Expert

As part of the assignment we were to identify one expert in the field in which we were developing the game. Bob and Roger referred us to a professor on campus, Dr. Charles Atwood of the chemistry department at the U.

Our producer, Jon, our engineer Ryan, and I met with him to discuss our game. We brought our prototype with us, showed it to him, and discussed chemistry education in general. At this point we had decided to focus on balancing chemical equations for our game. We presented this idea to him at which point he let us know that balancing the equations wasn't an area he felt that students particularly struggled with, but rather understanding visually what was happening when you balanced equations would be an opportunity that we could focus on. It was insightful to learn where the pain points of teaching chemistry actually lied. It was helpful to get his direction and insight to correct our focus, and I can see how developing a serious or educational game necessitates consultations of experts in the field.

It was also a good experience to get exposure to the educational games marketplace. I'd be very interested in developing games and apps in this area especially with the innovations and changes that are currently happening in that industry.