Prodigy Math Game

Last updated
Prodigy Math Game
Developer(s) SmarTeacher, Inc.
Publisher(s) Prodigy Education, Inc
Designer(s)
  • Rohan Mahimker
  • Alex Peters
Engine Phaser
Platform(s) Browser Android iOS
Release2011
Genre(s) Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Mode(s) Single-player multiplayer

Prodigy Math or Prodigy Math Game is an educational fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Prodigy Education. The player takes the role of a wizard or witch, who, whilst undertaking quests to collect gems, must battle against the Puppet Master. These quests usually involve battling monsters in different areas of the in-game map. To participate in these quests, players must correctly answer math problems to cast spells. Prodigy Math was released in 2011. [1] [2]

Contents

Development

The game began development as a school project by University of Waterloo engineering students Rohan Mahimker and Alex Peters. [3] [4] Mahimker sought to address, in part, what he saw as the lack of appeal of most educational software aimed at children. Mahimker and Peters published Prodigy initially under the label of SmarTeacher, Inc. [3] Mahimker and Peters initially focused on utilizing biometrics and facial recognition software to personalize the educational experiences of students, but they later abandoned the focus on hardware to focus more on the in-game software. [4]

Gameplay

Teachers can use the game to assign homework and monitor students. The game sells players items that they can use to customize their avatar, and has a "paid premium" membership level. The game uses a turn-based battle system. Prodigy Math integrates math exercises into its gameplay. [4]

Plot

The player controls a wizard or witch, which is the main protagonist of the game, in a place called Prodigy Island. The game initially starts with a short tutorial, where the protagonist is shown sleeping in a house. A fairy named Noot wakes up the protagonist and takes them out of their house, telling them that they have to go to the Academy, a school where wizards and witches are trained to cast spells.

On the way to the Academy, the protagonist encounters a monster. Noot teaches them how to use magic to defeat the monster. To cast spells, the player has magic points with a maximum of 2 at a time, when all are used up the player must answer a math question to refill it back to two again. After defeating that monster, players encounter a set of 5 monsters to choose from to use as their first "starter" pet. Monsters, when caught and trained, can also be controlled by the player; they can cast spells and attack in battles with other wizards and/or monsters.

When Noot and the protagonist reach the Academy, the player first encounters the Puppet Master, the main antagonist of the game. The Puppet Master then proceeds to attempt to destroy the five Warden Keystones, but instead scatters the stones across Prodigy Island. The Keystones allow the five elemental towers (places where students can learn different elements of magic) in the Academy to stay open, so as soon as the Puppet Master attempts to destroy the Keystones, the towers are locked. It is then the player's mission to travel to the five elemental subareas within Prodigy Island (Firefly Forest, Shiverchill Mountains, Bonfire Spire, Skywatch and Shipwreck Shore) to find and earn the Warden Keystones and return them back to the Academy. When the player finally returns all five keystones, the Puppet Master (Main antagonist) challenges them. Then the player is whisked off into the final boss battle where they must defeat the Puppet Master.

Growth and reception

In 2013, Mahimker claimed that the game's playerbase was growing at a monthly rate of approximately 50 per cent. [3] By January 2021, Prodigy Math had about 100 million registered users and nine million active monthly users, its growth affected by the need for distance learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. [4]

In February 2021, Fairplay, an American advocacy organization, criticized the "freemium" model of Prodigy Math, stating that the models are "manipulative" and "promote inequity". [5] [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Master of Magic</i> 1994 video game

Master of Magic is a single-player, fantasy turn-based 4X strategy game in which the player plays as a wizard attempting to dominate two linked worlds. From a small settlement, the player manages resources, builds cities and armies, and researches spells, growing an empire and fighting the other wizards.

<i>HeroQuest</i> 1989 fantasy-RPG-themed board game (re-released 2021)

HeroQuest, is an adventure board game created by Milton Bradley in conjunction with the British company Games Workshop in 1989, and re-released in 2021. The game is loosely based around archetypes of fantasy role-playing games: the game itself was actually a game system, allowing the gamemaster to create dungeons of their own design using the provided game board, tiles, furnishings and figures. The game manual describes Morcar/Zargon as a former apprentice of Mentor, and the parchment text is read aloud from Mentor's perspective. Several expansions have been released, each adding new tiles, traps, artifacts, and monsters to the core system.

