Sep 8, 2017
I am excited to welcome Jenny Nicholson, Creative Director at
McKinney, back to the NGPF podcast (here was our
earlier discussion about the game Spent). I have gotten to know
Jenny quite well over the past six months as we collaborated on a
game called PAYBACK (featured in this
NY Times article). The goal of this online simulation is to
immerse students in the college experience so they can hone their
decision making skills to successfully navigate the challenges they
will face.
I feel fortunate to have had a "front row seat" to the passion
and creativity that Jenny and her team brought to the development
process everyday. I think the best games are those that students
learn from without realizing that they are learning. Payback is
exactly that kind of game. While it may only take 10-15 minutes to
play, it will generate classroom discussion that could go for hours
(here's the worksheet
with reflection questions). Listen to this podcast to get the
"behind the scenes" look at the game development process and learn
about the in-depth research that went into creating such a
realistic simulation. Enjoy!