Tabula Digita Takes Educational Games Into a New Genre

written by Brad Cook

With only 17% of U.S. high school students proficient at math, Tabula Digita co-founder Robert Clegg knows those kids desperately needed a unique way to learn. He believes his company has found it with Dimenxian, an educational first-person action game that uses Torque technology to take the edutainment genre to new heights.

"Torque is cost-effective and rich enough in features to do what we needed it to do," Clegg explains. "It allowed us to create something very compelling very quickly."

The game, which will be released next February but is available now as a four-mission demo, takes students into a 3D world where their only hope of success lies in mastering pre-algebra. The story concerns a bio-digital virus that has wreaked havoc on an island. Players must learn how to control the virus and solve the mystery behind it.

It's a Spatial Thing

Dimenxian conveys basic concepts through the tasks it presents. For example, the world map uses a coordinate system that helps students learn linear equations. They complete goals by heading toward the proper coordinates, where they receive their next assignment. Tools replace the weapons typically found in most first-person shooters, requiring players to solve problems with the core math concepts they've learned.

"It's a spatial thing," Clegg says of the way Dimenxian presents its subject matter. "We're taking learning into a 3D world for the first time. This is so much different from a classroom or textbook."

He points to Dimenxian's high-end graphics, which he says are a first for an educational title. The game was designed to draw in kids used to playing Halo, Quake 4, and other graphically-intensive titles.

Set Up Multiplayer Code Right Out of the Box

Dimenxian also features multiplayer action in both competitive and cooperative modes. For example, one game type requires students to find the fuel cells they need to power up a generator that uses a linear equation. Not only do players receive points for grabbing the correct fuel cells, but they can also shoot and stun opponents, collecting their fuel cells while they're immobilized.

"With Torque's multiplayer core code, we had a multiplayer level set up almost right out of the box," Clegg recalls. The multiplayer side of the game is aimed only at schools currently working with Tabula Digita, including many in Washington, D.C., New York City, and California. Institutions interested in the multiplayer aspect of Dimenxian should contact Tabula Digita to learn how they can participate in activities that may eventually include on-site tournaments.

Torque's cross-platform capabilities enabled Tabula Digita to develop versions of Dimenxian for both Windows and Mac, which was important given many schools' heavy use of Macs. Apple has offered strong support to the game, even going so far as hosting a tournament during Macworld Expo San Francisco in January 2006.

"Dimenxian is the new thing in education," Clegg says. "Torque allows independent people to get into the industry and innovate."