FutureBound (formerly
known as Collegeology Games) is a research-based suite of Serious Games
designed to introduce middle school and high school students to college
application process and access to higher education.
FutureBound was founded at the University of
Southern California (USC), through a partnership between the Pullias Center for Higher Education and the Game Innovation Lab.
Through their work at USC with students in a
face-to-face mentoring program, they understood that many qualified students high
school students, particularly in underserved areas, were not getting the kind
of college counseling they needed. These
were students who had done well in school, had met college requirements, but
who lacked the support and knowledge to successfully complete the college
preparation and application processes.
Tracy Fullerton, the director of the Game
Innovation Lab, told The Journal, a publication dedicated to K-12 education
technology: "Even those kids with good grades and ambitions to go to
college didn't understand the strategy behind going to college."
After play-testing a prototype with over 300 high
school students in Los Angeles, their intent to create one college access Serious
Game evolved into the development of a suite of games.
FutureBound
Games provide a safe environment to learn and experiment
with higher education strategies and choices before it really counts. Available
games are: Graduate Strike Force, Mission: Admission®, Application
Crunch® and FutureBound.
FutureBound is
an action adventure Educational Serious Game for iOS (iPod/iPhone) and PC download
that allows middle school students to take their digital character on a journey
from middle school to college. Along the way, they take steps to prepare the
character for higher education by overcoming common obstacles and honing
important skills in the process.
Players battle doubts with their ambitions, which
are guised as super powers. Players must collect passion around the world to
fuel their ambitions and help NPCs (non-player characters) along the way.
The creators hope that this suite of games will
provide another layer of support for students, as well as some valuable insight
into the realities of higher education.
