Category:Educational Gaming
From StoneHome
I count among my formative influences a number of games which shaped my ability to think in abstract or historical terms, to assess odd situations, and to quickly visualize complex problems. Some of the games I've played have dramatically increased my knowledge of topics I otherwise had no exposure to, or brought to bear points of view which I'd never considered. Given the amount of time that children spend playing games, and given the similar benefits I've gained from other entertainment sources, as an entertainer I am beginning to believe that it is my social obligation to put such effort into my work for the benefit of my customers.
Game design isn't easy; educational game design is even harder. I don't believe in games whose explicit purpose is to teach, as in my limited experience these games essentially always fail. Instead, I believe quite stronly in taking a planned game and spending time working educational value into it once the actual game is established. It is my belief that in an entertainment product, entertainment must be first and foremost during design. However, I also believe that once a game's principles and plans are established, that it's quite feasable to work a significant amount of educational value into the game after the fact.
This category represents the collection of principles I follow in order to postdesign educational matter into games. Whereas keeping a mental checklist is all well and good, abstract or obscure things tend to evaporate, and perhaps more importantly I solidly desire any game designer which is so inclined to also take these principles up.
