Melanie's 5 minute presentation on her evaluation of Immune Attack. Additionally, some slides on iterative game development strategy.

1. Melanie Stegman, Ph.D.
Director, FAS Learning Technologies
www.FASLearningTech.org
Hosted by the Maine International Center for Digital Learning MICDL.org
CEO, Molecular Jig Games, LLC
www.MolecularJig.com
@MelanieAnnS
ScienceGameCenter.org
Biochemist making games
Find more science games here:

2. Melanie Stegman, Ph.D.
Biochemist making games
Timelines…
2004
PhD
Biochemistry
2008
Post Doc
Microbiology
2007
Immune Attack released
2014
Immune Defense released
2014
Post Doc
Video Game Development
Started Game Studio
Molecular Jig Games
Unity3D Game Engine Tablet computers in schools

3. Healthcare
Environment
Genetically Modified Food
Infectious Disease
Antibiotic use
Mental Health
Molecular Biology is relevant to many issues...

4. Healthcare Policy
Environment Policy
Genetically Modified Food Policy
Infectious Disease Policy
Antibiotic use Policy
Mental Health Policy
Molecular Biology is relevant to many issues...
that the average American votes on.

5. Intuitive
Formal
Epistemological
Deep understanding of molecular biology
requires time to develop
Grade school Middle School High School
Problem is that Molecules are considered abstract
and their behaviors are not introduced until high school

6. Younger kids so that we reach the ones who will become the non-scientists.
Younger kids so that we reach them before they form misconceptions.
Younger kids so that we reach them young enough to form gut level understanding.
Teach younger kids about molecular behavior

7. Games increase “time on task.”
Visuals are effective at teaching.
Stories are effective at teaching.
Familiarity makes us confident.
Who’s the best football team?
People debate this data!
How do vaccines work?
No one debates this data?
Movies/videos tell stories and make us feel familiar with molecules
Simulations show us great detail and let us manipulate: making things concrete,
making things part of our own experience.
Games, however, have all this plus: MOTIVATION,
AGENCY and
REPLAYABILITY

8. A Well Designed Game
MOTIVATION
…as part of the story, to save the princess, etc.
…to solve the next just-out-of-reach problem: to stay in FLOW.
AGENCY
…player must make important and fun decisions
…a gun, a tractor beam, a purchase panel, a scanner: the player knows what
tools are at her disposal in each new situation.
REPLAYABILITY
…we will play again IF we get a new experience: different places to explore,
higher score, etc.
… leading to “more time on task.”

9. Challenges in
Making a Game from a Molecular Simulation.
• Video Games, like Immune Attack, use tricks to hold our interest:
*learning by doing
*learning from mistakes
*complexity sufficient to draw players back to replay
Will this seemingly negative aspect of gaming drive science game players
away from science?? (No, they don’t!)
• Making a complete story from what is known is a unique challenge.
• Accomplishing learning objectives while not introducing any
misconceptions and still meeting development deadlines.
• Our audience is large, their interest in intense.

10. Rapid Iteration
allows for testing and changing every 2-3 months
Scientists involved continuously
Audience misunderstandings
and game related difficulties
addressed with scientists

11. Immune Attack teaches students cell biology
Three Day Evaluation Protocol
7th -12 grade teachers register on our website.
Students are randomly assigned to the test group or the control group.
Week One
Students play Immune Attack OR the control game for 40 minutes.
Week Two
Students play Immune Attack OR the control game for 40 minutes.
The next day, students take online exam.

12. Immune Attack. Level 1. Transmigration of Monocyte
Monocyte
Your Nanobot
ImmuneAttack.org watch trailer, download free game (.EXE file)

13. Activating Selectin proteins with our ray gun
ImmuneAttack.org watch trailer, download free game (.EXE file)

14. Activated Selectin proteins attract the monocyte
ImmuneAttack.org watch trailer, download free game (.EXE file)

15. Immune Attack players score significantly better than
their classmates on our test of terms and concepts.
0
5
10
15
20
25
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718192021222324252627
Frequencies of Scores on Test of Terms and Concepts
IA N = 180
Control N = 160
Score:Questionscorrectoutof27
Number of student with this score
Control = 8 average correct
Immune Attack students = 12 average correct

16. Topics Addressed in the test of
Terms and Concepts
• One Protein one job/one disease
• Transmigration Progress
• Tracking Process
• Differences among WBC are due to proteins (not DNA).

