You give a bunch of kids a ball, they’ll make a game out of it. And why not? It’s fun and gets the wiggles out! I’ve never seen kids go and craft make-shift gym equipment. But what do I know, maybe there’s some that do!

Point is, we have gyms where we can do the right exercise to get a specific result. But gyms take dedication and commitment. A sport, on the other hand, is fun. One can even sweat more and more importantly, find it more exciting and enjoyable. I feel like schools are mostly like gyms but when it comes to the mind, where are the sports?

I know educational games have been tried … and tried … and tried. There’s obviously something wrong if it’s not working. The heart is in the right place: Make Learning Fun. Period. Why does this fail so spectacularly and disappointingly? Well, I want to give my two cents.

Here’s where I think the problem is. Most educational games have their goals prioritized thusly:
1. Educational Concept(s)
2. Gameplay
3. Plot
4. Characters

Now, here’s how most games are organized:
1. Gameplay
2. Plot
3. Characters

(Sometimes this order is switched, but let’s just go with this for sake of argument)
Let’s take my favorite game of all time: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the Super Nintendo. The gameplay is Link’s ability to interact with objects like pots, swing a sword in interesting ways, run, swim, use objects, etc. That gives Link a rich interaction space with the world! Second is the plot – Save Hyrule (I’ll leave it that vague for fear of spoilers). And third, I’d say, is Link, the silent protagonist. Again, just my opinion and anyone is free to disagree.

Now, with The Adventure of Spyke, I wanted to weave the educational elements into the fabric of the game in a game-first design. So, I’m opting for something like this:
1. Gameplay
2. Plot
3. Characters
4. Educational Concept(s)

This “Education 4th” approach is what I believe makes this title a new paradigm shift for gaming. To me, learning new things is exhilarating and empowering — a sport of the mind, to tie it back! I’ve learned a lot in my life and pursued different careers where I had to quickly learn and assimilate a lot of information. I feel now I have a great grasp of what it takes to make learning interesting and what makes games fun and how to marry the two.

So, in Spyke, at least in the demo, you’ll find different educational concepts peppered throughout:
– Learning Japanese Kanji/Chinese Hanzi via exposure to Kanjicite jewels;
– Further learning through “grinding” (more to come after the demo) where random FRAGMENTs can be gathered;
– Energy balancing puzzles that help players develop numeric logic in an interactive form of pre-algebra; and
– Exposure to new vocabulary by explaining it context.

Notice that the game isn’t about learning. The learning is a sort of side-effect. The approach is that I want the learning to be interspliced into the game AND to give an immediate reward. Solve a puzzle based in an academic concept and a door opens or an item is received. But wait, what if that’s not enough? Well, I hinted at VR in Spyke. Later on, as concepts get more complex, there will be optional VR areas where one can try their hand at puzzles to get more exposure and feel more comfortable before moving on. The rewards will be less, but they will give the player more comfort. I may also give an easy way and hard way to get through a dungeon as well like I do in the Vault in Spyke!

So, in this way, I hope Spyke will at least show it’s possible for games and learning to intermesh in an exciting way! There’s nothing wrong with, say, block-pushing puzzles. But why not puzzles that give us skills that can help us excel at school? Or teach us concepts we can use in real life, like finance? And yes, real finance will be in the game. Under the hood is a system for loans and debt.

I hope you’re excited. I’m excited. I’m excited to build games and to journey into new places where games can push us forward while having fun. Because, after all, if we give a person enough motivation to learn, they’ll take off like a rocket and reach amazing new heights!