Inspired by a tween girl

Charity starts from the heart

My son was invited to a friend's birthday party and on the invitation she had asked that instead of bringing gifts, people donate to a favorite charity or bring nonperishable food items she could donate to the local food closet. I thought that was beautiful.

It began a conversation between me and my son about charity and giving and kindness. We often have these philosophical talks and it does my heart good to hear my son contribute so much. He thinks deeply about this topic and I know he will make me proud. I was about to say "some day" but he already has.

He told me some day he wants to change the world and make it a better place, and I told him you don't have to change the world. Just do what you can to share love and kindness and the world will follow. Kindness and charity spreads across time and oceans. It doesn't take much; just one act of kindness can change the world for one person. If you continue that practice, you will change the lives of many, who may in turn change many other lives.

I enjoy these talks with him. I know that deep inside that wandering mind is a brilliance we will all see and he will change the world.

Looking to the future

I'm thinking about the future.

Why? Because I'm certain the future is going to be grand.

I did my research

Doing research is key to knowing where you stand, where everyone else stands and where the world stands. Doing research is what I do. It is key to teaching my son, key to his education and my future education. Education doesn't end just because you graduate and get a degree. Life is an education and you really do learn something new every day, no matter how old you are.

So what's all this about research and future?

It's simple. The reason I educate my son is to ensure a happy future for him. The reason I do research is the ensure I give him a good education. It's all connected.

On top of that, I teach my son to research. He has used it well to educate himself. Sometimes it has simply been to get through a video game he is playing, but sometimes he does research to learn how to work certain programs or build things or fix things. He's a curious boy and I encourage him to look more into what it is he's curious about.

Research also helps you make good, educated decisions. We do this when we are standing in a store considering the purchase of some item. I'll look it up on Amazon on my phone to look at the rating and customer reviews. This often saves me money in a couple of ways: one is when we find out it's cheaper on Amazon with free shipping; and the other is when we find out it doesn't work that well or people just don't like it.

Obviously good, educated decisions are important in so many more aspects. Making choices on who or what to vote for, choosing a college or university, choosing a career, choosing a home, partner, pet, and more require research. With dedicated research, you will be able to change your future for the better.

And that is why the future is going to be grand!

I wish you and your family a grand future too.

Game design looks like fun

On with the show

Now that I have accepted that Nick really wants to be a game developer, I have been ordering books and we have been going over the basics. Nick and I have wonderful conversations about some of his ideas and are really having a lot of fun developing them.

Game Development Essentials

There's a game design book series, called Game Development Essentials, that is really popular with Amazon readers and has a lot of interesting titles. I ordered the book Game Story & Character Development and have been finding the text very interesting.



It's really a great book on story and character development in general, discussing the history of storytelling, different character types, story structure, plot twists, conflict and the essentials that go into a good story. It also discusses character psychology, character growth, and things that general writers need to know.

Of course it includes different ways to tell the story within the confines of the gaming atmosphere because that is the point of the book. But in general I felt it did a better job of teaching story and character development than other books I've found on creative writing. So I was really happy with it.

Developing game ideas together

The real fun I am having is seeing how Nick's creative mind comes to life when we talk about his ideas. We talk about the future of gaming and how it can be used in many ways: not just for fun, but for other areas of life like exercise (like the Wii Fit Plus or now the Xbox 360 with Kinect), or education.

I bought him a multiplication game when he was younger that he still likes because it was actually fun. It's called Timez Attack. The makers didn't just have players do flash-card style multiplication, but they made it a real game with real challenges (jumping onto moving platforms, crossing narrow bridges, working their way through a castle or other maze-like area, etc.). They have recently come out with a division game that I'm just going to have to get. It's a really fun way to help kids memorize basic math facts.

Anyway, the point I'm making is that there's a whole untapped market that game developers haven't really hit the mark on yet when it comes to making educational games. There's educational software, but it's not as engaging. Nick and I talk about the possibilities all the time. He thinks it would be great to learn history (a subject he dislikes), science or other subjects in a video game format. There are some game developers out there that are beginning to realize the potential, but of the games we've seen, they still need to work on their delivery.

When Nick and I talk about the existing games and what they could do to make it more fun, his mind goes into hyperdrive and he comes up with all kinds of ways to make a history game come to life. He believes if a game could be made where the player has to search for clues or work out puzzles and make it through levels and challenges, then kids would have fun with it and not even realize they are learning. All I need to do now is keep teaching the basics of game design and hopefully he will remember these conversations when he's actually creating games. From a marketing standpoint, there's a huge audience out there waiting for them. Not just parents like me whose children learn best through multi-sensory methods, but schools who are trying to accommodate students who need more engaging educational materials. It would be especially wonderful for dyslexic students who easily retain information when it is delivered in a more interactive way.

Other possibilities for gaming

Some of the other ideas we've come up with for gaming include vacations at home with your own holodeck-type room added to the house. Nick also came up with the idea of a virtual reality helmet that doesn't put you in the game but makes the world around you part of the game. That way you can move around without worrying about tripping over the dog.

It's good to think about the kinds of obstacles people might have. Truthfully, that's how a game developer needs to think. So we're halfway there! Now if only they had a game to teach game design. I'd buy it.