A new software program trains aspiring pianists through interactive learning


Gaming meets Chopin with Playground Sessions, a downloadable software that teaches piano through its breakthrough "Play to Learn" approach. Riffing on the strumming-to-scoring simulation of Guitar Hero, Playground Sessions enables users to practice "in an interactive environment with real-time feedback," backed by an interconnected keyboard and hit music library.

Created by brand invention firm, ZAG, Playground Sessions is a "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" method of self-driven learning motivated by the gaming allure of rewards and level ups. Drawn to their research and design expertise, Managing Director Chris Vance turned to Jan Plass and Bruce Homer, founding partners of NYU's Consortium for Research and Evaluation of Advanced Technologies in Education (CREATE) "to fine tune specific learning-related design elements," says Vance. Aiming to "identify design patterns for effective educational games," CREATE's joint initiative with Microsoft Research, Games for Learning Institute (G4LI), aligned with Playground Sessions' innovative design requirements.

Playground Sessions uses a split interface that simultaneously highlights keyboard hand placement, musical notation and video instruction led by the self-taught pianist and YouTube sensation David Sides. "The pedagogy behind Playground Sessions taps into three powerful mechanism for learning—the motivational power of games, the ability of games to engage the learner in meaningful activities that are effective for learning, and the ability to provide detailed performance feedback to players," explains Dr. Plass.

Organized by level—beginner to advanced—and subject—rhythm, ear training and more—Playground Sessions' "Bootcamp" lessons appeal to learners of varying styles and preferences. Playground Sessions also allows users to share their scores via Twitter and Facebook or high-kick their skills into action with a collective competition amongst friends. Playground Sessions bolsters confidence through effective and encouraging steps, evidenced by the above video, "Days to Play," a heartwarming story illustrating the software's success.

"Games have a number of benefits that make them powerful learning environments with the potential to impact learning. They involve learners in the kind of activities that allow them to develop skills essential for success," states Dr. Plass. Indeed, it's with this gaming mentality that Playground Sessions seems to mix a winning formula for a new generation of hyper-stimulated kids and adults burnt out on traditional piano lessons.

Games on mobile platforms have been slowly improving over the past few years. Today, instead of playing games like Jewels, we can run characters through immersive 3D worlds.

One game has caught my attention with its high definition graphics and an interesting theme: Wind-Up Knight. Read on for the full review.

The Game’s Design
Controls
To be honest the controls let this game down quite badly – not a great first impression. The positioning of the icons you tap to make Wind-Up Knight use abilities are either too close together. They also look quite similar when you only have a fraction of a second to check them. The jump and attack buttons in the bottom corners are especially easy to get confused when you are trying to change moves quickly. If the designers gave these different colours, that would help immensely.

I also found that the buttons were sometimes unresponsive or laggy, causing me to die one way or another – although this may have been because I pressed the buttons right at the point my phone slowed down (explained next).

The attack and jump keys are easily confused, even on the first few levels when other abilities haven't been unlocked yet.

Appearance
The overall appearance of Wind-Up Knight is that of High Definition cartoons. Everything from the texture style to the way Wind-Up Knight runs reminds me of cartoons. The graphical requirements of this game are quite high – so high that the Android Market page recommends using Tablet devices to get the best results. I get a tiny fraction of jerkiness on my Desire HD, nothing too much and certainly not worth worrying about. However less powerful devices may not fare so well. The Market page recommends nothing less graphically able than a Nexus One.

Gameplay
The gameplay makes me think of a Mario-Sonic hybrid. The Mario feel comes from having to jump around, and the Sonic feel comes from having to get your timing right to catch gold rings. However everything moves much more slowly than either game, since you need good time to plan your moves (although you can buy items to increase your speed). This simple gameplay style is rather addictive, and apart from when I get frustrated by being unable to complete a level, I find this a difficult game to put down.

Abilities
Though I said this game makes me think of a Mario-Sonic hybrid, your character has a few more abilities than in the classic 8- and 16-bit games. You can roll, double jump, slide down walls, amongst many others. Something I especially liked was wall-to-wall jumping. In some of the later levels you have to quickly flick between walls to climb up onto the next plateau.

The challenge of the game lies in anticipating and calculating when to roll instead of jump; get it wrong and you have to restart the level!

Here Wind-Up Knight is sliding down a wall, if he doesn't jump quickly he will hit the spikes.

Levels
Over 50 levels are available for you to play through, each one progressively harder than the last. There are many varieties of obstacles too, which helps to keep the game feeling new and interesting. In one level you have to deal with chickens and spikes, and then it is fire and chasms, or ogres and trapdoors.

If you are ‘Mega-Hardcore’ as the Android Market page challenges you to be, then you can unlock all the levels in this game for free over time, simply by earning more and more in-game credits by playing. However if you prefer to let go of a few dollars to unlock all the levels automatically, that option’s also available.

