A: Primary Research Interviews

Introduction:

Our team conducted primary research to gain a greater understanding of how teaching strategies and elements of board game design could be combined to create an engaging, educational chemistry RPG game. Our interview with a high school science educator provided insight about the chemistry content included in our design, specifically concerning the order in which different topics about molecular formation build on each other to create a comprehensive understanding. We also learned about current creative and collaborative learning techniques in operation in high school classrooms. We also interviewed with the Lead Project Manager at Genius Games, which gave us an first-hand perspective on the process of creating a game and taking a concept from brainstorming to production. We also learned about how Genius Games balances both fun and correct science in their game design. Further, primary research conducted with our client, Dr. Mitra Hartmann, cemented our understanding of her desires and expectations for the project. Understanding both the origins and end goal of the chemistry game concept directed our brainstorming and helped our team stay true to the overall vision of the project. By conducting primary research with a variety of people both indirectly and directly involved in our project, we broadened our overall understanding of the scope and details of the design challenge.

Methodology:

1. Client Meeting (Dr. Mitra Hartmann)

This research was conducted as a group meeting over Zoom. We interviewed Dr. Mitra Hartmann, a professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University. The interview was conducted from 6:00pm to 7:00pm CDT on April 7th, 2021. All team members were present, and the meeting was recorded.

Results:

1. Dr. Mitra Hartmann

   1. Goals of the Project: Dr. Hartmann envisions a game that allows elementary and middle school students to learn simplistic chemistry concepts in an engaging, fun game. The design should be a game with chemistry content, rather than chemistry content with game elements.

   2. Major Requirements of Design:

      1. Educational and must not include any incorrect details about chemistry

      2. Collaborative (hopefully, but the project partner is willing to be flexible)

      3. Accessible by everyone in the age range

      4. Fun and engaging, with primary goal of making kids excited to learn chemistry

   3. Game Format:

      1. Digital vs. physical: The game was originally inspired by Pokemon Go, so the client is interested in a virtual game, but is fine with either a digital or virtual project.

      2. Dr. Hartmann expressed interest in the RPG maker, which is the platform that we mentioned.

   4. Users:

      1. The main users are students in the age range 8-12 (late elementary/early middle school)

         1. These students usually have little to no prior chemistry knowledge

         2. Because they are young, these kids probably have little experience with RPG games

      2. Secondary goal: Make the game enjoyable for indirect users (teachers, parents) as well as the students themselves

   5. Content Covered:

      1. Dr. Hartmann suggested that the game covered something simplistic. She recommended that the topic is pretty narrow and relatively straightforward to fit the appropriate age group.

      2. Initial content focus ideas:

         1. Bonding

         2. Molecules

   6. Next Steps:

      1. Research turn-based RPG games to get a idea of the general elements of the genre that we might incorporate in our own design

      2. Conduct interviews with high school chemistry students to gain an understanding of creative teaching techniques and the order of topics in general chemistry classes.

      3. Observation: Group game playthrough of an RPG to observe.

         1. Will utilize the member of the group with the least amount of experience with RPGs, which best attempts to simulate the experience of a child interacting with the design.

Discussion:

Our meeting with Dr. Hartmann allowed us to narrow the scope of our project to get a better idea of what we wanted to accomplish. She clarified that she would prefer a game focused more on being an interesting game than being a way to practice chemistry problems, though it would be very important that all chemistry was correct. She described how the origins of her idea came from Pokemon Go as she realized she was able to learn all kinds of Pokémon related information unconsciously, and she wanted a gamified way of learning chemistry that would allow for indirect learning of chemistry concepts. Ultimately, the meeting with the project partner clarified that our team has a lot of creative freedom with the final design, and that Dr. Hartmann is open to a variety of solutions. Further primary and secondary research is needed to make decisions about an initial design direction, but it does not seem like our team creativity needs to be limited in any way at this point in the process.

Methodology:

2. Steve Schlepphorst, Lead Project Manager of Genius Games

This research was conducted as a group meeting over Zoom. We interviewed Steve Schlepphorst, the lead project manager of Genius Games’. The interview was conducted from 2:00pm to 2:30pm CDT on April 15th, 2021. All team members were present.

Results:

2. Steve Schlepphorst, Lead Project Manager of Genius Games

   1. Developmental Cycle of a Game:

      1. An interesting science concept is used to create an initial idea for a new game. Most of the time this process occurs in-house among Genius' Games’ own staff, but sometimes the company will work with outside contractors who pitch their own ideas.

