howto Archives | Filament Games

SBIR Funding: Dreadfully Wonderful

August 17, 2016 // Dan White

Filament Games | Educational Game Developer

So, you have a brilliant product idea and you think Uncle Sam should fund it. I can’t blame you. Compared to VC money, SBIR funding comes with relatively few strings attached. Most importantly: you don’t have to give up any equity. So what’s the catch? I’m glad you asked! One, the funding rate is low (typically…

Designing for the Spectrum of VR Devices

February 17, 2021 // James LaPierre

We’re unpacking our philosophy for designing games across the whole spectrum of VR devices – highlighting examples of recent projects along the way!

How to Show Up On Social Media for the People You Care About

November 22, 2017 // Jennifer Javornik

What’s your hustle? Seriously. What do you spend your time and energy doing? Is it your job? A cause you care about? An event you are planning? While I’ve got “Sales” in my job title, in this day and age, we are all effectively selling something. It’s OK. There is no shame in that. Whether…

Keeping STEM Real in Virtual Reality

August 29, 2018 // Jennifer Javornik

To get more people interested in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), research tells us that there needs to be more diverse STEM role models so that all people can see themselves in STEM professions. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to focus on STEM stereotypes rather than STEM role models, and STEM stereotypes are everywhere. STEM…

Building Creative Practices: Strategies for Communication

August 22, 2016 // Brandon Pittser

Welcome back to Building Creative Practices! In my last semi-regular installment, I discussed strategies for creating Psychological Safety in the workplace, which at a high level is simply a way to get your team to operate in such a way that no one on the team is scared to speak their minds. I talked about effective…

The 4 P’s of Designing Learning Games with Impact

January 26, 2017 // Carrie Ray-Hill

iCivics is a non-profit organization dedicated to reinvigorating civic learning through interactive and engaging learning resources. Their platform has more than 7 million registered students and 100,000 registered teachers in all 50 United States. The article below is written by iCivics Director of Content Carrie Ray-Hill and shares valuable insights into creating mission-driven game-based learning tools.…

Teach Yourself to Code for Free

November 29, 2017 // Brandon Pittser

In case you haven’t checked our careers page lately, we’re doing a lot of hiring. One thing has become increasingly apparent throughout this process – the world (and specifically Madison, WI) needs more coders! Now, we’ve already shared our thoughts on how to apply for game engineering jobs, but maybe you’re totally new to coding and…

What I Want You To Ask Me in Your Educational Video Game RFP

September 5, 2018 // Jennifer Javornik

We get hired by organizations all across the world to make educational video games on their behalf. Some organizations just want to meet us, trade ideas, and get to work. Some organizations want to play or see a ton of our games. Some organizations want to meet our team so they can “look us in the…

Writing a Game Design Document Your Team Can Actually Use

October 20, 2014 // Abby Friesen

*claps hands together loudly* “Alrighty, who’s ready to read my 30-page GDD that I spent the last two days writing?!” Yeah, me neither. I’ve seen a number of game design documents get out of hand and become a chore to maintain and read. They end up looking more like a wall of text than a…

How to Align Standards and Educational Games

August 29, 2016 // Kat Shanahan

Games are great tools to engage and inspire students, but in today’s standards-based educational system that’s not enough by itself. Educational games need to not only engage students, but also meet the needs of educators who are using them as instructional tools. To help educators feel confident that games are introducing, reinforcing, or evaluating classroom…

#howto