"The fate of the world is in the hands of onebeautiful girl."
--1984 Mattel promotional slogan for new Barbie, She-Ra Princess of Power

The problem of our epoch is the problem of the house
-- Le Corbusier (1919)

DreamHaus is a third person adventure / design game. The player, Bobbi, is a successful architect striving for acclaim as the world's first woman to win the prestigious AIA Gold Medal. DreamHaus uses architecture as an entry point for learning AP-level mathematics, engineering, and physics material. Players examine virtual architectural sites (such as the Tokyo Olympic Stadium), solve physics and engineering-based puzzles, and complete architectural design challenges using the game's design tools. Players may also participate in a web-based community surrounding the game, submitting their designs, viewing others' work, or offering critique on designs.

DreamHaus draws on the artistic allure of architecture and romantic history to make Engineering and Physics accessible to a diverse audience of players. Players explore fantastic virtual buildings, solve thought-provoking Physics and Engineering puzzles, manipulate virtual Engineering Systems, share their work in virtual communities. These game practices have proven to be successful with non-gamers in games such as Myst, SimCity, and The Sims. DreamHaus capitalizes on games' ability to represent buildings as systems, and allows players to learn through manipulating these systems. DreamHaus is grounded in David Perkins' Teaching for Understanding a pedagogical framework that is designed to foster deep, intuitive understandings of phenomena by providing learners multiple entry paths into understanding and performance-based modes of expression.

Copyright 2002, MIT.

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