Educational+Game+Review



I played EcoDefenders from the JASON Project. EcoDefenders is an ecosystem simulator in which you create an invasive species with the objective to take over a competing native species. This simulator is based on the research that Dr. Cuhel, an oceanographer, does with mussels. He wants to find out more information on how invasive species work, but it costs too much in a real ecosystem in damage to do this research, so he created a simulator.

Objectives and Skills
The objective of this game is to make your invasive species take out the native species, or make it extinct. Terminology that I had to know to play the game were as follows:

Extinct: to kill out another species permanently Niche: a unique place in an ecosystem in which animals survive Native Species: the species already existing in a particular area Invasive Species: a newly introduced species competing for food sources Primary Consumer: herbivore, or plant eater Secondary Consumer: eats other small animals, but is also preyed upon Apex Consumer: eats other animals and has no predators once full grown Diurnal: sleeps at night, active during the day Nocturnal: active at night, sleeps during day Crepuscular: active at dusk, sleeps during late night/early day Omnivore: eats plants and other animals Carnivore: eats only other animals

There are other terms throughout the game, but these are the most essential to understanding how the game works and what needs to be accomplished. These are terms I was already fairly familiar with, and therefore understood them, but if I was not familiar before I would have struggled because the game did not really define them outright. There were pictures that went along with some of them, and a few were defined in the instructions, but otherwise you were expected to know these terms before you played the game. Skills needed to be successful were critical thinking, application and simple computer controls. The game was a fairly simple one; no difficult motor skills were needed to play the game itself. This game was more about the critical thinking necessary to apply the knowledge to the concept of an invasive species. There were six trait categories to choose from in order to make your invasive species: defense, size/reproduction rate, color, speed/consumption rate, diet, and sleep cycle. The objective was to make the invasive species compete with the native species, but also have its own niche in order to make the native extinct. Choosing the right characteristics for your invasive species is the whole point of the game.

** Teaching and Learning **
I started off a little confused because I did not realize that the button above “Play” which is the “Learn More!” button was actually a list of instructions and specific objectives for the game. The first few times I played the game I thought that the invasive species needed to die because invasive species are generally thought of as bad. After playing a few times, I realized that the objective was to get the invasive species to thrive. The scene at the end of the game kept saying that I lost, but I didn’t know why or how to win. Then I went back to the opening screen and figured out that the “Learn More!” button gave instructions. After this vital information, the game made much more sense.

The game starts by introducing Dr. Cuhel and his research. It then asks you to choose an ecosystem: marshland, forest, or grassland. Below is a picture of the marshland simulator.

You then observe the natural state of the ecosystem and draw conclusions that help inform you on how to create an invasive species that will survive. There is a legend at the side that relates certain symbols to certain actions in the simulator. Above, there is a set of teeth in the marsh in the upper right hand corner. These teeth mean that an animal was just eaten. After you watch for a minute or so you are taken to a data screen. You have to look at every aspect of the ecosystem before it will allow you to advance to the next screen. Each trait glows yellow until you click on it. You look at data like population of native species, predators, and prey in the area and a list of all of the creatures. The next screen has you pick a native species to compete with, starting with only primary species. In the next screen you go through the traits listed above and create your invasive species. This is where I was initially confused. I thought I had to create a species that was exactly like the native species in order to replace that species. Trial and error told me otherwise. You then place your species in the simulator and watch what unfolds. Below is an image of the simulator:



Popup boxes tell you what specific actions occur such as your species is being eaten, your species is reproducing, your species is eating grass and such. The time tracker at the top shows how much time in days goes by and changes from night to day. Your invasive species is tracked in comparison to the native species on the side bar. After either your invasive species dies or the native species dies, you enter a data screen to investigate why this happened. You answer questions about the occurrences and get points for correct answers according to the data. There is a menu to the side that hosts this data. You must click on the different species to gain this information and combine it with the traits at the top, such as predators, prey and population as before. You also get a bonus if your invasive species lives and the native species goes extinct. The overall objective is to get a high score, but there is also the objective of getting the invasive species to survive which gives you the points (25,000) to get a high score.

Learning Principles:

Semiotic Principle- the player must be familiar with the signs of the game, as in the picture above. There are multiple signs, like teeth chomping for being eaten, zzz for sleeping, and a milk carton with a picture on it for extinction. To fully understand what is going on during the simulation you must know these symbols and what they stand for to follow the action.

Achievement Principle- even if the invasive species does not survive, the player can earn points for answering questions about the data taken during the simulation. This way, even as a beginner, the player earns points and is encouraged to continue.

Practice Principle- each simulation only lasts a few minutes, so a player can get a lot of practice in a short amount of time. This practice is spent immersed in the game completely because the player must create and watch the character throughout the simulation.

Probing Principle- the player probes the world with each new simulation and reflects on possible reasons why the invasive species did not survive. A new hypothesis is formed and a new species created the new round to hopefully be successful.

Material Intelligence Principle- the data collection and analysis part of this game relates to the material intelligence Gee describes. The player stores knowledge from the simulator into the data bank and then analyzes this data. This data then has the potential to earn the player points if analyzed correctly.

Just-in-Time Principle- during the simulation, information is given on the happenings of the invasive and native species. If the player was told to watch for each specific thing and track it themselves it would be overwhelming. The game gives this information just in time as it becomes important.

Discovery Principle- even after looking at the game guide, the player has to discover exactly how to get the invasive species to survive on their own. There are no directions or advice given until after each simulation, and then only one hint is given at a time, as to how to get the native species to overrule the native species. This is a trial and error type game to discover that information a it applies.

** Reflection and Classroom Application **
To be honest, this game seemed pretty lame at first. I think this is because I didn’t understand the objective. Once I discovered how to play the game and earn the points I actually really liked it; it became rather addictive. It is a very short game for one round of simulation, but you move your way up the trophic levels to become an invasive apex predator instead of just a primary species which gives you more to do and a different experience.

In a classroom, this game goes well with increasing critical thinking and trial and error skills. Obviously it would suit a science class, but it is more than just the terminology of the ecosystem that is learned. This would do well after a unit on ecosystems and invasive species to show the students how the invasive species comes to overtake the native. It may also work well as an introduction since it has such a Discovery Principle style. Students could play this game to discover what the terms vaguely mean and then the unit would give the specifics. The students could then play the game a second time to see how much easier it would be once they already had the knowledge.