1. 1. How and Why a Biochemist Became an Indie Game Developer Melanie Stegman, Ph.D. Creative Director Molecular Jig Games, LLC www.MolecularJig.com @MelanieAnnS @MolecularJig See Melanie Present this at http://youtu.be/kucqqpIuso4
2. 2. Melanie Stegman, Ph.D. I make games about the molecular world. 2D strategy game Immune Defense 3D game epic Cell Adventure game I evaluate the effect of games on players. What players learn How players attitudes change 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 1 2 3 4 5 Transmigration Female IA Female Control Biochemist making games
3. 3. A biochemist became a game dev Why I want to teach molecular biology with games Molecular biology education must occur younger in life so that the concepts are learned more completely and so the general public learns them, not just biology experts. How to demonstrate intuitive learning occurs This talk describes my evaluation methods as well as my game design methods. Creating an intuitive game is ideal for engaging players and ideal for teaching complex concepts, But assessing intuitive learning is more difficult than accessing formal knowledge. You can make science games, too! Get a scientist as a partner Get funding (This is why assessment matters) Iterative design with a larger development team
4. 4. Healthcare Environment Genetically Modified Food Infectious Disease Teenage pregnancy Mental Health Molecular Biology is relevant to many issues...
5. 5. Healthcare Policy Environment Policy Genetically Modified Food Policy Infectious Disease Policy Teenage pregnancy Policy Mental Health Policy Molecular Biology is relevant to many issues... that the average American votes on.
6. 6. We know so many more details We cant just teach the same stuff in a fancy way, we need to teach about vast, new worlds of molecular science. The Machinery of Life David Goodsell, Ph.D. Scripps Research Institute
7. 7. Combining electron microscopy, biochemistry and structural biology data The Machinery of Life David Goodsell, Ph.D. Scripps Research Institute
8. 8. We know where your salt molecules are Cytoplasmic protein mRNA Ribosome Water ATP Sodium ion The Machinery of Life David Goodsell, Ph.D.
9. 9. The Ebola Virus A very scary sausage?
10. 10. http://www.pdb.org/pdb/101 Art by David Goodsell Ebola Virus A tiny infection machine With replaceable parts
11. 11. Introduction to surface molecules
12. 12. Intuitive Formal Epistemological Deep understanding of molecular biology requires time to develop Grade school Middle School High School Problem is that Molecules are considered abstract and their behaviors are not introduced until high school
13. 13. Jerome Bruner The Process of Education Complex concepts can be learned by children as games. Grammar is his best example. Five year olds do not know what a verb is, but they still use them correctly. Games provide a contextual motivation that drives the learning.
14. 14. Misconceptions are difficult to change
15. 15. CBE: Life Science Education. 7:227. 2008. Misconceptions are difficult to change
16. 16. Introduction to random motion
17. 17. A biochemist became a game dev Why I want to teach molecular biology with games Molecular biology education must occur younger in life so that the concepts are learned more completely and so the general public learns them, not just biology experts. How to demonstrate intuitive learning occurs This talk describes my evaluation methods as well as my game design methods. Creating an intuitive game is ideal for engaging players and ideal for teaching complex concepts, But assessing intuitive learning is more difficult than accessing formal knowledge. You can make science games, too! Get a scientist as a partner Get funding (This is why assessment matters) Iterative design with a larger development team
18. 18. Level 1, Immune Attack. Transmigration of Monocyte Monocyte Your Nanobot
19. 19. Activating Selectin Proteins with our ray gun
20. 20. Activated Selectin Proteins attract the monocyte
21. 21. Evaluation of Learning and Confidence Gains in Immune Attack Players
22. 22. Immune Attack teaches students cell biology Three Day Evaluation Protocol 7th -12 grade teachers register on our website. Students are randomly assigned to the test group or the control group. Week One Students play Immune Attack OR the control game for 40 minutes. Week Two Students play Immune Attack OR the control game for 40 minutes. The next day, students take online exam.
23. 23. Two Years of Development to create reliable test of Knowledge and Confidence
24. 24. Immune Attack players score significantly better than their classmates on our test of terms and concepts. 0 5 10 15 20 25 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Frequencies of Scores on Test of Terms and Concepts IA N = 180 Control N = 160 Numberofquestionscorrect Number of student with this score
25. 25. Boys and girls, game players and non- game playing students all scored equally well on test of learning All 0 hours/week 1 to 5 hours/week 6+ hours/week Immune Attack Control Control 0 5 10 15 20 All Girls Boys Self reported hours per week of video games played. Numberofquestionsansweredcorrectly
26. 26. Even students who did not pass the first level and who responded that IA was not easy to play scored significantly higher on cell biology questions compared to control (classmates who played an unrelated game) . All IA 1 2 3 4 5 All Ctrl Response to Easy to Play? 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 Immune Attack Level 1 Levels 2 and 3 Level 4 Level 5 Levels 6 and 7 Control Numberofquestionsansweredcorrectly
27. 27. Something that will damage your ship. An amino acid A protein that stops Monocytes. A wiggly thing that is the wrong target. A lipid A protein that makes Monocytes exit the blood vessel. An object you need to avoid. A complex carbohydrate A protein that does not interact with Monocytes. A wiggly thing you need to shoot to win. A protein A protein that causes the Monocyte to slow down. 75% 50% 51% 75% 52% 54% 74% 49% 50% What is the arrow pointing to? All Girls Boys Students remember objects and their role in the game.
