{"id":11278,"date":"2019-05-20T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2019-05-20T12:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.elearninginside.com\/?p=11278"},"modified":"2019-05-22T13:09:16","modified_gmt":"2019-05-22T17:09:16","slug":"age-of-learning-invested-100-million-in-adventure-academy-a-game-based-learning-mmo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.elearninginside.com\/age-of-learning-invested-100-million-in-adventure-academy-a-game-based-learning-mmo\/","title":{"rendered":"Age of Learning Invested $100 Million In Adventure Academy, a Game-Based Learning MMO"},"content":{"rendered":"

Game-based learning<\/a> is a concept often applied in so many different ways and settings that it can be difficult to come to an effective definition of the term<\/a>. But few if any would hesitate to use it to describe Age of Learning\u2019s new massive multiplayer online (MMO) game<\/a>, Adventure Academy. Game development cost a reported $100 million and involved a team of over 200 programmers, artists, instructional designers, and more. The team’s collective resume includes work on World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online, <\/i>and Wildstar.<\/i> Intended for elementary and middle school learners, it went live on May 1. eLearning Inside <\/i>recently got in touch with its creators to find out more about its creation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a really different and innovative new product,\u201d said Alex Galvagni, Adventure Academy\u2019s president of production. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing quite like it in the market, at least nothing at this scale, nothing at this level of investment and nothing that quite captures the modes of technology with game thing and education that we\u2019ve done here.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

On its face, the game is much like other MMOs. Each player chooses their own avatars and travels through the wide world (comprised of discrete zones) of Adventure Academy. <\/i>Players have constant opportunities to participate in learning activities. Successful completion of these gives players experience and allows them to level up. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe use a questing format to guide players through the world of Adventure Academy,\u201d <\/i>said Executive Producer and former World of Warcraft <\/i>developer Kevin Beardslee. \u201cThose quests introduce players, get them to know features, etc.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Next Move After ABCMouse<\/span><\/h2>\n

In many ways, Adventure Academy <\/i>marks the next step for Age of Learning following its premiere game, ABCMouse, <\/i>a learning supplement for ages 2-8. While a lot of the learning content looks similar (although it\u2019s upgraded for older learners), ABCMouse <\/i>notably lacks the massive online world of its successor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not like this was a direct continuation from ABCMouse<\/i>,\u201d said Senior Vice President of Curriculum and former elementary school teacher Joel Kupperstein. \u201cAt ABCMouse<\/i>, we have a balance between a kind of linear path approach, proceeding step-by-step, and various areas of learning where the user can go anywhere they want to and select any of activities they want to.<\/span><\/p>\n