CHEMIKAZE¨ - PROJECT OUTLINE II

 

  1. PROJECT TITLE

ChemiKaze¨Ð An Interactive Educational Chemistry Game

 

  1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

ChemiKaze¨ is an interactive educational game that teaches the basics about the atomic structure of elements in the Periodic Table. It will be developed using Macromedia Director MX or Flash.

 

INITIAL IDEA:

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 playerÕs 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 ÒlootedÓ 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.

 

REVISEDIDEA BASED ON SELECTED ACADEMIC STANDARD BENCHMARK:

Someone has stolen the diamonds on all the Jewel Artifact Display Boards in the National Art Museum, and hidden them on their respective floors of the building.

 

PlayerÕs Aim: On every floor, recover all the diamonds and reconstruct each artifact on that floorÕs Jewel Artifact Display Board before qualifying to move to the next floor. Finish all 4 floors and beat the clock before the Museum doors open.

 

Scoring: Points will be awarded based on diamonds collected, artifacts correctly reconstructed, speed on each floor, and beating the clock.

Player will find super gems revealed when certain artifacts are reconstructed. These give player a power boost.

With other artifacts, when they get reconstructed, the player gets mugged by someone and loses some of his or her super gems.

 

Relevance/Correspondence with Standard Benchmark:

GAME ELEMENT

REPRESENTS

KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER

Diamonds

Atoms in elements of Periodic Table

How many atoms are:

  1. in each element as a whole
  2. in the outer shell of the elementÕs atomic structure

Artifacts Ð color coded

Elements of Periodic Table Ð color coded to show Groups (Columns)

Relationship between Group number and atomic number of each element

Display Boards

Periodic Table (section)

Arrangement/Position of elements on specific section (row) of Periodic Table

Floors of Building

Periods (Rows) of the Periodic Table

Number of shells the elements on that floor have got in their atomic structure

Super Gems

Outer shell stability requirements of the elements

How many atoms each element needs:

  1. to lose in order to have a stable outer shell (these give the player super gems)
  2. to gain in order to have a stable outer shell (these take super gems away from the player)

*Increased Skill Levels will be marked by Player Ranking Titles at various Score Targets.

 

As a feasible starting point, one skill level (Ranking/ Score Target) will be completed for ChemiKaze¨ in this project.

 

 

 

  1. GOAL/PURPOSE

¤         To teach basics about the elements of the Periodic Table while entertaining and challenging players at middle school level Ð specifically 10th grade.

¤         To teach the repeating patterns of chemical properties using the repeating patterns of atomic structure within the Periodic Table.

 

  1. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

¤         To explore an effective means of merging education with entertainment, with regard to teaching students in 10thgrade about the repeating patterns of atomic structure in 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 Standard for their grade level by acquiring the skills required to master the game.

 

  1. PLAN OF ACTION

1.      Research PA Standards for Chemistry at10th grade 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 the first skill level of game background/environment

5.      Plan general interactivity and navigation at each screen

6.      Sketch and create characters and necessary props in Photoshop/Illustrator

7.      Sketch and create screens in Photoshop/Illustrator

8.      Import game elements (scenes/screens, characters & props) into Director/Flash

9.      Add interactivity, transitions and lingo

10.  Alpha test the game at this level

11.  Troubleshoot

12.  Package the game Ð CD, cross-platform (DVD?)

13.  Beta test game

14.  Troubleshoot where necessary, fix bugs and re-package

15.  Submit to professor for grading

 

 

  1. EVALUATION

¤         Cross-check with 10th grade teachers what students are expected to know about the Periodic Table to ensure that ChemiKaze¨ has the correct educational content.

¤         Cross-check with 10th grade teachers the benchmarks incorporated in ChemiKaze¨ and the appropriateness/effectiveness of the execution of knowledge transfer in the game.

 

  1. JUSTIFICATION

Instructional Gaming is an emerging 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 and attraction of entertainment, and converting that into an educational experience where feasible.

 

  1. LIST OF MATERIALS/EQUIPMENT NEEDED

1.   Interactive media development software - Macromedia Director MX/Flash

2.      Graphic Illustration software - Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator

3.      Graphics Animation software - Adobe ImageReady

4.      Word processor -Microsoft Word/Adobe Acrobat

5.      Sound effects producer/editor Ð Adobe Premiere / Garage Band?

6.      Music sound bytes

 

  1. BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES

¤         PA Academic Standards for Science and Technology and Environment and Ecology

http://www.pde.state.pa.us/k12/lib/k12/scitech.pdf

¤         Nesta Futurelab Series, Report 8:Literature Review in Games and Learning

http://www.nestafuturelab.org/images/downloads/Games_Review1.pdf

¤         www.ericzimmerman.com

 

 

 

ChemiKaze¨ HomePage  | My HomePage   |   Contact Me

 

 

Revised September15, 2005

© Sarah Ashley