The Blog

Working on the old website…

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MoleculAr JIg BLOg

Hello biology game fans,

July was a great month!

Hello, fans of science games!

Science Game Development Is for Everyone!

I have spent the last 14 years learning how to develop video games about science. In 2008, I stepped away from my biochemistry lab bench and started learning about sprites and colliders… I basically got a second Ph.D....

Global Game Jam Microgrant Win!

Hi Fans! Yours truly applied for a microgrant from the Global Game Jam and Endless Foundation. They wanted to support further development of any educational games that began at a Global Game Jam event. In 2020 the ...

Learning new things in games…

I’m interested in how designers can introduce really new things to do in games. So I’ve been watching some videos and reading what other people have done. I’m working on my own blog post, but it still sounds like an...

The Science Life

The world lost a scientist last month. He was a friend of mine. He was a Microbiologist. He actually created a stable liquid culture of two different microbes, and then he measured how much they were each using the nu...

Presentations I’ll be Giving

I’m preparing for a talk at NYU and G4C. (I’ll have links and more details in a few days.). I will discuss my method for creating game mechanics and assessing how well they teach.

You asked for it

I know that about 100 people come to molecularjig.com per week, and I know that immune defense gets downloaded a lot on itch.io. However, I’m pretty sure nobody is reading my blog posts! Additionally, I really kind of...

Who Are You?

Please, tell me about yourself! I need the inspiration. We all could use it! Why do you read the Game Design and Biochemistry blog here at Molecular Jig Games? Are you a game player? Are you a biologist or scientist...

Hanging in there…

I am applying for an academic grant to study Immune Defense, to figure out what it teaches and how it affects the attitude of our players towards cell biology. We’d like to optimize Immune Defense for the creation of ...

Fall

Feels like the end of the year, like “it’s all over now.” Summer is gone. I think the whole finality feeling is because I’m burnt out. Me and everyone else. Winter in central Pennsylvania is a wet, dreary, cold, l...

NanoCrasherVR Music and Art

Protein Art  We have recruited an expert structural biologist to our project!  Martina Maritan, Ph.D. is a structural biologist, which means she studied the shape of proteins, and in particular, she used X-Rays the sa...

Iterative Game Development for Novel Science Games

Hey! We are on Patreon! We are building NanoCrasherVR!

It is finally official.  I have a little team, we are working on the little game called NanoCrasherVR, and we are so committed that we started the Patreon page!  I will be blogging more than twice each month and about...

The Atari Game Adventure Feels like Biochemistry to Me

I recently gave an interview where I expressed myself clearly (and the interviewer did a great job editing me to sound more clear!)   Here is the interview, by Chris Styles, for SciComm Stories.   http://scicommstorie...

Game Design Realities

I’m designing a game about digestion. I have a pad of paper with details like how much glucose is in a gummi bear, how fast the glucose gets absorbed into the blood stream, where the player can place glucose receptors...

the Future is here!

Well, the future I mentioned in my last post is here, anyway. I’ve been working on a new game, a new biochemistry game and it is a tower defense game about nutrition. This is the third biochemistry game I’ve started m...

The Future

Dear friends, thank you for coming on this ride with me. Since I founded MJG in 2014, a lot has happened. The state of public understanding of molecular cell biology is more important than ever. How can you trust some...

Fly Eyes!

I am so excited. I was concerned at first the Samsung might not be making any more VR Headsets… I want to buy one and they are not listed as products on the Samsung website, what is up with that? They are for sale fo...

Science Communication

Some people believe in science, some people do not. Science, however, doesn’t want anyone’s faith. Science wants well designed experiments that produce data and provide positive and negative controls. Without well con...

Developmental Biology

Developmental biology is my favorite part of all the sciences. The topic is so attractive because the problem that needs to be solved is so basic. The problem is so basic that everyone can understand it regardless of ...

February Report

Dear Fans,

Speedy Cell = Immune Defense Trainer

I spent the weekend learning to use Leonardo, a nifty drawing program on my new Surface Book 2. I’m drawing up the design for Speedy Cell and I’ll be asking a Unity developer and friend to make it so. I was planning t...

2020

I have published research papers on mechanisms of cancer, DNA repair in Tuberculosis bacteria, and learning through game play. I have led a game development team to create a truly novel kind of learning game, once tha...

Experimental Approach to Fun

I came to game design from an experimental science background. In the biochemistry lab, I prove x exists by developing an assay for the activity of x. If I can’t test for x, I can’t measure x. I can’t say, “There sh...

