Apollo Games

Welcome to the ApolloGames.ca Blog

Apollogames.ca is an innovative, independent game company located in Guelph, Ontario. Led by a core team of conceptors and programmers with strong experience in design and programming, Apollogames.ca specializes in the design of high quality online games and virtual environments for youth and lifelong learners that are a combination of entertaining and challenging interfaces and unique educational features.

With the launch of its groundbreaking literacy game ‘Speare (patent pending), Apollogames.ca is set to release a range of new games for youth who spend significant time exploring the online game world. Our goal is to produce fun games that educate across a wide range of disciplines and topics for a wide range of learners, from kindergarten through to lifelong learners.

Apollogames.ca also hosts other independent designers whose work meets the standards we have set, and consults with these designers to produce new integrated learning environments that set a new standard for quality and innovation on the web.

The Apollogames.ca site will serve as an ever-expanding portal that aims to stimulate new forms of educational gaming in the larger community of independent designers and to host those games within a cutting-edge design and technical environment.

Our aim is to entertain and educate simultaneously, with equal attention to both these aspects of any game; and we recognize that games are an important but substantially underused way of learning effectively.

We are community-based, collaborative, and committed to producing the highest quality games for young minds that can be found on the web.

Apollogames.ca is a wholly owned subsidiary of SpeareCorp.com.Inc.

'Speare: Scrolling Shooter Game Helps You Learn Shakespeare

Review from www.gameology.com

I have to admit I was skeptical when I read the article in CTV.ca about 'Speare. From the article, "Makers of a new video game are hoping students will become excited about Shakespeare by trading in their books for a spaceship." *yawn* Let me guess: you have to fly to different Shakespeare-themed planets and answer a series of multiple choice trivia questions, right? Well, yes, and no. There is trivia, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that most of the game is actually a top down, scrolling shooter (think Ikaruga) that does involve some fact-memorization but mainly consists of fighting off waves of Insidians, powered by poetry. The game, designed by University of Guelph English professor Dan Fischlin and developed by Apollo Games, is being marketed to schools, but you can download a nice demo from the developers website...

Check out the links below to see even more coverage and feedback about 'Speare!
http://fusenumber8.blogspot.com/2007/04/speare-me.html

http://bookshelvesofdoom.blogs.com/bookshelves_of_doom/2007/04/speare.html

http://www.multiplayer.ro/2007/04/23/speare-is-a-brilliant-strategy-for-making-kids-love-learning%E2%80%A6.html

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/71038-The-Game-Is-Afoot-Learning-About-The-Speare

http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28918&

http://joystick101.org/blog/?p=173">http://joystick101.org/blog/?p=173">http://joystick101.org/blog/?p=173

http://joe.english.purdue.edu/blog/node/425

http://forums.gameinformer.com/gi/board/message?board.id=GeneralGaming&message.id=193694#M193694

http://blogs.ozu.es/index.php/videojuego/2007/04/26/speare

http://www.goblinmercantileexchange.com/?p=816

http://www.therawfeed.com/2007/04/professor-turns-shakespere-into-video.html

http://briangameaholic.blogspot.com/2007/04/i-dont-think-so-shakespeare.html

http://varkentine.blogspot.com/2007/05/oh-no-oh-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-no-or.html

http://www.gadgetaddict.com/professor-creates-shakespere-video-game/

http://www.medialiteracyproject.com/?p=22

http://funcameravideos.blogspot.com/2007/05/is-brilliant-strategy-for-making-kids.html

http://shootthecore.blogspot.com/2007/04/speare-trying-to-educate-us-shmup.html

http://apollogames.blogspot.com/2007/05/speare-scrolling-shooter-meets.html

http://blog.shakespearegeek.com/2007/04/shakespeare-meets-aliens.html

http://ssg9.com/blogs/blue-book/37946/speare-makes-apollo-platform-a-reality-for-online-games/

http://plime.com/entertainment/games/l/17942/1/

http://seriousgamesblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/speare-is-fun-game-that-teaches.html

http://www.seriousgamessource.com/item.php?story=13661