I make games for kids, I play games (mostly for kids), and I write about games (as well as some other stuff, again, mostly for kids). I’m also working on my dissertation on kids and games. Throw that all together, and I hope this will become a moderately interesting adventure about kids, games, technology, education, and research. Slides from my past presentations and more about my work is available at PlayInvestigator.com If you’re looking for my old blog, it’s still online at http://playinvestigator.blogspot.com/Tumblr (3.0; @playinvestigator)http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/I&#8217;m cleaning out tabs on my browser and have articles of interest&#8230; * Warren Spector on...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/271779327http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/271779327Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:12:16 -0500NPD Reports 82% of kids 2-17 play games: “Among all kids in the U.S. ages 2-17, 82 percent, or...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/269239929http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/269239929Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:48:54 -0500<iframe width="400" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pQeg6MCWefI?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br/><br/><p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.tickletapapps.com/">Tickle Tap Apps</a> from <a target="_blank" href="http://www.zincroe.com/">zinc Roe</a> are available for all you parents of preschoolers with iPhones or iPod touches. I consulted with them on these apps and have been so impressed with their work! Nevermind that I think touch-screen games are great for kids. (It’s cognitevely hard for kids to connect the idea that moving a mouse makes stuff happen on a screen that’s 2-3 feet away. It’s much easier to just touch the object directly on the screen instead.)</p> <p>This video shows some of the apps, but there are also videos of each of the available games on YouTube as well. Just <a target="_blank" href="http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Tickle+Tap+Apps&search_type=&aq=f">search Tickle Tap Apps</a>.</p>http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/269219856http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/269219856Fri, 04 Dec 2009 12:25:17 -0500The Amanda Project: I’m obsessed with books, particularly young adult novels, which some might...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/266379736http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/266379736Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:45:00 -0500Teenreads.com Teen Survey: Teenreads.com (which I highly recommend, by the way, as a great source...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/227118069http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/227118069Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:14:45 -0400 I’m always on the look out for more information about kids – what they like to do, how they...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/225011095http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/225011095Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:00:33 -0400GDC China, Here I Come!: I’ll be presenting the Little Hands, Foul Moods, and Runny Noses: The...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/206834769http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/206834769Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:34:56 -0400Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins – It’s the sequel to Hunger Games. Is it the best story ever told?...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/206832340http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/206832340Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:30:47 -0400Article about game ratings and kids: Nice, brief article describing some of the strengths and...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/206043051http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/206043051Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:04:09 -0400Even more from the International Gamers Survey: I’ll spare the graphs and just list the...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/202200205http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/202200205Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:42:11 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqv5sb4UKE1qzhwndo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>More from International Gamers Survey.</p> <p>Percentage of the total population the plays games may be a bit far reaching, since it’s based on respondents with Internet access. So I’d guess that 90% of 8-12 year old boys and 81% of 8-12 year old girls is on the high side. But who know what they did to weight the population sample. The short story is that a lot of kids play and for a good chunk of time!</p>http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/202196209http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/202196209Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:36:09 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kqv5nbrIcN1qzhwndo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>International Gamers Survey results are available. This graphic compares The Netherlands and US on various age groups playing game portals (by gender). (From what I can tell, game portals are generally considered gaming Web sites but not virtual worlds. The other categories are consoles, pc, mobile phones, and virtual worlds/mmos.) Interesting that females play more portals. (Yet hard to tell how interesting since we don’t have the whole story of what exactly a game portal is, who was asked, etc.)</p>http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/202194284http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/202194284Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:33:09 -0400<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kq1aazRdNH1qzhwndo1_400.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Saw a quick demo of Scribblenauts today. Am going to the store later since I now can’t wait to play it! Why? First of all, I’m amazed by the sheer number of words that are cataloged in the game. They said there’s tens of thousands. I can’t fathom the production. But on top of that, I love the idea of how these items can interact with so many elements on screen. (For example, during the demo, the main character Maxwell (I think?) was riding a panda who was riding a unicycle.) The possibilities are amazing!</p> <p>Plus, the stealth learning opportunities for language is amazing. It’s vocab and spelling, but still… soooo much potential! More when I finally get the game in hand!</p>http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/188837738http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/188837738Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:25:46 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kpe56tWamu1qzhwndo1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Neat way to combine an obsessive quest for perfection with math concepts. Only I did worse the second time I played.</p> <p>Oh, the possibilities if data is collected on how users perform. So fascinating!</p>http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/178700752http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/178700752Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:30:29 -0400<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kodnbtdf6O1qzhwndo1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>Business week article on new tech toys for kids ranging from babies to teens. Some cool stuff in there!</p>http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/162926378http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/162926378Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:31:05 -0400toysSilent Conversation Game: It’s not specifically designed for kids, but I just think it’s...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/162876541http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/162876541Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:04:22 -0400Incredikids webcam-based game: If there’s ever been an appropriate time to declare OMG, this...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/143539425http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/143539425Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:29:57 -0400Tutpup: Now I’m playing with Tutpup, an educational multiplayer kind of site for basic math...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/142362023http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/142362023Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:56:00 -0400Roller Coaster Maker Game : Description from the site: “The JASON Project’s Coaster...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/142361547http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/142361547Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:54:53 -0400Wired article: Ridiculous Life Lessons From New Girl Games: Is it bad that I’m looking forward...http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/142360800http://playinvestigator.tumblr.com/post/142360800Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:53:27 -0400