Filament Games Blog

Getting the Most out of HTML5

Quality matters. Your audience does not care about the technology you used to develop your game. The big questions for consumers are: how do I get it, will it run on my device, and is it as good as any other experience I could have on this device. The tough problem for HTML5 is meeting…

October 14, 2015 // Stephen Calender

Filament Games | Educational Game Developer

Why Build Learning Games?

If you could create any game, what would you make? Would it be a chaotic universe where anyone can be a superhero, an epic intergalactic adventure, or a medieval fantasy world with wizards and dragons? After several years in the games industry, my answer is creating learning games. Though it may not seem obvious at…

September 18, 2015 // Stephen Calender

The Balancing Act: Including Others in Your Designs

Designers, we are not the only ones with ideas and solutions. There is a careful balance we must maintain between designing features by ourselves and gathering the developer’s ideas and feedback. A game is a bajillion times better when it’s the combination of everyone’s creativity. It’s the kind of thing that’s obvious in theory but…

September 11, 2015 // Abby Friesen

Quality Assurance and Learning Games

One of the challenges the QA team at Filament faces is that our players are often children and our team is made up of adults. That isn’t a problem when testing a crash or a missing art asset, but it can be when we test the user experience. Here are three things I try to keep…

September 2, 2015 // Peter Rambo

A Case For Learning Games: Measurable Results Seen Playing Backyard Engineers

Together with physical classroom activities, learning games afford students a more comprehensive view of classroom materials and a more dynamic classroom experience. Learning games can teach students about dynamic content in ways textbooks cannot. Using Filament Games, students can explore organ systems, travel through the body as a cell, and watch plants grow and bloom…

August 24, 2015 // Kat Shanahan

A-Games Study: How Teachers Use Digital Learning Games

Game-based learning is rich with opportunities that enhance the student experience while helping teachers solve classroom challenges. A recent study by the A-Games project (Analyzing Games for Assessment in Math, ELA/ Social Studies, and Science) shed light on game usage in the classroom – including how teachers are using games as formative assessment tools. More than…

July 29, 2015 // Kat Shanahan

Cool Choices: Game-Based Learning Benefits Adults

Classrooms around the country use game-based learning to improve academic achievement, enhance curriculum, and foster self-guided learning. Numerous recent studies have reinforced the efficacy of game-based learning and the positive impacts it has on the today’s students. What may not be as apparent are the benefits of game-based learning for adults. Keeping in mind that…

July 16, 2015 // Kat Shanahan

Filament Games Team Inspires Girl Scouts to Code

Check out our working avatar creator here! We have a soft spot in our hearts for kids who are interested in learning about programming and game development, and we make it a part of our mission to look for opportunities to give back to our community. In December, Filament Games was invited to participate in…

January 16, 2015 // Elle Jacobson

Writing a Game Design Document Your Team Can Actually Use

*claps hands together loudly* “Alrighty, who’s ready to read my 30-page GDD that I spent the last two days writing?!” Yeah, me neither. I’ve seen a number of game design documents get out of hand and become a chore to maintain and read. They end up looking more like a wall of text than a…

October 20, 2014 // Abby Friesen

Research Roundup: Studies Support Game-Based Learning

In the past decade, there has been a substantial amount of research on learning games. Some researchers have recently completed meta-analyses pulling all of the evidence together to see what conclusions are emerging so far. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center has also completed a survey of 694 K-8 teachers focusing on digital games in the classroom.…

September 18, 2014 // Ellen Jameson

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