Musings and findings about teaching with games. Created by the learning community of EDTEC 670 at San Diego State University.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Triage Trainer - Morbid Yet Clearly Useful
TruSim is developing a serious game for the purpose of training health care workers that are the first responders in the case of a violent disaster. The gamer interacts with a three dimensional environment where the camera views the world through the eyes of the first responder. As the player walks through the world, they encounter debris, injured people with visible wounds of various types, etc. The graphics and imagery are realistic enough to make the squeamish uncomfortable as they move through the environment.
When an injury is encountered, the player can perform an examination and then must decide whether the patient is in urgent need of attention or not. If an injured party is well enough, the player should ask them to walk to the ambulance crew. If the injury is more serious, the player should begin treatment.
The player must make decisions constantly. For example, when the player decides to perform an examination, they must decide the level of examination they will perform since some examinations take longer than others. Once the examination is complete, the player must tag the injured party as to level of priority with four options available ranging from priority 1 (immediate treatment) to priority 4 (deceased).
I guess I can count myself one of the squeamish because the prototype video demonstration below is a little tough for me to watch. There is constant alarming noises such as sirens, moaning, etc. and it is a little unnerving seeing bodies littering the streets even in a simulation. Despite that, the game is compelling and seems like it will achieve its educational goals quite well once it is released.
I learned all about how to build a successful ant colony by playing the Ant War Game. This game has you first pick which type of ant colony you would like to develop. It gives you a brief description of your ant species to choose from (leaf cutter, harvester, weaver, carpenter or fire). From there you establish how much of your colony you want to do the different activities. The grandfather ant will give you tips on what you should be increasing or decreasing.
Once you have decided how to distribute your forces, clicking on the "go" button takes you to your ant hill. Here you will see how your choices have played out for you. You will earn or lose points as seen at the bottom of the screen. Again on this screen grandpa ant gives you more advice on what you should be doing to create the best aunt colony.
I found the game to be very simple. My daughter, age 8, was interested in playing once she saw the game. The only thing that I would like to see improved in the game is the instruction. There is no "help" or "how to play". I see that there are other screen shots in the game of the ants going to war, but I have no idea how far I have to be in the game to go to war. There is also a store that I can purchase things with the gems I have earned, but I don't know
what everything is. Even looking at the screen where I decide how to distribute the forces of the colony, I can't tell what all the graphics represent. It would be helpful if as I scroll over them, there was text that tells me what it is. I would also like a screen prior to the game being started that gives me a chance to read the objective of the game and how to play.
This game could very well be used in a classroom to teach students about the different species of ants. In addition it could be used to show how ants increase their colony size and what their predators are. I think kids would be receptive to playing it, and I think they could play it many times since the game offers such variety with the various species of ants and the choices you can make.
Game Synopsis: Phil's water bills are high. The player is tasked with manuvering Phil Dumpster around the house to locate water pollution and resolve the issue with tools and wit.
Game Overview: The player uses the arrow keys to move Phil around the house: a kitchen, 2bathrooms, a backyard, and a utitliy room. There are 4 levels to the game with 5 water challenges in each. Once the player spots an act of water pollution, they place Phil in close proxomity of the water issue to resolve the issue.
Each time the issue is resolved Bert, the salmon will congratulate the player and provide information on how solving the issue saved money. During the player's search, Phil will also need to acquire some tools to help fix some of the water issues. The player can view the tool guide to help locate the appropriate tool to repair the problem.
There is a timer in the form of water leaks (water drops). The longer there is a water issue, the more the water drops will fade away. However, 15 gallons of water is saved for every water issue that is resolved. When the player completes all of the challenges in a level, the player is given the total amount of gallons of water they have saved and provided with more information on conserving water. The player can also earn bonus points by answering multiple choice questions about water conservation.
Personal View: Upon first glance I didn't think much about this game. I understood the premise and how to manuver Phil, however there was much more involved once you got further in the game. Each level was a bit more challenging than the first. The game was appropriate for elementary aged students, which I assume is the targeted audience.