17. Something that will
damage your ship.
An amino acid A protein that stops Monocytes.
A wiggly thing that is the
wrong target.
A lipid A protein that makes Monocytes
exit the blood vessel.
An object you need to
avoid.
A complex
carbohydrate
A protein that does not interact with
Monocytes.
A wiggly thing you need to
shoot to win.
A protein A protein that causes the Monocyte
to slow down.
75% 50% 51%
75% 52% 54%
74% 49% 50%
What is the arrow pointing to?
All
Girls
Boys
Players know the wiggly thing is a protein.

18. Immune Attack players remember best the
objects they needed to use/avoid/find.
All
Girls
Boys
What kind of
cell is this?
What color were
the Monocytes in
Immune Attack?
What color were
the Pseudomonas
bacteria?
What color are
were the
Neutrophils?
Amoeba Green Blue Yellow
Bacteria cell Yellow Yellow Blue
A skin cell Red Red Red
White Blood Cell Blue Green Green
43% 63% 40% 19%
48% 64% 45% 24%
38% 64% 35% 15%

19. Non-game playing students scored
equally well on test of knowledge
Students are asked how many hours per week they play video games.
Their choices are 0, 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-35, 36-40
All 0 hours/week 1 to 5
hours/week
6+
hours/week
Immune Attack Control
Control
0
5
10
15
20
All Girls Boys
Score:Questionscorrectoutof27

20. Lack of success in Immune Attack does not inhibit
learning… But success helps.
Immune Attack players grouped by the level of Immune Attack they reached
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
Immune
Attack
Level 1 Levels 2
and 3
Level 4 Level 5 Levels 6
and 7
Control
Score:Questionscorrectoutof27

21. Lack of success in Immune Attack does not inhibit
learning… But success helps.
Students we asked to rate their agreement with this statement:
Immune Attack was easy to play. 1 = I agree completely and 5 = I disagree completely
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
All IA 1 2 3 4 5 All Ctrl
Response to Easy to Play?
Score:Questionscorrectoutof27

22. Challenges in
Making a Game from a Molecular Simulation.
• Video Games, like Immune Attack, use tricks to hold our interest:
*learning by doing
*learning from mistakes
*complexity sufficient to draw players back to replay
Will this seemingly negative aspect of gaming drive science game players
away from science?? (No, they don’t!)
• Making a complete story from what is known is a unique challenge.
• Accomplishing learning objectives while not introducing any
misconceptions and still meeting development deadlines.
• Our audience is large, their interest in intense.

23. Nature Reviews Immunology, 2007. 7:678.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

24. Immune Attack players gain confidence
A complex diagram looks as understandable as a
simpler diagram to IA players.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
1 2 3 4 5
Transmigration
1 2 3 4 5
Yellow Macrophages
Total Ctrl n = 161
Total IA n = 180
Nature Immunology Reviews Janeway Immunobiology 7th Ed.

25. Immune Attack players gain confidence with
related images.
I would be able to understand this diagram
if I read it and thought about it.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
1 2 3 4 5
DATA All IA Players n = 180
Percentoftotalstudents
Disagree -------------- Agree
William Muller, Ph.D.

26. Evaluating in schools Spring 2014
Collaborators:
Maine International Center for Digital Learning
Howard Young, NCI Caroline Pinkard, David Silvernail
University of Southern Maine
Art and programming:
Final version: Kelly Wilson, Jennell Jaquays
Prototyping: Cosmocyte, LLC. Isoform, LLC
Excellent advice: Art Olson, Scripps
Graham Johnson, University of San Francisco
Kenneth Coulter, Ion Medical Designs
Development Funding:
(US) National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Evaluation Funding:
(US) Entertainment Software Association Foundation (ESAF)
Melanie Stegman
@MelanieAnnS