Muzzy Lane Blog

Growing Popularity of Gamification

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 07:53:00 GMT

I’ve heard it from Unity Technologies, Gabe Zichermann and Gamasutra: 2011 is the “Year of Gamification”. <img src="http://rwconnect.esomar.org/wp-content/themes/yamidoo/scripts/timthumb.php?src=http://rwconnect.esomar.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/HiRes.jpg&w=310&zc=1" width="200" align="right"> For anyone who is still unsure about the term, Gamification is very different from using serious games. Games are often story-driven, challenging activities which engage the player intellectually and the implementation of serious games is applying these challenging, intellectually engaging activities to a specific learning outcome. Gamification, on the other hand, is taking game-like tools such as point systems, trophy collection and competition and applying them to something that is not a game, and may or may not have a specific learning outcome. Often times, gamification is used in reference to game-based marketing or an app that is available once you purchase a specific product.

Serious Games for Health & the Evolution of Gaming

Tue, 24 May 2011 07:13:00 GMT

Last week was a busy one for Muzzy Lane software. Along with a visit from <a href="http://tierney.house.gov"> Congressman Tierney</a>, David Martz and I attended the <img src="http://www.competitiveedgeproducts.com/images/makotoarena.JPG" width="300" height="300" border="0" alt="The Makoto II Exergame Machine by ExerGame Fitness" align="right"/><a href="http://www.gamesforhealth.org/index.php/conferences/gfh-2011/">7th Annual Games for Health Conference</a> at the Hyatt Harborside in Boston. Games for Health is an organization that has been researching ways to implement serious games in the healthcare industry since 2004; at a previous year’s G4H conference we met Paul Krebs from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and thus began discussions for <a href="http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/2270.cfm?IRBNO=11-043">Quit IT</a>: a smoking-cessation game project funded by the National Institute of Health.

Assessment with Key Performance Indicators

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 01:31:00 GMT

<img class="b_fl" src="http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l608/tylermuzzy/SAG.jpg" height="140" width="200"/>One of the biggest concerns educators have about using games in education revolves around the question of assessment. “How do I know my students are learning anything in the game?” “How do I know what they’re learning?” “How do I know where they’re still struggling?” These are questions we hear from educators all the time. While many educators are sold on games as a way to build engagement and excitement in the classroom, many are still reluctant to whole-heartedly embrace them if they can’t prove their efficacy.

In truth, assessment is HARD. As a former classroom teacher, I certainly struggled with it. Sure I could give tests, and generate scores for my students, but even those assessments just scratched the surface of what learning was and wasn’t taking place in the classroom. Assessment is always difficult, regardless of the educational activity. Still, we feel learning games offer some interesting opportunities for assessment we’re confident instructors can get excited about, and eventually rally behind.

Serious about serious games: Rep. Vincent Pedone visits Muzzy Lane

Fri, 15 Apr 2011 02:56:00 GMT

On Thursday, April 15th, Massachusetts State Representative Vincent Pedone of Worcester visited the Muzzy Lane offices to learn more about our company’s serious games projects and how they can have a positive impact on the state’s game industry. Rep. Pedone was accompanied by Tim Loew, Director of Academic Planning & Operations at Becker College, and staffer Michael Mobilio.

Mad About Math Games

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:54:00 GMT

<img class="b_fl" src="http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l608/tylermuzzy/SAG.jpg" height="140" width="200"/>Math games have been around forever.

The first one I ever remember playing was good old Math Blaster. Math Blaster was a part of the first wave of computer games for learning. Many of these games took an approach that was pretty simple: Solve a problem or get the right answer, then get to do something cool (like blast something.) While some of these games sold pretty well, and even a few of them were fun, they certainly weren't the greatest tools for learning. In a lot of ways, Math Blaster was no more than a fancy flashcard game for learning math facts. The Blaster mechanic had absolutely nothing to do with the math learning objectives.

Last year, here at Muzzy, we developed a small math game prototype called Factor Madness. The game mechanics in Factor Madness are relatively simple. Players are given a target number which they need to identify all the factors of in as fast a time as possible. To do so, players will place "factor chips" on all of the correct factors of the target number. When they've all been placed, players hit the buzzer to check their answer. If they got them all, they'll advance to the next round. If not, the incorrect factors will be marked with an x, and those chips will be returned to the stack to be placed again.

