest, according to a recent NAEP test. This is a clear reflection of the need for effective educational interventions that improves number sense.

After all, the lack of Number Sense is not just a problem for these students, but also for a countries growth and industry, indeed these skills aren’t just lacking in high school students but are also a major problem for college students. The lack of number sense is a critical barrier to the personal development of future citizens in an economy.


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UNDERSTANDINGTECHNOLOGIES

6

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6.1 Games designed for Tablets and Web

There were several things taken care of while design-ing games on web as most of them were to be ported to Tablets:

1. The buttons in most of the cases were purposely designed larger so that the game can directly be ported for touch interactions.

2. The number of steps of interactions were aimed at reducing the input from users end, this allows user to take a shorter path to the desired screen on any platform.

3. Use of Text fields was avoided in most of the cas-es. Games with text fields on the tablet will either re-quire a customized keypad or the default iOS keypad which will need huge changes in the game interface.

4. Most of the interaction were designed in such a manner that they are meaningful on tablets. This required heavy visualization and fore planning, since most of these interactions were crucial parts of the game mechanics.The best example to this would be Bubble Pop game where the Bubble pop (the animation and the visuals) were planned in such a manner that they look as effective with touch as they do with mouse.

6.2 What was being Developed?

The idea was to make flash games on iPAD that were fun and engaging. The aim was not to teach Math and neither to make assessment test for children’s to categorize them, rather to develop an intuitive understanding of math with the help of short narrative games.

The idea was to make small math games that talk about different concepts and are placed with intrigu-ing mechanics, interesting narratives and attractive aesthetics.With fun and engagement as primary goals, the Playpower team started looking at the games around and the only domain which looked to suffice their needs was of CASUAL GAMES. By very nature they are short in game play but highly addictive as well as have great replay values. The success to these games would lie in their replay ability.

6.2.1 Why adobe Flash?

Looking at different tools present in the market, one of the front runners was Adobe flash. Flash has a legacy of being the emperor in the casual games domain.

There were other platforms that were looked upon:

1. Adobe Flash2. Corona SDK3. Unity 3D4. IOS(Native code)

One of the core issues to be handled was the cross platform ability of the tool, so that one can publish content sitting at the same platform for various Appstores and hardware devices. This would help developers broaden the user base and is one of the key strategic decision.

The final decision was based on the power to reach Android and iOS devices by targeting the latest Adobe Flash Player and AIR runtimes. This paved way for a huge market to developers and simultaneously allowed them to publish content for the web.

Fig 20. Adobe games on different 2D & 3D platforms[Image Source: www.gaming.adobe.com]


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6.2.2 Challenges ahead with Adobe Flash

Flash is slow since it is a framework. One can under-stand a framework as something built upon a more native piece of code. So whatever flash call’s for, is sent first to some other more robust framework work-ing under the hood for flash and then flash is able to perform that function.

One of the recent development in flash player was the release for the STARLING framework for mobile devices. This meant, there was now a more robust and native form of rendering technique quite different from flash’s own technique, which could be leveraged to perform rendering on mobile devices with less computational power.

6.2.3 Starling Framework

Starling is an Action Script 3 2D framework devel-oped on top of the Stage3D APIs, available for the

desktop in Adobe Flash Player 11 and Adobe AIR 3. Starling was designed for game development, but one can use it for many other applications. Starling makes it possible to write fast GPU accelerated appli-cations without having to touch the low-level Stage3D APIs.

Write your code once and deploy it on any platform. As Starling is built on top of Adobe’s Flash technol-ogy, it runs not only in the browser, but on all major mobile platforms out there, including iOS and An-droid.

6.2.4 Understanding Spritesheets

A sprite sheet is a collection of sprites arranged into a single image, where each sprite represents a frame of an animation, an asset, a part of an image. The idea of a sprite sheet has been utilized for a long time, namely in early gaming systems like Atari and Nintendo for faster rendering.

Fig 21. Generic flash publishing cycle

Adobe Flash

Mouse Events

Content

Publish Deploy AIR FormatFlash Player(swf)

Audience

Touch Screens

Basic Rendering Sprite Sheets

Web Mobile Devices

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The idea is that computer GPU’s are very efficient in drawing triangles. To draw a rectangular frame, stage 3D API joins two triangles to form a quad that can represent a frame from a sprite sheet.This optimization lets flash render things faster than bitmap rendering approach.

6.2.5 Need for starling?

The need for all these frame works, sprite sheets, rendering engines and GPU boils down to processing power or in laymen’s terms: how fast you can render visual elements?

What these frameworks and GPU allow one to do, is to access low level hardware inside the devices.These hardwares are generally not accessible though generic API/IDE’s (Flash, Java, and Processing).Another need for this framework arises because of, the platforms other then laptops and desktop computer on which the content is deployed.Having angry birds running on a IPAD is different from running it over a desktop. Generally, mobile devices are computationally weaker in comparison to desktop / laptops. In light of these issues programmers and content developers needed a way of exploiting the best of what these devices can offer.

Though the goal is not to compromise on quality, yet there are restrictions and issues that are needed to

be dealt with while using these tools.

6.3 Technical requirements altering game design.

The key to success on a mobile device with Starling is, less animations.

The new way in which developers can leverage fast rendering in flash is through sprite sheets. Sprite sheets can be understood as big transparent (.png) sheets holding entire necessary frames for anima-tion.

The same technique is used by most of the mobile platforms that have restricted amount of computation power to render graphics.The only restriction that sprite sheet imposes is the use of small animation. This small animation at each frame could only account to around 20% of the screen. What is meant by animation here is moving elements that change in shape, size and colour.

Fig 22. A Spritesheet[Image Source : http://www.codeandweb.com/what-is-a-sprite-sheet/]

Fig 23. Stage 3D drawing triangles[Image Source : byte array.org]


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6.4 Product technical model

The technical model followed, revolves around the idea of randomized controlled experiments. Educational games provide an opportunity to use design experiments to optimize the educational outcomes of the software.

A primary goal of the research conducted at CMU has been to understand how different game design factors affect player learning and engagement. A design factor can range from the number chosen as an endpoint (0 or 1, for instance), to the aesthetic of the choice of answer, to multitude of ways feedback can be represented. In order to systematically investigate these factors, developers implement these design factors as flexible xml-based parameters that can be determined at the game runtime.

6.4.1 Software Design

Level designers use a GUI xml editor to create specific instructional units by modifying xml game parameters, which include the game elements (For a game like BSNL, this would be endpoint’s where as in right wrong games this would become the deceptive probability of one of the components of equation), the items presented, the time limit, the error tolerance allowed, the item sequencing algorithm etc. We are then able to create online experiments that randomly assign new players to a set of different game sequences. The game sends a GET request to a PHP script on our server requesting a level XML file. On the server, we use algorithmic method to randomize the delivery of different xml level sequences to new players.

An XML level editor will provide an easy interface for level creator to generate customized dynamic XML’s

6.4.2 Data logging and analysis

The various design factors presented above constitute the independent variables in online experiments. Game data logging needs to capture both these independent variables as well as dependent variables, such as a player’s accuracy on each item, their reaction time, and a binary field indicating whether they successfully completed the task in hand.The primary areas of our interest are player learning and engagement. Player engagement is defined by the number of trials played before choosing to quit (or the amount of time).Measuring player learning is slightly more complicated. We define learning as improvement over time (or more specifically, over opportunity). A learning curve can be defined, which plots the rate of error over the number of opportunities. However, because there are multiple skills that may comprise performance in the game, we need to define a

Fig 25. Level XML editor

Fig 24. Starling’s rendering pipeline under Flash IDE

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knowledge component model by labelling each item in the game according to the knowledge component it represents. For instance, estimating 1/2 requires a different set of knowledge components than estimating 2/3.

6.4.3 Online Multivariate Testing

Some of the games by Playpower Labs were hosted on a very popular website (www.brainpop.com) that was being used in 20% of schools in USA. As a result of this exposure, Playpower Labs logs ~ 1,000 play sessions on a game each day. While all players are anonymous, the majority of play sessions occur during school hours, which suggests that players reach games during school. The demographics of Brain pop suggest that our players range in age from 9-14. A session ID is generated when a player starts the game and that ID is unique to that particular session until the player leaves the website.

When players begin games, they have the choice to different concepts. While one is not able to log individual students over multiple sessions, it is documented when players leave one version of the game and start another (e.g., they quit playing fractions and start playing decimals). When they begin playing in one of these number domains, they are randomly assigned to a different xml level sequence.

With this basic experimental infrastructure Playpower Labs can run a large number of experiments where thousands of players are assigned to different conditions.

