Final Project for MIT's Design and Development of Games for Learning Denise Moraes Pinho

1. FINAL PROJECT - Bear Candy Land
Overall concept, subject matter, target learners, target environment: Bear
Candy Land is a puzzle learning game about color admixtures and geometric shapes.
Designed for kindergarten and preschool children, it's mechanics and commands where
designed to be simple and acessible for this age range.
In Bear Candy Land kids have a very sweety experience helping a lady bear to create, paint
and decorate cupcakes, coockies and other sweet foods; in a very cute and colorful world,
fullfilled with cute and calming music. Kindergarten children will experience admixturing
primary colors for obtaining secondary colors to paint some cupcakes. Preschool children
will experience geometric shapes point to point drawing and admixturing primary +
secondary colors for obtaining tertiary colors to paint some coockies. These experiences
are in accordance with grades learning objectives.
Each stage lasts around 5 minutes, so this helps teachers on their lack of time.
Learning goals:
1. Learn how primary colors can be combined to create secondary colors. (This game
reaches this goal through a cute color game, where kids have only primary color's dyes
and need to paint cupcake's chantillys with secondary colors)
2. Learn how primary and secondary colors can be combined to create tertiary colors (This

2. game reaches this goal through a cute color game, where kids have only primary and
secondary colors and need to paint coockie's coverage with tertiary colors)
3. Learn the basics about point-to-point drawing on computer. This sould be very important
in the future when learning the use of programs like CorelDraw. (This game reaches this
goal when kids need to create the cutlines, drawing it point-to-point, for cutting the
coockie dough and create a cute coockie in house shape)
4. Learn about simple geometric shapes. (This game reaches this goal when kids need to
create the cutlines, drawing it point-to-point, for cutting the coockie dough and create a
cute coockie in house shape)
5. Learn how to draw simple geometric shapes and how to compose them to create more
complex drawings. (This game reaches this goal when kids need to create the cutlines,
drawing it point-to-point, for cutting the coockie dough and create a cute coockie in
house shape - triangle + square - )
6. Developing the basic skills for art classes. (During this game in almost all moments kids
will work art concepts about colors and geometric shapes. It's a funny approach for
learning the basics.)
Plans for further development: I think as I have a playable demo finished, the future plans
about this game are about developing a full version with different storylines and puzzles for each
grade. I'm thinking about developing an learning games website where this should be the first
game offered.
Reflections about process: I can say this was a very challenging process because my first
prototype was VERY different from the final game. On each iteration perceived new things to
improve, new defects to be changed and new things to implement for reaching learning
objectives. I think all this course videos and readings were helpful in some level, but, for me, the
most interesting were Scot Osterweill's 4 freedoms and 5 principles. I have based my entire
project on these concepts. And finally peer's feedbacks halped me a lot on finding my project
weakness and refine it.
Something about my prototype testing and
game journey...
My first prototype was on paper and was something like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MbyU5sSc3o
I started thinking on a game inspired on Color Zen game.

3. 1. After First feedback
After first feedback I added the bear and the bear history, this would help to work on the
concept of identity.
2.Second feedback comes when I made my first digital prototype
You can see my first rudimentary digital prototype here:
http://nisegames.esy.es/game/menu.html
After second feedback I added different shapes to game, according to children's age. For
kindergarten (simple shapes as squares, triangles and circles). For preschool (simple polygon
shapes as lozenge). For 1st Grade ( more elaborated simple polygons as pentagon and octagon).
After second feedback too comes the idea of creating a point-to-point game and add more
challenge and gameplay on color admixture game. This would increase child's engagement.
3. Third feedback comes after the first iteration on digital prototype
After third feedback I changed right click on kindergarten's game for double click. A teacher has
told me at this age they need to pactice the double click, and that they start to use right click only
on third grade. A Nanny has told me too that the kid she is minding has played the game and has
troubles with right click. So I I removed this barrier this for increasing child's engagement.
After third feedback too I added sound feedbacks; changed the fonts on the buttons and added
colorful buttons. A teacher has told me that fonts would be simple because kids on this age are
learning how to read. This teacher told me too that each button could be with a different color,
because kids that don't know how to read could be oriented to click on buttons by the color.
Finally, feedbacks with sounds (not text) would help kids who don't know how to read too.
4.The fourth feedback comes when the teacher let kids play the

4. game.
After the fourth feedback the main thing was that kids don't understand the change of rules on
first grade's game. I had already observed this with adults. No-one could play it, some thought it
was a bug and got stuck. It was a surprise because for me it seemed simple. So I need to
reformulate this with simple and clearer rules.
After the fourth feedback too I noticed the need of a preloader on my game, because some levels
take too long to load. This is confusing children and harming the engagement and needs to be
changed.
After the fourth feedback I noticed the needing of clearer feedback and instructions, mainly for
kindergarteners.