Reflection

Dear Fans,

A Fun Day’s Work

Experimenting with various arrangements of simple geometric shapes for the receptors, ligands and antibodies in our game.

What is a game jam?

In my new life as professor of Interactive Media at Harrisburg University, I am part of a team hosting a game jam for our students. Many students ask, “Hey, what is a game jam?” I remember wondering that myself… Here...

A good day

Dear DevBlog,

When anything is possible.

I’m flying in an airplane. At some point my mind drifts and I forget where I am going and for a moment, I could be going anywhere. In this exciting, happy moment all the possibilities crowd my brain. I smile and think...

NanoCrasherVR

Tonight I am presenting NanoCrasherVR at B’moreVR. This group is really nice to hang out with. Everyone is working on something not just cool but experimental. It seems everyone there is pushing some frontier forward.

Microbot C85 gets a database

Saturday Night

Working tonight. I work many evenings on my games. Somehow this game development effort has become a long term part of my life.

Mechanics and Future Plans

Our goal at Molecular Jig is to create Immune Defense. This game is going to be a large, Real Time Strategy / Tower Defense / Molecular Biology mash up. This game is the game you supported in our INDIEGoGo. We’ll have...

How do people do this?

World famous indie game developer snaps open her laptop and happily types away, creating another engaging, informative blog post for her adoring fans.

Footnote to tomorrow’s post

* “Really, are you the first cell biology strategy game?” you ask. We do our best to keep up with other science games. Because we love science and we love games. You can search for “cell biology” games at our lovely s...

Hazards in Game Dev

I’ve been so happy lately. I have a day job in which I get to flex and learn more Unity skills. I have a partner willing to help me develop Immune Defense and who co-dreams with me about other adventures in molecular ...

How to use antibodies in a video game

I am making a game based on reality. The hardest part is that I keep needing to check on my understanding of reality.  I mean, I remember that antibodies can cause viruses to aggregate.  I am 100% positive that aggreg...

nailing down molecules

Wow, blogging about game design is rough. All this work I did this weekend and not trying to explain it all is a whole new task!

Antibodies and Random Motion

(Delayed post from Friday. Seems the posts from my phone aren’t working!)

Second day

Back again at the coffeeshop after work. Deciding to work 2.5 hours after work means that I leave my house at 8am and get home at 8pm. But after making this decision I have been super happy. Additionally, I don’t regr...

Monday after work

Game development.  Yes, we are still doing it. Today, I am looking at the charts I have spent the past 4 weeks on: balancing inflammation damage and energy gains.  Each cell type does damage to the surrounding tissue ...

Join Melanie for game improv at MAGfest!

Hello everyone, and welcome to 2017! We hope that you had an awesome New Year’s Eve and that you’re ready to take the new year by storm!

A New Intern Approaches!

Hello! My name is Brittany Williams (call me Bri), and I am the new social media intern for Molecular Jig Games and Immune Defense. My goal is to make sure all the people who are interested in and support the work the...

Dear Fans

We have been quietly working on Immune Defense. We have a functional Android tablet version. It is not optimized for performance and the tutorial and GUI are only a rough draft…   but our giant blob of prototyped and ...

Game Design Method

I was asked to talk at GGJ 2016 at American University’s Game Lab. I suddenly had to figure out what my years of experience had given me that I could share. I panicked for a week. Then I remembered a few things and re...

iGamer a global science game competition!

Local game developers make it big in Paris, France!

What’s Taking So Long?

This question rattles around in my head every 30 seconds.  Every other 30 seconds is the other question: How will I get all of this work done?  The answer: focus.  Focus the design doc into a short sweet plan, and foc...

Daily Daily Daily

So I promised to post daily, so here it is. I am working on the storyboard for our simpler and more engaging tablet game.  We think that starting the player with only 1 kind of receptor and one cell will help the play...

Simplify simplify simplify

Dev blog Nov 24 I bought a used MotoX 2nd gen phone, got better service and loaded up WordPress. Now I can make good on my promises to keep our supporters up to date with our development.

Melanie Spoke at the Marian Koshland Museum of Science

See Melanie’s Talk on the Koshland Museum of Science website.

User Interface notes

Our goal: Get the average 12 through 50 year old to play with molecular cell biology and biochemistry.

What can a 9 year old do to learn real biology?

I met some terrific families at the Marian Koshland Science Museum this weekend. Some kids and parents wanted to know about how to learn about computers and programming.  Others wanted to know more about biology. One ...

DevBlog 9/15 A New Plan

I’ve been silent for a while. Sharing your thoughts is difficult when they are 20%plan and 80%doubts.  But I have been working hard, playing, designing, reading research, and then trying to imagine a game out of it, c...

