Meet the Art Interns

We’ve already introduced you to our marketing and operations interns, but wait -- there's more! FableVision welcomes three art interns to the Studio for the summer.

Our summer art interns come from all over the Northeast and draw inspiration from many different artists and animators. As lifelong lovers of animation, we think they make a great addition to our summer office staff.

Brendan Kirschbaum

• Junior at Rochester Institute of Technology
• Studying 2D and 3D animation
• Visit his website

Brendan says:

I've always loved to draw, but I discovered animation when I was around ten years old. My brother introduced me to Pivot, a beginner animation program with jointed stick-figures. I made a lot of shorts about ninjas with superpowers. My favorite project was an animated short I created at RIT called "Flight of the Geese." Sitting in an auditorium and hearing an audience laugh at something that started as a terrible sketch of a dopey goose soldier was bizarre and rewarding.

FableVision asks:

So this is your first time living in Boston. How are you enjoying the city so far?

There’s a lot of energy, and a lot of great places to eat! I just went to the Scooper Bowl… all-you-can-eat ice cream is a very easy way to win my affection.

From looking at your animation and art samples, it looks like you have quite the sense of humor. Do you have a favorite comedy TV show or movie?

I’m just starting to get into Bob’s Burgers, which is hilarious. The Emperor’s New Groove is still the funniest animated movie to date in my book. (Editorial note: Bob’s Burgers is one of our favorites too.)

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Stephan Park

• Student at Rhode Island School of Design
• Studying illustration and animation

Stephan says:

I really discovered my love for art through drawing Pokémon characters in first grade; Pixar movies sparked my love for animation. Consequently, my main source of inspiration is a mixture of Western and Eastern influences, ranging from graphic novels to anime. I don't really have a certain drawing style; it varies, so I can adapt my drawings to any mood and plot. My favorite piece that I have created is an illustration called "Train World" that depicts my perception of the New York subways and its strange inhabitants. I love it because it has a bunch of quirky characters, but it is based on observation so people can readily relate to it.

FableVision asks:

Do you have a favorite character to draw? What kind of adventures do they go on?

I have a mouse character called Peppi who likes to travel the woods fighting bears and various predators.

If you could travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

I would like to travel to Paris or Japan to study the animation studios and the styles that they produce there.

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Jazmine Richardson

• Senior at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
• Studying animation
• Visit her website

Jazmine says:

Ever since I was a child, I had a fascination with movies, especially animated ones. I spent the majority of my childhood drawing and creating my own characters and doodles, including a comic strip in a local newspaper. I love Chris Sanders (Lilo and Stitch, How To Train Your Dragon), and try to channel his line work and sense of movement. My favorite project was an animatic adapted from a section of the novel The Circus of Dr. Lao, which featured a giant snake telling the story of how he hunted down a small child. It was morbid and a little disturbing, but a unique story to adapt.

FableVision asks:

What's been your favorite part about interning at FableVision so far?

Getting experience in a professional work environment. I also like seeing all the cool projects everyone’s working on.

We know you love to draw, but what's another favorite hobby of yours?

I love watching movies and learning random tidbits about them, specifically in the art direction. I also love writing, (trying to) learn foreign languages, and spending time with my pets.

KIBO: How ‘Bots Can Teach Tots

When I think of robots, my mind immediately jumps to science fiction. The Power Rangers and the Zord bots, the self-aware and intelligent machines of The Matrix and The Terminator movies, and even Doctor Who’s enemy: the Cyberman.

Your daily commute 10 years from now.

But robots are not something that must perpetually live in the distant and fictional future.

Technology is moving at such an astounding rate that my dream of owning and programming a robot is closer than you may think.

As our technology advances, STEM curriculum and technological literacy are increasingly important fields in the classroom that force students and teachers alike to adapt. But with such advanced and challenging topics, how do you start teaching? Last semester at Tufts University I took a class about the changing dynamics between technology and education in modern society. In this class we experimented with a new way to teach children about robotics, programming, and so much more. That project was KIBO.

Created by KinderLabs and Tuft University’s DevTech research group, KIBO (pronounced KEY-bo) is a robot kit specifically designed for children aged 4-7 years old. Using the programming language CHERP, KIBO appeals to children in both its intuitive design and flexible programming. Using scannable “command” blocks and a variety of sensors (which react to light, sound, distance, etc.), KIBO makes programming a tangible, age-appropriate, and enjoyable activity.

This past spring Tufts students, myself included, tested KIWI (KIBO’s predecessor and prototype) in a classroom setting.  

We integrated the robots with the current unit the children were learning about (the Iditarod). In this video you will see not only how the robots work, but also the challenges and rewards that this unique learning approach yields.

