UW-Whitewater video game a finalist in video game challenge

November 12, 2008

An electronic video game to help lonely Wisconsin frogs find mates, created by a team of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater students and professors, was a selected finalist in the 2008 Serious Games Showcase and Challenge.

Multimedia Digital Arts and Communication Professor Elena Bertozzi and a team of UW-Whitewater students worked together to create educational video game “I Am Lonely! The Solitary Frog’s Lament.” The purpose of the game is to help lonely Wisconsin frogs find mates. A player is assigned a female frog native to Wisconsin and then must figure out where to locate a mate for her. Playing the game requires listening closely to a frog’s mating call, recognizing specific physical markings and habitats, and being cautious of frog predators. The game requires a player to choose resources including gloves, a notebook, waders, bug spray and binoculars to help in finding a male mate. Every choice will cost a player eggs and energy, and a risk bar indicates how dangerous a habitat will be for a player’s female frog.

“I am surprised and pleased that our game was selected as a finalist in the
 student category of the Interservice/Industry Training Simulation and Education Conference to present at the convention in Orlando, Fl.,” Bertozzi said. “Only three student
 groups made it to the final round and we look forward to competing for the
 top prize.”

The game’s frog theme is based on previous frog games that former UW-Whitewater Biology Professor Jeff McKinnon suggested Bertozzi and students try to reconstruct. The new version works to influence people to care about frogs while engaging with them.

“I emphasize that an educational piece is not really a game unless 
it is fun,” Bertozzi said. “I tried to
 come up with a way to get people engaged with the frogs and thought of a 
dating-game format.”

“The multimedia major has grown quickly and it is attracting talented students as evidenced by the national recognition of the student designed video game ‘I am Lonely! A Solitary Frog's Lament’,” College of Arts and Communication Interim Dean Richard Haven said. “Congratulations to Dr. Bertozzi and all of the students who worked on this project. This recognition demonstrates that the multimedia major is a cutting-edge program and that our decision to expand the major into electronic video gaming will benefit Wisconsin in the years ahead.”

The UW-Whitewater game team includes: senior Anna Weisling, audio research, recording, design and editing; senior Kat Shanahan, paper protypes, usability design and testing; senior Joe Haizel, frog drawings; Gil Gribb, frog and habitat photography; McKinnon, project patron; and Bertozzi, game concept, design and programming.

“It takes a team to build
 a complex interactive media product,” Bertozzi said. “The success of this game 
demonstrates that we need to shift the focus of our curriculum from
 individual achievement to a structure that allows students to work together
 to build more complex projects.”

Finalists will present games on Dec. 1 at the 2008 Serious Games Showcase and Challenge. Winners will be announced on Dec. 4.

For more information about “I am Lonely! The Solitary Frog’s Lament” visit the web site at http://facstaff.uww.edu/bertozze/newFrogs/ or e-mail Bertozzi at bertozze@uww.edu.