Today is one of my in-school days. I volunteer a couple days a week in local schools, playing games with the kids and helping the teachers plan lessons using all kinds of games. I love it. The kids in these classrooms are so excited, so interested. Today I'm working with a group of kids and teachers who are creating a school-wide alternate reality game that ties into this month's learning theme.
During a break, one of the older kids asks how I got into this line of work. I think back to the day I first stumbled on EVOKE, back when no one was sure if it was a game or if it was real. I don't tell her that, of course. We don't talk about EVOKE. We just do it. But I know that's how this all started.
I do tell her about shadowing my hero and learning more about game design. I tell her that I started out as a teacher, but spent a while learning about how technology is used in teaching and learning, before I really got into creating games. I tell her about believing in the power of play, how we should never stop playing because that's how we learn best. She tells me that her favorite thing about school is working on the ARG and that she's done more research just to make this game than she ever did in a class before.
She goes back to her group, and I can see that she's still thinking about what we said. I wonder where she'll be in ten years, or twenty.
My handheld buzzes. I glance down at it. The caller ID says...
EVOKE.
I answer.
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