- Games can teach? You're kidding!
- The Cisco Learning Games
- The Story of the Cisco Mind Share Game
- Got Game?
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The Story of the Cisco Mind Share Game
After creating several successful learning games, we realized that each game only focused on a single topic, like binary numbers or subnetting. We decided to raise the bar and try to develop a game that would teach an entire curriculum. What we achieved was a game that addresses about half of the topics found in the CCENT Certification while laying a great foundation for the CCNA program.
How did we do it? I invited some of Cisco's best technical experts and instructors to join the team including some CCIEs. Next, I recruited Noah Falstein, a professional game designer for such titles as Sinistar, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones (produced by LucasArts, Dreamworks, Disney, and Sega). To complete the ensemble, we enlisted Totally Games president Larry Holland, also a veteran of the game industry. Larry's accomplishments include developing the entire 5-game Star Wars X-Wing Series and the 3-game WWII Series for LucasArts; Star Trek for Activision; and Alien Syndrome for the Wii and Playstation. The A-Team was complete!
Next, we looked at the ICND1 and ICND2 courses and selected key topic areas that were critical to a solid foundation for networking professionals. While we focused on topics at the CCENT level, we also understood that they needed to support the entire CCNA certification.
The Challenge
How do you make a game that would be easy to learn, fun to play and allow dozens of different topics? We had conquered single topic games but were unsure of how to design a game for dozens of subjects. We did not want to simply make a trivia style quiz game that required memorizing facts and figures. Our goal was to make a game that showed players how to apply what they were learning. Fortunately our game experts were up to the challenge, and the Mind Share Game was born.
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Game Play
The game introduces networking concepts to players and requires no pre-requisite knowledge. However, if you do know something about networking you will be given more opportunities to score and move quickly through the game. Players can choose from the Easy, Medium or Hard modes to match their skill level. As you get better at the game, your knowledge and skills for the CCENT and CCNA certifications improve which in turn improves your score.
Skill Building
The game focuses on developing real networking skills. For example, subnetting and setting up network addresses for a subnet can be challenging. Round 12 of the Mind Share game walks you through the process and lets you practice, all while avoiding those insidious little digibugs and trying to maximize your game score. In Round 14, you place wireless access points in areas that maximize coverage while using the fewest number of devices. Round 10 introduces Network Address Translation (NAT) and Port Address Translation (PAT) and lets you practice address translation. So whether you are brushing up on network acronyms, converting binary numbers to create subnets, or applying the OSI model, this game gives you lots of chances to learn and practice important networking skills.