Gamestar Mechanic is a game and community about playing, designing and
sharing games.
The browser-based game taps into the natural passion for kids to play,
make and share games and is built on leading pedagogical research in
the areas of systems thinking, 21st century digital literacy skills
and STEM learning.
Gamestar Mechanic is currently supported by a partnership between the Institute of Play and E-Line Media.
The game was originally developed by Gamelab in partnership with the Institute of Play and the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Lab (AADLC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Initial funding for the game and companion learning guides came from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Talkers and Doers is a new game franchise about entrepreneurship for at-risk teens and young adults. Talkers and Doers will feature a series of social networking games where players overcome the common challenges of becoming an entrepreneur with help from their friends. Each game will unlock tools and missions where players can make real money and connect with real-world mentors and community-based resources. The game was recently awarded a MacArthur Foundation/HASTAC Digital Media and Learning grant.

The game industry generates hundreds of billions of hours of deeply immersive entertainment. Today's games offer a breathtaking level of graphics and interactivity, enabling players to explore and interact in ever-more realistic gaming environments.
And yet, despite the phenomenal growth in the industry, there are surprisingly few commercially successful games that genuinely impact or empower players. Very few videogames inspire a player to say:
"Wow, that game changed my life!"

Comics are at the epicenter of popular culture.
The influence of comics, graphic novels, and manga on popular culture is everywhere: games, movies, television, fiction. The empowering tools of the Web have enabled an explosion of content of diverse styles and genres that has expanded the medium beyond superheroes.
And yet, despite the shifting fundamentals in the industry, there are surprisingly few commercially successful comics that leverage the power of the medium for meaningful impact. Very few comics inspire a reader to say:
"Wow, that comic changed my life!"