All of the robot’s movements and designs seen in the video were created solely by these 6 and 7 year-olds. Young children learn by doing. Trial and error (along with a smidgen of guidance from us) led children to create projects tailored to their specific wants and needs. Children can build their own robot with KIBO, program it to do what they want, and decorate it. It gives children the chance to make their ideas physical and tangible—exactly what their young minds and bodies need. And KIBO does all this without requiring any “screen-time” from PCs, tablets, or smartphones.

The unique benefit these robots offer is their flexibility and integration with virtually any curriculum. Combining KIBO’s programming capabilities with decorations and a bit of imagination, students can produce almost anything. Past uses include: carousels, figure skating, and even hula dancing!

As of now, KIBO is not available for commercial purchase, but KinderLabs is trying to change that. Through an ongoing Kickstarter Campaign, they hope to raise enough money to fund production on a large scale and bring it to the classrooms and children who need it.

The Kinderlab project team is filled with Boston heavy hitters in the edtech community, hoping to bring the KIBO robot kits to kids everywhere. And, I mean, honestly, who doesn’t want a robot?

GLS Recap: Creative Director shares highlights of After the Storm

Classroom, Inc.’s After the Storm, connects middle school students with what they learn in school to the real world. FableVision Studios worked with Classroom, Inc. to develop After the Storm, a literacy learning game that promotes vocabulary, multi-media production, and editing through a real-world simulation. Ultimately, at its core, After the Storm is an engaging game with a message.  

"From the start, After the Storm had a mission of delivering a best-in-class experience that is accessible to all students,” explained FableVision’s Creative Director Leigh Hallisey.

Let’s talk story. The game is just fun! After the Storm takes place the day after a hurricane has devastated the city of Port Douglas. There are major power outages, flooded streets, the airport has been shut down, and homes destroyed. The student assumes the role of editor-in-chief of The Daily Byte, an online community news magazine. As editor, the student works with reporters, photographers, and the IT team to get the right information out to the community while also juggling the complex issues that confront leaders in the workplace.

“It’s a holistic approach where the story, game mechanics, and assessments are seamlessly woven together into an immersive experience, and it places the student in an empowering role, making decisions that impact the outcome of the game,” Leigh said.

Pictured from left, Anne Richards, Jen Groff, Leigh Hallisey, Allisyn Levy, and Heather Robertson at the GLS conference in Madison, Wisconsin last week.

Cool, right? We think so. Now to Wisconsin, where key players from the After the Storm team held a panel at the recent GLS (Games, Learning, and Society) conference entitled: Anatomy of a Learning Game: From Design to Development to Distribution. Leigh joined Jen Groff, of Learning Games Network; Allisyn Levy, from BrainPOP; Anne Richards, of Classroom, Inc.; and Heather Robertson, from Lake Geneva Schools, on an all-star panel.

Interested in learning more about After the Storm? Visit Classroom, Inc. in FableVision’s booth at ISTE, #3114, on Sunday, June 29 and Monday, June 30. But until then, now that she’s back and has recovered from her cheese hangover, we asked Leigh to share a bit about the conference and what makes After the Storm unique.   

How did FableVision’s approach to learning games influence the shaping of After the Storm?

This was the key piece that Classroom, Inc. asked FableVision to talk about on the panel, and it was a great opportunity for me to try to express what we live and breathe and somewhat take for granted every day and communicate it to an audience. I tried to boil the essence down into a few main pillars: mission and goals, storytelling, learning by doing, and technology.

From day one, we were completely immersed in Classroom, Inc.’s mission and goal for After the Storm: to create a great, best-in-class literacy game, aligned to Common Core State Standards, with focus on socio-economically disadvantaged kids and classrooms.

After the Storm has a powerful storyline that immediately draws the player in and pulls them through the game. There’s drama, high stakes and humor, interesting characters, and a diversity of perspectives and opinions. The student is part of the story, empowered by being in a position of authority—there’s reason and motivation for doing the work because the player is personally invested.

FableVision is also a strong proponent of embedding the learning into the gameplay and core mechanic. Rather than arbitrarily placing a “fun” mechanic on top of the game (“Fling the coffee mugs at the intern to knock him over, and then take a multiple choice quiz about topic sentences!”) every conversation, task, clickable object, and learning activity in the game is tied to the player’s job as editor-in-chief.  

FableVision is a technology powerhouse—our developers are well versed in all of the latest technologies and upcoming trends. And they are passionate about their work—there is a real artistry in what they create. We are always careful to use the best technology for the product and its audience, not just for the sake of a buzzword or “cool whiz bang” factor. For After the Storm, the game needed to handle a tremendous amount of content, so the architecture was designed to streamline the management and delivery of the content.

After the Storm also needed a low barrier of entry—the game had to perform on older browsers without the need for plug-ins. All of those factors, plus the simulation style gameplay that was perfectly suited to the learning objectives, informed the decision to use HTML5. The Studio created a custom Content Management System that Classroom, Inc. can easily update, saving them time and money and allowing them to swap out content to create additional episodes. 

