Your Imagination will lead to Your Computer Science Education http://polack.umwblogs.org Live, Learn and Play Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:56:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 en Playability and Knowing The Audience http://polack.umwblogs.org/2008/06/12/playability-and-knowing-the-audience/ http://polack.umwblogs.org/2008/06/12/playability-and-knowing-the-audience/#comments Thu, 12 Jun 2008 14:56:44 +0000 polack http://polack.umwblogs.org/2008/06/12/playability-and-knowing-the-audience/ Each group will be given an age group and they are to find an free online game that would make the game successful for that age. Then they are to write a short blog about the game and where to locate it.

]]> http://polack.umwblogs.org/2008/06/12/playability-and-knowing-the-audience/feed/ Game Genre http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/10/02/game-genre/ http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/10/02/game-genre/#comments Tue, 02 Oct 2007 13:30:03 +0000 polack http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/10/02/game-genre/
  • Flashman: http://www.miniclip.com/games/flashman/en/
  • Run Escape: http://www.miniclip.com/games/runescape/en/
  • Interactive Pet Buddy: http://arcade.klikgamers.co.uk/playgames/202/interactive-pet-buddy.html
  • Monopoly Here and Now: http://www.shockwave.com/2006/promo/monopoly/
  • Big Catch: http://miniclip.com/games/big-catch/en/
  • Gin Rummy: http://www.miniclip.com/games/gin-rummy/en/
  • Poop Adventure: http://arcade.klikgamers.co.uk/playgames/103/ploop-adventures.html
  • Gold Miner: http://www.jokefrog.com/games/gold-miner.shtml
  • Wolfen Flash 3D: http://www.glenrhodes.com/wolf/myRay.html
  • Lewpen (don’t hit the red dots, and touch the squares!): http://www.lewpen.com/game/
  • On the Run: http://miniclip.com/games/on-the-run/en/
  • Copter: http://arcade.klikgamers.co.uk/playgames/28/copter.html
  • Crimson Room: http://www.fasco-csc.com/works/crimson/crimson_e.php
  • Fight Man: http://arcade.klikgamers.co.uk/playgames/95/fight-man.html
  • Stackopolis: http://www.miniclip.com/games/stackopolis/en/
  • Sim Girls: http://arcade.klikgamers.co.uk/playgames/76/sim-girls.html
  • Sudoku: http://www.miniclip.com/games/sudoku/en/
  • Anagrammatic: http://miniclip.com/games/anagrammatic/en/
  • Maze Game in 3D : http://www.thepcmanwebsite.com/media/flash_maze/flash_maze.shtml
  • Mr. Men Pinball: http://miniclip.com/games/mr-men-pinball/en/
  • Doodle: http://www.miniclip.com/games/doodle/en/
  • Bloxorz: http://www.miniclip.com/games/bloxorz/en/
  • Newgrounds http://www.2flashgames.com/f/f-1102.htm
  • Motorcross Fever: http://www.miniclip.com/games/motocross-fever/en/
  • Up-Beat: http://www.miniclip.com/games/up-beat/en/
  • Run Escape: http://www.miniclip.com/games/runescape/en/
  • Clash n Slashhttp://www.miniclip.com/games/clash-n-slash/en/
  • Baseball http://www.miniclip.com/games/baseball/en/
  • Table Tennis http://www.miniclip.com/games/table-tennis-tournament/en/
  • Rifleman http://www.miniclip.com/games/rifleman/en/
    • ]]>     http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/10/02/game-genre/feed/     Blog #4 Video Games http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/09/26/blog-4-video-games/ http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/09/26/blog-4-video-games/#comments Wed, 26 Sep 2007 22:31:26 +0000 polack http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/09/26/blog-4-video-games/ Games already taken:

    1. Kingdom Hearts
    2. Halo
    3. Rainbow 6 Vegas
    4. Ratchet & Clank
    5. Call of Duty 2
    6. Bio Shock
    7. Zelda
    8. Warcraft 3
    9. Kingdom Hearts 2
    10. Metroid Prim
    11. Halo 2
    12. Medieval II
    13. Half Life 2
    ]]>     http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/09/26/blog-4-video-games/feed/     Second Life and Groups http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/09/11/second-life-and-groups/ http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/09/11/second-life-and-groups/#comments Tue, 11 Sep 2007 13:16:58 +0000 polack http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/09/11/second-life-and-groups/ Second Life is full of life both virtually and real. People from all over the world escape to this virtual world to communicate for a variety of reasons, including, education, gaming, finding their one true love, preying on peoples’ innocents. Navigating yourself through the nonsense and irrelevant information, which is different for everyone, can be a waste of time, but just think about all the things you learn along the way.

