In this project me & my partner (Teva, who you can find here) learnt about Probability & Plate Tectonics and showed our learning by creating a board game with our partner. Over the span of 6 milestones, and several worksheets, we create a board game with the theme of plate tectonics.
In milestone 1 we grouped up with 2 other people to create basic game rules to find what our knowledge of plate tectonics are. We then learnt about 2 different games, looking at there pros and cons, taking notes on what to have in our game and what not to have. Then creating this mind map: 
In milestone 2, we had too look at the requirements for our game, we need to include 10 key science concepts, then get their definitions: 
We learnt all these concepts through the workbooks/sheets we worked on together through the weeks. We even did an experiment to visualize and understand 1 of the concepts known as Convection Currents.
Next up, Milestone 3. After researching and learning about plate tectonics for a week and a half, we took online quizzes proving we paid attention in class. The 3 quizzes were on Plate Tectonics, Volcanoes & earthquakes. This milestone didn’t help us create our board game as much as the other milestones.
After 3 comes 4 and Milestone 4 was next on our list. Over the past week and a half I was talking about learning our science concepts, we also creating game rules, and prototype game boards. So in milestone 4 we had 3 days to complete and finalize our game rules. This is what we decided on: 
Now we are going to create the physical game starting Milestone 5. We were given cardboard, Xacto knives and blunt scissors to create the game. Our game consists of a spinner, a game board, and 55 cards all based on the 10 key concepts we explored. Our game board had 3 main drafts, here they are: 
The reason we are learning this isn’t necessarily to learn about plate tectonics, it’s also about learning 3 skills or competencies, being:
Evaluating
Demonstrating & participating
Understanding & solving
I was able to evaluate my understanding of plate tectonics & show evidence for it. This is because our game was based around the 10 science concepts we studied and gave them an important part of the game. Representing them visually and realistically helped us understand our science concepts.
I was able to use all of my class time efficiently with my partner because we share an interest in this project (though i don’t always have the attention span for it). I know this because we were able to hand work in early to get feedback. My partner & I were able to help each other, do extra research, & pull each other out of distractions all while having fun is why we used ur time well.
The last competency was a 50/50 on my end. We were able to develop an understanding for our problems and solve them to create our game. However applying mathematics is where i didn’t do so well. I struggled to calculate the probability in our game. The best way to fix this problem would have been to ask our teacher or my partner for an understanding on calculating probability.
Of course for every PLP project there is a driving question we must answer, this projects question being: How are thematic and mathematical elements used in game design?
First off what is a thematic element and what is a mathematical element? Thematic elements are smaller subjects or idea that have the same theme or relate to a bigger idea. Mathematical elements are members of a distinctive set relating with mathematical formulas.
Thematic elements are used in game design because it’s required, if throw multiple elements into a game and they don’t relate (not thematic) your game isn’t going to make sense or work. Thematic elements in a game like Pokémon are: monsters, catching said monsters, battling said caught monsters. They all have a monster theme.
Mathematical themes are used in game design because in a way every game involves math, whether you are deducting points of damage or calculating percentages. Mathematics aren’t directly responsible for game mechanics but they are responsible for a game’s playability. That is why we use those 2 elements in game design.