What is Gamestar Mechanic?
Gamestar Mechanic, a product of the non-profit Institute of Play and publisher E-Line Media, launched in November 2010. By using this free website (optional premium membership offered) students develop technological, artistic, cognitive, social and linguistic skills. Game building also provides a powerful motivation for learning critical STEM (Science, Technology,Engineering and Math) skills.
Who is Gamestar Mechanic for?
Gamestar Mechanic was created for 7-14 year olds, however it is usable by almost anyone. In fact, they encourage older siblings or parents to use the website also. Everything has been designed in a very gender neutral way so that the characters, narrative and gameplay will appeal to girls as much as boys.
How does Gamestar Mechanic work?
Players begin by playing a Quest game that helps them learn the principles of game design. Once they reach a certain level of mastery, they can begin designing their own original games. After they've created games they can publish, review and collaborate on games through the share feature.
Gamestar Mechanic hosts monthly game design competitions. In addition to these, many players can also enter two national game design competitions, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and the National STEM Video Game Challenge.
Gamestar Mechanic is not only used by many families at home. It is also designed for and used by schools, after-school programs, home schools, libraries, community centers, museums and camps. The game is browser based, so no downloads are necessary.
You can find out more and see how it works yourself on the Game Mechanic website. There are sections for parents and teachers that answer frequently asked questions. It's time that parents see that both creating and playing video games can be put to good use. See the new book, Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World
for reasons why even playing video games have great benefits.See also:
Video Games Have More Benefits Than You Realize
LittleBigPlanet 2: Most Creative Video Game For All Ages
Education and Technology #140edu Conference Day 2
Lessons From a Tech Savvy Education Conference 140edu Day 1
Moms Talk Video Games at PopCap Luncheon
Game Design Programs for Teens Create Innovative Learning Experiences
Online Video Games Can Improve Our World
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