      2. Initial development and mathematical modeling to convert the scientific concepts into game mechanics like action points, etc.

      3. Low quality mockups of boards and cards to be play-tested by both developers. This stage is used to streamline the core mechanisms and main ideas of a game.

      4. Outside participants play the game and give feedback concerning which elements are intuitive. This feedback is used to make the game more comprehensible and fun to play.

      5. Solidification of graphic design and rule tweaks before the game is sent to and physically created by manufacturers in China.

   2. Combining Science and Gameplay:

      1. The game is originally developed from a science topic that “has charisma”

         1. According to Steve, biology has the best charisma, chemistry is just okay, and physics does not have charisma

            1. Failed physics game about go karts and unit conversions

      2. Scientific theories and concepts often provide interesting constraints that lend themselves well to board game mechanics.

      3. “Correct Science”

         1. Extensive research goes into the development of the board game in order to make the game as scientifically accurate as possible

         2. At the end of the day, it is most important for the game to be fun and engaging and incorporate science that “feels right”

            1. One of the ways that Genius Games gains respect from their scientific audience is by including a book with each game that explains what elements of the science are accurate, as well as when creative liberties have been taken.

   3. Benefits of Games: Steve said that video games and board games are amazing vessels for learning as well as entertainment because games, unlike other forms of media like movies or novels, put the player in the driver’s seat. The player has much more control and experiences the story of the game on a personal level.

Discussion:

This interview was very enlightening and gave a lot of insight into the process that our team should complete when testing our design. The process of testing the game design among the team as well as testing with other people could be a structure that our team could also follow during our design process. Especially informative was the chance to talk to someone who had experience making games both fun and educational like we aim to do, and our direction of focusing on game elements first was reinforced by this interview. Moving forward, we will stick to our plan of prioritizing a game with chemistry elements, rather than chemistry practice with gameplay elements.

Methodology:

3. Mr. Luke Tonia, High School Science Teacher at Hayfield Secondary School

This research was conducted as a group meeting over Zoom. We interviewed Mr. Luke Tonia, a science teacher at Hayfield Secondary School. The interview was conducted from 3:00pm to 3:30pm CDT on April 17th, 2021. All team members were present, and the meeting was recorded.

Results:

3. Mr. Luke Tonia

   1. Problems found with teaching introductory chemistry:

      1. Chemistry is an abstract subject that can be hard to understand meaningfully

         1. Many students will figure out patterns and learn to solve problems algebraically without actually understanding the content

      2. Collaboration can sometimes lead to stronger students giving answers to other students, resulting them in learning less than desired

   2. Teaching strategies:

      1. Collaboration can be really helpful for students to bounce ideas off of each other and come up with creative solutions

         1. Effective collaboration can be fostered by creating structured roles for each person so that everyone can contribute

         2. Problems that are more in depth create more opportunities for ideas to be bounced

      2. Visual learning can be useful when learning abstract concepts

      3. Being able to manipulate and move parts of molecules around is also helpful

      4. Competition and points help keep students motivated/engaged

   3. Recommended content:

      1. Exciting chemistry

         1. Reactions, color changing, baking soda, slime

         2. Ooh factor, wow factor, gross factor

      2. Building molecules

         1. Good way to promote collaboration

      3. Balancing equations

         1. One of the more challenging skills students struggle with

      4. Molecular shapes and bonding angles

         1. Hard to visualize in 3d

   4. New project requirements:

      1. Needs to generate an initial interest in chemistry

         1. This will help them later on and give them the motivation to learn difficult concepts

      2. Get kids to think like scientists, teach aspects of the scientific process

      3. Visual representations of chemistry concepts

      4. Chemistry problems should be based off of concepts instead of numbers

Discussion:

This interview gave a lot of insight on teaching strategies we can implement in the game. Mr. Tonia told us about potential concepts to include in the game and multiple effective ways to introduce them to children. He also spoke about topics to avoid, such as advanced chemistry topics like thermochemistry and topics that include heavy math calculations. Finally, the biggest takeaway from the interview is what we should aim to achieve through the game. Chemistry is a difficult subject for almost everyone, and any student that aims to do well requires motivation to do so. Mr. Tonia showed us the importance of building a love for chemistry and how much that can help them in chemistry later in life.