Wednesday, July 15, 2015

App Review: Art Games 2.0

ART GAMES 2.0 from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery is a collection of six, engaging, interactive video games based on different artworks.
Each of the challenging art games is inspired by a different artist including Jason Middlebrook, Robert Delaunay, Clyfford Still, Jorge Pardo, Piet Mondrain, Vassily Kandinsky, Do-Ho Suh, and Vincent van Gogh. Each portal contains an ABOUT section that provides information about the artist that inspired the game including examples of their work and how they fit into art history. The HOW TO section provides game instructions, and the PLAY button begins the game. Users can use the SETTINGS option to control the sound effects, music, or other features depending on the game.
Designed for ages 4-12, each game contains a spark of learning along with the fun. For instance, the Equilibrian game inspired by Piet Mondrain requires users to think about mathematics and balance. Brushtones inspired by Vassily Kandinsky combines art, music, and patterns. All six games are very different allowing for differences in abilities and interests.
Users begin by choosing a username and password, so each participant can customize their home planet and share their progress through social media. A user’s world evolves as he or she moves through the levels of each game.
Librarians will find this app a welcome addition to their STEAM app collection that connects science, technology, engineering, and mathematics with art.
The new app version can be downloaded for free, but the online version is still available for those who prefer to use a web browser.
To download the app or play online, go to http://kids.albrightknox.org/.