Why Become an Educational Game Developer? A conversation with Terminal Two developers.
An interview with Terminal Two’s creators Randy O’Connor, Lori Hyrup, Alex Meyer and Alejo Perez.
The team at Terminal Two is a passionate group whose love for fun and addictive gaming runs as deep as their passion for using those games to help children learn vital life skills. We interviewed our team to illustrate where that passion comes from, and to give Terminal Two fans a peek into the lives of the artists behind our games.
Why Become an Educational Game Developer?
-with Terminal Two Lead Game Developer Randy O’Connor
Q: Why did you become a game developer?
Randy: As a kid, I discovered games sometimes included tools to make my own levels. With the click and drag of a mouse, I could create snowy forests to run around. I loved creating worlds to explore and inhabit.
Q: Why did you decide to join the Terminal Two team?
Randy: This team knows that fun is an important part of any game!
Q: What excites you about educational gaming?
Randy: A good game doesn't teach to a test. A good game engages from all sorts of angles, seeing how it works, why it works, and what else it might do. At the end of a game we understand the game's system, which is better than knowing a few specific terms.
Q: What is your favorite game?
Randy: The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
Q: What do you think will be the biggest change in the game world in the next decade?
Randy:This last decade has been the decade of the smartphone and making games cross-platform to be played on any device. In the next decade, we'll be looking at games through even more lenses, and I think we may see games become more targeted and particular, as creators choose whether they're building the best VR game, or the best smart-watch game, or the best desktop game. We'll embrace that all these devices have their strengths and weaknesses.
Q: What's your mantra for making great games?
Randy: Playtest, playtest, playtest! Put your game in front of people, and see how they respond, because a game doesn't exist without a player.
Why Become an Educational Game Developer?
-with Terminal Two Game Developer Alex Meyer
Why did you become a game developer?
Gaming has been a huge part of my life since childhood, and once I started learning about software development it was only natural that the side projects I would gravitate toward would be my own versions of this. Pursuing these projects of my own quickly took over everything else as I realized I enjoyed the challenges and possibilities of development and it has had my focus ever since. All software can be interesting, but games especially are such a unique and compelling area to work in.
Why did you decide to join the Terminal Two team?
Actually thinking about it.. I don't know that I did! I started out working on a small project and just found myself being pulled in deeper as requests for helping out on more things just kept coming. I love game development and I think building knowledge and enthusiasm in the next generation of software developers is a cool mission so it made it very easy to keep saying "yes" to working more and more with the team.
What excites you about educational gaming?
I've always liked the idea of teaching through fun activities. Kids engage more when they are looking forward to spending time in an activity, and instead of becoming bored or resentful of topics they can develop lifelong interests.
What is your favorite game?
My favorite game of all of them is tough, but if I had to pick just one, I would have to say Nintendo's Pikmin series. Something about leading those cute little guys to victory in battle or overcoming an obstacle just feels good. My favorite Terminal Two game would be Frog Squash, I enjoy trying to find a good plan for my frog code to see how far I can get before that dude meets whatever spike filled doom is in his future.
What do you think will be the biggest change in the game world in the next decade?
I think it will be continuing to push into VR/Augmented Reality. Immersive experiences can be very powerful and the more we can feel a part of some of these worlds either through visuals or natural controls and feedback the more it will draw people in.
What's your mantra for making great games?
Pay attention to user feedback and be adaptable. As developers its very easy to make assumptions about what people want / how they will interact with a thing but that doesn't always align with what people actually need or want. Watch your users early and often and they will provide the most valuable feedback. I'm constantly shocked at the unexpected things people do or like in games and the more you are ready to adapt to what you learn from these observations the more your games will resonate with your audience.
Why Become an Educational Game Developer?
-with Terminal Two Game Developer Alejandro Perez
Why did you become a game developer?
Since I was a kid I've always had interests in video games, education, performing arts and entertainment. I knew I wanted to be a game developer after playing Passage by Jason Rohrer, it's a game where a life is condensed in 5 minutes and I remember being so moved that I decided I wanted to bring this kind of experiences to other people. After that I focused my university learning in video games.
Why did you decide to join the Terminal Two team?
I really like designing video games and seeing people enjoy them. Terminal Two help kids get that spark of interest on technology and I love being part of that.
What excites you about educational gaming?
As a designer its tough to create truly engaging educational content, specially for kids. I feel like designing for educational gaming brings a new challenge everyday. Also thinking that some random kid that plays our games will remember them fondly and directs them into the path of computer science is very rewarding for me.
