E: Secondary Research Summary

We conducted background research on the three topics and concepts described by our client, Dr. Mitra Hartman, a professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering at Northwestern University, in order to begin developing our educational and engaging chemistry game. Our background research helped us develop a better understanding of chemistry and games, prior to our client interview. Specifically, we researched (1) simplistic chemistry concepts concerning atoms, elements, and molecular formations; (2) the different styles of games on the market from virtual to traditional board games; and (3) existing learning based games about chemistry and other various subjects.

Simplistic Chemistry Concepts:

The natural progression of topics in general chemistry concerning the building blocks of matter is an introduction to the atom, introduction to elements, periodic groups and periods, periodic trends, and then simplistic bonding structures. If our game touches on one of the later topics in this list, the game must provide a general foundation for the concepts earlier in the list.

Basic Introduction of Each Topic:

Atoms:

Atoms include three types of subatomic particles, which are protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons and neutrons are found within the nucleus of the atom, and the electrons orbit the nucleus in an electron cloud. Electrons are negatively charged, protons are positively charged, and neutrons carry no charge [1].

Elements:

An atom is identified as an element by its number of protons. Each element has a distinct, characteristic number of protons. A neutral atom has the same number of electrons as it does protons. When an atom loses or gains an electron, the atom becomes an ion (cation is a positive ion, anion is a negative ion). The number of neutrons in an atom may vary and atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons are called isotopes [5].

Periodic Groups and Periods:

Elements are classified into families based on their proton number and physical properties on the periodic table. Each row on the periodic table is called a period, while each column is known as a group. Elements in the same group have similar physical properties, such as reactivity, general metallic character, and number of valence electrons. Groups of similar elements have been given name classifications like alkaline earth metals, noble gases, halogens, etc [6].

Periodic Trends:

Several properties of elements follow clear trends on the periodic table. These topics include atomic radius size, ionization energy, and electron affinity, electronegativity and metallic character. These properties are all related back to the concept of effective nuclear charge, which considers the ratio between the number of protons and the number of electrons in an element [7].

Styles of games on the market

There are an abundance of different games currently on the market. Role-playing games, adventure games, simulation and action games are the most popular types of virtual games. Role- playing games are games in which players play as characters within the game. Taking place in a fictional setting, players have the responsibility to act out the role within the narrative of the game. This is done by structured decision-making. Examples of role-playing games include Paper Mario, Chrono Trigger, and Baldur’s Gate. Adventure games are video games where the player becomes a protagonist in an interactive story. The story can be driven by exploration or problem/ puzzle solving. A notable example of an adventure game is Minecraft. Simulation video games attempt to simulate real world activities. Examples of simulation games include the Sims’ games. Action games are video games that focus on physical challenges. These challenges include hand-eye coordination and reaction time. Examples of action games include World of Warcraft, Pac-Man, and Fortnite [8].

Along with multiple types of video games, there are a plethora of physical game types. There are board based games and card based games. Board based games consist of a board, or specific surface the game is played on, that interacts with the pieces or players of the game [9]. Card based games can be played anywhere and only interact with other cards and the player. The most popular board games are chess, Monopoly, Risk, and The Game of Life. Popular card based games include Go Fish, Euchre, Pokemon, War, and Uno [10].

Existing learning based games

One of the leading companies producing learning based games in Genius Games. Genius Games currently has biology, chemistry, and math games. Genius Games believes “science is awe-inspiring, mesmerizing and beautiful.” Their goal is to “address the types of resource scarcity that lead to violent conflicts, alleviate diseases at the root of much human suffering, and innovate to simply make our stay on earth a more pleasant experience.” through the tools provided by science. Two chemistry games Genius Games produces are Ion and Covalence [11]. Ion: a compound building game is a card game where players have the objective of forming neutrally charged compounds [12]. Covalence is a cooperative card game where players must work together in order to build organic molecules. While one team member knows what molecule is being built, the other team members must figure out what the molecule is using the clues given to them. The objective of the game is to build the molecule before the clues run out [13].