Unfortunately if you have multiple devices you cannot transfer your unlock rights between devices.

One of the annoying factors in this game is its checkpoint system – or rather its lack thereof. The levels are quite long, especially when considering how many jumps and sword-swipes you have to perform to complete them. If you make one wrong move then, regardless of progress, you have to restart that level. I don’t find this challenging but instead rather frustrating. A checkpoint halfway through each level would be very welcome.

There are many variations of scenery in this game. Here is a level set in the countryside.

Buying Improvements
As I just mentioned, you earn in-game money by playing the game well and destroying your enemies. This money can be exchanged for items that boost Wind-Up Knight’s abilities. Such perks include fire-resistance, speed boosts, falling-object-protection, and armour that gives extra lives.

I think this gives the game a nice feeling of progression, in that as well as unlocking levels, you are earning ‘money’ to buy yourself upgrades to become more powerful and resistive.

This is the in-game store where you buy all these upgrades

Final Thoughts
Overall Wind-Up Knight is pretty fun and, as always, free games are all the more appetizing. If you fancy playing a highly detailed side-scrolling action game, then you’ve found it here.

For the Appstorm rating I think Wind-Up Knight deserves 8/10. It is fun, engaging, and has an attractive cartoon style, which altogether keeps you occupied when you need to be – the true purpose of any Smartphone game. The two marks lost are caused by all the aforementioned problems. Don’t be discouraged by them though, give this game a try yourself!

To answer my own opening question, the graphics and gameplay do help make a good game, but they are only a small contributing factor overall. The real enjoyment from games like this one are from the feeling of progression and achievement, as has always been the case.

This is a big week in video game releases, and there's no better way to scrape up the cash you need for some of this week's triple-A titles than to trade in or sell older games that you don't play. Here's how you can score some cash for your unwanted or already finished games to spend on new ones. More »

Jealous of your iOS-carrying companions who have been blasting Asteroids for months on their handsets and tablets? Prepare to quell your rage, as Atari has announced that its Greatest Hits app has launched for Android devices. Surpassing 3.5 million downloads in the iTunes App Store, the company has expanded the offering to Google OS faithful -- and it'll come with Missile Command for free, along with a 100 title catalog looking back on 30 years of gaming. Once you grab that install, you'll have your pick of 25 game packs for a buck each or you can spring for the whole lot for a cool Hamilton. The app is available now for both tablet and smartphone users, should you prefer a larger screen when your Centipede addiction strikes. For a full list of titles, hit the PR button after the break before checking things out for yourself in the Market.Continue reading Atari Greatest Hits app lands in Android Market, Star Raiders awaits your download
Atari Greatest Hits app lands in Android Market, Star Raiders awaits your download originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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SCEA's cleaning up its virtual house and introducing a new design for PlayStation Home. The newly redecorated Hub is set to hit PS3 consoles in North America tomorrow, bringing with it "genre-based districts" split into Action for core gamers, Sportswalk for related scores, news and titles, Adventure which'll extend the Uncharted 3 experience, Pier Park that plays host to arcade games, PlayStation Home Theater for media content and, lastly, PlayStation Home Mall where you can purchase DLC. A spate of "freemium" titles is also on deck for the refresh, offering users access to a handful of mini-games like the first-person shooter Bootleggers '29, poker-based PlayStation Home Hold 'Em, PlayStation Home Sport Trivia, racer RC Rally and 3D puzzle game Cogs. If you're aching for a sneak peek, just click on past the break for a video tease.Continue reading Sony to intro refreshed PlayStation Home tomorrow, tosses in free titles to celebrate (video)
Sony to intro refreshed PlayStation Home tomorrow, tosses in free titles to celebrate (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 19:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If you're not parked in front of the television and watching the action, keeping up on the latest scores and biggest plays of the big game or your favorite teams is still easy, thanks to a variety of mobile apps designed to alert you to big plays, help you look up scores, and track your favorite teams. Last week we asked you which app you used to keep up with your favorite sports when you can't watch them. Then we took a look at the top five. Now we're back to crown the winner. More »

Whether you're looking to relive the past or experience the origin of gaming you missed in your youth, your Android or iPhone can take you back to Mario's salad days, the birth of the Final Fantasy series, and much more. Here's how to get started with retro game emulation and turn your phone or tablet into an arcade in just a few minutes. More »

Flick Golf is an entertaining bonanza of golf that places more emphasis on fun and playability than it does on being an authentic simulation. This is certainly no comprehensively accurate Tiger Woods title, and you won’t be staring at your device trying to determine whether the rugged St Andrews par three requires a 4-iron or a sand wedge.

No, Flick Golf is all about hitting a hole-in-one, first time. In the Caribbean. From a yacht. If that sounds like your cup of tea… read on.

