Serious Games
Learning games go by many names but whether you’re a high school teacher using pen and paper or a huge company, these things capture the world’s attention. As an educator, I work with undergraduates and graduates developing a VR game called Courtroom 600 that lets the player explore the historical events surrounding the Nuremberg Trials. Thankfully, I have my colleague Dr. Clarissa Ceglio, assistance from ex-TellTale lead technical artist Jon Sgro, and advisors from the Dodd Center for Human Rights, Nuremberg Memorium, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s office of New Projects and the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center.
In the game, players journey back through time and across various historic locations to collect, analyze, and piece together artifacts related to the Holocaust under the administration of Alfred Rosenberg. The so-called “nazi philosopher”.
The humanities themes shaping Courtroom 600 are
- Holocaust history is not static
- Knowledge of women’s roles and Jewish resistance is key to a fuller understanding of this history
- Systems of dehumanization, which feed antisemitism and other forms of racism, involve a civilization’s legal, media, political, economic, and other institutions
- Justice and truth-seeking are ongoing projects.
Here is an early look at a proof of concept,
To support our project I have collaborated with Dr. Davidesco to examine the how high school and college materials from the Library of Congress, and National Archives can be turned into learning games.
Other Learning Games
In addition to C600, I am also the project lead and designer for Multicultural Aleppo, a Dodd Human Rights / Levante Initiative funded project. With a little luck, our aim is to celebrate the diversity of UNESCO Heritage site Aleppo Syria before its destruction. The interactive VR experience will demonstrate a variety of Abrahamic traditions, art and architecture, music, and culture. We are still in the brain storming phase but users can contribute content to the digital archive, visit historical sites, view cultural artifacts, and listen to oral histories. This project will serve as a tool to revive the history of communal life and cultural, religious, educational, and economic practices in Aleppo.
Games amaze me with the ability to engage. I love creating learning games for change and that includes past projects that teach STEM topics, climate change, microgrids, nanotechnology, and NGSS Standard science curriculum.
Games for Change
I’ve worked for years developing games for intervention strategy research to prevent smoking, vaping, and gambling. By using VR, eye tracking, EEG, and other biometric data, we can harness off-the-shelf technology to create various interventions that meet CITI Standards.
What if you could get the Hololens to identify triggering objects or sounds in a user’s environment? We could use this in laboratory research resulting in XR-assisted therapies or treatments.
#VR #EyeTracking #BigData #IRB
Gamification
I have co-hosted UConn-based conferences that bring scholarships to campus if you’re interested in joining me at the DMD Game Design. Like the 2020 EFFECT conference that focused on bringing together coaches, academics, and business people within the Esports community, the guest speaker was Tyler Schrodt, the CEO of the Electronic Gaming Federation. Or in 2022, where I collaborated with Dr. Slota to host 60 game developers and scholars in a Frontiers in Playful Learning three-day summit on-campus. I have also been tapped to review grant submissions for the NEH and collaborated on the US Department of Labor’s O*NET standards for the game development field. Finally, I have been an indie game festival judge at MAGFest for nearly as long as the show.
If you’re an educator that wants to develop an interactive project, reach out to me.
In the Media
- Brett Donovan. “Bringing History to Life through Virtual Reality.” The Chronicle, January 23, 2019. https://www.thechronicle.com/stories/20190123GAME.php.
- Rich, J (January 24, 2019). The Conversation, Digital technology offers new ways to teach lessons from the Holocaust,
- “Grant Gives New Life To Nuremberg Trials Papers Housed At UConn.” Mansfield-Storrs, CT Patch, January 10, 2019, https://patch.com/connecticut/mansfield/grant-gives-new-life-nuremberg-trials-papers-housed-uconn.
- Lebovic, Matt. The ‘Virtual’ Future of Holocaust Education Is Already Here. https://www.timesofisrael.com/the-virtual-future-of-holocaust-education-is-already-here/. Accessed May 27, 2022.
- McBride, J (January 18, 2009). UConn Revives Holocaust history with Virtual Reality Jewish Advocate
- Worwood, M, Thompson, K, Bertozzi E, Erickendy, J, Francois, B, “Let’s Talk Media!” series, 2020, DMCT Select+CT Podcast. Invited.
