It's definitely not a flashy video production, but if you're interested in learning about a virtual world that 6.4 million kids aged 8-15 (68% girls, average age 12.5) like because it challenges them in math and science and expects them to be smart, watch this interview about Whyville.net at Discover magazine. Founder and CEO of Whyville parent Numedeon Inc., Jim Bower – who is also a professor of … [Read more...] about The learning power of a virtual world
gaming
How social gaming works & who likes it
Xbox Live-like game chat has gone mainstream, it seems. The Washington Post says a 31-year-old mom and clinical social worker who has plenty of "real world" friends but sometimes catches up with them in a "Scrabble-like" cellphone game called Words with Friends is a good example of social gamers. Words with Friends is her favorite among all features and apps on her iPhone, and she taps into it … [Read more...] about How social gaming works & who likes it
UK child’s Farmville debt
A 12-year-old in the UK has put a new twist on farm debt. So caught up in playing Farmville this past spring, he ran through all his savings of 288 pounds (about $430), then used his mother's credit card to buy 625 pounds ($936) worth of virtual farm objects, The Guardian reports. The mother asked Zynga, Farmville's publisher, and Facebook, where her son played the game, to refund the money but … [Read more...] about UK child’s Farmville debt
Videogames getting a lot more physical
It started with the Wii, but now Wii has to move over for Sony's Move and Microsoft's Kinect for motion-controlled – and, in Kinect's case, voice-controlled – gaming. As BNET.com puts it, "Kinect is truly a revolution [because it requires no controller at all] and Move ... is an evolution of the Wii." [Both are being unveiled this week at E3, the US's largest gaming trade show/conference.] Move … [Read more...] about Videogames getting a lot more physical
Social gaming’s social engineering
Zynga, creator of Farmville, claims 70 million active players in all of its social-Web games a day (Farmville getting nearly half of them), reports eModeration CEO Tamara Littleton in iabUK.net, and Zynga's just-launched Treasure Isle "gained an extraordinary 5.4 million players in its first week." Littleton says Zynga CEO Mark Pincus chalks it up to meeting three basic criteria: "interaction with … [Read more...] about Social gaming’s social engineering