Interesting Game Idea

I have a game idea that I think would be really interesting.  I've recently become interested in learning about how the stock market works and think a game teaching how to trade stocks would be helpful.  I would venture to say that there are others like me who would like to learn trading stocks in a game before getting out there and trying the real thing.  It would take a lot of research to get the feel of the stock market for a game.  A research page showing how stocks change from day to day helping people decide which ones to buy would be a great feature for the game.  So far I have learned everything I know about how stocks work from reading information on websites like scottrade.com.  I think it would be a great game for anyone starting out in a finance class in high school all the way up to people just wanting to make a little extra money.  If you have any feedback or ideas of features that would be great for this game please feel free to let me know.

Review of Educator's Wiki

The Wiki is good overall.  I think just a few simple things can be done to clean it up a little bit.  One improvement, for instance, could be having a link to a Latest News page on the main page.  I think that would help some.  Its very user friendly, and just a few small changes here and there would make it even better.

Game Concept Game

I was thinking about a game concept that would be great for helping future students get a game concept, and I thought one of the best ways to get them thinking was have them play a game that is in a game show format.  There would be categories that focus on social and educational issues.  It would be easy enough to accomplish.  I thought of maybe having it set up like Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune.  

Just a thought

As I find interesting tutorials I want to try as I look around the internet, I'm finding that it would be easier to have a larger screen.  You live and you learn.   It's easier for me to work on tutorials if I can read them as I work on through them.  While I have been working on the Flash timer, I have been paying careful attention to the particular tutorial I have found so I don't make any mistakes and give someone the wrong information.  

In-Depth Game Purpose

For the voting game I have in mind, the purpose of the game will be to inspire (let's hope) people to register and go vote.  It will be a narrative game.  Some of the options will be to listen to the candidates state their platform and what they hope to accomplish once in office, skip opportunities to learn what the issues are in the election, register to vote, and to actually vote.  I hope the game will be geared towards people in the 18 - 25 age group.  That group has the lowest number of voters.  There are many organizations trying to help this group get inspired to stand for something and vote for the candidates they feel represent them best.  I feel that a game like this would accomplish that as well.  Many people in this age group spend a great deal of their time on the internet, and this would be an excellent way for them to realize how important voting is.  I think this is one of the best ways to reach this group.

My First WebEx Experience

My first WebEx experience was interesting.  I enjoyed being to see the RTC group's screen.  It was good way to learn where everybody stands on their progress.  Being able to hear everybody's input was a positive.  The only thing I didn't like about it was sometimes it was hard to hear what people were saying.  I don't know if it was just my screen or not but some of the graphics were hard to see as well.  As I said, that could be on my end though.

Game Idea in Mind

I finally came up with a game idea in mind and would like any feedback on it that anybody can give me.  With it being election season, there are many incentives for voting, and many programs to that encourage younger people to go vote.  I thought about a game centered around a 19 or 20 something year old person.  They can choose to either vote or not and learn the benefits or consequences of their choice.  It would serve as a general education and civil service game.  Being a political science major, I understand the importance of educating the public about voting.  Hopefully this could help get some of the younger population interested in voting since that is the voting population is an older demographic.  

Practice Makes Perfect

Just like learning a foreign language, Flash takes practice.  I found that skills with disappear if they are not practiced continually.  It has been a while since I worked with movie clips in Flash, and as I tried to do so earlier this evening, I found it was difficult remembering the steps to insert the movie clip and get it to work properly.  I'm sure that the more I work with it this week it will come back to me.  I will be sure to keep practicing the skills I learn from now though.

Adobe Website

While I was searching for a compilation of ActionScript code, I found the Adobe website had lots of good support.  They already had a dictionary for the code.  In the definition of each code, they give an example of how the code is used in the exact syntax.  The site also has a Developer Center and a Design Center.  There one can view the latest trends in Flash and get different levels of tutorials.  I believe this could be a good resource for people of all skill levels in Flash. 

Resources for Flash

One of my teachers once told me, "google is your friend, use it."  He couldn't be more right.  There are hundreds of resources out there on any topic you could think of.  I've found lots of different resources on many different skill levels for Flash.  I like the beginner resources because I think techniques are explain in simple terms that don't include a lot of extra jumble that isn't related to what I'm looking for.  

