Saturday, September 21, 2013

Fun4theBrain - In the Works - September Edition

Wow! The beginning few weeks of school have gone by like a flash of lightening. I can't believe we are about to start the last week of September already! It is already time to start thinking about Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. But, before we get all caught up in the holiday fun, let me get you caught up on what has been happening around here.

In the last month, two polls have been taken to allow you to choose which school and which library would be in the next game. Those have been chosen and created and so have a great bunch of monster cars. This new game Monster Car Wash is going to be so much fun. We have had ideas of all sorts of things, from having a monster lick the car clean to having the whole thing done with one monster. In the end, I wanted to try to get as many monsters into this game as possible, but still showcasing each monster. So, each monster in this game will have a specific task to help with the car wash. It is going to be so much fun.

I believe this game will have longer game play than many of the other games in Murb. But, hopefully, that will keep your interest and allow you to have even more fun! Get ready, Monster Car Wash should be ready to play by the middle of October!!

Wanna check out some of the monster cars created for this game.....

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Fun4theBrain - In the Works!

Hello everyone! It has been awhile since I have posted but wanted to let you all know what I have in the works for the site. I am going to try to create a weekly post letting you know what games, changes, or upgrades I have on the way for Fun4theBrain.com. Maybe you will even get to see some sneak peeks of what is coming.

Before I start with the update, I will begin with an apology of sorts. I am extremely ADD and because of that, I constantly have new and great ideas floating in my head that distract me from my other great ideas that I have started. I love my ADD and try to write down all of my great ideas so that one day I can get back to them. So, if one week in the In the Works post I talk about doing one project, but switch to a different one the next week, I hope you can be forgiving. I love what I do, and when you do, it is hard to not keep dreaming and planning new things. Perhaps some day in the future, I will be able to afford to hire someone to take more of my ideas to completion. For now, it is just me and my daughter working on the site, so it may be a little chaotic, but that is how I work! :o)

OK... onto the update.

Currently I am working on additional games for Murb. I still have about 10 monsters that are going to be featured in upcoming games. The next game I have planned will feature five monsters: Sasha, Flibber Jibber, Goalie, Arabella, and Tessie, the two-headed teacher! This game will take place in the not-yet-built Elementary School. Here is the storyline:

The Murb Library is in the process of being built, but they do not yet have enough books to fill the shelves. So, the Tessie, the two-headed teacher, from the Murb Elementary School next door is organizing a huge fundraiser for the library. It is going to be a Monster Car Wash!! Tessie is planning the event, Sasha is in charge of marketing, and Flibber Jibber, Goalie, and Arabella, are in charge of washing the cars. And who knows which other monsters will be seen driving their cars into the Monster Car Wash!? We need to reach our goal for donations in order for the library to open, so, the better and faster the car is washed, the better the donations!

For this game, there is a lot of art work that needs to be done and quite a bit of coding. Soon you will see some of the sketches I have come up with for the school and library. By next week, I hope to have them completed, as well as be able to show you some of the sketches for the monster cars that will be getting washed!

Well, I will keep you posted on the game. I am also quite busy trying to figure how to get my games onto the iPad for the classrooms who will be using the iPads exclusively soon. That is a major undertaking!

I will write more later. :o)

Hey everyone, it is time now to vote on which school is your favorite. Check out the poll at http://www.fun4thebrain.com.

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Here Comes the Boom Movie Review

by Derek
- 17 year old male

Every now and then a movie comes along that hits on all levels. "Here Comes the Boom" delivers exactly what the title promises, a movie that packs a punch.

Here comes the boom tells the story of Scott Voss(Kevin James) , a middle-aged teacher who used take his job seriously, but now has fragmented into the role of a teacher that just doesn't care. This seems to be the case with every teacher except one, Marty Streb (Henry Winkler). Marty is the music teacher at the school, but he is over come with grief when the school announces their plans to cut the music budget due to insufficient school funds. When all hope seems lost, and when Marty's unemployment seemed imminent, Scott Voss steps up to the plate. In order to keep music class in the school budget, he needs to raise $48,000.

Later, Scott goes to a friend's house to watch an MMA match. When one of the competitors loses, Scott finds out that he made ten grand for the loss. Scott then decides that he will compete in a series of MMA fights to raise the money to save the music class. Plenty of tender moments of hilarity ensue; but what do you expect when Kevin James and Henry Winkler get together.

The major moral theme in this movie is setting an example by being a leader. Scott takes it upon himself to help a friend that is in trouble; even if that means going out of his comfort zone to do so.

Content wise this movie isn't like most. It's hard to find quality entertainment for the whole family, but this picture certainly has what it takes. The only thing that isn't exactly family friendly in this film would be the fight scenes. While they are considered violence, there are no guns, explosives, or kid violence at all.

Fun4theBrain Ratings
Approved for all 12+
Drugs and Alcohol: 1/10
       beer and wine consumed but not to excess
Sex and Nudity: 2/10
       one kiss on cheek, one kiss through cage, and one image of an obviously naked made who is completely covered by a musical instrument
Violence: 4/10
       several fight scenes, some with blood, all taking place in a structured environment
Language: 2/10
      OG/OMG - 2, H - 2, A - 2
 




Monday, February 18, 2013

Changes are Coming!!

Hey all! It has been a long time since I have posted anything to the Fun4theBrain blog. I really struggle trying to figure out exactly what I am supposed to be posting. Do I write a blog for other people making games for children? Or do I write a blog that will help people with children who need to learn their math facts? Or am I supposed to be writing about everything and anything that comes to mind? I have no idea what the actual best answer is for that question.

My friends and family know that I am all about entertainment and education. I like to spend time reading and learning, but I also truly love to schedule in an all-nighter where my daughter and I can stay up through the night playing some sort of video game or watching a marathon of silly movies. Each movie I watch and every game that I play, in one way or another, inspire me and show up in small ways in the games that I create. For example, the math game Farm Freakout came about after a short obsession with certain farming games on Facebook. Once you go to sleep after farming and taking care of your animals, the mind comes up with wonderful and exciting ways to incorporate animals and farming into an educational game.

So, now we get to the change. My blog is going to be making a slight shift, well, maybe a large shift since I have not posted anything in a very long time. In the future, my blog is going to be more about what I am up to during my week. Sometimes, that might mean a movie or game review, or an inside peak of what is coming up in the next game or mobile app on which I am working. It could also mean the announcement about a new contest for Murb or some new drawing tutorials.

I truly hope that you will find the upcoming changes refreshing and fun. My goal is to make the game and movie reviews in a way that parents will be able to know both what is appropriate for their kids as well as what would be fun for a date night. I hope you enjoy the upcoming posts!
-Natasha