September 2021 - May 2022
The initial focus of this study was to create and implement a biological video game that focused on a single gene disease, which served as a vehicle to teach cellular and molecular biology concepts.
In 2021, the BIO1A03 instructional team partnered up with the George Brown College School of Design, and received support from CEWIL Canada (Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada), to design and implement an educational biological video game that could be used as an instructional and engaging teaching tool in BIO1A03. A small cohort of McMaster Univeristy Biology students and supervising professors, as well as game designers, programmers, animators, audio engineers, and artists from the George Brown College School of Design were selected to pilot this work-integrated learning project.
The theme for the game was centred around single-gene diseases. Biology students from McMaster University were responsible for selecting and researching a specific single-gene disease. This information was exchanged with students from George Brown College, who in-turn provided a wealth of knowledge on how to turn these static, difficult to understand concepts into engaging gameplay mechanics. The disease that was selected was Pompe disease, a rare genetic disease that causes skeletal and cardiac muscle weakness due to the accumulation of glycogen within lysosomes.
Programmers and artists from George Brown College brought the game to life, and once a final product was produced, the game was unveiled in a first year Biology class at McMaster University. Students were able to provide their thoughts on opinions on the game, and on game-based learning as a whole.
September 2022 - May 2023
After a successful launch of the first game, our team received more funding to continue to develop Cells at War. Due to the positive reactions from biology students, the team wanted to bring game-based learning to more domains within the realm of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics).
The team at McMaster University expanded to include students and faculty from both the physics department, and the music department. The goal for this term was to develop three games; a physics based game, a music based game, and a secondary biology game. Music, physics, and biology students acted as subject matter experts in their domain, providing accurate and understandable information to artists and programmers from George Brown College. This accurate information was turned into engaging game-mechanics that were both fun to play, and educational.
The games were then launched in their respective courses. First year music, physics , and biology students all had a chance to play the games, and provide feedback to our team.
May 2023 - Present
With another successful launch, our team was fortunate enough to receive more funding to continue development of the project.
The McMaster + GBC team is currently developing a physical learning pod to host an immersive cell-based gaming experience for students of all ages. Set in a stylized beta-cell, the learning pod experience will consist of 5 distinct, yet interconnected, mini-games designed to teach players more about the function of different organelles in a cell through the lens of insulin protein production. To be successful, players will need to work together to produce enough insulin to offset blood sugar spikes in a healthy body following various types of food intake.