With support from CMU based research on learning games, the effortwas to build an infrastructure to support games based design experiments. The data analysed from such experiments provide Playpower labs with a concrete ground for understanding and altering user engagement variables.

Fig 26. Data analysis based on data loggging in


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DEVELOPINGGAMES

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7.1 Building framework vs Individual games

With the start of ideation for games, there were two different models for designing the games. The first being more of a frame work where one can have different concepts taught under single mechanic and the other, a specific concept being taught in each game.

The approach looked sceptical in the beginning but later it was better placed in terms of developing games for a product.

The essential difference between the framework model and the individual model are the mechanics, that was meant to be similar for the entire product.

There was an introduction of subtle changes in mechanics for both the game models:

7.1.1 Framework (Bubble pop, Right wrong, Magnitude comparison, BSNL )

Screens:Splash >Macro>Micro>Game Screen

The mechanics still include the difficulty level (Easy, Medium, and Hard). The framework can include various concepts and difficulty levels which were difficult to segregate based on user interaction.

User clicking thrice to reach his desired set of questions was eliminated. For E.g. after two levels of interaction at “Micro” and “Macro” level we allow the user to set the difficulty of question based on his current performance. By “current” we mean, if he

plays well, the questions intelligently become harder and vice versa.

7.1.2 Individual (Clock Game, angle asteroid, Coordinate)

Screens:Splash >Macro>Game Screen

In case of individual games, the objective was

targeted at very specific concepts. Since the scope of the games was rather small we didn’t want the user to attain a sense of confidence very quickly. Removing the (Easy, Medium, and Hard) mechanic from this model ensures that the user continuously engages with the games and the concept without evaluating the difficulty of questions. This way user would be able to spend more time on a specific question.The bottom line is, not knowing that one has been continuously answering the harder questions correctly, which will keep one on his toes.

7.2 Understanding MDA framework

During literature review on games and game models, MDA framework was studied, it stands for Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics. The framework looks at a game from two different perspectives, where the components of the framework sit in the centre.

Fig 28. Bubble POP gameplay screen

Fig 27. Angle asteroid gameplay screen


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The MDA framework formalizes the consumption of games by breaking them into their distinct components:

Mechanics: The rules and concepts that formally specify the game-as-system.

Dynamics: The run-time behavior of the game-as-system + players.

Aesthetics: The emotional responses evoked by the game dynamics.

7.2.1 Dissecting a game based on MDA. (Bubble pop)

Let’s see a dissection of bubble pop game based on this framework. This will help one understand how following the MDA approach allow game designers to control different elements of game design, which also includes programming and development assets.

Bubble POP

Mechanics

The mechanics would account for all the rules and in game elements that define the game play. These elements were designed to support the aesthetics of the game. While designing the mechanics, the game designer also looks at emotional factors that make a game fun. There are several kinds of “fun” that the game designer would try to incorporate in his game based on the dynamics.

In bubble pop the different mechanics would be:• Popping the Bubbles• Answering the maximum number of question in

90 seconds

• Introducing special bubbles• The “Easy, Medium, Hard” bar that increases the

difficulty of question based on your performance• Saving higher scores on leader boards and

appearing on the “Wall of fame”• Achieving objectives to gain coins

Based on these mechanics the games designer would try to evoke:

• Sensation, where the game is fun because the player is experiencing something new.

• Discovery, where the game is fun because the player needs to explore the game and discover its secrets.

• Expression, where the game is fun because the player is able to leave his/her mark on it and play it according to their preferences.[36]

Dynamics

The dynamics of a game is the runtime behaviour of the game that can be somewhat predicted when forming the game rules and objectives, however the dynamics cannot fully be understood until the game is played.

Another understanding of dynamics is the user tactics and strategies that they employ and develop while playing the game.

Taking both of these attributes of dynamics in consideration, here is a list of some observed dynamics in bubble pop:

• While deciding the levels to play, one would start with concepts that he is good at.

• When bubble appears, the pattern in which one would start popping would entirely depend on the runtime placement of bubbles or the appearance of random special bubbles.

• The time taken by the player to answer each question would also depend on the appearance of special bubbles or the type of special bubble that appeared.

• The appearance of a special bubble and the users choice of concept would finally reflect upon, how fast users are able to achieve the desired achievements and high scores.

Fig 29. The two stakeholder in gamedesign process

Fig 30. Three components of a game

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Aesthetics

Looking at Bubble pop from an aesthetics point of view, everything that interfaces with the player comes under that. This will also include the interaction and experience designed for the user within the game play. The game aesthetic will include all these elements:

• Visual elements (Design language: the landscape theme and the use of bright colours)

• Animations (bubble popping animation)• User Interface (The position of all the elements

on screen based on usability practices and assumptions)

• Interaction (The mouse interaction with Buttons, No Button at splash screen, bubble pop)

• Narrative (The act of making the user understand the game, question popping in starting to highlight itself, Pig animation when coins are added)

• Sounds (Bubble pop Sound, coin sounds)

7.2.2 How MDA helped?

The MDA framework lets the games designer segregate a game design into three different components. He can now handle each one of them separately but not independent of each other. In one approach he can start looking from the user/players perspective where the interface starts with aesthetics. While designing aesthetics one takes care of the dynamics that will be building upon the mechanics of the games. A similar approach would be reversed for designer where the mechanics generate dynamics which further generate aesthetics.

The framework is a good tool to analyse a game and understand the dependency of one component of game design over another.

7.3 Understanding content development

Developing content for games is quite a task in order to meet standards of education set by different state governments and the US parliament (in India it would be different state boards).All games were mapped to different knowledge components they aling to.(following the US common core standards publishing’s). This provided a fair idea, as to what needed to be asked.

This was followed by a research through academic curriculum in the form of different textbooks and questions types, that were used while teaching these concepts.Finally, the content development started:

Content Development (Manual / Algorithms)There are different products that use different ways of content creation. Content creation here represents the set of question that are part of the game design.There are three ways of going about content creation:

1. Manually created XML2. Programmatically generating XML3. Algorithms

7.3.1 Manually created XML’s

In case of a manually created XML, each game has two set of XML

1. The progress XML that sets all the generic parameters for the games.fig332. The level XML that has questions written for a specific level.fig34

In fig33, the part one (1) describes all the node parameters that set the games state with name, number of stars and coins.In part two (2) the XML describes a particular level and details for the level. These details include number of variables that help make the question generation algorithm more random and effective.

Now in case of a level XML, the basic level details are mentioned in the starting, stating the time limit and other parameters.(start count, coins, total pos etc)

Fig 31. Coins collecting pig


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7.3.2 Programmatically generating XML’s

Programmatically generated XML follow a similar structure explained above. These XML are dynami-cally generated using algorithms.

Fig 33 Progress XML

Fig 32. The content generation flow

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Algorithms

An algorithm would dynamically generate questions when needed. The nature of these algorithms is interesting.

The way these algorithms are designed is based on probability. The algorithm by default generates an ideal equation.

For example the algorithm(Fig 35) is written for the Right Wrong game where the user needs to figure out if the given equation is right or wrong. An ideal equation here would be:

Left + right = ans (2+5 =7)

Now the system is programmed in such a manner that it generates random number , in case of above equation it is “rand1”, this random number dictates the probability of changing one of the components of

this equation to make it incorrect.

The three components here would be the left, right and the “ans” parameter. Based on developers understanding, out of these, one of the parameter would be more deceptive in nature than other.The different validation then regulates the chance of a particular parameter to be changed in order to make the entire equation incorrect.

Most of the product out there in market use specialized algorithms to generate question. Some of them are:

1. Carnegie learning uses a complete AI based algorithm that is based on user performance.2. Mangahigh also uses algorithms to generate content3. Math Mystery Monster uses XML driven content to power their product.

Fig 34. Level XML


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7.4 Scoring Models

During the ideation of games, there was a constant focus on creating engaging and rewarding scoring models for the product. There were several iterations of possible models, some of them are listed here:

7.4.1 Scoring system -1

A set of mechanics where there are no Levels. The games have a pre-set time (60 or 90 sec) for the challenge (e.g. multiplication 1-100)The player starts to answer questions. So in case one consecutively answers correctly, then the system intelligently increases the complexity level of the questions and simultaneously the amount of scores that are being rewarded.

Now again, if the user gets consecutive wrong answers, then the system decreases the level of difficulty and the scores in reward.

At the end of the pre-set time one can land on the Medal screen (3000 score – bronze, 8000 – silver, 20000 – gold).

There will be a time limit to answer a question beyond which the user misses that question (5 sec)For instance an user got gold and the other student got a bronze. Both the medals get converted in to point‘s (1gold = 20 point, 1silver = 10 points, 1bronze = 5 points).

