This Week's Waste of Time

The enemy is the black, Muppet-y looking thing.

You may not realize it, but GDC Online is happening right under your Austin-y nose with game developers gathering together to talk shop. The average, non-tech-employed Austinite really has no business there; even I, a gaming journalist, feel a bit out of my depths there. But, hey, we got a free videogame out of it. Woohoo!

It's not entirely clear how GDC Online, Web Wise Kids, and former TWWT star Gregory Weir got together to make a game about digital safety, but Passing the Ball exists. The game is short and doesn't offer too much of a challenge, but the true purpose of the experience is to instill a sense that bad things reside on the web and parents and kids need to do their part to keep them off their screens.

In general, educational games are either too dry to engage young minds or too fluffy to impart any knowledge. Passing the Ball smartly does a bit of role playing (which is technically true of all games) that puts the young player in the position of caretaker of a younger charge. The player implements dodgeball-esque tactics to keep baddies at bay while also training his protege to defend himself. With a little parental tutelage, young players, while reveling in being the protector for a change can come to the realization that, the reality of the matter is that they are the trainee in the real world. Segue that into a discussion of what's allowed on the computer and warning signs of troublesome characters and the game has served its purpose.

Click here to play Passing the Ball.