I enjoy educational games, also called “edutainment”. Ever since I first played Oregon Trail on an Apple IIe (yes, I’m that old), I’ve loved the idea behind this. For this reason, among others, I backed Odyssey without hesitation. That it’s a science-based Myst-style adventure really helped too. I was excited to see it make funding and to see where the developers take it.
Well, as of the latest update, The Young Socratics have mentioned they’ve taken Odyssey to a few schools. They’re looking to see how well received the game is going to be. Based on what I’ve seen it’s been a hit with both students and teachers. They’d love to have more “field testing”, but that also comes with it extra costs. I’d love to see them expand and get better results, but it does look like it’ll be fun.
I’m a firm believer that any tool that can be used to both educate and entertain children to be a good one. Each update for Odyssey I read the more excited I get to finally see it release. It’s rare for me to be so excited for a teaching tool, but this one is definitely worth keeping an eye on. For someone who loves science as much as I do, I can’t wait to finally play it.
