Fall
2005
ChemiKaze® – An Interactive Educational
Chemistry Game
ChemiKaze® is an interactive educational game
that teaches the basics about the elements of the Periodic Table. It will be
developed using Macromedia Director MX or Flash.
The
player is on a mission to rescue hostages who have been kidnapped by dangerous
gangsters. Each hostage has been hidden in a different location (on land,
underground, on sea, underwater, in the air, forest and city) and is under
close guard by armed hoodlums. The guards are armed with chemical weapons of
different properties, effects and color, all being representative of elements
in the Periodic Table. The player has to
fight back with appropriate choice of weapons to eliminate the guards and
rescue the hostage in that location.
Scoring
will be done according to weapons selected, number of guards destroyed, and
hostages rescued. New levels of difficulty will introduce new weapons and more
challenging locations where hostages are kept.
The
player’s weapons are launched from a dashboard/launch terminal/arsenal (a
representation of the Periodic Table) that is easily accessible on the screen.
Rewards will be in the form of extra lives for rescuing a hostage; extra points
for clearing a level, eliminating a guard or choosing appropriate weapons;
protection/immunity from effects of the weapons “looted” from the dead guards.
Mines,
grenades, dynamite, gas bombs, splitters (disintegrating bombs), seekers
(missiles) and auto-burst rifles will represent elements of different groups
and periods, giving points equivalent to their atomic numbers and doing things
(or not doing some things) because of their physical and chemical properties in
the Table. Combinations of some weapons (responding to an attack with the wrong
weapon) can be lethal and deduct points (or even cost lives), or could be
greatly helpful and so yield extra points.
To
teach the elements of the Periodic Table while entertaining and challenging
players at middle school level.
§
To
explore an effective means of merging education with entertainment, with regard
to teaching students in middle school about the elements of the Periodic Table.
§
To
engage the player in an interactive, thought-provoking adventure that
progressively teaches them the names and properties of elements in the Periodic
Table.
§
To
persuade the player to master the pertinent Academic Standards for their grade
level by acquiring the skills required to master the game.
1.
Research
PA Standards for Chemistry at middle school level
2.
Select
Standards to incorporate in ChemiKaze®
3.
Draft
game plot in logical, chronological sequence of scenes/activity
4.
Sketch
and create storyboard for each skill level of game background/environment
5.
Plan
general interactivity and navigation at each screen
6.
Sketch
and create/animate characters and weapons
7.
Sketch
and create screens
8.
Import
game elements (scenes/screens, characters & weapons) into Director/Flash
9.
Add
interactivity, transitions and lingo
10. Alpha test the game at this level
11. Troubleshoot
12. Package the game – CD, cross-platform (
13. Beta test game
14. Troubleshoot if necessary, correct and
re-package
15. Submit to professor for grading
§
Cross-check
with middle school teachers what students are expected to know about the
Periodic Table to ensure that ChemiKaze® has the
correct educational content.
Stealth
education is a new area of media communication
and technology, and as an
Instructional Technologist it is in my direct line of work to explore
opportunities for harnessing the power of entertainment and converting that
into an educational experience.
1. Interactive media development tool -
Macromedia Director MX/Flash
2. Graphics tool - Adobe Photoshop
3. Graphics & Animation tool - Adobe
Illustrator
4. Word processor - Adobe
Acrobat/Microsoft Word
5. Sound effects producer/editor – Adobe
Premiere / Garage band?
6. Music sound bytes
PA Academic Standards for Chemistry at Middle School level
Copyright © 2005 Sarah Ashley