Educational Game Rating and Standards Body

I recently interviewed André Thomas, founder and CEO of Triseum, an educational game company. He’s also the founder and director of LIVE Lab in the Department of Visualization at Texas A&M University, as well as a professor of game design, game development, and interactive graphics techniques at Texas A&M.

In this interview, conducted for my column at Learning Solutions Magazine, we discussed several topics related to the development and distribution of educational video games. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fit it all into one article, and many of the questions had to be cut from the final piece. However, the discussion about creating a game rating and standards body was too important to leave on the virtual cutting room floor, so I’m publishing it here.

Your Video Game Will Fail

In July I wrote my least popular Metafocus article yet, an explanation of the Unit Economics of making an educational video game. Granted, learning to crunch the numbers of a business opportunity isn't everyone's cup of tea, especially educators. I won't write another article on Unit Economics for the column anytime soon.

Still, I'm quite proud of the piece. I'm certain it's the only piece of its kind anywhere, online or off. Perhaps a few entrepreneurs out there will find it useful.

More Metafocus Articles

Here are links to my most recent articles at Learning Solutions Magazine:

Is Virtual Reality Safe for Kids?

Seven Ethical Dilemmas of VR in Education

Don't Break the Spell: Creating Presence in Virtual Reality

Skills Needed to Create a Serious VR Game with a Game Engine

Serious Games: Three Questions About Unit Economics

Let me know what you think!

You Say You Want a(n Educational) Revolution

The April Metafocus column explores the limitations of VR in the classroom, parodying a lesson plan for a virtual field trip to a farm. It's more lighthearted than my other Metafocus pieces. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

Metafocus: You Say You Want a(n Educational) Revolution

Interview with Maria Johnson of UT Dallas Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training Department

My latest Metafocus column is an interview with Maria Johnson of the UT Dallas Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training Department. They're doing cool work using VR for cognitive development, with a focus on children with autism, ADHD, and other social learning differences.

Metafocus: Interview with Maria Johnson of UT Dallas Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training Department

Enjoy!

Gesamtkunstwerk and More

Here are my December and January columns to Metafocus, my monthly column about VR and gaming in the eLearning space for Learning Solutions Magazine. January's exploration of Gesamtkunstwerk is especially interesting.

December 2016
Metafocus: Best Practices for Designing VR Corporate Training Experiences and Games

January 2017
Metafocus: Gesamtkunstwerk VR Games in eLearning

Metafocus: It's Alive!

I just started writing a monthly column for Learning Solutions Magazine. I call the column Metafocus, and it's all about VR, AR, MR, and games in the eLearning field. My first piece came out today, an overview of virtual and mixed reality in eLearning. Check it out:

https://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/2145/metafocus-overview-of-virtual-reality-and-mixed-reality-in-elearning