AdventureQuest is an online Flash-based single-player role-playing video game started in 2002 and currently developed by Artix Entertainment.

Several video games based on the Magic: The Gathering franchise exist for multiple systems. Some have attempted to translate the card game to electronic play nearly exactly; others have taken more liberties and drawn more from the setting than the actual rules of the card game. Benefits of successful video game versions of the card game include convenience, practice, and challenge. However, artificial intelligence for a game such as Magic is an extremely hard problem, and such software usually must be continuously updated to stay current with recently released card sets. Video game versions often expand on artwork, and may include unique cards that rely on randomness, effects which would be difficult or annoying to duplicate in real life.

<i>Nox</i> (video game) 2000 video game

Nox is an action role-playing game developed and published by Westwood Studios and Electronic Arts in 2000 for Microsoft Windows. It details the story of Jack, a young man from Earth who is pulled into a high fantasy parallel universe and has to defeat the evil sorceress Hecubah and her army of necromancers to return home. Depending on the player's choice of character class at the beginning of the game, the game follows three largely different linear storylines, each leading to its unique ending. In the multiplayer, players can compete against each other in various game modes such as deathmatch and capture the flag, while the freely downloadable expansion pack NoxQuest added a cooperative multiplayer mode. The game was generally well received by critics and the media.

The magic in Dungeons & Dragons consists of the spells and magic systems used in the settings of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). D&D defined the genre of fantasy role-playing games, and remains the most popular table-top version. Many of the original concepts have become widely used in the role-playing community across many different fictional worlds, as well as across all manner of popular media including books, board games, video games, and films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duel Masters Trading Card Game</span> Collectible card game

The Duel Masters Trading Card Game is a two-player or two vs. two team collectible card game (CCG) jointly developed by Wizards of the Coast and Takara Tomy. The card game is part of the Duel Masters franchise.

<i>Mystic Towers</i> 1994 video game

Mystic Towers is an isometric platform game developed by Animation F/X, and published in 1994 by Manaccom domestically and Apogee Software internationally. Originally exclusive to MS-DOS compatible operating systems, it was re-released on Steam in 2015 with Microsoft Windows and Mac OS support. It stars Baron Baldric, an old wizard with a magic staff and an array of amusing mannerisms, who must quest through twelve towers and rid them of monsters. Mystic Towers is a sequel to Baron Baldric: A Grave Adventure, a platform game in which Baron Baldric battled an evil sorcerer ancestor.

<i>Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II</i> 1989 video game

Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II is an action platform video game developed by Zippo Games and published by Acclaim Entertainment for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in North America in December 1989 and in Europe on March 27, 1991. It is the sequel to Rare's 1987 title Wizards & Warriors. In Ironsword, the player controls the knight warrior Kuros as he ventures in the land of Sindarin. He must defeat the evil wizard Malkil, who has assumed the elemental forms of Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. Kuros must collect the parts of and assemble the legendary "IronSword" in order to defeat Malkil, who resides at the top of IceFire Mountain.

<i>Arcana</i> (video game) 1992 video game

Arcana is a role-playing video game released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System by HAL Laboratory in 1992. The game represents all of its characters as cards, but plays like a dungeon-crawling role-playing game rather than a card-based game. In keeping with this metaphor, the death of a character results in a 'torn' card, and the magical properties of some cards are used to explain abilities of the game's characters.

<i>Quest 64</i> 1998 video game

Quest 64 is a role-playing video game (RPG) developed by Imagineer for the Nintendo 64. It was released in North America in June 1998 by THQ, Europe in September 1998 by Konami and July 1999 by Imagineer. It is the first role-playing video game released for the system in North America.

<i>Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World</i> 1988 video game

Might and Magic II: Gates to Another World is a role-playing video game developed and published by New World Computing in 1988. It is the sequel to Might and Magic Book One: The Secret of the Inner Sanctum.