These point are then displayed on the “WALL OF FAME”.

Every time user takes a challenge and score a medal he can add points on the WALL and compete on the WALL OF FAME.

7.4.2 Scoring system - 2

Another model for scoring, inspired from the study of different games (Meteor Math, Angry Birds and Tap the frog) on the iPad.

Each challenge (e.g. addition 1-100) is presented in form of a game with levels. So assume the “RIGHT WRONG” game to have different levels with this challenge.

User starts the game on level one with 60 seconds in hand and minimum six questions to answer. He won’t proceed to next level before answering six questions correctly. If the time runs out then he has to replay the level.

At the end of each level user converts his current scores in to stars (Like Angry birds on facebook). So after playing 5 levels, user can accumulate 10-12 stars based on his performance. On the final screen once all the levels have been played, stars are added up. (If all the levels are not played then start counts are saved as in “Tap the Frog”, which user can later

Fig 35. Algorithm logic

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improve)Finally at the end say:

30 stars = 1 bronze40 stars = 1 Silver50 stars = 1 Gold

User gets the respective medal to fulfil his challenge goals.

The teacher can assign the user a challenge goal. For example, a bronze or 12 stars based on the understanding of the class.Also in this case, stars earned are a representation of the scores on “Wall of fame”So for the leader board, star x 10 = point.

7.5 Different mechanics used

Starting with the ideas about different mechanics, there was a high influence of games like:

• Meteor Math on iPad• Fruit Ninja• Angry Birds• Ice Ice May be(Manga High)• Temple run• Slingo by zinga on Facebook

Different games bring different kinds of mechanics, some has time as the driving force, others have number of coins one earns with which they can compete with friends on social platforms.Our games evolved from different approaches:

6.5.1 Time based

This is a generic approach where the user has fixed amount of time to play and earn coins/points.

6.5.2 Unlimited time to play and complete the level

Another approach tried, was to have unlimited amount of time for the users to answer, so it will be an infinite game play where the only way for the user to get out of the level would be to answer many questions incorrectly.The interesting part is, all the major incentives tied to the game play are associated with only fast players.

This kind of mechanic creates a pressure over the player to play faster and commit mistakes.

6.5.3 Why coins? (They could finally be part of virtual currency)

The entire idea of having coins was thought on the basis of generic understanding of kids. There is no data to back such an assumption, but looking back at our own childhood, coins were figured out to be one universal incentive that one can have.There are some properties attached to notion of coins that make them a valid incentive for children’s:

• Coins are universal in nature.• One can apply the gold, silver and bronze

categorization easily to coins.• Kids are fascinated with coins and the idea of

earning them.

In one of the games a piggy bank has been tried so that the idea of posessing and collecting coins becomes more established and evident.


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7.6 The prototype product

Game development was still in process when the idea of creating a prototype of the final product came up.A single game based product was planned, which would have the entire UI for parent, teacher and student to register and store their progress.

7.6.1 The prototype flow

1. The teacher clicks on the “Register“ button to register a class.

2. The following form opens up:

3. Teacher can enter “Number of students“ , she wants to enroll.

Below is the screen shot of the teacher dashboard when teacher sign’s up for the first time.

Fig 36. Mathfact product homepage

Fig 38. Register button on homepage

Fig 39. Teacher Signup form

Fig 37. Mathfact product planning

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4. Usernames password are genrated against each student added by the teacher and mailed to the given ID.

5. On clicking students name, the teacher can see complete statistics of the student.

Game

1. You can use a quick play or login to play on the website.

2. First screen of the gameplay

Fig 40. Teacher dashboard

Fig 42. Student statistics

Fig 43. Mathfact homepage

Fig 41. Teacher generated user ID & passwords

Fig 44. Mathfact splash screen

Math fact : http://www.playpowerlabs.com/games_MathFact.html


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3. The menu screen, to select the concept to be practiced.

4. The student has 90 seconds to finish a level, each correct answer will fetch him 100 points.

Each level is divided in to three difficulty level’s: Easy, medium and hard.

There is no score penalty on giving wrong answers.

7.6.2 Testing

The testing happened at St. Kabir school near SG highway, Ahmedabad.

Students: 10Time: 1 Hour

Fig 46. Different game screens

Fig 45. Mathfact concept selection screen

Fig 47. User testing mathfact (St. Kabir School)

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Insights

Some major insights that helped in game design process were:

1. Students of class 7th were finding it difficult to attempt content meant for class 5th.

2. Students find it difficult to type on keyboard. It takes considerable amount of time for them to search keys.

3. Not all computers in schools have flash installed. The testing was done on personal laptops.

4. Teachers are not very comfortable with interactive products , where students are left to explore and interact with the digital content.

5. In an hour of game play, only one student was able to achieve three stars (Maximum score).


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FIRST GAME

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8.1 Initial understanding

The initial task was to redesign a game called BSNL (Battleship Number line). This is a Number line estimation game. BSNL provides estimation practice with whole numbers, fractions, and decimals.BSNL was inspired from PAE(Percentage absolute error) number line estimation test.

8.2 Educational Importance of Number line estimation.

In 2008, the National Mathematics Advisory Panel stated: “The most important foundational skill not presently developed appears to be proficiency with fractions.” In response to numerous studies describing the challenges faced by American students in fractions learning, in 2010 the Institute for Education Sciences released a practice guide for “Developing Effective Fractions Instruction for Kindergarten through 8th Grade.”This practice guide strongly advocates the use of number lines for improving the student understanding of fractions [22]. Teachers in America tend to use part-whole representations of fractions (e.g., pizza slices) as opposed to number lines, which are a more common instructional tool in Asian countries. Number lines are also used as assessment tools for investigating students’ conceptual understanding of fractions. Notably, recent work by Siegler [23] demonstrated that the accuracy of number line estimation with fractions correlates with standardized test scores in 6-8th grade.

8.3 The game redesign

8.3.1 Original Game

The initial design for BSNL was more of paper texture styled based on a battle ship theme. The game narrative loosely suggests that students need to defend their island from invading robot pirates by firing missiles at their ships and submarines.

BSNL involves two basic modes: “Typing” and “Clicking”. In the typing condition, players type a number that corresponds to the location of an enemy ship that is positioned on a number line between two marked endpoints. In the clicking mode, the player is given the numeric location of a hidden submarine (e.g., “Submarine spotted at 1/3”) and needs to click on the location that they believe corresponds to the number. After the player has typed a number or clicked on the number line, a missile drops vertically from the top of the screen to the designated location on the number line. Animation and text-based feedback communicates the player’s accuracy after every round.

Fig 49: PAE Numberline estimation test.

Fig 48: BSNL on Brainpop.com

BSNL : http://www.playpowerlabs.com/games_BSNL.html


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8.3.2 Abstract Style

In the first redesign exercise, the current narrative aesthetics were replaced (robot pirates attacking) with an abstract game aesthetic.All the changes were done with minimal changes to the programming of the game. Aesthetics were changed that didn’t require significant changes to gameplay.

8.3.3 Iterations

Fig 50: BSNL Abstract redesign

Fig 51: BSNL Raw sketches



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Within this period, the BSNL UI and visual language went through many changes.

8.4 Concept it covers

• Numbers• Negatives• Decimals• Fractions• Percents• Operations

8.5 The final game design

Fig 54: Different Visual iteration of BSNL

Fig 55: Game screenshots BSNL

7.5.1 Game screenshots


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8.5.2 Visual design elements

There were four major design elements in the games.

1. The theme of the game was chosen to support the title and the narrative. A water based background with two boats floating represents our Number line. The colour of the boats was taken care of inorder to provide easy visual access to the values attached to them.

The RED colour over the flag (Fig 28) was one of the decisions where the designer tried to gain focus of the user as soon as he looks at the interface.

2. Another intentionally designed element was the “Piggy Bank”. The idea was to give a sense to users, as if they are storing coins that they earn.It also provides some space to experiment with character based elements and would reveal data when the game is up with multivariate testing capabilities.Different pigs were tried, in order to judge which support the theme of the game better.

3. Missiles were to fall from the top to hit the Submarines. With the completion of first game, the first feedback was pointing at the violent nature of the game.

So there was a shift from deadly missiles to cute looking pumpkins.

4. Finally, the target was small submarines pumping air bubbles in the water. Since the submarines came as a reaction to our click, they were not needed to visually dominate.

Submarines were designed in such a fashion that they gains focus with their presence but doesn’t dominates.