Meeting young tech students

Yesterday I had a lot of fun. I met a class full of 10-12 year old students who are learning HTML, CSS and soon will be learning Javascript…  They are bright eyed, polite, eager and confident. They spoke about their H...

Common sense approach to the world

I am visiting my hometown, Cincinnati this week.  Walking along “short” Vine Street, in the neighborhood where I went to grad school, I stopped in to a used CD and Video Game shop.  I was interested in knowing more ab...

Guest Post, Immune Defense Discussion

Elizabeth “Li” Van Nostrand writes about biology, psychology and video games at her blog, AcesoUnderGlass.com.  She is a rare sciencer/gamer person.  She was kind enough to give us some comments on her experience play...

Mark Cerny 2002 DICE Game Production

Spock, Vulcans, Art and Love

Leonard Nimoy died today.  We are all another step closer to being the ones responsible for providing a place for science, relationships and humanity in the world.  We should all feel just a bit more urgency for our s...

Immune Defense February 15th

Here is the link to the most up to date Immune Defense Demo!

Zombie Pathogen!?

What could it be?

Music and Games Fest Indie VideoGame Showcase (MAGFest MIVS)

Immune Defense was one of 40 indie games that were chosen to be part of MAGFest’s Indie Video Game Showcase this year! We received a lot of great comments, we brought three laptops and all three were occupied just abo...

Interviewed at MAGFest by Game Ethus

John Biddle was interviewed at MAGFest by Game Enthus

Interviewed by Independent Game Development

Melanie was interviewed by Greg Chudecke who just started a podcast called Independent Game Development. http://indiegamerdev.com/?p=22

Interviewed by Amanda of Bitch Team Alpha

Interviewed by Sarah Worsham for Lady Paragons

Hear about being a scientist who starts making video games: interview with game creator Melanie Stegman about biochemistry and about what she hopes to accomplish with Immune Defense.

Immune Defense first playable

We would love your feedback here!

Games are magic places that introduce concepts and create interest

A video game is a prepared space (Kurt Squire’s term, I believe) where people can see what you have prepared for them. A classroom is a place where teachers prepare a lecture, a discussion and group activities that sh...

Our Mission.

Everyone knows how to kill zombies. Why don’t people know how to kill measles?

Research based design of molecular science video game

Background information:  Melanie designed Immune Defense based on her research on Immune Attack, a 3D first person shooter style game where a player uses a microbot to activate proteins. Immune Attack, released in 200...

Science Game Center

The Science Game Center is an online magazine for games that teach science.  Card games, Android phone games, PC/Mac download games, browser games and iPad games… search our games by platform, by subject and by age. Y...

New trailer

Kickstarter OMG!

Yes, Kickstarter is a lot of work.  I only have time to post this because I am waiting for the iOS on my laptop to update. I only paused to update it because I need iMovie.  I need iMovie to make game play videos, bec...

Troubleshooting Immune Defense Demo

Steps and possible trouble while loading and playing www.ImmuneDefenseGame.com

Building our confidence in our abilities to understand science

It is well known that people walk away from STEM careers despite their sincere interest and excellent abilities.  Most of the reasons listed for why people who have expressed an interest, chosen the field, have done a...

Talking game design and adaptive immunity

Kickstarting Immune Defense

Immune Defense, our video game, has a lot of potential. Scientists are impressed that many fundamental concepts are clearly and intuitively presented. Game players are happy because they get to do things, see the cell...

Is text still important in games?

Recently, we added the ability in JigScript to do console style text in your games. Like everything we do in JigScript we strived to keep it as simple as possible.  For example, if you add a GUIText object named guite...

Getting to the fun part of biochemistry: Games!! This is why Games!

Seeing what things do. This is science, as I see it. What does this thing do when I put it next to that thing? What happens if that thing is missing? How do these things develop from this simple group of things to thi...

ExtensionMaker for JigScript

We moved…

New title art…..

Iteration and Collaboration

JigScript and Why You Want It

We are heads down, noses to the keyboard on our Unity Asset store product: JigScript. If you use Unity you will want JigScript. It lets you code in Unity, during Play mode, in a C# syntax that is optimized to bring ou...

The Reactor and why it is great

A Hands on Molecular World

I want a game that will put players in the driver’s seat at the molecular level.  I want players to pop into an amazing fantasy world with millions of moving parts and know what to do.

Immune Defense with three dimensional assets!

