[math4] Self Introduction + Re: Activity idea

[Yioryos Asprobounitis]

Sorry for the formatting, or any doublicate messages. I'm still learning this...

> From: Matthew Daniels <danielsmw at gmail.com>
> Subject: Self Introduction + Re: [math4] Activity idea
> To: mavrothal at yahoo.com
> Date: Thursday, March 12, 2009, 9:06 PM
> Sounds like a fun idea, albeit complicated. 

As I said, I’m not a programmer and I was presenting the game from the player point of view. However I can fully appreciate that this can be a programmer’s nightmare… So I’ll try the other way now...

The core of the game may be “simple”. Q&A are presented as battles with an appealing cartoonish character. The cartoon can be static or a simple gif animation for start, but later a collection of 3-4 action appropriate frames (attack, defend, sleep, celebrate).
You “defend” by providing an answer to a question from a list of 3-4 (entry level) or with keyboard entry (next level). You attack by providing a question, from a list in the beginning and then be text entry, putting “?” next to the expected answer. The machine gives a delayed answerer, so the player can think for the answer him/herself and add some “excitement”. The battle is monitored by “strength bars”. Every correct answer or correctly formulated question weakens the opponent and every wrong the player. 5-10 A/D (attack/defense) are enough for a battle. Characters never die but if they loose many battles they can be captured by an opponent  and you have to start over. We could leave the "correct answer" out for start or provide it all the time. What ever is easier but the latter is preferred . Down the road can develope some "fancy animation" for correct and mistaken answers. as well as athe attack sequence. 
The “opponent cartoon characters” are static sets while your cartoon character is the scoring database that determines your level. The physical opponent ( the "master of the character") can be anything human, humanoid or imaginary entity that can be part of the story line, but for the beginning   just "someone".
This should be the core and should be fairly feasible. There are a number of games that are doing just that. Is like tuxmath with simpler graphics and no movement.

For the gamepaly the characters can be classified as “explorers” (a+b=?, a+?=c) “sneakers” (a+b<, >, = ?)  “acrobats” (a+b=c?+d?) “shape shifters” ( 90 degrees angles are in a ?), “plotters” (graph evaluation) “wizards” (problem solving) etc.
The strength of each character is determined by the kind of equations you can solve (number of digits, numbers of factors, number of functions etc). When you master few levels your characters evolve to a “beefed-up” cartoon (explorer to acrobat etc).
When you complete some levels you get another “capture ball” so you can get another character to play with. This should generate a second “level database” that should consider the previous one(s) and allow the player to start at any level present in the pre-existing databases(s). 
Just exporting your level database to the school server can be sufficient for teacher evaluation in the beginning. Integration with the communication/collaboration functions can be added at a later point.

For game play a simple 2D map of a setting where the character navigates to find opponents to battle should suffice. Then you go to the “battle screens”.
The story line can be anything from just becoming a “master” or anything that is culturally valued for the target nation (here localization should point to a specific “story line”).

So for start it could use an existing math game engine (tuxmath?) , one or more graphic artists for the characters, and a developer to change the visual layout and do the required modifications. No fancy animations, communications, story-lines etc. These can come-up later 
Does it still sounds too complicated? 

I do not have a name for the game yet, but I'm sure this is the easy part :-)