1. The other important element in the game was the question bar. One problem that was faced with the bar was “How to highlight it, without making it big and bright”. The initial UI design suggested that the lower end of the screen would be the best position for the bar. This also raises an issue: weather the user would be able to easily read and get attracted towards the bar.

Fig 60: Number Flags in BSNL

Fig 59: The questions tab, BSNL

Fig 56: Different pigs in BSNL

Fig 57: Missiles turned in to Pumpkins

Fig 58: The submarine , BSNL

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The bar was made to animate from a larger scale, entering the screen in centre and then settling down at the lower end of the screen.

2. The target symbol gives an easy understanding for mouse click to be used to hit something.

8.6 Result & Learning

One of the most important learning’s from BSNL redesign was, to always visualize things from student’s perspective. The size, shape, colour of visual elements and the interactions cannot be independent of student’s context.

Other thing that paved to become one of the important parts in the entire product development was the need to have a standard structure for games. This standard structure will dictate the different screens, objectives, scoring and in game transitions.

Fig 61: The target sign, BSNL


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GAMES

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Fig 62: Bubble POP game screens

9.1 Bubble pop

Bubble pop is a generic framework where users can pop bubbles to answer question, find equivalence and point the correct and incorrect answers.

Screenshots

Raw sketches

Fig 63: Bubble POP UI ideation

Bubble pop : http://www.playpowerlabs.com/games_BubblePop.html


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9.1.1 Iterations

The design of Bubble pop evolved a lot at different stages. Many decisions were affected by simultaneous studies on user engagement and gaming interfaces.There were several iterations before the final interface for the game came up.

9.1.2 Game Play

Inside the game, the user is presented with different kinds of bubbles and one needs to find the correct set of answers popping these bubbles. User’s quest through the game play will be enhanced by different type of bubbles that adds interesting mechanics to the game play.

The user gets a question in all the levels that maps it to different concepts, like greater than less than; equivalence, factorization, addition and then he is presented with a set of answers. User have to pop the correct bubbles; the interesting part is that one never knows the number of correct answers against a question.

Fig 64: Bubble POP background ideation

Fig 65: Different visual iterations for Bubble POP.

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9.1.3 Rationale

Bubble pop is just basically a multiple choice test. That makes it hard and engaging to play. However, it can let one assess how strong a student is, in a number of areas, and give them some practice that could help them become more fluent.

9.1.4 Concepts it covers

Numbers, negatives, decimals, fractions, operations.Detailed structures for levels would be:

MACRO LEVELS

• Whole Numbers• Odds and Evens• Skip Counting• Ordering• Greater or Less than? (Whole Comparison)• Multiples• Common Multiples• Special Numbers (Primes, Squares, Cubes; free

with any purchase?)

Arithmetic

• Addition• Subtraction• Multiplication• Division

Fractions

• Fraction Sort (Fraction Ordering)• Fraction to Fraction (Equivalent Fractions)• Fraction to Whole (Whole Number to Fraction

Equivalent)• Greater or Less than? (Fraction Comparison)

Decimals

• Decimal Sort (Decimal and Per cent ordering)• Decimal to Fraction (Decimal to Fraction

Equivalent)

9.1.5 Game Design Elements

1. Bubbles

The bubbles were an important part of the entire

game play and leads to different interesting dynamics.

There were different bubbles planned at different stages of design process. Some initial bubble were:

• Smoke Bubble’s (Transparent)On bursting this adds 2 more answers (Bubbles) to screen as an incentive. • Liquid Bubble’s (Acid)When this bursts, the liquid inside destroys any other bubble beneath. User needs to strategise his moves before he clicks this.

• Bubbles with thick material (Difficult to burst, so one needs to hold his mouse and pin harder to pop it. The harder user pins, the larger it grows. The trick here will be to estimate the threshold at which one can release the mouse to try and see if the bubble pops)

• Monster BubblesThey are interesting in the manner that they eat up your mouse pointer that obstructs the game play. These will be randomly placed in the games at the medium and hard levels.The mouse pointer reappears after 3 seconds. (User wastes 3 seconds!)How does it work? As the user approaches an answer, instantly he can see teeth emerging out of the bubble to form a monstrous face. If user is fast he can move his pointer in seconds else he is trapped and the monster eats up his mouse.

Towards the completion, the bubble evolves in to:

• Generic Bubbles This would be the default bubble with the popping animation. The Bubble was designed as such, that it can dynamically be tinted through Programming and can be used with various colours.

Fig 66,67,68: The proposed smoke, liquid and monster bubble


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• Smoke Bubble

This bubble would highlight all the correct and incorrect answers. The correct ones will turn green

and the incorrect ones red.

• Lightning Bubble This bubble will let user pop all the wrong bubbles, so that he is just left with correct answers.

• Bad Bubble

This interesting bubble comes up when user answers two incorrect questions consecutively. The black liquid from the bad bubble will cover all the other bubble and will prevent them from getting popped for a certain duration.

• Sand Bubble

Sand Bubble lets user freeze time. The pressure factor in the game is time, so popping this bubble is more of a time incentive for the game.

9.1.6 Interaction design Based Decisions

The most important interaction based design decision in the game was adjusting the Bubble Pop animation. It was quite a difficult task in order to decide the

Fig 69: The generic pink bubble

Fig 72: The lightning bubble

Fig 73: The bad bubble

Fig 74: The bad bubble hiding bubble

Fig 70: The smoke bubble

Fig 71: Smoke bubble highlight correct incorrect answers

Fig 75: The sand bubble

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exact amount of anticipation required for the bubble to pop. It took more than week and 4 animations from 3 different artists to get it correct.


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9.2 Magnitude comparison

Magnitude comparison represents a simple framework for comparing two values to each other. The framework is designed in such a manner that one can use text and images as part of the questions.

Screenshots: Raw sketches:

Fig 76: Magnitude comparison screenshots

Fig 77: Magnitude comparison UI

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9.2.1 Iterations

The design of Magnitude Comparison went through many changes through the period of time. Three different designs for magnitude comparison were ideated during this period.

9.2.2 Gameplay

This game makes players compare items on a chalkboard. Players are racing against the clock. They need to compare equation and images on both sides of the screen and select the desired option that satisfies the question asked. Each level had criteria for the number of coins required, for a number of star rankings on the level. Completing a micro level unlocks the next micro level.

9.2.3 Rationale

The rationale behind the games is to strengthen the visual comparison skill of students. Research has shown that students find it difficult to correlate numeric fraction to visual fractions[24] in form of a pizza.

The games work with Numbers, Fraction Number sand visual fraction modes.

9.2.4 Concepts it covers

Fractions, decimals and whole numbersDetailed structures for levels would be:

Macro Level Structure

1. Whole Numbers2. Decimals and Percents3. Fractions4. Mixed

8.2.5 Game Design Elements

1. Coins Tab

The coins tab in the games was carefully designed. The games interface is quite simple and hence gives us less of a chance to give effective negative feedback.Looking at other elements in the UI, we found coins to be important as an incentive, and hence can be used to give negative or positive feedback.

Positive Feedback: The coin scales up and shines, Fig 78: Visual iterations, Magnitude comparison UI

Fig 79: Coins in Magnitude comparison

Magnitude Comparison : http://www.playpowerlabs.com/games_MagComp.html


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with numerical number rising up with a “+” sign.

Negative Feedback: The coin vibrates with a movement in horizontal direction. The action is accompanied by a negative sound and coins dropping down from the coins tab with a “-” sign. 2. Equivalence option

Now as the gameplay suggests, there is a possibility of the two items on either side of the screen to be equivalent, this is important part of mechanics because it checks the actual conceptual knowledge of the student.The important part here was to place the equivalnce sign in such a fashion that it explains itself well,also it should’t hinder the gameplay .

3. Duster

As part of the game play the transition between two screens become fairly important. One of the aspects of this is to be logical while using any of these elements in the game.

Having the chalkboard and the class room there, duster erasing animation was thought of to be appropriate for a transition between screens. In order to erase dynamically generated screens, the movie clips were to be dynamically placed one after another so that they can mask each other.

8.2.6 Interaction design Based Decisions

The most important part of the game play here was to dictate an easy way of interaction for player.The early design suggested having the mouse interactions, but while prototyping the games, it was realized that fast paced games need more that just mouse click as mode of interaction.In order to solve this problem, a solution was devised in form of having two arrow signs besides both the entities and mapping them to the right and the left arrow key.The designs were specifically made to resemble the arrow keys present on the keyboard so that user finds it easier to understand and map.

Both the mouse and the keyboard interaction were left open for the user here. This particular game will let Playpower Labs experiment on the interaction style of the user and support the understanding with data that we will be logged through the games.

