| dc.description.abstract | This master s project is dedicated to investigate the potential for educational games with a motion controller based interface. Through professor Alf Inge Wang at NTNU we were assigned the task of brainstorming and developing a concept that would utilize motion controllers, more specifically the Microsoft Kinect, and investigate if it could be useful outside of a traditional game setting. Additionally it was expressed a desire to have emphasis on reusable software that would benefit future projects investigating the same area or using the same technology.
Throughout our research period we have discovered several interesting things. We found that although the Kinect failed to gain any traction on its intended area of use, it is a very impressive piece of affordable technology that is worth investigating further. Educational games have varying popularity among consumers due to the difficulty of finding a formula that combines the values of education and fun in a good way. A teacher will want a game that can be adapted into a curriculum, which the students can learn from, while the students themselves will want a game than is engaging and entertaining.
Using the Kinect SDK and the MonoGame framework we were able to develop a prototype of a basic grammar game, 4-6 players will stand in front of the kinect and be designated a word from a sentence. Through discussion and cooperation the players will need to exchange words between each other until they agree on how the sentence should be. The prototype was tested in an experiment with a group of third graders who also answered a questionnaire for our data gathering.
We conclude in this report that there is definitely potential in the idea of using motion controllers for educational purposes that is worth exploring further. The children who tried our prototype expressed great enthusiasm over interactive play in a subject that is normally considered dull for pupils of this age group. With this report and the software we have produced we hope that we have accomplished to make fundament for future endeavours in the topic of using motion controllers for educational games. | |
