Content Specifications

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Overview

Payment and IP

Find Available Slots and Earnings Projections Here

Submitting Slot Selections

Content Specifications

Content Specifications
Technical Specifications

Game Design Document (GDD)

Timeline Overview

Eligibility to Take More Slots

Tutorial Videos

3rd-party IP Licenses

Additional Resources

FAQ

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Purpose and Use

The primary purpose of each game is to improve student understanding of the given topic.

Games will be used in the classroom for the following purposes:

Introducing topics and engaging students in the topic.
Teaching topics through experience and exploration.
- Games are a powerful way for students to see context for the topic with accessible, hands-on gameplay.
Having students apply what they know about a topic.
- Students should use knowledge of the topic when making strategic gameplay decisions.
- Hold students accountable to demonstrate their knowledge of the topic. They should not be able to simply read prompts and click through the game without practicing their knowledge with the possibility of failing / losing.
Games will not be used in the classroom for the following purposes:
- Repetition of practice problems from the topic.
- Games of this structure will not be approved when submitted.

Creative Style

Creative freedom is left to you! Stay inside the general bounds outlined on this page, and from there we will provide feedback on your implementation when we see the design proposal.

Curriculum Document

Each LO has its own Curriculum Document. These concept documents contain the overall scope of the LO in more detail, as well as a specific list of concepts that must be covered in a game.

At least 5 or ⅔, whichever is higher, of the concept count are required to be included in a game. Example: If a LO has 10 concepts, at least 7 should be included in the game. If a game has 6 concepts, 5 need to be included. If a game has 15 concepts, at least 10 need to be included.

For science LOs, focus on concepts labeled "core" over those labeled "peripheral."

You can find the concept document for your selected LO in one of two locations in the LO Spreadsheet "SEE LO NAMES AND SLOT AVAILABILITY HERE" tab, linked on the name of the LO: “LO Descriptions” tab
The LO DESCRIPTION is the primary learning goal for the student for the topic. For example, if your LO is “States of Matter and their Structure” (middle school science, PS1.A-4), the LO description is “In a liquid, the molecules are constantly in contact with others; in a gas, they are widely spaced except when they happen to collide. In a solid, atoms are closely spaced and may vibrate in position but do not change relative locations.”
- If your game does not adequately cover this primary learning goal through the main concepts, then your game will not be approved for the platform. This description is the primary academic idea your game will be addressing, and the main concepts will be your tools to help you achieve this.

Universal Content Specifications

Specifications
Players should learn and be held accountable through gameplay-based problem solving and experience. Players should not be learning primarily through text-based instruction or assessment items.
All instruction is scientifically and mathematically correct.
Confirm that the game is linked to 2/3 or 5 main concepts of the total, whichever is greater. Confirm that the linked main concepts are correctly covered in the game.
All on-screen words spelled correctly and grammatically correct.
Vocabulary and reading level appropriate for the lowest grade level within the target audience and grade band.
Game does not include material that is inappropriate for school. This includes, but is not limited to: violence, firearms, bombs, knives, daggers, blood, gore, smoking, vaping, drug use, any mind-altering substances, alcohol, harm to human-looking characters, harm to animals, insinuating killing or death, ideally they’re always chased away rather than eliminated. If there is conflict with an enemy in game, they are chased away rather than eliminated or killed. (There can be death if it is in the context of the learning objective – ex. The food chain) If you have any questions about this policy and your game, please ask us.
Game avoids any stereotypic presentation of gender, race, region, or culture.
Characters are diverse in gender, race, culture, and ability.
Players cannot simply click through and complete the game without learning. Players should be prompted to re-learn and re-do portions of the game where they had poor results due to less understanding of the academic material. Avoid the word “FAIL” if the student incorrectly understands academic material.
Academic problems are not consistently repeated. Players are presented with different problems to solve.
Gameplay mechanic reinforces the academic material, rather than being completely separate from instruction, i.e., there is a focus on academic reasoning rather than concept / question repetition.
Gameplay is intuitive and a player in the target age range can navigate the game and beat it with enough effort.
Games should be fun and interesting, designed as non-educational games are designed, with design to encourage players to keep playing.
Game is between 5 and 25 minutes in duration.
All text must be large, clear and concise with font sizes that can be read on a small Chromebook screen.