Fig 81: Duster in Magnitude comparison

Fig 80: Equivalence symbol in Magnitude comparison

Fig 81: Questions tab, Magnitude comparison UI

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9.3 Right Wrong

Screenshots:

Raw sketches:

8.3.1 Iterations

The design of Right Wrong went through many changes through the period of time. One of such iterations is show below.

Fig 82: Right wrong game screenshots

Fig 83: Right wrong game UI planning

Fig 84: Visual iterations, Right Wrong UI

Right Wrong: http://www.playpowerlabs.com/games_RightWrong.html


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9.3.2 Gameplay

The player has to mark a statement as correct or in-correct. The game has a duration of 60 seconds. The user needs to answer as many questions as they can in these sixty seconds.

9.3.3 Rationale

The game aims at developing an estimation skill in the students. To answer a question, not every time one needs to precisely know the answer, but just a hint of what it could be. This leads student to what we call as “MATH FLUENCY”, which is an intuitive understanding of math.

9.3.4 Important features

1. The answer Box

The answer box is mapped with both clicking and key pressing functionality. The visual of keyboard keys provide an affordance for the user to switch between both input mediums as per his comfort.

2. The question BOX

The question box was designed in such a manner, that a sequence of question is visible on the screen. One of the primary reasons to have two faded and one highlighted text was to drive user focus on the

central text, simultaneously absorbing what went off and what’s coming in.

The mechanics are inspired from a famous iPad game “BRAIN TURNER”.

Fig 85: The answer box, Right Wrong

Fig 86: The question box, Right Wrong UI

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9.4 Jelly Beans

Simple counting games loaded with different small mechanics that provide different ways for kids to count.

Screenshots:

Fig 87: Jelly beans game screenshots


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Raw sketches:

8.4.1 Gameplay

Jelly beans provide different mechanics one after another in form of different questions. Each mechanic presents itself with new interaction style.The player needs to answer each mechanic in 60 seconds. There is a bonus bar for the players to earn bonus coins if they are fast.

8.4.2 Rationale

Counting in case of children is associated to the concept of numerosity. It is this concept of numerosity that kids find difficult to attach with word numbers[9]. The problem here is to understand that number of words do not refer to individual items, or to properties of individual items, but rather to properties of set of items.

In order to cater to this problem we tried to come up with various small mechanics that help students associate these number concepts with set of items.


1. Feedback Character

The entire theme of the game revolved around small colourful jelly beans in a household setting. A character was chosen, someone from the house-hold, who can give positive or negative feedbacks.Picking things from our child hood, a grandfather was visualized teaching and giving feedback to kids on counting related problems.

2. Jelly Beans

At the start of the game design, there was a need to find small entities that can serve as the basic unit of counting in our games. Looking at different options of cookies and candies, the design finally settled with jelly beans.

There were two important rationales behind using jelly beans:

1. They are small from game UI(user interface) point of view.2. They come in variety of colours and are popular amongst kids

Fig 89: Feedback character, Jelly beans

Make 4 Beans

Which is More?

GO!

GO!12How Many?

Number Sense

Counting

Counting to multiplyingto estimating to combinations

0-66-12

12-5050-100

100-500500-?

Fig 88: Jelly beans game UI planning

Jelly beans: http://www.playpowerlabs.com/games_JellyBean.html

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9.5 Place Value

Screenshots:

Raw sketches:

Fig 90: Place value game screenshots

Place Value: http://www.playpowerlabs.com/games_PlaceValue.html

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9.5.1 Gameplay & design document

GAME MECHANICS - 1

In the first game mechanics, the user needs to know, which digit in a particular number stands for hundreds, thousands or tens place.

In the gameplay a user have to click the required digit

in minimum possible time. A stopwatch keeps track of users time and the lower it is the better he will score.The bonus will also decrease with time, as we wanted to emphasize time. This adds a bit of fun and

competition. GAME MECHANICS - 2

In the second mechanic, the player drags and drops the digits in its correct place values below. If user places say “3” on ones place here, then it won’t settle but come back to its position. So there is no way for the user to make a mistake placing things

at wrong positions but the user wastes time bonus. GAME MECHANICS – 3

The faster user plays, the better it is.

GAME MECHANICS – 4

So there is a stack with number’s written in terms of their place value. In the starting, only the first written number is highlighted. The player needs to click on the correponding number from the grid. If he is

Fig 91: Place value game mechanics planning

Fig 92: Game mechanics 1, Place Value




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correct the focus in the stack shifts to the next written number or in case he is wrong, then the user gets a negative feedback(may be like in bubble pop) and he again attemps to get them correct.

So if user is not correct he wastes time bonus. GAME MECHANICS – 5

The idea here is to see a number in it’s pure place value form and add it up together to use it for further arithmetic.

GAME MECHANICS – 6

Here the user has a grid where he selects different elements of the place value system to create a desired number.The box below will update with each act and will show what a ‘4’ in thousand column means and then

a ‘3’ in hundreds.Every time when a block is selected, one gets a feedback. If the answer is wrong one needs to again click and select some other block till the time he gets it correct.

There was an effort, not get inncorrect answers from the users. The gameplay pushed the users to answer correctly each time he answers incorrectly.

9.5.2 Rationale

The idea of the game is to provide number of small mechanics to users in order to understand the depth of place value. More than a concept, place values are set of rules that need to be applied in various situations, in order to strengthen this aspect; the developers provided whole lot of practice in various forms and situation for the user to get accustomed to these rules.


1. The Question BarThere were three important aspects related to the question bar :

• Attracting user attention to the question

The question pops out in the screen first scaling up and then settling down at a position.This lets the design element gain user focus in order for them to read the question easily.




Fig 98: The question bar, Place Value

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• Highlighting important parts of a question

Since there are different mechanics in the game with different set of questions , there was need to highlight certain parts of the question.This would make it easier for the user to absorb the

questions instantly.

• Using the question bar as a feedback

There was need to give some negative or positive feedback to the user when he answers a question.

Looking at the interfaces, there were already many elements that needed attention and adding one more in form of feedback would have made things complex.Finally it was decided to have the question bar as feedback. On an incorrect question the bar would shake in the left right direction with an error sound.

2. Timer and Bonus bar

This particular game was a bit different from others in terms of the different game mechanics that were used as part of the same game play. Rather than having a new question after answering one, the user gets a new mechanic altogether.

In order to support this new structure there was a need of a time pressure mechanic as the scoring sys-tem. So user have 40 seconds to answer a particular question with a time bonus bar.The faster user answers, the more coins get added to his score.

To visually justify this new mechanic, a timer bonus bar for the game was created.For users to easily understand the association of bonus bar and coins, the coins were animated to fly from the bar towards the coins symbol at the top right of the screen.

Fig 100: Timer bonus bar, Place Value

Fig 99: Highlighted colored section in question bar.


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9.6 Angle asteroid / Space coordinate

Screenshots:

Raw sketches:

Fig 101: Angle asteroid / Space coordinate game screenshots

Fig 102: Angle asteroid / Space coordinate game planning

Angle asteroid : http://www.playpowerlabs.com/games_AngleAsteroid.htmlSpace coordinate: http://www.playpowerlabs.com/games_SpaceCoordinate.html

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9.6.1 Iterations

9.6.2 Gameplay

Both the games have fairly simple game play. The player tries to safeguard his ship at the centre of the screen. In order to do that he has to avoid various kind meteors approaching the ship.

The player can fire lasers from his ship using angles in degrees or coordinates in the X and Y axes.

The idea for these games was to make a fun and engaging quest for players in order to learn angles and coordinates. It’s fairly easy to map the idea of angles with shooting and coordinates to position lasers to blast asteroids and meteors.

1. The input Box

The input boxes in the space coordinate games were important as a design element. The input interaction was a difficult one to decide.The idea was to place sliders to minimise keyboard interaction, but one of the insights from research suggested that keyboard interaction let users emphasise on numbers.

We studied Carnegie learning input boxes

The X and Y input boxes were to be placed one after another, since they were right in the centre over lapping the grid.

In the final iteration the design team settled on this design for the text field. 2. The grid

The endpoints of the grid were important as a design element. Simplistic shapes were needed to define and highlight these numbers.The contrasting colour used in the design help gain user attention.

Fig 103: Visual iterations, Angle asteroid/Space coordi-nates UI

Fig 104: Carniege learning input box

Fig 105: Initial input box, Space coordinates

Fig 106: Final input box, Space coordinates


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9.7 Clock game

Screenshots:

Raw sketches:

9.7.1 Gameplay & design document

So the game starts with easy question and the easy mechanics like the multiple choice question(MCQ).Here the player chooses a particular answer against a clock.The complexity of the mechanics increases with the kind of questions that are asked and check’s the textual understanding of time for the user. Another similar game mechanic could be choosing visually as to: what time it is?

