Team+Handball+Challenge

This Educational Game Review is on Handball Challenge Training Camp

 * //(4 points)//A brief description of the game. You may include images or even video clips to help give readers a better idea of the game.
 * Handball Challenge is a game developed in Germany by a company called Neutron Games. Team Handball is a sport similar to basketball and hockey that is played mostly in Europe. It has trickled into the US but is not as widely popular as it is in Europe. The US attempted to qualify for this year's Olympic Games for Team Handball but did not qualify for men's or women's. Anyways, this game is still in development for the most part. They have released the full version (Handball Challenge) as a PC only game until it is received on a wider scale. The cost is about $45 USD and is still under constant work and updates are released every few months. They also have a free version that is compatible with the paid version called Handball Challenge Training Camp, which is what this review is on. The training camp is set up like an actual Handball training camp would be - helping the player develop their skills in the game. There are many drills such as fastbreak, spot shooting, 1v1 drills (offense and defense), 2v2 drills, and penalty shot practice. These are the necessary skills for being a competitive handball player which is why the game focuses on this. In the beginning, you create an online account (to compare scores against others in the world) and then your character. This character now gets experience points for how well they do in the training camp that can be applied to different stats like shooting, passing, defending, agility, etc. Below are some clips I took of my game play when I took the time to figure it out for a few hours.
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 * The above clip is of me playing through the tutorial, just to get a feel for what the controls are.
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 * This is a clip of me doing the hotspot training.
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 * This clip is taken from working on 1v1 offensive skills.
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 * The clip here is of the 7 meter shootout used for penalty shots and overtime shootouts.
 * There are two other features which I was unable to unlock in the 3 hours that I played. Those were 2v2 skills and 1v1 defensive skills. It would take some time to get these all unlocked for the students but in some cases it may be worth having them attempt to unlock some things too. The only issue with this approach is they get really good at one thing and that's it. They spent hours doing one thing and are really good at it but have no knowledge about the other parts.
 * There are two other features which I was unable to unlock in the 3 hours that I played. Those were 2v2 skills and 1v1 defensive skills. It would take some time to get these all unlocked for the students but in some cases it may be worth having them attempt to unlock some things too. The only issue with this approach is they get really good at one thing and that's it. They spent hours doing one thing and are really good at it but have no knowledge about the other parts.


 * //(5 points)//The kinds of learning involved (i.e. What specifically did you learn from playing the game?). Think about the game tasks, objectives, terminology, etc. What skills did you need to learn to be successful at the game? Note that many 'educational' games don't actually teach new content area skills, but rather allow students to practice skills they've already learned elsewhere.
 * There was a bunch of skills, tactics, and rules being taught to me as I bumbled through the game. As you can see from the tutorial, it walks you through all the basic skills and some tactics (such as juking out a defender). Without even mentioning rules, it shows you that to be successful you must shoot from behind the 6 meter line for the goal to count. This was an interesting way to learn: trial and error rather than just being told what I can and can't do. The game didn't go into rules like travelling or shooting fouls until later levels. As I progressed through the different training skills, it became evident what the task was after a couple play through's and I acquired the knowledge about the intricacies of the skill or tactic. For instance, in the Hotspot Training, I needed to call for a pass, run/dribble the ball to the correct position on the court, and perform 1 of 4 shots to score a goal. The tutorial showed me what the different shots are but Hotspot showed me what shots were most effective in a given position. A jump shot with a bounce is effective in the sides, a straight jump shot from the middle is highly effective, and faking the goalie by using a lob shot from the corners is very effective but many shots will still work here. This was all done by trial and error as is most of the game. Later on during the 1v1 skills, it was absolutely necessary that I had the basic shooting skills down or else I wasn't going to perform well. Not only did I need to shoot accurately, I needed to juke my defender to get a better shot: easier said than done! Using the natural progression of skills and tactics, the game taught me everything I needed to know to be a better team handball player. It was nice to see that it was very user friendly (when using a controller) and introduced the sport to somebody who had never heard of team handball and makes it so they can pick it up and learn the basics (my wife in this case, I asked her to play too!). Surprisingly, this educational game was able to teach content as well as teach the player how to do well in the game setting. This could easily be used to teach new skills as an introduction to the sport or let them practice at another time to hone their decision making skills.