Immune Defense is a strategy game. Most strategy games show the player a field and show small characters on that field but from a distance. However, in Immune Defense you can zoom down to see the details of the fight.

Steam portable gaming console

Our Story

What is my story?  The Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, down the street from me, focuses on Infectious Diseases.  I was checking them out, since I might want to work there as a biochemist if some of these grant ...

Immune Defense history and update

Understanding the basics of cell biology, I believe, is vital for an understanding and support for infectious disease research.  This is why I left the lab and starting learning about video games.  I am the PI on an R...

Immune Defense Evaluation is NOW!

Join the oldest battle on Earth.

Faraday Discussions 2014

Hi there, here I am in Nottingham, England participating in the 2014 Faraday Discussion.  Each year the Royal Society of Chemistry, UK, hosts the Faraday Discussion on a chemistry related topic.  This year’s topic is ...

Federal Funding for Science Education at NASA, NIH, NOAA and many other places you love!

Immune Defense–the game that has it all–needs you!

TEACHERS!   Ever wished someone had asked for your opinion, or your kids’ opinions, while they were developing an education tool?  Well, here we are asking!  We need teachers of students aged 14-16.  Any subject!  Rea...

Video Games in Class; A Professional Development Course-Part Two

Game Design Document Outline

Video Games in Class–A Professional Development Course Part One

Part One:  Integrating a game into your lessons

Video games in Class–a Teacher Development Course Introduction

Video Games in the classroom-A Professional Development Course

DC STEM FAIR!

Welcome to Immune Defense

Our new game is a two dimensional strategy game called Immune Defense.  Seven kinds of white bloods cells can be bought and deployed in the never-ending, always-escalating war against 15 viral and bacterial pathogens.

Association of Medical Illustrators presentation

What follows is my personal history with Medical Illustration.  I was very proud to present my work on Immune Attack and Immune Defense at the 2012 conference of the Association of Medical Illustrators.

Robots and Learning Technology

STEM Video Game Challenge and Teaching Youngsters to Program

Stop reading this post

Upcoming Event: What Can a Video Game Teach?

Melanie Stegman, yours truly, will be presenting her research on Immune Attack, development of the sequal and all about using game to teach and learn.  April 23, 6PM.  At the FabLab on North Capitol at P.  If you have...

NSTA Science Rocks Pictures

What does a scientist look like?  See above.

Teaching Science Through Video Game Design

Teacher made an Immune Attack Demonstration video!

Check out this great Immune Attack demonstration video!!

December 2011 Newsletter

What is going on at FAS Learning Tech?

Are you a teacher? Have you used Immune Attack?

Another thoughtful blog post about the Supreme Court decision

Supreme Court protects video games same as books and plays

New science teacher academy NYC

http://www.nsta.org/academy/2011/FellowApplication.aspx

Teachers role in a high tech classroom

Everyone seems to have an opinion about teacher’s role in the classroom of the future.  Some claim that teachers should get out of the way and let kids simply have unfettered access to the internet.  Others imagine a ...

Growing the Video Game Industry in the US

March Learning Tech Newsletter. Educational Molecules for Fun

IGDA Newsletter Feature: Positive Impact Gaming

If you are a game developer, you have probably heard of the International Game Developer’s Association (IDGA). If you are a student who is interested in a career in gaming, if you make games as a hobby, or if you are...

2011 is the Year of Chemistry

www.moleclues.org is a website where you can learn about the things molecules do… like make us fall in love, for instance.

STEM Video Game Challenge!

STEM Challenge!

Find the fun in immunology

To build appreciation for the science of immunology, we need to find the fun in it.

Serious Game Design: Maximizing Engagement

A friend of mine just referred me to a great blog on education, training and learning technology…  by Richard N. Landers, Ph.D.   Dr. Landers is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Old Dominion University in Norfo...

Students at Shadow Mountain High School, Phoenix, AZ Recommend Immune Attack

Wonder whether your students will like Immune Attack? Wonder whether it is game enough to hold their attention? Well watch this video.

Serious Game Design: Theme is not Meaning

Making science video games: Spore and the misrepresentation of science.

A friend said to me, “I am trying to make a video game to create interest in engineering.  Someone told me Spore taught a lot about evolution.  What do you think?”

December 2010 Newsletter

View the 12/2010 newsletter HERE!

USA Science and Engineering Festival!

At the USA Science and Engineering Expo, we had a great time introducing our “free Video Game” to 4000 people. While kids of all ages ran into our booth to see for themselves whether Immune Attack was any good or no...

Games we’re playing: Rocket Science

My school will not let me download Immune Attack

Science on Video