Fig 107: Clock game screenshots

Fig 108: Clock game UI planning

Clock game : http://www.playpowerlabs.com/games_Clock.html

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Fig 109: The grid, Space coordinates

This will test how well user understands time on a clock.Again the questions asked at each level determine the complexity.

Two clocks are compared against each other.Based on the level and detailing of the clock (Hints about minutes and seconds) one can ask a question from generic hour difference to complex seconds and other interesting things.E.g. stopping the two clocks one after another at a distance of 35 minutes.

The user needs to stop the watch at his own will. But the complexity of the level defines how fine the clock jumps. So on the 3rd level it stops at only multiples of 5 but at a greater level it ends up in 4 hours 39 mins.

The last mechanic could be about dragging and placing the clock handles manually at a particular point. From an interaction point of view this mechanic gives user a good feedback and enriches understanding of how clock works effectively.

Fig 109: Game mechanics 1, Clock game





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9.7.2 Iterations

9.7.3 Rationale

The rationale behind the clock game was to place different scenarios related to clocks in front of the user. The idea was to place scenarios from day -to-day life of the user so that he understands the significance of context and concept.

9.8 Number jumble

Screenshots:

Raw sketches:Fig 113: Visual iterations, Clock game UI

Fig 114: Number jumble screenshots

Fig 115: Number jumble game planning

Number Jumble : http://www.playpowerlabs.com/games_NumberJumble.html

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9.8.1 Gameplay

The game starts with a a set of numbers arranged in a matrix. The X and the Y grids are filled with certain numbers. The player needs to click and swap number on the grid to fit on to the intersection of the X and Y elements. The Intersections here are based on the operator that is represented on the upper left.

9.8.2 Iteration

9.8.3 Rationale

The game helps students see patterns in numbers. For instance, if one looks at a multiplication table, one can see certain patterns. By having the table with only a few numbers at a time, this would help students notice those patterns as a strategy for

quickly completing the game. This is one of the reasons it is important to have the numbers in the proper order along the sides of the table.


1. The Operator

Since the game is about finding patterns in a two dimensional matrix. These patterns are dictated by the operator on the top left of the grid.While playing the game it was found that, the operator was over powered by other game design elements. In order to highlight the operator, the operator is animated to slowly enter the screen and then settle down at its position gaining enough focus for the player to understand its importance in the game mechanic.

2. The tabs

The tabs represent different numerical digits. User can click and swap different digits.

Now the game mechanics suggested having three states of tab

• DefaultIn this state the tabs can be clicked and swapped. • HighlightedInside the game, in order to earn bonus coins user can place these highlighted tabs. • SettledFinally, once the tab reaches its correct position, it settles down in the background and catches less

Fig 116: Number jumble game planning

Fig 118: Highlighted operator, Number jumble

Fig 117: Visual iterations, Clock game UI

Fig 119: The default, highlighted and the settled tab, Number jumble.


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attention.A complete grid would look like this, inside the game play.

9.9 Games conceptualized (Design Docu-ments)

There were some games that were conceptualized but never developed. One of the main reasons for dropping these games was them not being the core concepts but concept built over others.

After a point of time it was decided to first focus on strengthening the core concepts like Fractions, Angles etc.

9.9.1 Money Game

In the game play, user drags and drops the coins and the notes to sum up the desired target on the left. If in case he has dragged a wrong coin/note, then he can always click on it to go a step back.

The white dots on the upper left represent the number of steps available for the user to reach the target. In initial levels user can use the total number of steps or may be less than those to achieve the target, but with complex levels user have to specifically fit in with the number of steps.

E.g. If the target is 114.95 Rs. with 14 steps available then he cannot use anything less than 14 steps to achieve the target.

The total tab reflects the current amount deposited.One can switch back and forth with coins and Notes.

9.9.2 Volume surface area

Mechanics: 1

We would want the user to calculate the volume spe-cifically for each form and then compare.

Mechanics: 2

The MCQ type: User need to calculate and select the volume for a specific given FORM.

Mechanics: 3

User need to enter the amount of liquid to fill the 3d container.

Fig 120: Complete grid, Number jumble

Fig 121: Money game UI

Fig 122: Mechanics 1, Volume surface area

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9.9.3 Area perimeter

Mechanics: 1

In this mechanic one can visually calculate area. In a more complex shape he can use the “1cm2” aid to devise the needed components (length or breadth) and find out the area of the shape.

User can play around with questions a lot like the “odd number” in this case.

Mechanics: 2

Here user is supposed to calculate area for two figures (For easier levels it could be similar concen-tric shapes but later developers can try with different shapes).The Idea here is to make player realize that area is not just related to a shape or formulae. It has prac-tical importance in calculating area for a desired space/shape.

Mechanics: 3

Here the user has a space allocated. He needs to guess the dimension and fill in the boxes below to visually see the shape filling up in the area.

Fig 125: Mechanics 1, Area perimeter






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Mechanics: 4

Mechanics: 5

9.9.4 Laser multiplication

The player turns on and off the lasers to make glow-ing “orbs” at the intersection. The intersection of the lines is the product of the number of lasers.

One of the aims of the games was to target multipli-cation matrices. This game also highlights the con-straints one might have while working with matrices as an concept.For example it is impossible to make 5 orbs below using these lasers and their intersections. Situation like these situation reveal the concepts related quite effectively.

Fig 129: Mechanics 5, Area perimeterFig 131: Laser multiplication planning

Fig 128: Mechanics 4, Area perimeter Fig 130: Laser multiplication UI

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CONCLUSION &LEARNING

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10.1 Conclusion

The Playpower Labs educational gaming product for 3rd to 7th graders will be released early November, 2012 in US for licensing. The product aims at suc-ceeding as an engaging platform for kids to study math and also act as an area of interest for learning science researchers.

10.2 Learning

This project made me realize that there can be an-other dimension to games – beyond something that is just fun and enjoyable. I realized that educational games can indeed play a crucial role in one’s learn-ing process. The use of statistics and rigorous data analysis in optimizing the game design was also a new paradigm for me. The exposure of working with leading educational researchers from Carnegie Mel-lon University is something that has broadened my vision. The ability to quantify learning, in particular, still sounds very intriguing to me.

During my meetings with Dr. Jignesh khakhar, I was exposed to various research readings that surround the ecosystem around effective human computer interaction and games. The project was focussed on learning through games – but as my understanding grew, the question actually became - “How learning takes place?” This question though simple, is actually a difficult one to answer. I tried to find an answer to this question by going through many books, papers and articles. A portion of my document talks about speakers that highly inspired and facilitated my understanding of how learning happens. All this time I was trying to continuously look back at my own childhood to draw inferences from my experiences to support my understanding.

The startup environment had a lot to teach – in par-ticular the importance of initiatives that one can take as a team member and the impact it can make in the end product. I realized how important each team member is and how each of our work fit together to make a great product. The experience also taught me a lot about my own leadership skills. Working with excellent software engineers, I was also able to learn more about programming, importance of writing modular code, collaborating with several developers on the same codebase etc. Leading a team of 4 de-signers, having them collaborate with each other and coming up with the right end product has given me a

great deal of confidence in myself.

I realized the importance of clear communication with all the stakeholders in the project as something that is very crucial. As some members of the team were remotely based – writing clear effective emails is a skill on which I have improved over time.As an ending note, a point I would like to make is that Design process should not only include the user in the process but also keep in mind various Market factors. Because ultimately the design has to end in the market – and the product would truly be a good design only if it is a successful product in the market.


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APPENDIX

11

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11.1 Interviews

11.1.1 Interview guide

1. On what concepts do students falter every time (class wise)(Teacher Question)?2. Do you have any ideas about any kind of games which would make greater impact to students?3. Would you allow us to attend the classes of students to have an understanding of how students are taught in class?4. Which grade students are properly able to handle computers?5. Which medium do you think would be more helpful for the students to learn in games? (Computer / Tablets / Something else)6. Do you think educational games would really benefit the students?7. Which product other than educational games do you think the school would benefit more than anything else?8. What kind of interaction with computers does a student have gradually in every class? (How much do you teach in every class about computers?)9. Are they allowed to play any kind of computer games?10. If yes, what specific games they are allowed to play and what are the goals meant to achieve within these games?11. Which are the specific classes (standard) which are allowed to play games?12. On a week, how much (depending on the standard) does a student has an interaction with computers (in hours)?13. How much fees do you charge to the students?14. What is the basic distribution of money invested for every student?15. Does the school buy any legal application or software for students?16. How much does your school invest in e-learning stuff?17. If yes, then what value does e-learning application add to the student learning?18. Would you like to experiment with new e-learning process through the medium of games?19. Do you think educational games can benefit the students?20. When do the students get introduced about drawing in colours?21. Do they frequently use primary colours?22. What are the analogies other than the textbook content which are given to make the students

understand the operations(Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division)23. Total no. of students in the school24. Type of School i.e. (Completely private / Government aided)

11.1.2 Excerpts from An interview

Interview with Divine International School Principal

Q.What are the educational softwares which you use in your school?A. The educational software which we use are Ikem library from Mexus Education as well as Standford backed language library.Q.From which standard, do the children start having interaction with computers?Ans. Its from the standard 1, they have frequent sessions with computer . Every student atleast has one hour session with the computer within a week.