What is your favorite game?
Picking a favorite game might kinda hard. I love to explore the world of The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild when I want to relax and think, when I'm having a bad day I release my frustation on Doom(2016), and if I'm having friends over we always play Duck Game and Overcooked.
What do you think will be the biggest change in the game world in the next decade?
I think "VR is going to be the next big thing" has been a constant buzzword for the last 5 years but slowly it has been gaining ground in the mainstream gaming's landscape. After seeing what Valve has done with Half-Life: Alyx I'm hopeful for the future of gaming to be more VR.
What's your mantra for making great games?
Be always open and ready to iterate on what you're working on. Users will find issues you'll never know, hear them carefully and iterate on that as long as it maximizes the "FUN" elements of the game.
Why Become an Educational Game Developer?
-with Terminal Two Game Developer Lori Hyrup
Why did you become a game developer?
This requires a story…
Spending most of my childhood in the 1980s, I grew up playing games both in arcades and on video game consoles. That stuck with me until I went to college. Back then, there was no opportunity for a formal education making games, and I never even realized that was a career option. In fact, I went to college for biology and zoology!
Despite not knowing game development was a career option, I found my way onto a service called AOL. It was one of the few ways to get access to the internet. It also had a section of their service called the Games Channel.
First, I began doing what I did best—played games. Unfortunately, the cost to access AOL was expensive! It cost $3.00/hour to just log on. I was working and paying my way through college, so I couldn’t afford that. However, AOL had a program where they would hire volunteer people to work remotely in exchange for a free account. Of course, I did that!
Once I became a part of the staff, I gained access to games that were still in closed beta, meaning, the public didn’t yet have access to them. I spent time helping to test them. I encountered one game called Dragons Gate, which was a text-based roleplaying game.
First, I started beta testing the game, and I got to know the staff, including their producer and lead programmer, Darrin. Liking the stuff I was doing in testing, Darrin asked if I would be interested in joining his staff, and of course, I said yes. At first, I helped design and program their external game forums, but I quickly started designing things in the game itself.
After about a year of volunteering remotely to work on the game, I met the CEO of the company, and he offered me a full-time, internal position with his company.
Did I want to keep working at my job at the San Diego Zoo? With my schooling as it was, that was where I wanted to be. I loved animals!
But I also loved video games! Something I didn’t think was possible was offered to me. After weighing the pros and cons, I took a leap of faith and accepted the offer.
So, in 1997, I left my job at the San Diego Zoo, flew cross-country to northern Virginia, and began my official career as a game designer and producer.
Now, 24-years after encountering Dragon’s Gate on AOL, I’m still making games. Oh, and I married Darrin Hyrup, the same person who first asked me to join his staff on Dragon’s Gate! We’ve worked together for most of our career and now have a 4-year-old who is getting into games.
Why did you decide to join the Terminal Two team?
I have made many different types of games throughout my career, giant AAA-games at big companies with huges teams, small independent games with tiny teams, mobile games, MMORPGs, and so many more.
However, I now have a young child growing up in a world in which coding skills are becoming important for future opportunities.
So, when the opportunity for Terminal Two first came up, I realized I wanted to start making the types of games that I felt my daughter would both enjoy and help her start learning those coding skills she’ll need to have one day.
What excites you about educational gaming?
Games are fun. When something is fun, we remember it, and we want to do it more.
A lot of people don’t realize it, but by gaming, we learn a lot of skills. When we buy and sell items in a game, we learn math. By avoiding getting hit by obstacles, our eye-hand coordination improves.
Education SHOULD be fun, as well, but sometimes it isn’t. Some people find it boring or hard to remember.
However, when you pair gaming with education, you can focus on making the learning fun and transparent—meaning that the players don’t even realize they’re learning. The players walk away knowing something a bit better than they did before they played, and they had fun doing it!
That’s what excites me.
What is your favorite game?
My favorite game of all time is called Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
What do you think will be the biggest change in the game world in the next decade?
We’re going to see continued development towards VR/AR. Right now, however, the companies are challenged with making sure that technology isn’t seen as a gimmick, but as a foundation for the games and fun to experience.
What's your mantra for making great games?
Never come up with just one idea.
Fun invokes creativity.
Our developers have a deep understanding of gaming and educational content. Together, Terminal Two employs the skills of gamers and educators to give you an immersive, unique gaming experience. You will have fun while you learn how to code with our variety of fun games that you can play right now!
Head over to our website to play right now and see for yourself!