12 June 2009

Playground games to be converted into Nintendo Wii-type computer games

Popular school playground games are to be converted into Wii-type computer games as part of a unique collaboration between the Universities of Sheffield, London and East London, and the British Library and Nintendo.

The £500,000 ambitious project will run for two years from April 2009. It is being funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council´s (AHRC) Beyond Text programme, and will seek to generate prototype games similar to the Wii sports games where handsets take the place of actual tennis racquets or other sports equipment.

In addition to this, researchers will also convert important archives of children´s playground songs and rhymes into digital format that will be available on an interactive website for the British Library, with accessibility to children, parents, educators and members of the public. A two-year study of playground culture in two primary schools, one in Sheffield, and the other in London will also take place to aid the designing of the website and the Wii prototype games.

Monteney Primary School will be the site for the Sheffield-based research, which will be conducted by Professor Jackie Marsh and researcher Dr Julia Bishop, both based in the School of Education at the University of Sheffield and members of the University´s Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth. The study will reveal how playground games, songs and rhymes are being influenced by popular media such as comics, TV, film and computer games. The information gained from the children at Monteney Primary School, along with the school from London, will help to create the prototype Wii games and design the library website.

Professor Jackie Marsh from the University of Sheffield, commented: "Children are remarkably innovative in their play and in this project we want to capture their inventiveness in the school playground. There is often a perception by some adults that the media is leading to a reduction in children´s creative play but in fact this is not the case; the media can often stimulate children´s imaginations and provide material for their language play and games."

Nicola Shipman, Head Teacher of Monteney Primary School, added: "At Monteney Primary School we are delighted to be part of this innovative and exciting project. The opportunity to capture some of these games and rhymes and use them to develop an idea for a new Nintendo Wii game will offer an exciting opportunity for the children at the School. It is also fantastic to be involved in a project that takes play firmly into the twenty-first century."

The project has the backing of the Children´s Laureate, Michael Rosen, who is a member of the advisory panel supporting the researchers, and Iona Opie, who, with her late husband, Peter, assembled a huge collection of children's games, literature and toys.