It’s been a big year us at Filament – you can read all about our studio highlights here! But most importantly, we made a TON of learning games – so many, in fact, that the titles highlighted in this article are a mere sampling of our total studio output for the year. Check out the games highlighted below, and be sure to visit our portfolio to view more examples of our work!
Mission to the Mesozoic
Client: Field Museum
Developed for our friends at Chicago’s Field Museum, Mission to the Mesozoic plays a lot like Pokémon Snap – but with dinosaurs! In the game, players assume the role of a photographer with the ability to travel back and forth between the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods, snapping photos and learning about the various flora, fauna, and environmental features along the way. Of course, we’re always happy to make games about dinosaurs – so working with Field Museum on the project was a dream come true. And the best part? You can play the game yourself on the museum’s website! [Learn more!]
RoboSellers
Client: Junior Achievement
Created for our longtime partners Junior Achievement, RoboSellers tasks players with taking on the role of a savvy robo-entrepreneur who must traverse the galaxy, buy and sell robot parts on foreign planets, and grow their custom robot business. Through exploration of colorful and varied alien worlds in search of rare goods to sell for profit, players are introduced to key economic and entrepreneurial ideas like evaluating costs and value, the role of money in everyday life, and the implications of spending and saving money on a business’s bottom line. RoboSellers was designed to supplement Junior Achievement’s JA More than Money curriculum – which you can learn more about here! [Learn more!]
Rainbow Agents
Client: University of Wisconsin–Madison
Developed for researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and implemented at both the New York Hall of Science and the Lawrence Hall of Science, Rainbow Agents is a cooperative programming game which tasks players with growing and tending a community garden. A colorful, welcoming, and pro-social experience, the game was designed to appeal to all youth visitors – no matter their background, identity, or level of familiarity with computer science. And in addition to being a super cool museum exhibit, the game also functions as a research tool, discovering how various facets of an interactive experience can influence interest levels in underrepresented youth. Learn more about the game and the research goals behind the project in our launch blog! [Learn more!]
Beats Empire
Client: Teachers College, Columbia University
Created in collaboration with Teachers College (Columbia University), UW–Madison, Georgia Tech, SRI, and Digital Promise as part of a three-year NSF funded project, Beats Empire is a turn-based computational thinking game that challenges players with running a small music studio and record label in a fictional city, reminiscent of New York. Through savvy analysis of market trends, players sign artists, record songs, attract new followers, and work towards domination of the top charts of music. Through these actions, the player gains a strong understanding of computational thinking, using data analysis and visualization to bring cash into the studio, attract new followers, and dominate the charts! [Learn more!]
Race to Ratify
Client: iCivics
An all-new game created for our longtime partner iCivics, Race to Ratify explores the core ideas of the ratification debate by dropping players into 1787 America, with the Constitution freshly inked and a heated debate raging about the new plan for American Government. Through gameplay, players align themselves with the Federalists or Anti-Federalists and take on the role of a pamphleteer, traveling across 13 states to hear from opinionated characters who inform the player’s arguments about ratification. Using those arguments to craft pamphlets, players influence the states’ answers to one simple question: to ratify, or not to ratify? And like the rest of iCivics’ expansive civics and history learning game library, Race to Ratify is free-to-play on iCivics.org. [Learn more!]
Scholastic W.O.R.D.
Client: Scholastic
Developed for client Scholastic, Scholastic W.O.R.D. is a game-based reading and vocabulary platform for K-5 learners – and it was one of the biggest projects in our studio’s history! Grounded in the research of Dr. Elfrieda Hiebert, who discovered and cataloged the 2,500 high-utility word families that make up 90% of all texts, W.O.R.D. exposes players to high-utility words and their meanings through seven ELA learning games, each featuring unique aesthetics, gameplay mechanics, and learning objectives. As students independently progress within the game-based, guided program, they receive repeated exposure to high-utility words and their meanings in multiple contexts. Learn more about the program and how you can implement W.O.R.D. on Scholastic’s official website! [Learn more!]
Want to catch up on more 2019 Filament highlights? Check out these links!
Filament Games Highlights from 2019
Event Recap: Filament’s Extra Life 19 Livestream!
Let’s Play RoboCo!