Q. Do they have any specific task to complete or are they allowed to explore?A. Well, they have some specific tasks to complete. After this they are allowed to explore in the specific software as there are games also included in the software provided.

Q. What is the curriculum which you follow?A.We follow the CBSE curriculum.

Q.So the Softwares are also in accordance with the curriculum?A. Yea they are in accordance with the curriculum and each every task in the labs are designed in accordance with what is going on parallel in the class.

Q. What do you think about educational games ?A. See, the point is if there is something unique experience which the game has to offer then I think somebody would be interested to try this products out. But I have seen some of the educational products of companies like TCS, HCL etc and what I could find in the products was that there is nothing unique which we could not find on the Internet. So why school, invest 15000rs anually, if something is available on internet free of cost.


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11.2 Content structure(BSNL)

Macro Level 1: Fraction Test

Level 1: Random Order. No tick marks. 0-1: 1/10, 9/10, 2/5, 3/4, 1/3, 1/2, 5/10, 2/8, 2/4, 1/4If less than 25%, opens only Fraction Chains. If less than 50%, opens Fraction Chains and Hello Fractions. If greater than 50%, opens Fraction Chains, Hello Fractions, and Skipper Fractions. If greater than 70%, opens Fraction Chains, Hello Fractions, Skipper Fractions, and Freak-Out Fractions.

Macro Level 2: Hello Fractions

To support 3.NF.2.a: partition the number line by b equal parts. Recognize that each part has size 1/b and that the first partition is the location of 1/b on the number line: Find 1/b on a number line with tick marks, then without. Find a chain of numbers a/b without labels.To support 3.NF.3.c: recognize fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers: estimate 4/4 and 1To support 3.NF.3.a: understand fractions as equal if they have the same point on the number line. Estimate equivalent fractions at the same location.

Level 1: 0-1: 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 1/2, 1/4, 3/4, 1/3, 2/3, 1/1, 0/2Level 2: 0-1: 1/5, 2/5, 0/5, 3/5, 5/5, 4/5, 1/10, 2/10, 3/10, 4/10, 5/10Level 3: 0-1: 10/10, 5/10, 6/10, 3/5, 8/10, 4/5, 7/10, 0/10, 9/10Level 4: 0-1: 5/100, 9/100, 100/100, 50/100, 40/100, 4/10, 2/5, 60/100, 3/5Level 5: 0-1: 3/10, 1/3, 66/100, 2/3, 95/100, 20/100, 1/5, 75/100, 6/8

Challenge Level: Random selection of 10 fractions that were given before

Macro Level 3: Skipper FractionsRequires Hello FractionsLevel 1: 0-1/8: (the flags mark 0 and 1/8, where the 1/8th flag is to the left, where 1/8 would be on a 0-1 line. Tickmark mechanic or at 8ths): 1/8, 2/8, 3/8, 1/2, 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 6/8, 1/4, 8/8, 10/10 Level 2: 0-1: 10 classic fractions in random orderLevel 3: 0-1: the other 10 classic fractions in random orderLevel 4: 0-1: 12ths, 4ths and 3rds

Level 5: 0-1: (tick marks at 4ths) 16ths, 4ths and 8thsChallenge Level: Level 1 again, with no tick marks

Macro Level 4: Fraction Chains:

To support 3.NF.2.a: partition the number line by b equal parts. Recognize that each part has size 1/b and that the first partition is the location of 1/b on the number line: Find 1/b on a number line with tick marks, then without. Find a chain of numbers a/b without labels.To support 3.NF.3.c: recognize fractions that are equivalent to whole numbers: estimate 4/4 and 1Alt Mechanic: Players click at the divisions of the number line, causing a mine to float in the air/water, then the ships come in waves.Alt Mechanic: Click to place a mine. Drag to move a mine into place. When ready, hit fire.Core Mechanic: Entire denominator sequences are given as sequences, and if you get all of them, you get a bonus.1/2 < chain!1/3, 2/3 < chain!1/4, 2/4, 3/4 < chain!1/5, 2/5, 3/5, 4/5 < chain!1/6, 2/6, 3/6, 4/6, 5/6 <chain!1/8, 2/8, 3/8, 4/8, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8, <chain!1/10, 2/10, 3/10, 4/10, 5/10, 6/10, 7/10, 8/10, 9/10 <chain!

If a player succeeds in getting all the chains, a new level could emerge that randomizes the order of the items in the chains

Macro Level 5: Captain Fractions:

Requires Skipper FractionsLevel 1: 0-2: Easiest 10 fractions from onlineLevel 2: 0-2: Medium 10 fractions from onlineLevel 3: 0-2: (random order) 1/4, 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, 6/4, 7/4, 8/4, 1/10, 9/10Level 4: Mix 0-1 and 0-2 Fractions (medium difficulty, set 1)Level 5: Mix 0-1 and 0-2 Fractions (medium difficulty, set 1) Level 6: Challenge, random fraction from mix 0-1 and 0-2

Macro Level 6: Freak out Fractions:

Requires Captain Fractions or greater than 70% on testTo support 4.NF.3: understand non-unit fractions as

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the sum of unit fractions: 1/8 + 1/8To support 4.NF.3.a: add unit fractions with non-unit fractions: 1/8 + 2/8To support 4.NF.5: add fractions with denominator 10 and 100. 3/10 + 4/100Level 1: 0-1: (tick marks at 4ths) 1/2+1/2, 1/4 +1/4, 1/100 + 99/100, 10/100 +10/100, 1/4 + 3/4, 1/8+1/8, 4/10 +10/100, 90/100-9/10, 1/200 +1/2Level 2: 0-1: (tick marks at 4ths) 3/4-1/4, 3/4-1/2, 1/2-1/2, 4/4-1/2, 10/10-1/2, 3/8 +1/8, 7/10 + 30/100, 6/10 + 3/10, 4/100 + 1/10, 100/100 - 1/4, 200/100-2Level 3: 0-2: (tick marks at 8ths) 1/2 +1/2, 1+1/2, 5/4-1/4, 4/4-1/2, 2/4+1, 1+100/100Level 4: measurement --endpoints from 0-1/4: 1/4+1/4, etcLevel 5: mix:Level 6: challenge

Macro Level 7:MEGA FRACTION

To support 4.NF.4.a: multiply whole number by unit fraction: 3 x 1/4To support 4.NF.4.b: multiply whole number by non-unit fraction: 2 x 3/4

11.3 Website

11.3.1 Structure

The website has in total five pages.All games are listed on the games page. Clicking on a specific Icon, opens up the specific game page with information about concepts attached to game and instruction.

Clicking on the play button will open up a dialogue box for you to either register or play as a guest?Signing in will let you store your progress.

11.3.2 Research

In order to understand UI for such products and there structure, various sites were studied:

http://adaptivecurriculum.com/us/ http://www.dreambox.com/ http://playfo.com/ http://www.mochimedia.com/ http://airylabs.com/ http://www.sumdog.com/ http://mindshapes.com/ http://zeptolabs.com/ http://www.clubpenguin.com/ http://buzzmath.com/ http://educomp.com/ http://brainpop.com/

Understanding Audiences

Potential audiences for the site:1. funders (investors, grant givers, etc)2. customers (distributors, schools, brainpop)3. researchers4. press5. parents6. kids7. Other learning game companies


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Website

Games

11 Games Option

Home

Individual games page

Play as a Guest

Registration

Parents Teachers Students

About Us Contact UsBig Ideas

Games

Fig 132: Website structuring, playpowerlabs.com

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11.3.3 Web UI

Initial mockups:

After deciding upon basic UI elemets on the homepage, which will include a Video player and a image gallery to showcase developed games. The iterations on homepage design started.

After deciding on a UI, there were several alterations to the placement of elements in order to reach the final designs.

