CARBONDALE - Brian Murley's approach to teaching math to his students is a far cry from the abacus.

"This is Lord Nasher," Murley said, pointing to the computer screen where a medieval figure was positioned in a room with another man dressed in armor.

Students at Giant City School, where Murley teaches math to sixth- through eighth-graders, are obviously familiar with video games, but the one Murley was playing on Friday afternoon had one substantial difference: He created it himself.

Murley is a graduate student of Christian Sebastian Loh, assistant professor and coordinator of the instructional Design and Technology's Collaboratory for Interactive Learning Research at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Loh has been teaching a summer game-modification class that allows students to create their own version of popular computer game Neverwinter Nights.

Neverwinter Nights encourages users to create their own realities within the realms it has created. With each copy of the game comes a toolbox that experienced modifiers can use to make a new version of the popular game.

"It's almost like playing house," Loh said, explaining that his students can create endless combinations of scenery and characters with the tools provided and skills learned.

Murley's game took about two weeks to create, and the most difficult part was the conversation between characters. Video games have a sense of realism, and creators have to anticipate any direction a character conversation can go.

A single conversation in Murley's game consists of 11,855 words that can be combined any number of ways. By contrast, a 50-page story typically boasts about 12,500 words.

When someone made the comment that writing the conversations had to be a fun part of the process, Murley laughed out loud.

"Not for me," he said. "I'm a math teacher."

Players are given an option of three possible responses when interacting with other players in the game. The option chosen by the player dictates how the other character will react.

Responses in Murley's game run the spectrum from polite and helpful to anti-social and rude, he said.

"The character can give a good-guy response or he can be a jerk," Murley said.

Players quickly learn that polite responses yield much better actions from other characters.

"It even teaches social skills," Loh said. "If you're going to be a jerk, life is harder."

The goal of the class is to create video games that are more than entertainment, Loh said.

"We are trying to make games that have educational value," Loh said.

Loh cited a game created by Ph.D. student Jaehwan Byun as an example. Byun created a game that asks players to come up with a way to neutralize the acid in an ailing girl's stomach to help her back to wellness.

"The player figures out to use chalk and add it to vinegar," Loh said. "That creates Alka-Seltzer."

Participants can create games that illustrate any point they are making in lessons for their students.

"You can find a real lesson plan and convert it into a game," Loh said.

ashley.wiehle@thesouthern.com

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