Designing Mobile Educational Games on Voter‟s
Education: A Tale of Three Engines
-Nadia Rowena C. Leetian, Ma. Regina E. Estuar, and Michael B. Syson
Abstract—The rapid growth of mobile learning is influenced
by the ability to access learning content anytime and anywhere.
The on demand capability is available because mobile devices
allow for convergence of internet and communications
technologies. At the same time, the availability of engines makes
development of mobile applications faster and seamless.
However, not all mobile development engines are alike. This
paper discusses on the development of mobile learning
applications using mobile development engines in teaching
Filipinos on responsible voting. Specifically, this paper
discusses how AndEngine, Ren’Py, and homegrown Usbong
were used to develop a mobile board game and a mobile comic
book to promote responsible voting to the Filipino youth.
Synthesis putang ina:
The use of a game engine such as AndEngine made the development of the game easier as compared to doing it in basic Android since most game engines already have incorporated methods for interpolation and animation which is most commonly present in games. Similarly, using Ren‟Py made the development of the visual novel faster because the most common game elements such as save and load states are already incorporated into the basic template, which means no additional code has to be written before implementation. Given that these engines built a simple framework around an existing one (namely Android for AndEngine and Python for Ren‟Py), it is possible to further abstract these engines to focus on creating a framework for a specific type of game and to make it simpler for beginners. Instead of using a separate framework such as SocialAuth for integrating with social networks, it is possible to create a framework and combine that feature into AndEngine itself. Since AndEngine also has a plethora of commands for different types of games, one can extract the basic commands in order to create a quiz game such as the Tsunami application.

Development of an Android based Game Interfaced with QR Codes for
a Gamified Power Management System
MARIANO JESUS M. CAYABYAB JR., MARIA ROSA T. SANTIAGO,
SAMUEL MATTHEW G. DUMLAO, ROSULA S. J. REYES
ECCE Department
Ateneo De Manila University
Quezon City PHILIPPINES
m.cayabyab@obf.ateneo.edu, maria.santiago@obf.ateneo.edu, sdumlao@ateneo.edu, rsjreyes@ateneo.edu
Abstract: - Filipinos are under the threat of an energy shortage. While efforts are being done both in the public
and private sectors in developing alternative solutions to ease the shortage, it will take several years before this
will come to full implementation. Conservation of energy through power management is the simplest and
closest to implement at this time. Filipino households need to be motivated to use smart energy conservation.
The introduction of Gamification as a method of motivations has found its use in many applications. In this
study the possibility of Gamification to encourage the use of smart energy conservation is tested. In this study
three game elements were used to develop the model for the game; these elements include incentives,
competition and feedback. These three elements were implemented in an android game through a three step
process; namely the Game Design where the theoretical framework of the game was created’ Game
Implementation where the researchers create the functions for the game using the Java language and Eclipse
IDE, and the Game Deployment where the researchers perform a bug test and advertise the project using Social
Media and Live Advertising. The use of QR Codes was implemented for the participants to control switching
on and off of appliances in the selected rooms.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
The game possessed several features that focused on gathering and motivating users. The application was built for the popular mobile platform, android. The minimum sdk for the game was set for low versions while the target sdk was set for the latest. A wide range of android users were accepted by the application. The user had several goals in the game that rewarded them with points. Users are given free rewards daily. There are non-free rewards earned by building structures, accomplishing achievements and doing quests. Users were also given a boost in the points they earn within the testing period. Users were informed of monetary rewards that they would earn if they reach the top 3.The ranking system was implemented to encourage users to get ahead of their competitors. The game can also interact with an online database.

Design and Development of a Mobile
Game - Based Learning Application
in Synonyms, Antonyms, and Homonyms
Ellenita R. Red
Malayan Colleges Laguna
Pulo Diezmo Road, Cabuyao, Laguna 4025, Philippines
erred@mcl.edu.ph
Kenneth Edward D. Domingo
Malayan Colleges Laguna
Pulo Diezmo Road, Cabuyao, Laguna 4025, Philippines
kenneth.domingo07@gmail.com
Kristian Martin F. Santos
Malayan Colleges Laguna
Pulo Diezmo Road, Cabuyao, Laguna 4025, Philippines
kristianmartinsantos@yahoo.com
Joy T. Banaag
Malayan Colleges Laguna
Pulo Diezmo Road, Cabuyao, Laguna 4025, Philippines
joy.banaag@gmail.com
Abstract - The goal of this study is to design
and develop an interactive mobile gamebased
learning application in synonyms,
antonyms, and homonyms for elementary
school students using an android operating
system. The mobile game-based application
incorporated graphical design, background
music and animation, and key structural
elements in the development of a game to
interests the elementary school students. It
is expected that this game-based learning
application named “Word Infection” for
mobile devices can act as a supplementary
tool for the improvement of students’
vocabulary through word game
familiarization in synonyms, antonyms, and
homonyms.