 * //(5 points)//The kinds of teaching involved (i.e. How did the game teach you?). Think about the kinds of feedback, rewards, guidance, and information the game gave you, and how it paced and structured your learning. Which Principles of Learning did the game utilize?
 * As stated above, it taught me mostly through trial and error since it didn't give me pointers on when to make a move/shoot or tell me any of the rules. It also uses experience points as a reward if you attain a goal for training such as x amount of goals in y amount of time. These experience points are used to improve your character in different attributes like shooting power, shooting accuracy, speed, agility, etc. When it comes to principles of learning, the game used a few good ones:
 * ** Practice Principle ** – //Learners get lots and lots of practice in a context where the practice is not boring (i.e. in a virtual world that is compelling to learners on their own terms and where the learners experience ongoing success//:
 * Since this was the training camp, there was nothing but practice tasks. There are 2 or 3 different levels within each task so there is a slight variation is tasks that keeps the game from getting boring but also allows the player to practice different situations as they apply to a skill. The player can choose to play a level or practice as often as they would like so the player gets a lot of practice at a given skill if they choose to.
 * ** Probing Principle ** – //Learning is a cycle of probing the world (doing something); reflecting in and on this action and, on this basis, forming a hypothesis; re-probing the world to test this hypothesis; and then accepting or rethinking the hypothesis://
 * This is the trial and error portion of the game. They keep the levels completely open ended so you can try to complete the task at your own pace and experiment with different tactics. With fast break drills, I am able to run anywhere on the court and shoot from wherever I want. Granted I only have 4 minutes to make as many goals as possible but this open environment gives me the ability to probe the environment and see what works well and what doesn't within a given context. In hotspot training, I found out what type of shot to use in the most ideal location on the court. After 30 minutes of playing, I knew what to do and when to do it to achieve the highest possible score. This translates into the real world game and how each shot is difficult for a goalie to block given the proper positioning.
 * ** Bottom-Up Basic Skills Principle ** – //Basic skills are not learned in isolation or out of context; rather, what counts as a basic skill is discovered bottom up by engaging in more and more of the game/domain or game/domains like it. Basic skills are genre elements of a given type of game/domain://
 * All the skills are learned in context during an activity, except for the tutorial but that is to be expected. But even in the tutorial, there is some context given when learning the skills, such as the juke. The game starts with the most basic skill and moves into tactics involving that skill. The prior knowledge and skills gained directly correlate to the new tasks and must be mastered before attempting to compete in the new training exercises.
 * ** Transfer Principle ** – //Learners are given ample opportunity to practice, and support for, transferring what they have learned earlier to later problems, including problems that require adapting and transforming that earlier learning://
 * Similar to the previous principle, the player is allowed infinite attempts at a training exercise and can practice any skill or tactic they desire. Basic skills transfer into the more advanced techniques and tactics and the base knowledge must be there for success in the new environment. These later training exercises require intimate knowledge with previously learned skills and tactics because not only do you need to know how to use them and when, the game state changes so often, you can't rely on the same tactic twice in a row. As a player, you must be able to make a critical decision in a short amount of time whether to pass, shoot, or juke. It is almost a guarantee that the same tactic won't work the same way again (though it can have a similar outcome) and being able to modify a skill or tactic on the fly is important. This is why the basic knowledge from early on must be applied.


 * //(6 points)//Your overall reflections on playing the game. How might a teacher use the game in their curriculum?
 * This was a great game to play. A little glitchy at times when shooting where the ball will go in but not count or the ball was supposed to go in but it stopped at the goal line without going in. It did a great job teaching real world skills for team handball as well as teaching how to play the game. Having been a fan of team handball for awhile and having played it for a few years, I knew exactly what to do ahead of time skill and tactic wise and it just came down to learning the button combinations. It was a well made game for the most part and I can see it being a part of the curriculum. The way I can see it used is more as an introductory to the game as well as developing skills. I could use this to give the kids an introduction to the game with some of the basic skills to help them see what team handball is since they most likely will have never heard of it. I can also use it mid-unit to help improve skills in decision making for the weak spots in their game.