Brainstorming & Prototyping

Rising to the challenge: Concepts and prototypes students from Champlain's Emergent Media Center have developed for professional industry events

Vermont Financial Literacy Summit 2011

June 16, 2011 at Champlain College

Public policymakers, educators, business people and legislators gathered at Champlain College on June 16 to discuss the need for additional personal finance education in Vermont and to begin strategizing ways to improve it. A team of students from Champlain College's Emergent Media Center was asked to work on and offer four prototype e-game concepts that could be developed to help teach financial literacy in classrooms.

Into the Black is a space-mining management game concept about the principles of credit. Players must learn to manage debt, produce an income, and understand the importance of savings.

Dragonomics is a traveling-salesman game concept about the regional value of products and long-term growth vs. short-term gain. Players act as a merchant who must explore new regions to find new exotic eggs, which they can sell at various prices throughout the land.

Keeping Up with the Jones' is a single-character simulation game concept about personal cash flows/budgets, importance of savings, and the difference between needs/wants. Players control a family household that must participate in everyday affairs such as getting a job, going to school and managing money.

Thicket is a farming/role-playing simulation game concept that teaches resource management, debt vs. income, and personal cash flow. Players control a young man making a life for himself in the forest while going to market to trade/buy products and equipment.

Students: Taylor Hadden, Carl Affinati, Chris O'Connor, Matt Adamec. Many other students contributed to the brainstorming and conceptualization processes.

Learning 2009

November 8-11, 2009, Orlando, Florida

The Emergent Media Center once again traveled to Elliott Masie's Learning conference in Orlando, Florida. This year, Champlain College students Mike Ackerman, Bryan Hare, Alison Seffels, Heather Conover, and Jeremy Burau rose to the challenge. The team was challenged to create one iPhone application in three days with the purpose of helping new hires adjust to a new company. An "extra credit" challenge was given to create a second app about how learners and teachers could use an iPhone app as a virtual classroom. After 200+ interviews and sleepless nights, the team created both applications to the surprise of Elliott Masie. The students were accompanied by staff and faculty members Ann DeMarle, Ray McCarthy Bergeron and Sarah Jerger.

To view the team's challenge and applications, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O9b_RmXA0k&feature=channel_video_title

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Learning 2008

October 26-29, 2008, Orlando, Florida

The Emergent Media Center returned with another group of students, Auston Montville, Max Nichols, Chris Rolfs, Dan Peavey, Kate Baxter and Vanessa Blokland, to Elliott Masie's Learning conference in Orlando, Florida. This year, the mission was to create a serious learning game focused on teleworking in less than three days. The result, a game called Teletrust, serves as a tool to help create and maintain relationships with co-workers. In order for this game to be adaptable and useful to companies across the globe, the team came up with an implementation tool that will allow companies to customize scenarios in the game to relate to their workplace. The students were accompanied by staff and faculty members Ann DeMarle, Ray McCarthy Bergeron and Robin Lane.

To view a video of the team's final presentation of the game with Elliott Masie, go to http://learningwiki.editme.com/L8videochamplain.

For more information on the Learning conferences, visit their website at http://www.learning2008.com/l8-video.htm.

Meeting Professionals International Conference

February 2-5, 2008, Houston, Texas

A team of Champlain students were invited to set up a Game Design Lab onsite at the Meeting and Professionals International (MPI) Conference in Houston, Texas. During this conference, which gathers over 2,500 industry professionals, the students were given the challenge of creating two web-based learning games focused on key meetings and events industry concepts.

Partners: Meeting and Professionals International Foundation
Students: Emily Benton, Vanessa Blokland, Wesley Knee, Benjamin LaPointe, Lauren Nishikawa, Chris Rolfs

Learning 2007

October 21-24, 2007, Orlando, Florida

Four of our game development students recently represented Champlain College for a Rapid Learning Game project at the Learning 2007 conference in Orlando, Florida. Their mission: to create a learning game in a matter of days, and present their results to over 2,000 conference attendees!

Partners: Elliott Masie, Learning 2007 & the MASIE Center
Students: Emily Benton, Ben LaPointe, Lauren Nishikawa, Wesley Knee
Faculty: Robin Lane, Joe Manley, Jon Ferguson

Wiki by David Flanagan, KPMG onsite: http://www.learningwiki.com/Champlain%20College%20Learning%20Gamelet%20Challenge