Photo courtesy of Resilient Planet.
In this educational, innovative and entertaining game, players take on the role of a marine ecologist. As the operator of an underwater vehicle called the Hercules ROV, players navigate the ocean floor to observe and decode ecosystems using their scientific knowledge.
Students pilot through unique ecosystems to uncover ecological mysteries, work with explorers and scientists and employ tools used by modern scientists to gain insight and knowledge.
The game’s highly advanced graphics allow for a realistic experience, taking the player into the depths of the ocean and into the role of their character. The player must navigate the ROV and collect data in order to accomplish missions and gain knowledge. This includes discovering animals in a designated area, taking photographs of them and using prior scientific knowledge to properly identify them.
From this point, the player must effectively use the scientific method to interpret the data and form conclusions to prove their case and further succeed in their mission. Each mission requires different data to be acquired, while taking the player into many other exciting situations that a marine ecologist may experience.
The player may strategically lure and capture a tiger shark to study its stomach contents and determine its diet, or use special technology to see life from a turtle’s point of view. Dive into this excellent, educational and entertaining experience! The game is free to any player with a desire for exploration and adventure. It can be played on both PC and Mac, and can be found at jason.org.— Natalie Walker
If you like our games, please help us make more! We’re conducting a survey of teacher “pain points” — topics that are key to the curriculum, difficult to teach, or lack teaching effective tools — to help inform what games we make next. What games do YOU want made?
Take the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TeacherPainPoints