Introduction: In this episode, Greg Posner welcomes Jennifer Javornik, the Chief Partnerships Officer at Filament Games, to discuss the impact of educational gaming and the thriving Midwest game development community. Jennifer shares insights into how Filament creates games that go beyond entertainment by transforming players and shaping the future of education through immersive, meaningful experiences. This conversation also highlights the Midwest as an emerging hub for game development, and the key role the Wisconsin Games Alliance plays in that growth.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Mission of Filament Games
   Jennifer emphasizes that Filament Games is a mission-driven, for-profit studio that focuses on creating playful experiences that improve people’s lives. Their goal is to make learning fun and engaging, with players emerging from their games transformed in some way—whether it’s learning new concepts, developing confidence, or making behavior changes.
2. Transformative Power of Games
   Research backs the effectiveness of well-designed games in education. Games provide an interactive problem space where players can experiment, explore, and gain deeper, longer-lasting understanding compared to traditional learning methods. Jennifer explains how Filament Games integrates this approach into their educational products to encourage players to engage with and retain the material.
3. Impact of COVID on Game Design
   The pandemic led to a shift in educational needs, as many students struggled with virtual learning. Jennifer shares how Filament Games adapted by exploring how their games could support students and teachers during this time. The focus has increasingly been on building multiplayer or collaborative experiences to enhance the learning environment.
4. Innovative Platforms for Learning Games
   Filament Games develops across a variety of platforms, from standard tools like Unity and Unreal to HTML5 and mobile devices. Jennifer highlights their work on more unconventional platforms, such as Roblox, and even details their creation of a unique game for pediatric MRI machines to help children remain calm during scans.
5. Building the Midwest Game Development Community
   Jennifer discusses her work with the Wisconsin Games Alliance and how the Midwest is becoming a hub for game development. She notes the growing number of indie and AAA studios in the region and the importance of initiatives like MDev to unite the game development community and showcase the talent and innovation coming out of the Midwest.

Timestamps:

• [01:10 ] – Introduction to Filament Games and its mission-driven approach to game development
• [03:33 ] – How games can provide better learning experiences through interactive problem-solving
• [05:23 ] – The impact of COVID on education and game design at Filament Games
• [07:32 ] – Filament's work on multiple platforms, including Unity, Unreal, Roblox, and even MRI machines
• [13:18 ] – Jennifer discusses the growing game development scene in the Midwest and the role of the Wisconsin Games Alliance