Using Blogger to learn what others think about Flash

I think using Blogger is good way to find out what others think about Flash.  Its also a good way to learn what they have been doing in Flash and how they have been doing it.  It's always interesting to learn if someone did something different from how I did it.  Their way of doing it maybe easier than how I was trying to do it.  I think that Blogger is a good way to keep the community connected and up to date on what everyone is doing.

Game Idea

I've been thinking about what kind of game I want to create for the internship.  Some of my favorite games to play are mini golf and racing.  As of right now, I'm thinking both of these ideas might be a little too advanced for me, but they could be possibilities for the future.  Those are both things that I am interested in and thought would be fun to attempt to create.  I believe it would take a team of people to create a mini golf game because there are so many elements such as the golfer, wind, and the many different configurations for the course itself.  I feel my experience level in Flash will only let me do a narrative game.  As far as the topic for my narrative game I am still thinking about that.  There are endless possibilities for narrative games.  I want to create something that will be enjoyable to play and will be useful in some situation.

Helping others with Flash

For the past few days I've been helping a friend on designing stuff in Flash.  I think it has helped me to sit there and talk someone through the steps.  I feel that I still need to learn a few more things before I can help someone else with everything they want to do with Flash.  Things such as slider backgrounds are still difficult for me to create.  Despite not being completely comfortable with this, I feel that I have more confidence in helping someone else now.  The more I work with others the easier I feel it will be to help them.  

Using Wikis

I have found using the Wikis to be an interesting experience.  It takes a little time to get used to the way it is set up.  After the initial adjustment period, it's a wonderful way to communicate and work together on projects.  I like being able to read comments about my work and learn what i could improve on.  I feel it helps with the development process.

My Feelings on Video Games

I guess I have grown up in the video game era.  I have been playing video games since I was either 4 or 5 years old.  I feel that is why this class and internship are so interesting to me.  While I feel like I am still a "newbie" using Flash, I feel that the more I use Flash I will be able to create fun and interesting games.  I personally like games that are fun and help me to relieve stress that has built up over the day.  I would love to be able to create a racing game or an arcade type game.  Those types of games are fun and can also be used incorporated for learning.  I know personally video games helped me with hand-eye coordination.  Racing games can be very good in that area, but they can also be used in other learning areas.   They can help with math and science too.

HSTA Wikis

I've just been reviewing the Wikis.  They all look very promising.  I think the ones that I've seen so far have all shown lots of potential.  The ones that are completed up to a certain point look like these kids will go far in this program.  They have good game ideas.  I haven't noticed anything that I would really change about what they have done.  The only thing I could think of doing for them is being more of a support/help desk for them, like if they are having difficulty getting something try to suggest an easier way of doing it.  I will continue to browse the Wikis and see what else I can find out from them, but as I said earlier, the kids have lots of potential.

Coding

I feel that coding is my weak area with Flash.  I wish there was a bank of codes and what they do that I could use for reference.  If I had a list of all the codes I personally would feel more comfortable using the codes.  Simple codes such as the go to and play are easy for me to do, but once it gets to more complicated coding I begin to struggle.  I would like to be able to code anything no problem.

First Tutorial Experience

After completing my first tutorial, I have a new respect for people in the teaching field.   It helped me to understand how Flash works.  I think it takes lots of patience to be able to teach something.  I feel more competent in my ability to create buttons using Flash.  I feel that when I start my second tutorial, I will know more what to do use and how to word the instructions.

My Wiki Experiences

I'm still getting accustomed to using the Wiki.  I believe it has helped me to become more competent using Flash.  I like being able to look at other Wikis to see how others have progressed and see their take on a project.  I feel it also helps when I read someone's feedback.  I think using the Wiki has helped me with a learning style that allows me to work on my own.  It helps being able to work at my own pace.  I will always be open to suggestions if anybody feels that there is an easier or better way to accomplish what I am trying to do with Flash.  After all, this is a learning experience.  That's how everything in life should be.

Go Rabbit Go

I have played the game Go Rabbit Go, and I feel it was a fun game to pass the time with.  Only being able to use the space bar is a little inconvenient.  It takes a little time to get used to using the space bar.  I personally would prefer to use an arrow key.  I played all the way up to field 10 before I had realized how far I had gotten.  I don't know how many levels the game has in it, but it was very enjoyable to play.  As far as difficulty goes, I would like to see maybe more turtles as the levels get higher or maybe space the carrots further apart.  Overall, I think it is a very fun game and enjoyed playing it.