It’s More Like “Happy Gilmore”…
Flick Golf is all about fantastically audacious shots that drop nicely into the hole with a delicious and rewarding “plop” sound. The game will take you all over the world in a succession of holes that are each challenging and well designed.

Main Menu

It all starts, however, on a basic training hole where the game teaches you the controls. It’s quite simple really: scroll your finger from side to side to adjust view, flick your finger over the ball and in the direction you want to shoot. Once the ball is airborne you have uncanny influence over its flight: simply add whatever spin you want by running your finger in the spin direction you desire. Fiendishly easy but tough to master.

What adds to the challenge is the wind-factor. Early courses start you on a comfortable zero miles per hour, but they soon crank up beyond 20 when you get to the trickier holes.

… Than “Tiger Woods”
The control you have over the ball, via spin, is a little over the top. It lets you change direction a few times, and even add some backspin afterwards if you need the ball to roll nicely backwards. This makes the gameplay style far more arcade than dedicated golf simulation, which may dissuade golf puritans. You simply drive the ball, then manipulate it into the hole; there is no putting, no sand wedges and no anxious slicing from an impossible bunker.

Gorgeous graphics and fun gameplay

This control, however, is the crux of the game and what makes it so wonderfully playable. Even you if you drive completely wide, or get blown horribly off target by gusty winds, it’s not a lost cause – some furious spinning can still put the ball in the hole, or at least in a good scoring position.

Score Card
Scoring in Flick Golf is easy to understand. Everything is essentially par 1: you get one shot only. Hitting a hole-in-one gets you a cool 1000 points. Outside that, there are zones you gain points from, which reduce in value as you get further from the hole. Really close gets you 500 points, then 400, 300 and the outer ring is 200 points. Each level gives you a target of points to unlock the next level and so on.

Naturally, levels are quite easy to complete early on, but then the target scores stack up and it becomes far more challenging. At the end of the hole, the game rewards you for use of spin, so you can add a few points here too. This is cool – especially if you have managed to drag your ball across the course to land a plum hole-in-one, as the game recognises that skill. Get successive holes-in-one and you get bonus points for this too!

Hole-in-one!

Location, Location, Location
The game sends you all over the world to face all manner of different courses. Although none are based on real golf courses, they all reflect some typical national geographics. There’s ‘Still Water Lake’ and ‘Clearview Lodge’ in the United States, followed by the gorgeous ‘Turtle Cove’ in the Bahamas, ‘Stonebow Ridge’ in Scotland, the dusty ‘Coyote Point’ in the United States and finally ‘Shimiko Castle’ in Japan.

Various courses from around the world

Each course has its own character, and each is gloriously rendered in sublime and impressive graphics. The visuals in the game are as impressive as you could expect from a decent Android device; bright colours, excellent environments and cool ball-effects are all deliciously portrayed. On one occasion I completely messed a shot up and ended in the ‘drink’, but even this is wonderfully expressed in the graphics of the game. You know a game’s good if you put aside your frustration to marvel at the beautiful backgrounds!

Everything about the graphics is stunning and smooth and buttery, although obviously it is a little too bright and colourful to be realistic. If you hope to see realistically miserable grey bunker sand on the Scottish course you might be disappointed. Think ‘arcade’ or the cosy brightness you get on Wii games and you’ll get the idea.

Conclusion
Flick Golf is a deliriously fun and addictive game that is immediately playable. This is not the Tiger Woods franchise so do not expect to see Nike Swooshes, extensive wardrobes and corporate sponsorship of every golf club manufacturer in the world. The game is all about creating a fun environment and compulsive gameplay. It’s golf, just not as we know it. Hit a glorious hole-in-one from an anchored yacht, fight against the wind in the Californian desert and try and avoid losing the ball in a lake – it’s pure arcade fun.

There are few games like this on the Android Market. Oh sure, there are a few golf games (and lots of ‘caddy’ apps which help you keep golf scores), but these are either 2D crazy golf bore-fests or poor Windows 95-era clones. Pretty ugly. There is a wonderful zombie/golf crossover title called “Zombie Golf Riot” where you have to hit a zombie’s head – using a chainsaw – as far as you can; while brilliantly silly, it’s never going to win Colin Montgomery’s endorsement. Ultimately then, nothing really challenges Flick Golf for beauty and pure playability. I’m sure readers will quickly tell me differently if I’ve missed a gem somehow!

While the game is instantly lovable, and well worth forking out for, it might ruffle the puritan feathers of hardcore golf nerds. Gameplay is a bit over-the-top and you only get one shot per hole, there’s little course authenticity or a choice of clubs. I did find the learning curve a bit steep too. Mid-way through, the target scores go quite high and you need to be scoring very highly every shot to progress. Good fun, but this spoils it a little as you seem to hit a wall. This aside, the game is bunkers of fun and colour: definitely check it out if you can.

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