This was a brief introduction to videogames about history for textbook designers at Pearson education

1. Games for use in 8th Grade History:
Four classes of games
Dean O’Donnell
Assoc. Director of Interactive Media and Game Development
dodo@wpi.edu
Pearson Education
March 19, 2009

2. Why Video Games?
Global Sales in 2008*

– Video Games: $32 Billion (20% growth)
– DVD/Blue-ray: $29 Billion (6% drop)
Kids play videogames

– Neilsen started tracking game sales because 18-34 male
demographic isn’t watching TV.**
– Recent study found two groups of 12-14 year olds with most social
problems in school were those who played only M-rated games,
and those who didn’t play games at all.***
*Source: Media Control GfK, as cited in Video Business, Jan. 22, 2009
URL: http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6631456.html
**Source: NY Times, Nov. 23, 2003, http://tinyurl.com/dfz4dr
***Source: Kuttner, Lawrence and Cheryl Olsen, Grand Theft Childhood

3. The Competition– AAA Titles
Call of Duty: World at War

– First Person Shooter
– Published November, 2008
– Features historical battles from WWII Pacific
Theater and Eastern Front
– Voice work from Gary Oldman and Kiefer
Sutherland
– Two years and millions of dollars to develop
– Equivalent to a major Hollywood Blockbuster
– Released on all major platforms
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4. The Competition- AAA Titles
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5. The Competition- AAA Titles
Empire: Total War

– Combination Turn-based and Real Time
Strategy Game
– Published March, 2009
– Covers late 18th to early 19th century warfare
on land and sea
– Latest in long line of successful PC games
– Two TV Series used earlier versions to
simulate historic battles
– Targeted at adults 5
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6. The Competition- AAA Titles
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7. Other Notable AAA Titles
Civilization

– Turn-based strategy
– Simulates history from cavemen to modern times
Colonization

– Turn-based strategy
– Based on Civ4 engine
– Examines colonization of New World in detail
Company of Heroes

– Real-time strategy
– Examines WWII European theater
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8. A Games- Licensing?
City Builders

– Caesar IV, Children of the Nile, Sim City Societies
– In-depth economic and zoning simulation where
player manages population, taxes, industry, and
city services
– Non-violent
– Egyptian city builder: Nile Online available for free
on the internet http://www.playnileonline.com/
– Developed by Tilted Mill, Wayland, MA
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9. A Games- Licensing?
Caesar IV

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10. A Games- Licensing?
Mosby’s Confederacy

– Real-time tactical game
– Manage and control small band of
confederate raiders
– Possible to adapt engine to other periods of
history
– Developed by Tilted Mill, Wayland, MA
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11. A Games- Licensing?
Mosby’s Confederacy

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12. A Games- Licensing?
The Political Machine

– Real time strategy game
– Simulates (satirically) the 2008 presidential
election
– Could be easily adapted to simulate any
presidential election
– Developed by Stardock Software, Livonia, MI
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13. A Games- Licensing?
The Political Machine

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14. Indie Games
Escape Your Boyfriend’s Room
http://www.escapegames24.com/2008/05/escape-your-boyfriends-room.html
Room Escapes

Bars of Black and White
http://www.kongregate.com/games/GregoryWeir/bars-of-black-and-white
Sagrario’s Room
http://sagrarios.room.escape.fizzlebot.com/
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15. Indie Games
Geosense: http://www.geosense.net/

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16. Indie Games
Grow Games: http://www.eyezmaze.com/

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17. What is an Alternate Reality Game?
Non-Fiction
Fiction
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18. What is an Alternate Reality Game?
What if you use non-fiction media to tell a
fictional story?
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19. Current ARGs
The 39 Clues

– Published by Scholastic
– Targeted at YA age group
– 10 books over multiple years
– Card packs associated with each book
– Companion website
Cathy’s Book

– Published by Running Press
– Targeted at YA age group
– At least 3 books over multiple years
– “Evidence” packaged with each book
– Multiple phone numbers, websites, and email addresses to
interact with characters and other players
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20. Current ARGs
Most ARGs exist as marketing vehicles for

movies, TV shows, videogames, or software.
Amateur ARGs allow creative unknowns to

tell stories in mulitple media (This is My
Milwaukee).
Future stories will take place in many spaces,

so TV show markets website which markets
book which markets videogame which
markets TV show.
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21. Disney ARG-- Homepage
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22. Character Puzzle
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23. Something from Nothing (1/3)
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24. Something from Nothing (2/3)
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25. Something from Nothing (3/3)
M ICKEY MOUSE
H E RCULES
DO T
STA R COMMAND
CAVE O F WONDERS
BO PEE P
I CAN SH O W YOU THE WORLD
BLUE WHALE
TREBLE CL E F
METROPOLE
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26. WPI Projects
3-5 Seniors: Mix of Artistic and

Technical Students
1 Faculty Advisor

1 Sponsor Advisor

7 weeks full-time or 21 weeks part-time

Weekly meetings

Non-mission critical project

Deliverable at the end

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27. The End
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28. Questions?
Dean O’Donnell Daniel Tennant
Associate Director of Student, IMGD
Interactive Media and dtennant@wpi.edu
Game Development
WPI
dodo@wpi.edu
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