How Games and Interactive Learning can Reinvigorate History Class

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:00:00 GMT

<img class="b_fl" src="http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l608/tylermuzzy/SAG.jpg" height="140" width="200"/>Last week our friend economic historian Niall Ferguson wrote an impressive article in Newsweek, detailing the reasons behind the lack of achievement by Americans when it comes to learning history. Many are so deficient they would fail to pass the test required of immigrants seeking citizenship! According to Niall the fault lies less in the quality of the teachers than in the methods they are using, including textbooks, and more importantly what they represent.

Zamzee: Gamifying Physical Activity

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:30:00 GMT

<img class="b_fl" src="http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l608/tylermuzzy/SAG.jpg" height="140" width="200"/>We’ve heard much about the obesity problem in America over the past few years. Studies show nearly 1 in 5 American children are obese, with the numbers even higher in many minority and low income communities. It’s a problem important enough to the attention of the First Lady, whose Let’s Move campaign aims to reverse this trend.

On his HBO program Real Time the other night, comedian Bill Maher blamed video games as a major contributor to the obesity epidemic. There may be some truth to Maher’s rant. Certainly too much of anything (video games included) is a bad thing. Still, I think there are plenty of examples of games being a part of the solution as well. Fitness games for the Wii and Xbox Kinect have been decent sellers. I’ve certainly worked up a sweat playing “Rallyball” or Kinect Yoga in recent weeks.

Incorporating games or game-like elements as motivators for physical activity for kids has a lot of promise as well. At least, that’s the thinking behind a program like <a href="http://www.zamzee.com/">Zamzee</a> (http://www.zamzee.com/). Zamzee is an online rewards program that incentivizes physical activity. In effect, it’s a technology aid that tries to “gamify” physical activity for teens.

GDC Serious Games Summit Day 2: Gamification

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:30:00 GMT

<img class="b_fl" src="http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l608/tylermuzzy/SAG.jpg" height="140" width="200"/>The Serious Games Summit at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco featured a jam-packed two-day program. I wrote about the Day 1 program focusing on Health Games in last week's column. While Day 1 was fascinating, Day 2 offered more of a "hot button" issue focus. The topic du jour? Gamification.

Honestly, I didn't realize gamification was such a controversial topic. In fact, I'm not sure I had ever even heard the term, which refers to the application of game mechanics or "game-like" elements to non-game experiences. While the term itself is a relatively new one, (and now a key marketing buzz word), people have been gamifying things forever. Back when I was an elementary teacher, I gamified just about every subject I could, in an effort to increase the attention and interest of my students. So, I was all ears to hear from some of the thought-leaders in serious games on the current gamification trends.

Highlights from Gamification Day:

GDC Serious Games Summit Day 1: Games for Health

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 08:30:00 GMT

<img class="b_fl" src="http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l608/tylermuzzy/SAG.jpg" height="140" width="200"/>I had the opportunity to attend the Serious Games Summit at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco last week. It was my first time at the SGS, and I was extremely impressed with the quality of the program. This year, they decided to split the two-day summit up thematically. Monday’s sessions all revolved around games for health. Tuesday’s focused on the hot topic of gameification. As a game designer at Muzzy Lane, I often find myself down in the weeds, working on very specific details for a particular project. Conferences like these give me an opportunity to break from the trenches and get a better sense of all the interesting work going on in the serious games space. And wow, is there a lot going on in serious games!

Muzzy Lane Gearing Up for “PAX East Made in MA Party”

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 02:29:00 GMT

On Thursday, March 10, 7-10 pm, Muzzy Lane will be a major participant in the "Made in MA" Event taking place on the eve of PAX East 2011. Over 1000 developers, media, government officials and investors will gather at the aptly named Microsoft NERD Center in Cambridge to celebrate the fact that Massachusetts has become a major center in the game industry, generating more than $2 Billion annually.

We will be showing off an array of games, from our series of classic Making History grand strategy games to some of our innovative educational games, such as the first in the “Practice” series of games developed with McGraw-Hill. Intended to be used at the university level, the game, “Practice Marketing” lets students truly put into practice the lessons learned from their studies.