- Worwood, M, Thompson, K, Steffenson, J, Chung, J, DesRoches, D Esports in CT, 2020, DMCT Select+CT Podcast. https://uconndmct.podbean.com/e/season-2-episode-2-1633544550/
- Brodeur, Chris. “UConn Gaming Club Bringing Esports Revolution to Storrs, the Big East and Beyond.” Hartford Courant, September 12, 2019, https://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-huskies/hc-sp-uconn-gaming-club-esports-20190912-20190912-pwmtzqdllvb7hdnqyrostavvna-story.html.
- “Capitol Watch Podcast: What Is Gaming Disorder? A Connecticut Psychiatrist, a Video Game Designer, and a Hardcore Gamer Weigh In.” Hartford Courant, https://www.courant.com/politics/capitol-watch/hc-pol-capitol-watch-podcast-gaming-disorder-in-connecticut-20191017-7apwy7g5qngrng5j6z3ofb7o5a-story.html. Accessed May 27, 2022.
Awards
- 2016, Best SBIR Learning Game, 4th Annual ED Games Expo – Mission KT
- 2014 International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, 1st Place
- 2012, Honorable Mention McNally Grand Prize / Design: Independent Game Festival
- 2011 Extra Credits Genre Buster Award presented by the Escapist Magazine, SpaceChem
- 2011 Game of the Year 2011 – Indiegames.com, SpaceChem
- 2011 Indie Game of the Year 2011 – Edge Games, SpaceChem
- 2011, Silver Award – Serious Play, SpaceChem
- 2011, Winner Best Game Design – New IP from the National Academy of Video Game Testers and Reviewers, SpaceChem
- 2011, PocketGamer: Gold Award, SpaceChem
- 2006, Nickelodeon’s 19th Kid’s Choice Awards, Madagascar Operation Penguin
Publications
- Bowen, Kenneth A. “The Realm of Make Believe and the Extension of Gameplay Space.”, The International Journal of Creativity and Problem Solving, Volume 25 Number 2 October 2015: 27-46. Print.
Presentations
- Thompson, K, Ceglio, C, Slota, S, Courtroom 600 Experience, 2019 UConn Forward Alumni “Meet Katsuleas” event, Invited
- Thompson, K, Slota, S, A Degree in Game Design: Everything You Wanted to Know About Getting a Games Degree But Were Afraid to Ask, 2021, Board Game Design Conference. Invited.
- Marrison, K, Nerrin G (Anne Frank House), Smith S(USC Shoah),Verschure, P (Future Memory Foundation), Storied, A (Falstad), Jackson, T (Leeds), Ceglio, C, Thompson, K, Courtroom 600: Sharing Strategies & Overcoming Challenges in the Interdisciplinary Instructional Game Design Space, 2021, Slota, S, Virtual Holocaust Memorialisation Symposium. Invited.
- Bell, J, Olschan, S, Thompson, K, Kim, E, UConn Spring Puppet Forum: “Puppetry, Game Design, and Digital Performance,” 2021. Invited.
- Ceglio, C, Thompson, K, Colati, C, A Virtual Reality Encounter with Evidence of the Holocaust, 202, “The Digitalisation of Memory: Technology – Possibilities – Boundaries” a joint symposium of the Falstad Centre and Museum (Norway) and the POLIN Museum (Poland). Invited.
- Slota, S, Thompson, K, Ceglio, C, Colati, C Courtroom 600: Sharing Strategies & Overcoming Challenges in the Interdisciplinary Instructional Game Design Space, 2020, Connected Learning Summit. Invited.
- Thompson, K, Ceglio, C, Slota, S, Courtroom 600: An educational encounter with the histories of the Nuremberg Trials, 2020, Educational Games Expo at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC Invited.
- Thompson, K, Ceglio, C, Slota, S, Courtroom 600: An educational encounter with the histories of the Nuremberg Trials, 2020, ED Games Expo Showcase: XR for Classroom Learning. Invited.
- Thompson, K, Ceglio, C, Courtroom 600: A Virtual Reality Experience Surrounding the Nuremberg Trials, 2019, New projects presentation to United States Holocaust Memorial Staff. Invited.
Patents
- “EDUCATIONAL TEACHING METHOD AND SYSTEM UTILIZING VIRTUAL MEASUREMENT INSTRUMENTS IN GAMES AND COMPUTER LESSONS.” (submitted)