Here at Filament Games, we believe that everyone is a lifelong learner! Whether you’re new to a topic or an expert, there’s always something new to learn. That said, whether you’re a longtime reader of the Filament Games blog or this is your first time visiting, we bet there’s something you don’t know about us!
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After you’re done reading, make sure to check out the Filament Games Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn to keep up with us and learn even more about us. Now, without further ado, here are 10 things you should know about Filament Games!
10. We’re an educational game developer.
Okay, okay, so if you’re here, you probably did know that already, but hear us out: Filament Games is a full-service digital studio specializing in learning game development on a for-hire basis. That means we are completely and totally dedicated to creating educational games for our clients, and educational games only. We’re one of the few existing game studios to do so!
9. We maintain strong relationships with the academic side of digital learning.
Filament Games connects to the scholarly side of game-based learning through our Luminaries Program! Our current luminaries include MIT professor Eric Klopfer, Senior Leader, Research Scientist, and Director of Edge, Jodi-Asbell Clarke, University of Calgary professor Douglas B. Clark, Coppin State University professor Leshell Hatley, UW-Madison professor Matthew Berland, USC Games professor Tracy Fullerton, University of Miami professor Lindsay Grace, and UC-Irvine professor Katie Salen. Filament works with our luminaries to maintain a dialogue between game-based learning theory and practice through all-staff lectures and guest blog posts. We regularly engage with our academic colleagues to stay on the cutting edge of things game-based learning!
8. We have a culture of continuous improvement and learning.
As we mentioned above, at Filament, we believe learning is a never-ending process for us all. We believe this so strongly that “improve constantly” is one of our company’s core values. We pride ourselves on our 17 years of business and the 200+ projects under our belt, but that doesn’t mean we stop striving for new heights with each new project that comes our way. Improvement is our mentality, so if you work with us, you can trust that you have the best version of our team by your side.
7. Working with an educational game developer is a unique experience.
What is the difference between working with an educational game developer and a commercial game developer? The short of it is, while there is a lot of overlap in the technical craft of making educational and entertainment games, educational games have some unique design considerations. If you want to know more about the particular design of high-quality educational games, check out our CCO Dan Norton’s presentation on the similarities and contrasts between the design and development of games for positive impact versus games for entertainment below:
6. We’re experts in institutional education.
We have a deep understanding of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), personally identifiable information (PII) collection, and other student privacy considerations that will infuse your product with turnkey privacy compliance, which is critical for game use in schools. If you want to know more, check out CTO Alex Stone’s posts on COPPA and educational game development best practices for data strategy and confidentiality!
5. Our partnership approach will empower your team.
At Filament, we know educational game design backward and forward. But that’s not the only key to creating successful and exceptional projects with our clients. We also make sure we know every client’s business, goals, and vision, to ensure we empower their team and embed them into the core of the development process. If you work with us, we make sure you’re included every step of the way!
4. In addition to studying game-based learning, CEO Dan White and CCO Dan Norton studied the blade. ⚔️
Our leadership is quite sharp.
3. We owe a lot to James Paul Gee.
We’re edtech insiders with a tried-and-true methodology, and much of that methodology comes from game-based learning legend James Gee. In fact, Filament Games would not exist without him! Our fearless leaders, Dan, Dan, and Alex met in the Academic Co-Lab located at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There, Dan White was hired as a project assistant by James Gee. Dan made a prototype of an oceanic science game, and then incorporated Filament as a business at James’ prompting!
2. We’re creating a scholastic esports ecosystem with digital robotics at the forefront.
Between our recent work with FIRST® Global to put on the FIRST Global RoboCo Challenge, and our work with Roblox to create an experience with meaningful STEM learning, we’re building toward a future where scholastic esports are no longer a rarity! Esports already give students many transferable life skills, so why shouldn’t they also learn from the content of the games themselves?
1. We believe learning games should be both high quality and accessible.
At Filament Games, our mission is to create playful experiences that improve people’s lives. Our business started with the idea that educational games should be excellent in their design and available to anyone who is looking to learn something new. This idea evolved into our five core principles for creating impactful learning games: engagement, efficacy, usability, beauty, and polish. We put these five principles into practice with every game we create.
If you’re inspired by our mission and agree with our values, why not check out our careers page to see if there are any open roles that fit your career goals? If you’re looking to create a high-quality educational game, send us a message to set up your free consultation! Bringing our client’s visions to life is what we do best.
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