28. 28. Immune Attack players remember best the objects they needed to use/avoid/find. All Girls Boys What kind of cell is this? What color were the Monocytes in Immune Attack? What color were the Pseudomonas bacteria? What color are were the Neutrophils? Amoeba Green Blue Yellow Bacteria cell Yellow Yellow Blue A skin cell Red Red Red White Blood Cell Blue Green Green 43% 63% 40% 19% 48% 64% 45% 24% 38% 64% 35% 15%
29. 29. Nature Reviews Immunology, 2007. 7:678. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
30. 30. Immune Attack players gain confidence A complex diagram looks as understandable as a simpler diagram to IA players. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 1 2 3 4 5 Transmigration 1 2 3 4 5 Yellow Macrophages Total Ctrl n = 161 Total IA n = 180
31. 31. Immune Attack players gain confidence with related images. I would be able to understand this diagram if I read it and thought about it. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 1 2 3 4 5 DATA All IA Players n = 180 Percentoftotalstudents Disagree -------------- Agree Get this paper: www.molecularjig.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Stegman-2014-Immune-Attack.pdf
32. 32. Immune Attack players retain terms and concepts and show increased confidence. Non-gamers did not lose confidence! Amount played and ease of playing helped. Can we make a game that engages more people?
33. 33. Immune Attack players retain terms and concepts and show increased confidence. Non-gamers did not lose confidence! Amount played and ease of playing helped. Can we make a game that engages more people?
34. 34. Engaging more people Tutorial Meaningful decisions Playtesting Retaining players Replayability More levels More bad guys
35. 35. Bout us: We are an independent game studio and a double bottom line company. Our goals are to keep ourselves in business and to increase general knowledge of molecular behavior. Molecules like proteins, lipids, drugs and ions are are the key to understanding many important concepts: health, the environment, infectious disease, public safety, etc. We will accomplish our goals by creating games that take place in the molecular world and making them available to as wide an audience as possible.
36. 36. Our Tutorial to make George Fan proud Play our game demo at www.MolecuarJig.com/demo
37. 37. The Kickstarter ends Jan 25!
38. 38. A biochemist became a game dev Why I want to teach molecular biology with games Molecular biology education must occur younger in life so that the concepts are learned more completely and so the general public learns them, not just biology experts. How to demonstrate intuitive learning occurs This talk describes my evaluation methods as well as my game design methods. Creating an intuitive game is ideal for engaging players and ideal for teaching complex concepts, But assessing intuitive learning is more difficult than accessing formal knowledge. You can make science games, too! Get a scientist as a partner Get funding (This is why assessment matters) Iterative design with a larger development team
39. 39. Apply for a grant
40. 40. Our science game development cycle Blog post: www.molecularjig.com/2014/09/15/iteration-and-collaboration/
41. 41. www.ScienceGameCenter.org Search by platform, subject or age group Read reviews by players, teachers, scientists and game developers. Contribute your own reviews, register as a teacher, scientists or game developer or a player. 1800 Registered users 2400 Likes on Facebook A curated list of >80 Science Games Submit your game! Brought to you by Molecular Jig Games.
42. 42. Some more Seattle science game developers
43. 43. Immune Defense Learning Objectives Randomness of molecular diffusion Specificity of interactions between protein signals and protein receptors Low and high affinity interactions are different Cells have specific functions because of their unique complement of proteins Cells can signal to each other Cells respond to their environment if they have the correct receptors Regulating which proteins you have on hand is important for cell function Pathogens have evolved to thwart our immune system
44. 44. Immune Defense Learning Objectives Random molecular diffusion drives predictable cell behavior Player can spend Energy to change the location of molecules and dragging molecules closer to cells can help move them to the pathogens faster. Molecules are truly moving randomly in Immune Defense. Trying to catch them makes that clear, additionally, cells sometimes move away from pathogens because the bind to a signal that is coming from the other direction. We encourage players to learn how random diffusion drive specific cell behaviors by rewarding the player for saving their energy and not moving molecules when they dont need to. 1) Energy is required to buy new cells and 2) remaining Energy is multiplied by score at end of level Players learn Cells move eventually to the Pathogen Random motion of particles that begins at a source causes a gradient of particles.
45. 45. Immune Defense Learning Objectives Specificity of interactions between ligands and protein receptors, Low and high affinity interactions are different Player is racing against an Inflammation clock, and so is under pressure to reach Pathogens quickly. Player can use receptors that have higher affinity for the cytokine molecules, thus moving forward faster. NK Cells and the adaptive immune cells will find target cells by binding with more than one receptor, and the first receptor may let go before the second binds which means the player is directly thwarted by the off- rate. Player learns: The structure (shape) of proteins and other molecules is important for their function. Proteins have discrete tasks, and they cannot replace each other.
46. 46. Immune Defense Learning Objectives Cells have specific functions because of their unique complement of proteins Cells can signal to each other Cells respond to environment only if they have the correct receptors Regulating proteins expression is important for cell function Players purchase the correct cell for the various Pathogen types. Players regulate which proteins are on the cell surface. Players can avoid getting infected by down regulating the pathogen binding receptors and can activate their cells by upregulating their activation signal receiving receptors. Cells have a defined set of proteins and their functions are limited to the proteins that have (differentiation of cells.
47. 47. Immune Defense Learning Objectives Pathogens have evolved to thwart our immune system Neutrophils follow 4 steps to kill pathogens: Detection, Binding, Phagocytosis and Dissolving in the Phagosome. Pathogens accidently evolve genes that help the avoid these four steps. If pathogens can avoid any of these 4 steps, they are harder to kill. Players learn that evolution is not perfect: There are four steps to kill pathogens, and evolution gives some pathogens an advantage. Pathogens cannot respond at the moment and suddenly become resistant, evolution is not instant.