July 4, 2006
Let's Play.

Hello,

Happy July 4th! There is so much to play with in this email. See pictures of graduation, play interesting games and even get your wiki on. This update reports on events during May and June at Stanford. I am doing very well. I have had so much success in such a short time. God is good! Here is the news:

  • Commencement
  • New job starting this fall
  • Won first place prize!
  • Summer classes
  • Tech tip: Where to wiki

If you want to see old Angel Update newsletters, you can browse past issues since July 2005.

Commencement

On June 18, we celebrated (in advance) the completion of my degree. Though my program actually ends in August, I participated in June ceremonies. I was joined by Michael Inokon, Charles Inokon, Jessica Chuang, Markus Seeliger and Georg. I will gradaute with a MA in Education and a 4.0 GPA. Thank you to everyone who celebrated this event. If you wish to send notes or kudos, please use my same address: Angel Inokon 235 Ayrshire Farm Lane #201 Stanford, CA 94305

View Slideshow
View Pictures
Watch the video

New job starting this fall

In my May newsletter, I requested help with my job search. Just four weeks later, I received a wonderful job offer. I will be joining Playfirst, a leading casual games publisher, this fall as an Associate Producer in their San Francisco office. Casual games is a growing genre designed to be easy to learn and attractive to diverse players. These games can be played on PC, Xbox, mobile phones -- anywhere. As a producer, I will gain exposure to the business of games. The role requires a mix of management and design acumen as I coordinate the tasks, time, and talent of external game developers around the world. I will leverage many of the skills I gained at IBM, as well as, the design-process skills I gained at Stanford. I will join this lively start-up as person number 39 in September.

Try out some Playfirst games:

Won first place prize!

On June 6 my master's project, Outbreak, received top prize at the University of California Berkeley Serious Game competititon. Serious games are a genre of games that promote learning and real-world action. Eight teams submitted work ranging from a library game to an NSF funded mobile phone game for India. Our game was recognized for its innovative concept, storyboards, and learning design. I worked on a two-person team with Jeff Bowman, a computer science major at Berkeley. The first place prize was a $5000 grant to continue prototyping the game.

This prize marks my decision a year ago to switch careers and move west. What strong confirmation! Serious games will be a significant piece of the trillion dollar game industry in the next 10 years. So stay tuned!

Try out these other serious games:

  • A Force More Powerful - learn how to overthrow dictatorships
  • Re-Mission - cancer game that resulted in improved chemotherapy in kids
  • Dimenxian - play algebra while exploring a 3D world in this beautiful first-person shooter
  • Brain Age - fun games to speed your thinking, popular in Japan to ward off Alzheimers
  • Big Brain Academy - bulk up your brain in 5 dimensions including logic and reasoning.

Summer Courses

I still have seven credits left to complete my degree, in addition to creating a master's project and portfolio. I will be taking enrichment courses like singing, speaking and swimming. My speech class is titled Romancing the Room. It is led by two excellent teachers one of whom is an award-wininng trial attorney, James Wagstaff. My goal is to strengthen my voice and get better at sharing my heart with others.

Tech Tip: Where to wiki

Wiki sounds like a three-step dance, but it's actually an easy way to create a website. A wiki allows you to create a site about any topic and allow whomever you choose to edit it and keep it current. The most famous wiki is Wikipedia. For my Outbreak game, I've been using Wetpaint to organize our development. Our wiki was one of Wetpaint's first 100 wikis in their beta program.

Explore these wiki software packages:

My time at Stanford has been amazing. I've pursued a passion, discovered news gifts and met great friends. It is a testament to what life can feel like when you are with God and operating in your purpose. Thank you for being my friend and for staying in touch. Please send me email with news about you.

Happy July 4th to all my American friends!

Cheers,

Angel Inokon
235 Ayrshire Farm Lane, #201
Stanford, CA 94305
inokon@stanford.edu
ldt.stanford.edu/~inokon
240-478-1435 (c)

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