Putting AI to the test with Breakout EDU

The Breakout EDU games Team puts Artificial Intelligence to the test to Design and Solve a Breakout EDU game.

It seems like you can’t go very far these days without hearing about AI. Whether it is a debate about what AI will do to jobs, or how it can impact (positively or negatively) teachers and students, one thing is for sure - the idea of using AI is here to stay and the technology is getting better with each passing moment.

The Breakout EDU Games Team has been exploring and experimenting with some ways AI can help someone create a game. We’re excited to share a bit about how we have been leveraging AI behind the scenes and also how users may soon be able to do the same!

It’s no secret that playing Breakout EDU games encourages critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork. Each of our games challenge players to use clues and puzzles to unlock a series of locks in order to ‘Breakout’.

As fun as it is to play a Breakout EDU game, creating one kicks all of those skills into the stratosphere! Starting with a story, threading in a theme, plotting out the puzzles, and then grinding out the graphics… assembling all of this into one cohesive Breakout experience is practically a game in itself, and anyone who has taken the time to do all of that will tell you that it can be a time-consuming process that requires a lot of creativity and planning! However, with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the process can be made much easier.

One of our recent games, “Butterfly’s Magical Adventure” (which actually turned into TWO games because there were just so many ideas!) was inspired by and created with the help of AI!

Story starters: “Write an adventure story about a butterfly. What would it wish for?”

AI can be used to generate ideas for stories, themes, puzzles, and clues for a Breakout EDU game. We used the popular AI tool, ChatGPT and provided keywords related to the desired theme and subject. The tool was able to generate a list of potential stories and even some puzzle ideas. Using technology like this can save creators a bit of time and effort in brainstorming and allow them to focus on refining the best ideas.

Once upon a time, in a lush and vibrant forest, there lived a beautiful butterfly named Aurora. She had bright orange and black wings that glistened in the sunlight, and she loved nothing more than fluttering from flower to flower, sipping nectar and soaking up the warmth of the sun.

Content creation: “Give me a list of 10 birds with states in their names.”

AI can also help with creating content for the game. For example, an AI language model can write a story or script for the game, and generate riddles and clues; ever-evolving AI technologies such as Adobe Firefly can even design graphics and images. This can help expedite the game design process allowing creators to focus on strengthening the story, customizing images, or building in grade-specific content.

Deeper dive: “Tell me more about other butterfly species that live in the US.”

With a wealth of information at its virtual “fingertips,” AI allows learners to probe even deeper to new questions that arrive through the research process. Much like having a conversation, creators can ask questions and then follow them up with further questions, allowing them to truly hone in on the information that is best suited for a puzzle.

The Breakout EDU team uses AI to dig deeper into specific topics and questions, like butterfly species that live in the US, to create games.

Testing AI’s (Current) Limitations

Just how smart is AI? The technology is pretty amazing and can do some wild things. That said, while exploring the capabilities of AI tools, we experimented with providing details of a Breakout EDU puzzle to ChatGPT; basically, we wanted to see if the technology could solve a Breakout EDU puzzle. The simple answer is not yet, but it did provide an insightful exercise in problem-solving and critical thinking. We found it interesting that when we followed up the AI’s attempted answer with our thoughts about what we saw, what we were thinking the answer could be, or even elements that seemed important to us, its new answer did get closer. As we added more details about what we saw, the tool was able to provide additional information about how that might be helpful to come up with an answer. While the tool was not solving the problem, it did provide a different lens through which we could look at puzzles while not in a group setting. In this way, AI proved to be a powerful tool in providing critical thinking and problem-solving practices in a new, insightful way.

Builder Beware

AI may be great for building game elements and for generating facts and ideas, but the one area where humans certainly have the upper hand is creativity. The technology is truly impressive and it can do some incredible things. That said, using AI to generate ideas and inspiration is a fun way to get started, but if you plan to try your hand at game creation, here are a couple of things to know.

It’s a good start. AI is still evolving rapidly, which means it’s not ideal for a whole project. Use the ideas as a springboard to make your stories or puzzles even better.
As AI image-generating software learns to mesh millions of images into usable content, you may get some unexpected results. The image below is amazing. Using Adobe Firefly, we entered the prompt of “1960s style, little blond girl swinging a hockey stick at a baseball on a tennis court, art” and created this art from scratch. Do you notice anything a little out of place? Hint, she would be great at juggling.
Sometimes they get it wrong. Don’t just take an AI-generated answer as truth; just because it’s on the Internet doesn’t make it so. AI is still learning to differentiate between fact and fiction, so creators need to verify the “facts” before working them into a learning game.

Conclusion

By using AI to generate ideas, create content, and learn more, creators can save time and effort and create a more engaging and enjoyable experience for players. However, it's important to remember that AI should be used as a tool to support human creativity and not as a replacement for it. Ultimately, the success of a Breakout EDU game depends on the creativity, planning, and execution of its human creators.

The technology is rapidly evolving and we are excited to continue to learn how to leverage it to help bring players even more engaging content. It’s exciting times in which we get to live, learn, teach, and play!

To see how we have leveraged some incredible AI tools, specifically ChatGPT and Adobe Firefly, be sure to check out Butterfly’s Magical Adventure (parts 1 and 2!) with your subscription to Breakout EDU.

The Breakout EDU Games Team Puts Artificial Intelligence to the Test