<i>Complete Arcane</i> 2004 supplemental rulebook for 3.5 edition Dungeons & Dragons

Complete Arcane is a supplemental rulebook for the 3.5 edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It expands upon and replaces an earlier soft-cover rulebook entitled Tome and Blood.

<i>Magician</i> (video game) 1991 video game

Magician is a side-scrolling action role-playing game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was designed by Eurocom Entertainment Software and published by Taxan. There's a discrepancy of when the game was actually released. Eurocom's own website lists the release date as March 1990, but popular magazines of the era such as Nintendo Power, EGM and GamePro lists the game as being released around February-March 1991.

<i>The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth</i> Role-playing game adventure

The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth is an adventure module for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was written by Gary Gygax and published by TSR in 1982 for the first edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) rules. The 64-page adventure bears the code "S4" and is set in the Greyhawk campaign setting. It is divided into two parts, a 32-page adventure, and a 32-page booklet of monsters and magic items. The plot involves the player characters investigating rumors of lost treasure. After traversing a wilderness and two levels of dungeons, the players face Drelnza, the vampiric daughter of long-deceased archmage Iggwilv.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magician (fantasy)</span> Magicians appearing in fantasy fiction

A magician, also known as an archimage, mage, magus, magic-user, spellcaster, enchanter/enchantress, sorcerer/sorceress, warlock, witch, or wizard, is someone who uses or practices magic derived from supernatural, occult, or arcane sources. Magicians enjoy a rich history in mythology, legends, fiction, and folklore, and are common figures in works of fantasy, such as fantasy literature and role-playing games.

<i>Magic and Mayhem</i> 1998 video game

Magic & Mayhem is a fantasy/mythology-themed real-time strategy game designed by Julian Gollop and developed by Mythos Games. It was published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment in late 1998, and by Bethesda soon after in 1999. Although the game received generally positive criticisms, it met a quiet public reception.

<i>The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road</i> 2008 video game

The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road, known in Japan as Riz-Zoawd, is a role-playing video game developed by Japanese developer Media.Vision for the Nintendo DS. The game is an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, using its characters, locations and plot. The game was originally published in Japan by D3 Publisher on December 25, 2008. Xseed Games published the game in North America on September 29, 2009.

<i>Elemental: War of Magic</i> 2010 video game

Elemental: War of Magic is a fantasy 4X turn-based strategy game developed and published by Stardock, released in August 24, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prodigy Education</span> Canadian educational technology company

Prodigy Education, Inc., formerly Prodigy Game, is a educational technology company focused on game-based learning. Its co-CEOs and founders are Alex Peters and Rohan Mahimker. It is the developer of the 2011 and 2022 Prodigy Math, a roleplaying game where players solve math problems to participate in battles and cast spells, and Prodigy English, a sandbox game where players answer English questions to earn currency to gain items. Although each game is standalone, both are accessible through a single Prodigy account. The games are widely used in schools, though they have attracted criticism due to excessive in-game advertising for membership and their freemium aspects.

References

  1. ↑ "Five computer games based on maths that kids will love". Government of New South Wales . Archived from the original on June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  2. ↑ Linn, Susan (September 13, 2022). Who's Raising the Kids?: Big Tech, Big Business, and the Lives of Children. New Press. ISBN   9781620972281.
  3. 1 2 3 Serebrin, Jacob (April 19, 2013). "Outdated education model opens doors for tech firms". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Silcoff, Sean; O'Kane, Josh (January 12, 2021). "Oakville maker of Prodigy math game to hire 400 after raising $159-million from U.S. private equity". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
  5. ↑ Hern, Alex (February 19, 2021). "Maths app targeting UK schools is criticised over premium mode". The Guardian . Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  6. ↑ Solon, Olivia (February 19, 2021). "Child protection nonprofit alleges 'manipulative' upselling with math game Prodigy". NBC News . Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
  7. ↑ Lucas, Johnson (June 14, 2022). "Why freemium software has no place in our classrooms". The Conversation . Archived from the original on June 23, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.