Filament Games Blog

Building Creative Practices: Strategies for Communication

Welcome back to Building Creative Practices! In my last semi-regular installment, I discussed strategies for creating Psychological Safety in the workplace, which at a high level is simply a way to get your team to operate in such a way that no one on the team is scared to speak their minds. I talked about effective…

August 22, 2016 // Brandon Pittser

Filament Games | Educational Game Developer

SBIR Funding: Dreadfully Wonderful

So, you have a brilliant product idea and you think Uncle Sam should fund it. I can’t blame you. Compared to VC money, SBIR funding comes with relatively few strings attached. Most importantly: you don’t have to give up any equity. So what’s the catch? I’m glad you asked! One, the funding rate is low (typically…

August 17, 2016 // Dan White

FGP2-11: VR & Identity

Welcome to episode 11. This week, Engineering Director Arthur Low joins us in the studio to discuss the relationship between Virtual Reality and identity. We also try to decide on a name for a “VR room” and find out if Brandon can make a comeback in Fact or Fabrication. Hot Topics in This Week’s Episode…

August 15, 2016 // Kat Shanahan

FGP2-10: The Retro Review Carmen Sandiego

Grab your almanac, Gumshoe. Carmen’s crew has performed another caper and only you can stop her. Join us for the second episode of The Retro Review as we play through the most successful learning game of all time, Carmen Sandiego. Don’t forget to check out our bonus video for a full playthrough of the game.…

August 9, 2016 // Kat Shanahan

Get to Know a Sound Designer: An Interview with Josh Bartels

The great thing about Filament Games is that you have the opportunity to interact with amazingly talented people everyday. Our studio is made up of highly creative people that contribute to every aspect of the game design process. Because of our exceptionally talented team members, we’re able to take a game from conception to completion…

August 4, 2016 // Kat Shanahan

Prisoner of Echo Classroom Activity

Looking for ways to get your students excited about sound? The activity below is included in our free game-based learning curriculum and can be used in conjunction with sound and amplitude learning game Prisoner of Echo. Try out this fun classroom activity with your students and view more sound and amplitude curriculum activities here! Lab: Sound…

August 3, 2016 // Kat Shanahan

FGP2-9: Crafting a Game Narrative

In episode nine of the Filament Games Podcast, co-hosts Dan Norton and Brandon Pittser dive into the concept of in-game narrative. We also learn one of Brandon’s darkest secrets, what happens when nuclear materials are missing in action, and how to handle griefing in an MMO. Hot Topics in This Week’s Episode Salt and Sanctuary…

August 2, 2016 // Kat Shanahan

Game Art Live Stream Recap

I had the pleasure of joining Game Art Team Lead Natasha Soglin in the studio today as she live streamed her design process and answered viewers’ questions about game art. To give you a behind-the-scenes looks at her drawing process, Natasha re-created two game art characters from our chemical equations balancing game, Bongo Balance. Watch…

July 28, 2016 // Kat Shanahan

FGP2-8: Game Art

This week the very talented Alexander S. Cooney joins us in the studio to talk about his circuitous path to Filament Games and the impact art has on gameplay. We also discuss growing potatoes indoors to protect yourself from zombies, how game designers can get into the heads of their target audience, and The Three…

July 26, 2016 // Kat Shanahan

FGP2-7: Ingress & Pokémon Go

Fresh off the conference circuit, Dan and Brandon share industry trends from ISTE, IVOH, and the Games for Change Festival in addition to discussing augmented reality mobile games such as Ingress and Pokémon Go. This week we also learn which movies make our co-hosts cry, what Winstoning is, and the difference between jokes and slander.…

July 19, 2016 // Kat Shanahan

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