The Great Video Game Contest

The Great Video Game Contest

Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock and roll.” SHIGERU MIYAMOTO (Creator of Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, and more)

“I recently learned something quite interesting about video games. Many young people have developed incredible hand, eye, and brain coordination in playing these games. The air force believes these kids will be our outstanding pilots should they fly our jets.” – RONALD REAGAN(1983)

“Video games are a waste of time for men with nothing else to do” – Ray Bradbury (American author) "For the same reason we don't allow kids to buy pornography, cigarettes or alcohol, we shouldn't allow them to go to stores and buy video games,“ – Leland Yee (California State Senator)

What my mom says about video games “Video games are a waste of time and a bad influence. Why should I spend that money on video games when I could spend them on books that you can read? It’s a mindnumbing experience. You need to get your exercise and your sunshine and get away from that addiction.”

What ARE Video Games? Four Critical Elements 1. Graphics 2. Interface 3. Player Activity 4. Algorithm

Taken from The Video Game Theory Reader by Wolf and Perron, 2003, Routledge

Graphics • Changing and changeable visual display on a screen involving some kind of pixel-based imaging. • The “Video” in video game

The Multi-User Dungeon or MUD: A video game or not?

GRAPHICS is a major area where we can easily see technology advancement in video games

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 2006 Original The Legend of Zelda 1986

Interface “Occurs at the boundary between the player and the video game itself and can include…the screen, speakers (and microphones), input devices (such as keyboard, mouse, joy-stick, trak-ball, paddles, steering wheels, light guns, etc.), as well as onscreen graphical elements such as buttons, sliders…which invite the player activity and allow it to occur.”

Hardware Interfaces

Software Interface

Player Activity The physical motion that the player makes to interact with the game.

Algorithm The PROGRAMMING in the game that tells the game how to respond to what you are doing. 1. How does the game know that your laser shot is going to hit the other player? 2. How does the game know to change the music to sound scarier when you are fighting the boss? 3. How does the game remember that you moved that stone in the room when you return to it for a second time? 4. Why is the game different every time you play it?

Moments in Video Game History 1962 – The first video game ever invented was Spacewar! which arose from ideas in missile defense systems in the Cold War

The First Hit Video Game Pong 1972

The Rise of “Edutainment”

Is Edutainment actually fun or is it ?

Science Question: Years of study by manned exploration, remote telescopes, and nearby probes have confirmed what about the earth’s moon? a) b) c) d)

That aliens once lived there That uranium is present there in significant quantities That water is still present on the moon That its seismic activity could cause significant changes in its surface in the next 500 years e) (b) and (c) f) (b) and (d) g) All of the above

ANSWER: C

Matson, John. LCROSS impact plumes contained moon water, NASA says, Scientific American Online, November 13, 2009

Hydroxyl OH strength of UV/Visible light from before and after impact

NASA’s LCROSS probe was intentionally smashed into the moon

Science Question: Which of the following beliefs about chocolate are true?

a) b) c) d)

It is toxic to parrots, horses, and dogs It can reduce the risk of heart attacks It may cause increased acne in some people It can be mixed with vegetable oils to create an alternative fuel for cars e) (a) and (b) f) (a) and (c) g) (c) and (d)

ANSWER: E

From Wikipedia “A study performed at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm…found that survivors of heart attacks who ate chocolate at least two or three times a week reduced their risk of death by a factor of up to three times compared to survivors who did not eat chocolate.”

“In sufficient amounts, the theobromine found in chocolate is toxic to animals such as horses, dogs, parrots, small rodents, and cats because they are unable to metabolise the chemical effectively.

The Great Video Game Creation Contest Competition Rules 1. Create a video game that asks science questions in the form of floating objects that may be clicked. 2. When finished, all classes will trade video games. 3. Each class will be ranked according to how well their video games follow the video game rubric and how well you are able to play the other class’ games. 4. The winning class gets a prize for the WHOLE CLASS.

Video Game Requirements The game must: 1. Be able to ask science/technology related questions with answer choices. 2. Use some different video game programming skills. 3. Keep score of the player’s progress. 4. Ask AT LEAST 5 relevant science/technology question. (E.g. relevant is NOT “Is the earth round or flat?” Too simple for 8th grade.)

The Science Questions • Need to be relevant • Need to have 4 more answer choices (in your best interest to make believable false choices) • Must have a legitimate SOURCE for your correct answer

From Wikipedia to More Original Source: The Chocolate Example Original Wikipedia Article For information on chocolate and heart attack reduction, see source 59. For information on chocolate’s toxic effects on certain animals, see source 2. ALWAYS find the original source that Wikipedia used. Wikipedia is not itself a source. It is a means of finding information in other sources quickly.

How You Write Up Each Question You need the following 1. Question 2. Answer Choices 3. Correct answer choice with short explanation 4. Source for correct answer

How you write it up

Question

The Moon Question Q: Years of study by manned exploration, remote telescopes, and nearby probes have confirmed what about the earth’s moon? a) That aliens once lived there b) That uranium is present there in significant quantities c) That water is still present on the moon d) That its seismic activity could cause significant changes in its surface Answer in the next 500 years Choices e) (b) and (c) f) (b) and (d) Correct g) All of the above Answer

A: (c) Water was recently discovered on the moon by NASA probe that was intentionally crashed into the surface of the moon. Source: Matson, John. LCROSS impact plumes contained moon water, NASA says, Scientific American Online, November 13, 2009 Source of Correct Answer

How you write it up Question The Chocolate Question Q: Which of the following beliefs about chocolate are true? a) It is toxic to parrots, horses, and dogs b) It can reduce the risk of heart attacks c) It may cause increased acne in some people d) It can be mixed with vegetable oils toAnswer create an alternative fuel for cars e) (a) and (b) Choices f) (a) and (c) Correct g) (c) and (d)

Answer

A: (e) theobromine is the compound that is toxic in chocolate and recent medical studies showed that those who took chocolate had a lower risk of a second heart attack

Sources: (1) Crosby, JT, Chocolate Toxicity - What Makes Chocolate Toxic To Dogs?, About.com; (2) Sydney Morning Herald, Chocolate 'cuts death rate' in heart attack survivors, August 13, 2009 Two sources for two answers!

Source of Correct Answer

Web Sources for Science Questions Interesting Websites

Publication

• • • • • • •

• Scientific American • New Scientist • News websites (BBC, New York Times, CNN, Fox News, Washington Post, etc.)

Howstuffworks.com Sciencenewsforkids.org Scienceinschool.org Nasa.gov Usgs.gov EPA for kids website Science-facts.com

You can also use the science that you have learned in your SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS. Those books are also good sources!

Let the competition begin!