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meaningful play 2010 travel

Game Information

TitleKitchen Disasters (student-created game)
Presenter(s)Charles Roman, Gyoung Kim, Jason Brown, Kevin Henley, Rosalie Blank, Saikat Mandal, and Brian Winn (advisor)
SessionConference Reception, Game Exhibition, and Poster Session
TimeThursday, October 21, 7:00p-9:00p
LocationEast Lansing Technology Innovation Center
FormatGame Exhibition
DescriptionIn Kitchen Disasters, you play the role of an aspiring restaurant manager trying to advance from a small sandwich shop up to a 5-star gourmet restaurant while dealing with several food safety challenges that stand in your path.

The goal of Kitchen Disasters is to educate and inform players about proper food handling, preparation, storage and disposal techniques as well as the importance of overall cleanliness in food safety. Players learn how to properly handle, store and prepare food and the necessary conditions to prevent problems such as spoiling, bacteria growth, cross contamination and pests. By demonstrating the importance of proper food safety the game also helps players develop a healthy attitude towards safe practices.

Learning takes place in the game through a constructivist approach. Players manage the restaurant and as food safety or management issues occur they have to address them. The way the player reacts to the situation will determine what happens in the game. If a food safety issue arises, the player will be shown the effects that the issue had on the restaurant. For example, if the trash does not get taken out flies will appear around the garbage can. The player learns to avoid the food safety issues by figuring out how to take care or prevent them in the future.

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