SYNTITE PUTA:
This study attempted to design and develop an interactive and fun way of learning new vocabulary that could serve as a supplementary tool for students learning synonyms, antonyms, and homonyms for target users, specifically for students age eight to eleven. The traditional way of teaching the students of these topics is by providing books and classroom activities and these ways have somehow made the students uninterested. For this reason, a mobile game- based learning application was conceptualized following the design principles presented in the literature - a game that can help the students learn while having fun

The Filipino answer to Flappy Bird
Ezra Ferraz
Published 10:33 AM, March 22, 2014
MANILA, Philippines – Many of you have played Flappy Bird, but have you played Pugo? It’s a game with similar mechanics made by Filipino husband and wife team, Camy and Patrick Cabral.
The reception to Pugo has been as wide and varied as the reception to Flappy Bird. This is most apparent in the terminology they use to describe Pugo. Some writers and gamers have referred to it as a “Flappy Bird clone,” as though the Cabrals simply performed some sort of copy-and-paste job of the original game.

Others use gentler terminology. They say that Pugo was “inspired by Flappy Bird.” Phrases like this strike me as more accurate – the Cabrals built upon a game, rather than simply cloned it.

Phrases like this also point to the strength of the Cabrals, and the reason why I thought it would be appropriate to interview them. The Cabrals took a known, popular, and proven commodity in Flappy Bird and found a way to put their own spin on it: they localized it.
SYNTETHIC FIBER:
Pugo, a Filipino-made Flappy Bird alternative, now ranks number one worldwide in the Top Chart of free apps two days after it became available on the iOS AppStore. As in Flappy Bird, you have to tap the screen to control your character and avoid the obstacles. But instead of having a bird set in a pixelated, Mario-inspired world, you have a cute, pink quail exploring a forest.

You also acquire extra lives by picking up Philippine flags along the way, so you don't always die when you hit an obstacle.
Ranking high in the Top Charts is a crucial step for developers to monetize their free apps and generate revenue.

By ranking first in the top charts, a developer hits two birds with one stone: he proves that his game attracts a huge number of downloaders, thereby making it a hot pick for advertisers, and he makes his game more visible to future downloaders, since Top Charts are a main reference smartphone users rely on for quality downloads.





Traditional To Mobile:  Filipino App Games That Will Make You Feel Nolstalgic
JUvy Garcia
We are living in modern times and it seems like traditional games have taken the backseat. Or so we think.  A number of Philippine-based mobile app developers have recently released games based on traditional Filipino games. Here are three Filipino mobile games you must try.




Oh My Gravity

Oh My Gravity, or OMG for short, has been called a Flappy Bird-Like game, and it does kind of resemble the viral game.

It centers on the same laws of physics, but instead of a bird, you’ll be an astronaut navigating your way through space filled with junk and whatnot. The main objective of the game is to avoid hitting the space objects to survive. How long you survive will all depend on how well you tap the screen, yes, like Flappy Bird.
However, the game is the exact opposite of Dong Nguyen’s Flappy Bird when it comes to aesthetics. While Flappy Bird has a bright and colorful interface, Oh My Gravity has a black-and-white appearance that resemble the same retro look of the early computer games like pong or space invaders. Victor Barreiro Jr. of Rappler credits the game’s interface as bringing a “certain depressing futility in playing” that “without an update … [could] make it a challenge without any emotional payoff”. Still, it’s an interesting game to play if you’re missing Flappy Bird by any chance.

SYNTAX ERROR:
OMG tasks you with staying in the sweet spot between flying off into outer space and being cooked alive by a catastrophic re-entry. There's no backstory for your being in space, but you're there, and you've got to dodge the space debris that is also going around the planet.
To do this, players are tasked with the Flappy Bird mechanic of tapping just enough to stay on the screen without reaching the bottom, all while adjusting your forward movement to avoid the debris coming at you at wildly different speeds.
Users can play this on iPads and iPhones, as well as Android Phones and tablets and Android-based tablets running the Amazon Appstore, but there's also one venue that makes this game extra special. The game can also be picked up and used on Android Wear-compatible devices


Larong Pinoy: An Android Game Application
Rhon Jherick A. Autriz1
, Merwin P. Casitas2
, Gerome T. Enriquez3
,
Kristien Noel A. Nocon4
Abstract: This study entitled “Larong Pinoy: An Android Game Application” was developed to teach young
generation kids to learn the different traditional Filipino games. The main function of the application its games
that users can play with. The development tools used were Unity 3D for coding, CrazyTalk Animator 2 for
creating the characters and Adobe Photoshop for design. The game was tested using conformance test and
compatibility test for the improvement of the performance of the application. The evaluation instrument used was
based from the Android Core App Quality (developer.android.com) with the criteria of functionality, performance
and stability, and Google Play. The evaluation was participated by ten (10) IT experts and thirty (30) mobile users.
The overall mean garnered 2.87 with a Standard Deviation of 0.09 and interpreted as ―Fairly Acceptable‖. The
result of evaluation shows that the mobile application is a tool used to learn the guidelines and mechanics of
playing the traditional Filipino games.

