2008

Epsilon
Entertainment
Whitepapers
Description of our years work
We strive for the best in every aspect on our company.

Pomperaug
Epsilon Entertainment
5/10/2008
Contents
The Team..............................................................................................................................3
Introduction..........................................................................................................................4
Research...............................................................................................................................6
Process Flow Chart..............................................................................................................9
The Concept.......................................................................................................................10
The Game...........................................................................................................................11
Bibliography......................................................................................................................12

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 The Team
Group photo

Philip Simmons- President

Steve Northup- Vice President

Mark Mclean-Web Designer

Colin Szost- Advertisment, Commercial

Tim Baird- Marketing, Booth

Jay Hesse- Lead game Designer

Mike- Game design

Jeremy- Art Design

Ian Scofield-Booth, Research

Ed Wlodarczyk- Booth, Media

Ben Weinberg- Concepts

Michael Murphy/Chris Bantz-Supervisors

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 Introduction

Epsilon Entertainment is an independent video game company created by twelve

Pomperaug High School students. The goal was simple, helping younger students

succeed, and better their future. Not only did we want to help our fellow students, we

wanted to entertain, engaged, and most importantly, teach. As a group of students that

must work together to get any work done, it was necessary that we put one more variable

into our product, collaboration. With in our first brainstorm meetings we had successfully

chose our leaders, company name, and a basic website design. Junior, Philip Simmons

(President) and senior, Steve Northup (Vice President) were chosen by the team to lead

and conduct for the next 6 months. Both Simmons and Northup had previous years of

experience in, what was, the Information Technology Leadership Academy and were

looking for a future in the industry. After picking out key players and getting an idea of

who was going to do what, the brainstorming began.

After careful research of Connecticut Mastery Test, along with SAT, and CAPT

(Connecticut Academic Performance Testing) test result, we quickly establish that

Physical Science had significantly lower scores than reading, mathematics, and history.

Clearly we found our target subject. For a group of students inspiring to become

engineers, graphic designers, and business leaders this stuck home hard. We know how

important basic science is to succeed in life, and students need to know the subject now

more then ever. With global technology on the rise the world needs engineers and

scientist, and problem solvers. With a new generation not knowing this particular subject

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may mean a different future for not only technology, but the people who live in a tech

savvy world.

Epsilon landed on a specific topic inside of Physical Science. Basic Physics, first

because it is what eighth graders are learning coming into high school, and it is the basis

of what freshmen learn in their first year of high school. Second because it is usually the

most popular subject in American high schools. It tends to be nature to have an interest in

physics, most kids have played with dominos, and all gamers want realistic physics.

Experimenting and manipulating objects is just plain fun inside of video game, which is

why Epsilon chose to considerate on simple machines. Our team set out to research

professional findings on the topic, and we were surprised at what we found. Research

shows that students want a new, interactive, and fun median to learn.

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 Research

Epsilon Entertainment, prior to setting out to make an educational game that

would both teach, and allow students to have fun undertook, and studied research.

In an article written by John Hubisz, based on research done by the AAPT

(American Association of Physics teachers, of which he is a member), several disturbing

conclusions were made. In the study undertaken by the AAPT, the six member board

reviewed middle school physical science text books for “scientific accuracy, adherence to

a realistic portrayal of the scientific approach, and appropriateness and pedagogic

effectiveness of the material for the grade for which it was presented.” Hubisz also noted

“My colleagues and I recorded instances in which material was inappropriate for the age

level of the students for whom it was written” This just shows that book manufacturers,

editors and authors, are not publishing the correct information or engaging the student

enough, which is making it difficult to tech, to the level of 6th-8th graders. The AAPT

board went further and “…determined that, according to the criteria we set forth, none of

the 12 most popular middle-school physical science texts was acceptable.” This just

shows that the current way that middle-school students are being taught the sciences is

inappropriate. “In my opinion, textbook layout contributes significantly to our students’

dislike of science and inability to “get it””. This just told Epsilon Entertainment, that a

new medium had to be created that would teach kids science, but at the same time keep

them engaged and learning to like the sciences. This same article also found that the

United States lost its “edge” against the international community beginning in the middle

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school years, so it was clear that something had to be done to stop the slide vs. the global

competition.

Another piece of research that Epsilon Entertainment has obtained, and is using in

formulating the game in production, was the Texas essential knowledge and skills (known

as TEKS). In the TEKS handbook, there are six objective areas that a student in the 8th

grade should know upon entering high school. The very first objective is “the student will

demonstrate an understanding of the nature of science”, this is one of the broader

requirements that EE believes that our new game can address. However the objective that

Epsilon Entertainment, can most effectively address is the fourth goal and its sub-goals of

“The student will demonstrate an understanding of motion forces and energy.” This goal

can be almost directly translated to a student understanding the basics of physics.

One other piece of information that EE is using is the CAPT (Connecticut

Academic Performance Testing) performance in the entire state of Connecticut. On the

CAPT test there are five rankings going from exceptional to poor, with the passing grade

being a three. In the state of Connecticut almost one fifth of students in the tenth grade

that took the test did not pass the states standards. This just shows that if science is

emphasized and enforced during the middle school years, scores are likely to rise

significantly.

Epsilon also found astounding statistics on how many students are playing video

games. David Walsh, Ph.D. of the National Institute on Media and the Family found this

interesting information. “9% of American children now play computer or video games on

a regular basis. Children between the ages of seven and 17 play for an average of eight

hours a week.” Another poll done by Business Week Magazine had this to show. “The

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study polled 4,000 kids up to the age of 15-years-old (both boys and girls) and discovered

that 61 percent play video games on a daily basis.” Kids are playing video games. Why?

Simple. We found that in this new generation of kids are being placed in a world of Ipods,

flat screen, and a new kind internet. Almost everything is instant, and with that,

entertaining. Electronics are being marketed from children from ages 3-10. Digital

cameras, televisions and computer programs are things that one would think an adult

would want. JULIAN E. BARNES of the New York Times has this to say about the

subject “Pre-teenage boys who might once have spent hours building Erector models,

now play mostly with video games, remote-controlled robots and other toys of the

electronic age.” Companies are now selling LCD televisions, fully Digital Cameras, and

electronic game systems designed, colored, and made just for kids. These products are

made durable, and kid friendly which is changing how they grow. We believe that kids

who grow up in this kind of atmosphere are expecting the same from our schools, who

are not bearing in mind this concept. This could be a major reason why students a starting

to loss interest in our curriculum. Education is just not as interactive as the world that’s

around it which makes it seem less interesting to kids.

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 Process Flow Chart

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 The Concept

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 The Game
Game description, level design, how it was created, programs, trial error, final product,
screen shot

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 Bibliography
• http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02E5DE1331F933A25751C0A

9679C8B63&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

• "CAPT Results." Region 15. 2004. Regional School District 15. Mar. 2008

<http://www.region15.org/captscores.shtml>

• Hubisz, John. "Middle School Texts Dont Make the Grade." Physics Today. 2008.

American Intitute of Physics. Mar. 2008 <www.Physicstoday.org>.

• "TEKS Grade 8." SSC. 2001. Texas Education Agency. Mar. 2008
<http://www.tea.state.tx.us/ssc/teks_and_taas/teks/teks8.htm>.

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