I did enjoy the tips and information given by Bert, the salmon. I didn't realize the importance of the tools until reading the "How to Play" section after I had started. That section was easy to get to if I needed to revist the instructions by pressing the "Help" button. The "Tool Guide" was also helpful in providing the player with information on how the tool could help conserve water. Some of the information was new to me. This is an appropriate and interesting game for anyone wanting to learning ways to converse water.
Summary Third World Farmer is a game that simulates the life of a poor African subsistence farmer. It Begins by giving the farmer a healthy family of four, a hut, farm land, and fifty dollars. The farmer must survive year after, making decisions on whether or purchase crops. farm animals, equipment, buildings, or medical care. All this happens as a yearly onslaught of disasters and crimes are perpetrated on the farmer, seldom allowing him to get ahead.
How to Play The game rules are very simple and could be learned by students at almost any level. Students need to buy crops and other items from the left hand menu. Then they need to place them in the fields. Once they are done buying items, they press the play button and a year of game-play will pass by with flashing months. Then, with whatever money and resources are left, the player repeats the process until the player and his family die, or until the player becomes a successful farmer.
Playing the Game Playing the game is fun and intellectually challenging. It is a fairly simple simulation to play, but it has a lot of nuances. The simple part is that all a player needs to do is buy crops and supplies every year, and press play. Then the year passes by, and the results from the years crops, farm animals, and disasters are flashed at the end of the year. The results are displayed like a budget summary, with the crop prices and livestock prices fluctuating every year.
The item that impacts players the most is the "Event of the Year", usually a disaster, that can dramatically alter the fortunes of the player. Some of the yearly events that occur are Guerrilla attacks, refugee squatters, bank failures, crop failures, livestock diseases, and family sicknesses. Every once in a great year, farmers will have a good year and earn a decent return on their crops.
While maintaining crops and farm animals, the player must continually keep watch on his families health, decide when to have children, and decide whether or not to invest in expensive infrastructure, political representation, animals, and farm equipment. In the end, most players usually die off from the hardships of being a subsistence farmer. In fact, the game leaves players with this statement: "
Reflections This game is stacked against the player and it is very difficult to win. This difficulty is not a result of poor game design, however, and is clearly meant to teach a lesson. At the end of the game, this quote is displayed on the screen: "Rules unfair? Game rigged? Think about the people to whom this isn't a game, but everyday life."
I played the game three times. Two times my farmer and his family scratched out an existence for several decades before they all died a slow starving death. I would just get my player ahead a little bit, and a disaster would come and wipe out all I had worked for. It felt so unfair and I really got frustrated. I was often faced with making decisions about whether to buy crops or whether to pay for healthcare. Some years were so desperate that I was more than willing to violate my principles by planting opium poppies, storing toxic waste, performing for tourists, or allowing paramilitary groups to rent my land. I felt like I was compromising my principles, but I really needed the money being offered.
I actually won the third game and ended up with an advanced farm, a healthy family, educated children, and $25,000 in the bank. Somehow, through good planning, decisions, and luck, I was able to gain enough profit to buy enabling tools and equipment, expensive farm animals, political representation, medical clinics, a road, crop insurance, and a school. Once I became safer and more secure, I noticed that my decisions became more principled and financially oriented. I turned down unethical ventures, and I invested in cash crops like cotton that would pay the most, and I replaced my farm animals with expensive elephants. My choices became all about making more money, because I was protected from many of the problems that I had as a poor farmer.
This game was surprisingly addictive and moving. I didn't want to stop. As a poor farmer, I was just wanting to survive and waiting for a little luck. As a rich farmer, I was trying to do good by my family, stay in perfect health, and make wise investments. It really opened my eyes up to the hopelessness of life and extreme hardship faced by farmers in third world countries. It just made me want to do something to help them out. As a side note, I am going to go to Ethiopia this year on a school district "blessed" trip to assist a school with teaching and technology. I think this game will help me to look at their plight in a new, and more sympathetic light.
