Excellent platform for teaching systems thinking, creative problem solving, design, and problem-solving.
Community Review for Gamestar Mechanic
My Take
This program is about "figuring it out" and systems thinking. It infuses concepts such as cause and effect, synthesis of variables (components, design, space, etc), creativity, and understanding objective/goal/audience. It also teaches balance--elements, hard vs. easy, engagement. My students were engaged, begged for more, interacted with each other offering feedback and help. Students persevered and focused on trying to "figure it all out." This is a great platform for creative problem solving. It also has curriculum for teachers.
How I Use It
At first, I piloted it with a small group of students and just explored the platform. Once I worked through kinks and figured out what was beneficial, I used it with my class to teach storytelling, systems thinking, and creative problem solving. Students designed their own story for the game, added variables and levels of difficulty, and worked with each other to make their games better.