Students Converge at Erickson Hall for Two-week Camp to Help Develop a Computer Game that's Out of This World
 

Quick. Think of a computer game that is nonviolent, educational, challenging, fun and—this might be the toughest one— appealing to both boys and girls.
Anything come to mind?

No?

MSU researchers Rhonda Egidio, Punya Mishra and Carrie Heeter wouldn’t be surprised. They couldn’t find anything of the sort, either. So they are doing something about it.

This summer, they began a two-year grant project to develop a computer-based game that will teach kids about science and space exploration, but involve the fun and challenge (and enjoy the same success, they hope) as some of the commercial games.

“We know from the research that in those middle school years interest in science and math decrease for both boys and girls and especially for girls,” said Egidio, a professor in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Special Education (cepse) and whose idea it was to develop the game. “The interest in math and science just plummets. So we focused on fifth and eighth grade and wanted to look at what was going on at those grade levels and find out from the kids what kind of game they would create.”

With the help of a $580,000 National Science Foundation grant, Egidio, Mishra and Heeter organized Space Pioneer Learning Adventures, a special two-week camp in which 40 fifth and eighth graders converged at Erickson Hall to learn about space and develop concepts for computer games.

The researchers’ goal was straightforward: If the kids could develop their own game, what would it look like? “We just wanted to watch them and learn from them and the games they developed. They’re the experts,” Egidio said.

A key was to separate the boys and girls because of the chasm between what boys and girls like about computer games. The researchers analyzed many of the popular commercial and education games and what became apparent was the male-oriented and violent content of the commercial games. Although the action makes the games fun for the boys, it mostly turns off the girls.

So the girls attended camp in the mornings and the boys in the afternoon. Teams of five were created, and each group had a teacher facilitator and two researchers who noted everything that was discussed or created.

The effort was to make the camp fun, and the students visited the Kalamazoo Valley Museum Space Station, visited with a nasa scientists and robotics expert, and even planted vegetation in simulated Mars soil.

At the end of the two weeks, the eight teams presented their game designs to the researchers and family and friends.

The Space Pioneers project was headed by (from left) professor Punya Mishra, Rhonda Egidio, and Carrie Heeter.

“The main thing we have found so far is that commercial games are basically void of educational content” Egidio said. “But there is much learning and skill development involved. That is what keeps the young people interested and engaged. The games are very, very challenging and very fun but they are void of educational content.

“Conversely, educational games have much content but they are simple to master and at best moderately entertaining or fun. They are just not challenging and complex enough. So the kids at the camp were clear that the games they created were not easy.”

In the fall, the researchers moved to the next phase of the project. They are working with artists and game designers to develop prototypes of the various designs. Once done, the researchers will present them to fifth and eighth grade students to get feedback. The students will not be told which ones were developed by boys or girls.

A particular strength of the development effort, Mishra said, is that it crosses disciplinary boundaries. Heeter is a professor of telecommunications and director of msu’s Communications Technology Lab in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences. Mishra and Egidio, meanwhile, are both in the College of Education.

“Having those different perspectives is important,” Mishra said. “You have to be open to different ideas and concepts and for a project like this that is essential.”
The final phase will involve developing the actual computer game. The game could be a composite of a number of elements from all eight game concepts the kids developed, or possibly one that proved most popular.

The process may take a year or more and will be expensive. Egidio said some games can cost more than a million dollars to develop. She is in the process of seeking additional funding, possibly through another grant or other sources. Yet all the researchers are convinced that the insights gained from the students will yield a computer game that is accessible to girls as well as boys and will draw the best elements from educational and commercial games.

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