    I have joined a variety of groups to get involved in the SL community. The group is for educators interested in or currently using SL. Information is sent out by any member via email that they feel is of interest to educators and academics. The amount of emails sent on a daily basis is massive, approximately 50 a day. The emails range from people introducing themselves to information about classes or exhibit being held in SL. I have found myself questioning do I really need this amount of email in my already full email box. Just when I thought I have had enough, I get something that I thought was useless but find out that my own students actually need this information, i.e. SL and Vista. The island for this group is no other than Campus: Second Life, I took you there. I have meet people from Germany, Ireland, Spain and many more. We talked about renting land, the latest art gallery, concerts, and how to build items in second life. In addition people are always asking for advice or to participate in some SL activity for research purposes. Just today I talked with a person who is a journalist for Sciende in Germany,see figure1.

    Chat Session with a Person from Germany on Campus Second Life

    Figure 1: Image in SL on Campus Second Life.

    The other group that I am going to tell you about is EDTECH. “EDTECH island is a teaching resource for all educators. We offer space for education events and teaching, and two informational centers [1].” I have received notices, see Figure 2, from these but have never participated since they meet at night when I am at home with my kids. The nice thing is that they allow us to use space for free. The group is 317 strong and has members mostly from the US.

    EDU TECh Group Notice

    Figure 2: Invitation from EDUTECH

    [1] General Description from SL Search Engine on EDTECH.

    ]]>     http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/09/11/second-life-and-groups/feed/     My thoughts on Gameheadz Video http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/30/my-thoughts-on-gameheadz-video/ http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/30/my-thoughts-on-gameheadz-video/#comments Thu, 30 Aug 2007 15:16:00 +0000 polack http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/30/my-thoughts-on-gameheadz-video/ Ralph Baer, the original creator of Pong was short changed in the settlement with Atari, however, this was not the only battle he ever in sued and in comparisons it was less life threatening. If you look at the following video you will find out that he escaped Nazi Germany before the Holocaust, fought in WWII and in an odd way this inspired his creation.

    I find it interesting that the gaming industry has not been limited to one country but has jumped through four countries over 30 years; the USA, the UK, Japan and Russia. Russia in particular never entered my mind as a place of gaming innovation and to find out that Tetris was created based on a Russian board game was new to me. The following video is a interview with the Russian creator and I found it easier to hear/understand than the Gameheadz video….the interview with the creator starts at 1:20.

    Finally the atmosphere at the original Atari reminds me of “Google’s” working environment without the hot-tube and the somewhat sexist feeling that Bushnell bragged about. Google has always been proud and has advertised the family friendly and health conscious environment that I would love to work in. Take a look at this website to find out more about working at Google.

    ]]>     http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/30/my-thoughts-on-gameheadz-video/feed/     Why did I offer this FSEM? http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/30/why-did-i-offer-this-fsem/ http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/30/why-did-i-offer-this-fsem/#comments Thu, 30 Aug 2007 13:03:12 +0000 polack http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/30/why-did-i-offer-this-fsem/ The ideas of games has always interested me and since my specialty in computer science is graphics it was a natural progression into game programming.  My favorite games are classics from my childhood: Centipede, Pacman, Ms. Pacman, and the original Atari home system.  While many of you may laugh at these, they were breakthrough technology during my childhood, just so you know I was born in 1970.  These days I rarely have time to play video games that are not related to my 3 (Brianna) and 5 (Elizabeth) daughters.  Most of the games I play these days are related to educational gaming.  Educational gaming deals with games that aid students in learning different academic topics.

    Games are more than programming.  They include art (which I am not good at), creativity (which I am good at), business, storytelling, and the economy.  Why do people play games?  How do game developers break into the girl market?  Why do people become addicted to games?  What make games so compelling?  These are the reasons I offered the seminar, this is interesting to me and to many others.

    ]]>     http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/30/why-did-i-offer-this-fsem/feed/     Second in the history of characters series featuring Pac-Man. http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/15/6/ http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/15/6/#comments Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:43:04 +0000 polack http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/15/6/ ]]>

    ]]>     http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/15/6/feed/     FSEM Games That People Play http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/06/fsem-games-that-people-play/ http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/06/fsem-games-that-people-play/#comments Mon, 06 Aug 2007 18:58:49 +0000 polack http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/06/fsem-games-that-people-play/ The Games that People Play is a new Freshman Seminar offered in the Fall of 2007. What makes games so interesting? Why do so many people play them? What makes people want to create games? What is a good game? Find out in the Fall of 2007.

    ]]>     http://polack.umwblogs.org/2007/08/06/fsem-games-that-people-play/feed/