Fig 133: Initial UI for playpowerlabs.com homepage

Fig 135: Initial UI for playpowerlabs.com homepage

Fig 135: Homepage iterations, playpowerlabs.com


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11.3.4 Understanding Need of different pages

HOME

While designing the page there were two clear goals:

1. Clean UI2. Minimal Text

The page was aimed at establishing a feel of what Playpower Labs looks like. The task was to design something that looks fun to children. The landscapes used in the backgrounds were also inspired from different animated movies.

Final design

GAMES

The games page needed to highlight games. The initial idea revolved around having just thumbnails of games. As the website and the product evolved we felt the need to have text with thumbnails for teacher to access information attached to each game faster.fig138 BIG IDEA

The need for this page was to highlight the “Special factor” about playpower labs.

Fig 136: Usability alterations, playpowerlabs.com homepage

Fig 137: Final homepage design, playpowerlabs.com

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As Playpower Labs “Number sense” is one of the founding pillars of the company.The page details out why “Number sense” is impor-tant for kids.

It was planned to blog, update classroom trials, pub-lish online research and research methods here on this page.

Fig 138: Games page designs, playpowerlabs.com

Fig 139: Big Idea design, playpowerlabs.com


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10.3.5 Final designs

Homepage:

Games:

Fig 140: Homepage, playpowerlabs.com

Fig 141: Games page, playpowerlabs.com

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Contact us:

About us:

Team:

Fig 142: Contact page, playpowerlabs.com

Fig 143: About page, playpowerlabs.com

Fig 144: Team page, playpowerlabs.com


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11.4 Video

11.4.1 Need for video?

The idea of having a video on the homepage was mainly influenced by other products in the market.Some reasons that make the video a must were:

1. It helps explain the product fast.2. It allows the website to have simple UI on the homepage with minimal text.3. The visual quality of video establishes an essence of the product.4. The video needs least amount of effort from user’s side to understand what is being said.In case of the product, the innovation and research that the company follows while developing products is difficult to explain and communicate. The video as a medium effectively allows product developers to easily reach out to the audience and place the product within their context.

11.4.2 Precedent studies

1. DUOLINGO

The duo lingo video aims at making user understand the structure of the product. It lets one measure the incentives attached with the product and the effort required.

The vector motion graphics visual style that Duolingo uses, tries to portray the information in simple shapes and basic colours.

2. AIRYLABS

With the video on their homepage, Airylabs tries to place the rewarding experience of their product in front of their prospective users.The videos aims at establishing the sense of experience, those kids will have with the product.

The live action footage, with a well written script clearly makes people jump in to the video and visualize themselves.

10.4.3 Initial storyboard

• We start with learning having a close up shot with student’s face trying to understand something.

• A notebook or a black board showing some Math written so as to establish the context of math.

• We show a classroom with children may be studying or looking in a direction. (They are concentrating on something and finding things difficult).

• Another shot with a parent/teacher helping the kid (standing behind him).

• A notebook with math or some mathematical equation and cross sign to signify wrong .answers.Up till here we wanted to say “Kids learn math in schools and they need help”

• Here we introduce play power with a 3 sec shot close up on our logo.

• Another shot that reads out introduction section or some text about us (All this stuff will be shot from camera with text either printed or on some digital device).

• student playing games (2-3 different shots). We need to capture their expressions .

• Some person (May be you) approaches and says a precise line about learning.

• A shot of our game and game play with expression from the students (The voice over will keep on explaining how we design games and how the thing works)

• Another shot that shows a graph, where voice

Fig 146: Duolingo[Image source : Duolingo.com]

Fig 145: Airy labs[Image source : Airylabs.com.com]

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over explains how data analysis happens and how our intelligent systems, maps knowledge components.

• Another game with its game play (Here the voice over can explain how teacher and parents looks at the progress and how the product is placed).

• In the next shot we show a dashboard where a developer changes some setting and we establish how multivariate testing works (need to think more on how we can establish it).

• Now a class room shot with students raising hands and a smiling teacher (showing how our product changes the school environments where no one is left out).

• We show a leader board • Another shot with kids playing the game• Again someone enters and says (2-3) lines about

product and its impact and heavy research done in this field.

• Last shot, students standing in a group looking at a common PC or Tab smiling (we are trying to show that everyone in a class enjoys and gets benefitted from the product).

10.4.4 Visual storyboard (Initial script)

Fig 148: Script flow, video

Fig 147: Visualizing script, video


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Fig 149: Script final visualization[Image credits : Chandradip rana]

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11.4.5 Final script

<Rising through the clouds>If there’s one thing we know about the future, <visuals of floating orbs of light, cities, flying cars and robots>it’s that it will be filled with exciting advances in science and technology. If the foundation of the future is based on STEM: <zoom out to beanstalk/tree holding the clouds>science, technology, engineering and math. <leaves showing science, technology, engineering and math>Then to be successful in the future, we need to understand STEM!<zoom down>The root of STEM is math. <show big curvey above ground root system> But, math is also a barrier to the success of many students, who find math too hard, scary, and confusing. <lost in the roots, bumping into roots>Instead of hacking away at basic math problems, <hacking at the roots and counting fingers>, students need a way to leap ahead and master the rest of STEM.

How can we transform math from something hard, scary and confusing into something fast, effortless and fun.

Well, there is no question that math is challenging. <Climbing mountain of math>But challenges can be fun. <getting to the top, fist pumping>

That’s why Playpower Labs has developed a top-secret method for making the challenge of math fun for all students. <top secret lab imagery, smug looking scientist>We do this by distilling math challenges into fast-paced games that students really love. <as scientist hears this, he tries to tell us to be quiet-- when it’s revealed, he smacks his head>

Because hundreds of thousands of students have played our games around the world, we’ve learned how to measure the learning progress of each student and adapt the games to their individual needs. As students learn, our games increase their challenge. Over time, our games help students develop the math confidence and fluency that will help them master the rest of STEM and discover their success in the future.

Playpower Labs is a worldwide collaboration of learning scientists and game designers that want to make the world a better place. And we’re doing this by making games that bring out the fun in math for everybody.

SO GET AWESOME AT MATH. The Future depends on it.


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Fig 150: Animatics based on final script[Image credits : Diwas bisht]

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Kori M. Inkpen(2001). Drag-and-drop versus point-and-click mouse interaction styles for children

Vincent Aleven, Eben Myers,Matthew Easterday,Amy Ogan(2010)Towards a framework for the analysis and design of educational games

Marc prensky (2001).Digital Game-Based Learning

A Liam Don, Shamus P. Smith (2010) applying bimanual interaction principle to text Input on multitouch surfaces and tabletops

Bloom’s Taxonomy vs. Game-Based Learning: toward a preliminary theory on games and learning

L. Buchanan, F. Wolanczyk, and F. Zinghini.Blending blooms taxonomy and Serious game design

David Womack, Investigating children’s intuitive understanding of number operations by formalising their mental strategies.

Using Handheld Gaming Device to Increase Multiple Intelligences with Digital Puzzle Game

Karen Wynn(1992).Children’s acquisition of number words and counting system

Juan Pablo Hourcade, Benjamin B. Bederson, Allison Druin (2004).Preschool children use of mouse button

Zeynep basoglu, Color scheme prefernces of elementary school children in their school enviroments.

Matthew Kam, Aishvarya Agarwal, Anuj Kumar, Siddhartha Lal, Akhil Mathur, Anuj Tewariand John Canny .Designing E-Learning Games for Rural Children in India

Edith Ackermann. Piaget’s constructivism, Papert’s Constructionism: What’s the difference?

Edutainment no thanks. I prefer playful learning.

Game-Based Learning: The Learning Revolution

Games and e-learningUsing the technology of today, in the classroom of today.

Camilla K. Gilmore and Elizabeth S. Spelke(2009).Children’s understanding of the relationship between addition and subtraction

Shaun Bangay, Louise Preston(1998).Immersion in interactivity

Donald Clark. Games and e-learning.

Enhancing children’s educational television with design: rationales and justifications.

Language abilities and math performance

Developing effective fractions instruction for kindergarten through 8th grade: A practice guide (NCEE #2010-4039).

B. Rittle-Johnson,R.S. Siegler&M.W. Alibali (2001). Developing conceptual understanding and procedural skill in mathematics

Effective Fractions Instruction: Institute of education sciences

Jeremy Roschelle and Stephanie D. Teasley.The construction of shared knowledge in collaborative learning environment.

MIT media lab: Learning to play and playing to learn

Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterweil, and Katie Salen (2010), Moving learning game forward

Susanne Seitinge.A new playground experience: going digital

Brian M. Winn .The design play and experience frame work

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