SYNBABWEWEWEWE:
The project is a 2D mobile game application developed for Android phones which is basically about the traditional games in the Philippines. The application contained history and mechanics on how to play it. The development tools used by the team were Unity Game Engine for the functions of the game, Adobe Photoshop for the logos and designs, and CrazyTalk Animator 2 for the creation of the characters and animations. The developers chose the above development tools because they found them easy to use and they were compatible with it. Because of this capstone project the developers enhanced their skills in using these development tools so they used it in other projects. The project had undergone testing to test the application’s compatibility, performance, visual design, audio, navigation and stability. The project was tested by 4 IT students. The project had undergone evaluation to ensure the quality of the game application. The evaluation used by the team was based on the Android Core App Quality. There were a total of forty (40) respondents, divided into two groups. The first participants were ten (10) IT experts while the second was consisted of thirty (30) mobile users.


Game on: the present and future of game development in the Philippines
Published December 24, 2011 9:11pm
By BARBARA MARCHADESCH

	It’s not a stretch to assume that you’ve got another tab open with a game waiting while reading this article. Video, computer and web games are ubiquitous, addictive, fun—and local game developers are already making their mark in the field.

Game development is a US$90 billion worldwide industry, of which the Philippines has a mere 0.02% market share, but things are looking pretty good at the moment.

“The local industry is very small right now and we’re trying to get a bigger share of the market,” says Darwin Tardio, president of the Game Development Association of the Philippines (GDAP). “It's booming, and can be lucrative. When GDAP started there were only four member companies. Now, three to four years later, there are 22 companies working on a lot of game projects, many of them big ones.”

Several schools currently teach four-year courses in game development, including the University of the Philippines, Far Eastern University and the College of Saint Benilde, which was the first school to offer the full course in the country. It will graduate its first batch of students with a degree in Information Technology with a specialization in Game Design and Development in December 2012.

The course can be demanding. Playing games might be a way to pass the time, but developing them is another matter entirely.

“There’s tons of math, tons of physics,” says Norman Lee, Chairperson of Game Design and Development Program at the College of Saint Benilde. “Some might think that they’re just going to play games on this course but they’re not. It’s going to really make them ask themselves, ‘Do I really want to be part of this industry?’”

It’s a good thing, he says, because it weeds out those who aren’t really cut out for the job. “A person can be technical or artsy, but does he have the passion?”

The program is already getting more applicants than it can accept, and has had to set a cap of 160 students due to limited resources.

Not much older than Lee’s students but already quite established in the industry are the six friends who make up By Implication —Levi Tan-Ong, Jim Chao, Philip Cheang, Wilhansen Li, Kenneth Yu and Rodrick Tan, friends who dabbled in film, music and games together in high school and who continued to work together through university.

The group made its name when it won the grand prize in the game design category in Microsoft’s prestigious Imagine Cup in 2010. Wildfire, their winning entry, is a game about saving the world by defeating opponents like poverty and environmental degradation.

SYNTEHRERSISISIS:
Game development is a team effort, a very important collaboration between tech people and designers. Students have to learn how to communicate and work together, because when they graduate, they’ll be part of a team. The CSB and other schools work closely with industry professionals, whose input is very much involved in building school curriculum. Another result of this collaboration is that schools develop strong ties within the industry, which is important for the students.

In January, the CSB will be one of the venues of the Global Game Jam, a meeting of industry pros, hobbyists and students.



Video games adversely affect children’s brains
By: Rafael Castillo

A lot of children in the Philippines and worldwide are crazy about video game play (VGP). Some parents even encourage it with the belief that it can increase their children’s dexterity and could even improve their IQ. We now have robust scientific data indicating this impression to be erroneous.
Although some scientific studies suggest that VGP may improve certain types of visual agility skills, negative effects of VGP outweigh them, with unfavorable effects on verbal memory, attention, sleep, learning and comprehension.
Most children regularly engaging in VGP have demonstrated by sophisticated imaging studies that the release of the hormone dopamine is increased, which is associated with most types of addiction.
A high level of dopamine makes one experience pleasure. Repeated exposure to an addictive substance or behavior such as playing video games conditions the brain cells in key areas like the prefrontal cortex—the area of the brain involved in planning and executing tasks—to crave and go after the substance or behavior causing the release of dopamine. The end result is being “addicted” to the source of pleasure, and in our children’s case—addiction to video games.
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Some scientists describe the effect of video games as “hijacking the pleasure center,” which is the same reward circuit in the brain involved with motivation and memory. Since an addictive behavior like VGP stimulates the same circuit, this part becomes “hijacked and overloaded,” unfavorably affecting the child’s memory, learning and motivation to acquire other knowledge and skills. Hence, for many children, they may prefer playing their video games than doing their school assignments or reviewing for their exams.


SYNTNTANTNASNSNDS:
Parents must be conscious about these potentially life-damaging effects of excessive video game playing among children. It is not totally remote that these children would reach an addiction level when they would prefer playing their video games than engaging in more age-appropriate activities that involve more socializing with other children.
These children who engage in excessive playing of video games are likely to have socializing problems, substance abuse, depression and failure to cope later on in life. This might well be one reason why we have an increasing incidence of children and teen suicide.