How to pick the perfect video game

Full version here

Donkey Kong Country Returns: Tropical Freeze comes out February 21

The reviewer of the new Donkey Kong game loved the soundtrack:

"It’s the best Donkey Kong Country has ever sounded.
Wise’s background tunes become increasingly rich and complex as you progress through the levels. One level has you quickly descending vines littered with bells. Each time you pass a bell, it rings, adding a new backing instrument to the background music. It’s not until you trigger every bell that the song fully reveals itself in all its glory.
Usually it’s a simpler progression, merely using the passing of a checkpoint or a tricky platforming segment to trigger a change in the music. As you get closer and closer to finishing the level, the music amps up the sense of urgency."

Read the full review

Code Combat

Code Combat uses a game to learn javascript programming.

Code Combat site

Other Hour of Code Sites

This is how Spelunky's Level Generator Works

When it comes to level generation (that is creating levels based on algorithms as opposed to forming them in a map editor), one of the most admirable examples is Spelunky. You’ve surely played Spelunky by now (if not, here’s the free older version) and know that it creates a magical illusion that “the walls are shifting” every time you enter its caves, jungles and hellholes. It’s not magic, though; it’s procedural generation and it supplements Spelunky’s mechanics and creates a constant challenge even for veteran players.

Read the article 

Example

Replacing Tests with Video Games

The idea being that monitoring the way a kid reacts to challenges thrown up in a game is a lot more useful to understanding them than a traditional "right or wrong" test.

Full Article

Interviews with Evoland Developers

Interview 1
Interview 2

Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab

Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab: A kids' mystery novel with electromagnets, burglar alarms, and other gadgets you can buildNick and Tesla are a couple of teenagers who get themselves into trouble and must build MAKE-style projects to save the day. There are two books in the series, aimed at ages 9-12, and they contain a number of fun DIY projects. The publisher, Quirk Books, kindly gave us permission to run an lengthy PDF excerpt from Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab that includes plans for making a compressed-air water rocket.

Read an excerpt here