Additional Content Specifications for Social Studies Games
“Scenario choices”: For historical games, make sure students are put into scenarios and are given choices to see cause and affect relationships.
Understand the impact that historical decisions made on the US.
Focus on ideas of the past rather than just rote memorization of dates. Keep things factual, but open to perception.
Avoid instruction that could make students feel responsibility or guilt for historical events based on their race. Don’t frame certain people or races as inherently “bad”, rather the focus should just be on the factual events and the impact on those affected.
Gameplay includes reference to and examination of primary source(s) that are tied to the LO. Application of knowledge gained from primary source(s) aids in students’ progression through the game.

We are looking for INSTRUCTIONAL games that teach students through gameplay integrated with academic content. As in, the gameplay IS the learning. The adventure the student is going on or the puzzle they are solving includes academic material that reinforces the concepts, and holds the student accountable for practicing the concepts and demonstrating their understanding of the LO as a whole. The game should NOT be a game where the only learning is through instructional text, or text-based quiz / assessment. If a student is playing a platformer, and is stopped periodically to answer an academic question that is unrelated to the platformer gameplay itself, this game is not what we are looking for, and will have a difficult time getting approved.
Please do not include multiple-choice questions that are generic to the LO and not related to the specific gameplay. Evaluation-type assessment questions are okay as long as it is asking them about the portion of the gameplay they just completed and it's academic integration in that portion.
The gameplay objectives should be related to the academic objectives, reinforcing each other and both playing a role in challenging and motivating the player.
When possible, provide multiple representations to help learn a topic. It is helpful for students to understand that they can arrive at the same answer in different ways.
As you can see in the below chart, the optimal game duration is between 12 and 21 minutes.

Equity and Inclusion

This applies to the gameplay content and the game name, thumbnail, and description.

Players of all backgrounds should feel comfortable, welcome, and represented when using Legends of Learning.
When possible, use non-human characters. For example: robots, aliens, animals, other sci-fi or fictional characters, etc.
- If using a human character to represent the player, please make sure the main player is not a white male.
- The player should be allowed to customize their avatar based on body type, skin color, and hairstyle.
- Body types are not gendered - at least two body types available, with no male/female designations. If the player can customize their avatar, the default avatar should NOT be a white male.
- When using NPC human characters in the game experience, please make sure characters are diverse in gender, race, culture, and ability. Stereotypes are avoided.
- If you have any questions about this policy and how it might impact your game submission, please email us and we can help.

Game Text

Localization

Language selection will happen outside the game, via teacher or student settings. A game should be able to handle multiple languages, but only one language will be passed in at a time. When designing your text boxes and font choice, consider how other languages’ characters will render. Make sure to include call-to-action buttons in the language JSON file so they can be translated. Spanish is the most common secondary language in the United States, and it is the most important one to have compatible text UI in the game. See below for some examples of font mishaps when a non-English language is passed into a game. Legends of Learning will complete all necessary localization translations.

Rich Text

If you use rich text in your game to highlight words with colors, bold, or italics, please use hex codes. This will prevent the translation from breaking the rich HTML text and showing it as plain text.

Placeholder Text

Please be careful with any placeholder text that you use for testing. If that placeholder text is kept in the game build files, and there's an error where the game doesn't properly replace the placeholder text with the correct values in the language JSON, it can be a problem for students. Any inappropriate text content, whether displayed accidentally or not, will result in an immediate ban of the studio's games on the platform.

Game Metadata

Creativity with the game name, tile, and description will help the game stand out on the platform. All of these are things the teacher sees first when looking through our game library, and they can make a huge difference for teachers deciding which games to choose for their students. For the wording of the game's description, avoid using the words student and teacher as we are expanding our offering outside just the school setting. Instead of student or teacher, use the word "players".

Game Instructions

Please keep the teacher in mind as the target audience so they can help their students play the games. Instructions are submitted as plain text in the developer portal, which is supported on the teacher platform. However, we encourage you to send a PDF instructions file to gamedevs@legensdoflearning.com. Use screenshots from the game to put the instructions in context. Legends of Learning will handle uploading PDF instruction files to the teacher platform.

Contacting Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions not covered in this documentation, our dedicated support team is here to assist you. Contact us at gamedevs@legendsoflearning.com.