Download pdf - The Great Video Game Contest

8/14/2019 The Great Video Game Contest

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The Great Video

Game Contest


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Video games are bad for you? That's

what they said about rock and roll. -

SHIGERU MIYAMOTO (Creator of

Mario Bros, Donkey Kong, The

Legend of Zelda, and more)


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I recently learned something quite interesting

about video games. Many young people have

developed incredible hand, eye, and braincoordination in playing these games. The air

force believes these kids will be our

outstanding pilots should they fly our jets. RONALD REAGAN(1983)


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Video games are a waste of time for men

with nothing else to do Ray Bradbury

(American author)

"For the same reason we don't allow kids to

buy pornography, cigarettes or alcohol, weshouldn't allow them to go to stores and buy

video games, Leland Yee (California State

Senator)


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What my mom says about video

games

Video games are a waste oftime and a bad influence.Why should I spend that

money on video games when Icould spend them on booksthat you can read? Its a mind-numbing experience. You

need to get your exercise andyour sunshine and get awayfrom that addiction.


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What ARE Video Games?

Four Critical Elements

1. Graphics

2. Interface3. Player Activity

4. Algorithm

Taken from The Video Game Theory Reader

by Wolf and Perron, 2003, Routledge


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Graphics

Changing and changeable visual display on a

screen involving some kind of pixel-based

imaging.

The Video in video game


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The Multi-User Dungeon or MUD: A video

game or not?


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GRAPHICS is a major area where we can

easily see technology advancement in video

games

Original The Legend of Zelda 1986

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

2006


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Interface

Occurs at the boundary between the player

and the video game itself and can includethe

screen, speakers (and microphones), input

devices (such as keyboard, mouse, joy-stick,trak-ball, paddles, steering wheels, light guns,

etc.), as well as onscreen graphical elements

such as buttons, sliderswhich invite theplayer activity and allow it to occur.


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Hardware Interfaces


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Software Interface


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Player Activity

The physical motion that the player makes to

interact with the game.


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Algorithm

The PROGRAMMING in the game that tells the gamehow to respond to what you are doing.

1. How does the game know that your laser shot is going

to hit the other player?2. How does the game know to change the music to

sound scarier when you are fighting the boss?

3. How does the game remember that you moved that

stone in the room when you return to it for a secondtime?

4. Why is the game different every time you play it?


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Moments in Video Game History

1962 The first video game ever invented was

Spacewar! which arose from ideas in missile

defense systems in the Cold War


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The First Hit Video Game

Pong 1972
http://original%20pong%20video.mp4/http://original%20pong%20video.mp4/


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The Rise of Edutainment


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Is Edutainmentactually fun or is

it ?


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Science Question: Years of study by manned exploration,remote telescopes, and nearby probes have confirmedwhat about the earths moon?

a) That aliens once lived there

b) That uranium is present there in significant quantities

c) That water is still present on the moond) That its seismic activity could cause significant changesin its surface in the next 500 years

e) (b) and (c)

f) (b) and (d)g) All of the above

ANSWER: C


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NASAs LCROSS probe was

intentionally smashed into the

moon

Hydroxyl OH strength of UV/Visible light from

before and after impact

Matson, John. LCROSS impact plumes

contained moon water, NASA says,

Scientific American Online, November 13,

2009


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Science Question: Which of the following beliefs aboutchocolate are true?

a) It is toxic to parrots, horses, and dogs

b) It can reduce the risk of heart attacks

c) It may cause increased acne in some people

d) It can be mixed with vegetable oils to create analternative fuel for cars

e) (a) and (b)

f) (a) and (c)

g) (c) and (d)

ANSWER: E


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From Wikipedia

A study performed at the Karolinska Institute inStockholmfound that survivors of heart attackswho ate chocolate at least two or three times aweek reduced their risk of death by a factor of upto three times compared to survivors who did noteat chocolate.

In sufficient amounts, the theobromine found inchocolate is toxic to animals such as horses, dogs,parrots, small rodents, and cats because they areunable to metabolise the chemical effectively.


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The Great Video Game Creation

Contest

Competition Rules1. Create a video game that asks science questions

in the form of floating objects that may beclicked.

2. When finished, all classes will trade videogames.

3. Each class will be ranked according to how welltheir video games follow the video game rubric

and how well you are able to play the otherclass games.

4. The winning class gets a prize for the WHOLECLASS.


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Video Game Requirements

The game must:

1. Be able to ask science/technology related

questions with answer choices.

2. Use some different video game programming

skills.

3. Keep score of the players progress.

4. Ask AT LEAST 5 relevant science/technology

question. (E.g. relevant is NOT Is the earth

round or flat? Too simple for 8th grade.)


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The Science Questions

Need to be relevant

Need to have 4 more answer choices (in your

best interest to make believable false choices)

Must have a legitimate SOURCE for your

correct answer


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From Wikipedia to More Original

Source: The Chocolate Example

Original Wikipedia Article

For information on chocolate and heart attackreduction, see source 59.

For information on chocolates toxic effects oncertain animals, see source 2.

ALWAYS find the original source that Wikipediaused. Wikipedia is not itself a source. It is a meansof finding information in other sources quickly.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate


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How You Write Up Each Question

You need the following

1. Question

2. Answer Choices3. Correct answer choice with short explanation

4. Source for correct answer


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How you write it upThe Moon Question

Q: Years of study by manned exploration, remote telescopes, and nearbyprobes have confirmed what about the earths moon?

a) That aliens once lived there

b) That uranium is present there in significant quantities

c) That water is still present on the moon

d) That its seismic activity could cause significant changes in its surfacein the next 500 years

e) (b) and (c)

f) (b) and (d)

g) All of the above

A: (c) Water was recently discovered on the moon by NASA probe thatwas intentionally crashed into the surface of the moon.

Source: Matson, John. LCROSS impact plumes contained moon water,NASA says, Scientific American Online, November 13, 2009

Question

Answer

Choices

Correct

Answer

Source ofCorrect Answer


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How you write it up

The Chocolate Question

Q: Which of the following beliefs about chocolate are true?

a) It is toxic to parrots, horses, and dogs

b) It can reduce the risk of heart attacks

c) It may cause increased acne in some people

d) It can be mixed with vegetable oils to create an alternative fuel for cars

e) (a) and (b)

f) (a) and (c)

g) (c) and (d)

A: (e) theobromine is the compound that is toxic in chocolate and recent medicalstudies showed that those who took chocolate had a lower risk of a second heart

attack

Sources: (1) Crosby, JT, Chocolate Toxicity - What Makes Chocolate Toxic To Dogs?,About.com; (2) Sydney Morning Herald, Chocolate 'cuts death rate' in heart attacksurvivors, August 13, 2009

Question

Answer

Choices

Correct

Answer

Source of

Correct AnswerTwo sources for two answers!


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Web Sources for Science Questions

Interesting Websites

Howstuffworks.com

Sciencenewsforkids.org

Scienceinschool.org

Nasa.gov

Usgs.gov

EPA for kids website

Science-facts.com

Publication

Scientific American

New Scientist

News websites (BBC, NewYork Times, CNN, Fox News,

Washington Post, etc.)

You can also use the science that you have learned in your

SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS. Those books are also good

sources!


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Let the competition begin!