Make 10: A Journey of Numbers
'Training' games just became actually educational.
By Matt Kelly
I was trying to remember how many 'training' type games I'd played in the last year, I think it's at least ten with only about two that are worth talking about. So despite the absolutely adorable Japanese ads I'd seen for this, I was still a bit pessimistic. If there's one thing that Make 10 has going for it, it's personality, the game is totally cute! At a casual glance, you might think Num Diddly (your pixie friend throughout the maths adventure) and co are living in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island at a slightly higher resolution. However, they are in fact residents of the Make 10 Kingdom, which you awake in to meet King Decimus. He hands you the task of meeting with the nine Make 10 Masters... and the plot from there basically turns into background radiation, it's there with out much of an impact on what you're doing.
Make 10's gameplay is what the title says, your goal is to make 10 or multiples of 10 through various mini games. Straight out, the game is probably not going to pose much of a challenge for anyone but young children, but if the player does indeed happen to be a child then he or she is in luck. Under Make 10's cute presentation is some surprisingly solid mathematical exercise drills. I think I've said 'but you're not really achieving anything, you just get better at the games' at least once in my other training type game reviews, but if the player is at the stage where basic mathematics is still something being learned, there is something to be gained here. And it's not just to do with the styles of mini games, but the actual structure of the various difficulties. At a low level, the game will drill the player on a particular outcome. For example, in one game it calls you to simply read a set of numbers, and answer if it makes 10, or a multiple of 10, with set of three or four of these questions. At a low level, typically all the answers will be either yes or no. As you move up from there, it'll start mixing it up a bit based on prior learning. It's this concept of making sure the basis is learned before presenting the real challenge that makes it a viable maths drill tool, instead of just a game that is open to a lot of random guessing and little learning. You may be going 'well duh' right now, but if you take a look at other titles of the genre out there, such as good old Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training, they often do miss out on that learning stage.
The mini games themselves are quite well designed in that do call for applying learned skills rather than any kind of guess work. There are 30 games in there, ranging from yes/no type scenarios like we talked above, to shifting a stone around to block out a number from a set to make ten, flash memory type games and a range of others. Most of them are pretty engaging and unique without just being retreads or variations (though there are a few). Make 10 also has a well designed assistance system thrown into the mix. When you do well at a game (normally based around how quick you answer), you'll score assistance points. These assistance points can then be used to aid in puzzles. The effect is different for each puzzle, the flash card type one will give you a second look, or if you're in the stone moving one, it will add more time to the clock. Now there's a few different reasons why this is just great educational design. Number one is that it's assistance, not a hint or a solution. While it may give you a bit more time to think, it won't give you any direct way to answer the puzzle. The second is they are limited. Say you're at level 5 of a puzzle, and you're kinda struggling so you start using assistance points. It helps you through level 5, and then you may do the same thing for level 6. By the time you've got to level 7, you're completely screwed because you it's just plain too difficult for the player. Not only that, you've also run out of assistance points. How do you get more? Well the main way is to get answers right, so what do you have to do? Jump back down a couple of notches in difficulty. Again, it's just great design that really subtly forces players to drill on particularly troublesome areas, resulting in an actual foundation of learning.
The final part of gameplay design that makes this work is the world. Throughout the game players will explore the world of Make 10 Kingdom through a series of point and click screens. They're interesting enough to make it entertaining, but not distracting enough to take away from the learning side of the game. Through out the world there are the odd on screen 'find and click this object' puzzles, along with a range of characters you meet along the way. Along side that there is a passive Pokémon type element of making sure you find every challenge character. In your records you will find a numbered list that will slowly fill as you meet characters. Again, it's just enough to be interesting without being distracting from the point of the game.
The presentation wrapped around the game is what seals the deal. Again, it all follows the design of entertaining but not distracting. While Make 10 in absolutely no way at all pushes the DS, it is still very easy on the eyes. The visuals are very lush and the color scheme is really well thought out. All the background elements tend to done in cool colors, while everything that should be focused on is done in warm colors. There's no giant flashing neon arrows saying 'PAY ATTENTION TO THIS' or other things aimed at focusing but just end in distracting. It is just a really well thought out visual design that is also completely transparent to the player. Sound is the same, the DS can pump out an incredibly quality of music, but everything you hear the game is very minimal but nice tunes that don't distract yet don't rot your ear drums. Lastly, the game has a great positive re-enforcement design. A lot of 'edu-tainment' type titles out there are equally entertaining regardless of success or fail, which ultimately doesn't make success particularly standout. Make 10 on the other hand only rewards with big text and sound effects when you do well. When you fail, 'Game Over' will briefly pop up and you'll be bumped back to the selection screen with no fanfare.
Summary:
Straight out, if you're above the age of 7 or so, the difficulty of the game isn't going to present a challenge unless you want to brush up on some very basic maths. However if you're a parent looking for something educational to give your kids to do that isn't just pen and paper work, Make 10 is great. Like I said at the start, I am normally incredibly skeptical of any kind of education benefits that these kind of titles offer, but Make 10 has some very real potential in it. Part of it is just great design, but it is also the goals are so fundamental in the education process and have some real world purpose. It stays on topic, re-enforces what is being learned, and is entertaining without having to resort to lots of distracting flashy lights. The scores I've dealt out today are around this design more so then any kind of hardware pushing or explosive gameplay. If they just game out with a spelling version and maybe something aimed at older players, Nintendo could have a real edu-tainment suite filled with awesome.
Gameplay - 9.0
Lots of games to play with a subtle educational process going on. Very engaging.
Graphics - 9.0
Pretty static aside from some simple animation, but between that and the color scheming, it's perfect for the job at hand.
Sound - 8.0
A distinct lack of funk is in the air, but it keeps things lively.
Replay - 8.5
Between the games and difficulty levels, if the right aged gamer has this in their hands and is suitably motivated, there's a lot to do.
Overall - 9.0
Solid, engaging, well thought out, with some real potential benefits.
Submitted by Robtot
31/08/2008
15
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Make 10: A Journey of Numbers
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