On September 7 2008, a new game from Sims-creator Will Wright was released in North America. At a speech in March 2007 (available to view here: "Will Wright Makes Toys That Make Worlds"), Wright described his experiences in Montessori school and his fascination with astrobiology, in which he studied life in the universe. He began thinking about how this idea spans all sorts of different subjects: physics, chemistry, sociology, history, astronomy…and decided to build a toy that would allow kids to stumble upon concepts of life, how it exists and how it might evolve in the future.
The result of this experiment was the Spore game. This PC game allows the player to control the evolution of a species from its very beginnings as a single-cell organism, to a sentient and social creature, to a civilization that eventually travels into space. Wright sees the game as a way to educate young players about, among other things, the long-term affects of your actions.
Game-based learning has become increasingly important in education as technology has developed to the point that games can be incredibly sophisticated. Common sense tells us that kids may even learn more if they're having fun while they're doing it, which is why educational games have become such a huge market. With today's young people spending so much free time playing video games and on the Internet, it is up to educators to find way to harness these interests for learning. The Spore game is just one of many "mainstream" games with potential educational power. Here are just a few of the subjects (besides the overarching theme of evolution) that kids could learn about if given the opportunity to play this game, particularly if guided by a teacher in the classroom:
- Theories of the origin of life (particularly panspermia)
- Microbiology
- DNA
- Basic zoology (herbivores vs. carnivores, for example)
- Early civilization
- Astronomy
Will Wright says, "Toys can change the world." Here's a toy that lets kids make worlds. Even if you aren't able to get this game into a classroom, it's quite likely that many of your students will be playing it anyway (given the popularity of The Sims). Consider using the ideas in it as a jumping-off point for discussions of science and history. After all, if your students are already interested in something, half the battle is won! The Spore game is just the game to do it!