As creative director, what unique perspective did you bring to the panel?

As the creative director, I’m lucky to (usually) be involved in the project from the proposal phase to the kickoff meeting and all the way through launch. I was able to touch upon the reasoning behind the decisions that Classroom, Inc. and FableVision made as a collective group, from character design to user experience to creating a custom CMS.

I also was able to work in a ton of internet animals into my presentation, including BaneCat, a pug, and a chinchilla. It’s easier than it sounds, and it’s amazing how versatile they are in visually explaining complex concepts. Or maybe I just really like internet animals. 

Now that the panel is over, do you have any highlights to share?  

All the women on the panel were brilliant; it was fascinating hearing their perspectives. I loved that we had a ton of great questions from the audience, and people were waiting to speak with us more about the game after it was over—a lot of positive feedback, and most importantly, people were engaged and really thinking about the game.

Other non-panel related highlights included a Peet’s Coffee in the conference venue, $5 cocktails, and seeing lots of FableVision’s partners at GLS: Florida Virtual School, National Geographic, Learning Games Network, Concord Consortium, and of course Classroom, Inc., just to name a few.

So GLS was in Madison, Wisconsin. Did you have any cheese?

In the brilliant words of Steve the Monkey in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, “Cheesy! Cheesy! Cheesy!” So much cheese! I had cheese curds, fried and dipped in various sauces—I went back many times to the buffet line for more. It was embarrassing.  And I had Gorgonzola cheese melted on both pasta and on homemade potato chips. Wait. Did you hear that? It was another artery clogging. So worth it, though.

Throwback Thursday: Here's to Health!

This week Boston's Back Bay will be full of health nuts and gaming nerds – in the same room! FableVision President Gary Goldberger is headed over a few streets to the tenth annual Games for Health Conference. The Games for Health Project is dedicated to exploring the wonderful possibilities of health education through interactive games, and you know us – that's one of our favorite things. The conference is all about demoing games, sharing research, hosting discussions, and seeking advice, all in the pursuit of propelling health education.

And that made us think about all the health games we've produced here at FableVision – there's quite a few – and how they have hopefully had a positive effect on gamers and students. Here's a few games we think have made a healthy difference in users' lives.

Caduceus: Staff of the Alchemist
Client: Children's Hospital Trust

Created for the Generation Cures website, players enter into the fantasy world of Alterica where a deadly disease has infected massive amounts of people. Users must play mini-games to advance the storyline, all in pursuit of finding a cure and saving the sick people. Caduceus helps tweens care about medical research and have compassion for sick people. Learn more about Caduceus here, or visit the project page on our website.

H-E-B Body Adventure Exhibit
Client: Witte Museum

The Witte Museum has a brand new interactive exhibit with six different health-related activities. Museum goers receive a POWERpass card to log their results from each activity as they travel station to station. FableVision contributed two activities to the exhibit, All About You and Build a Balanced Meal. At the All About You stop, visitors do some preliminary work, answering questions about their day-to-day health habits as well as taking a picture or choosing an avatar to travel with them to all the activities. In Build a Balanced Meal, visitors must do exactly that – build a healthy meal to fuel their character as they virtually walk along San Antonio's historic River Walk. Learn more about the H-E-B Body Adventure exhibit here, or visit the project page on our website.

CaveBro
Client: Florida Virtual School (FLVS)

"Me want food – now!" Okay, CaveBro, we'll get you some food, but let's make sure it's healthy first! In this interactive online game, players must feed the CaveBro a balanced meal or else he'll get a tummy ache. You would too if you had five helpings of ice cream! This game teaches players what constitutes a nutritious, balanced meal and how much of eat food item they should be eating. Learn more on on FLVS’ website. CaveBro is still in the prototype phase. 

Sid the Science Kid: Super Duper Antibodies game
Client: Jim Henson Company and PBS Kids

With a “BAM” and a “Take That,” kids fight off the flu virus in Sid the Science Kid’s Super Duper Antibodies featured on the PBS Kids site. Developed by FableVision, the game explains that a vaccination is a “tiny bit of the flu virus” that teaches the body how to fight the flu. Kids click on the syringe to inject the vaccine and then travel into the body to fight the virus. At the end Sid cheers, “Adios flu virus, you can’t make me sick!” Play the game for yourself on the Sid website.

My best adventure with dad was...

Perched on the top of his shoulders you can see the world! That’s the magic of dad. Dads bring adventure, teach important life lessons, pick you up when you're down, and even do the simplest of things like teaching how to throw a baseball. To celebrate Father’s Day, the FableVision team shared their favorite dad adventures.

Journey with us through the stories and share your own memories in the comments section below.