PlayPower is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

designed to create free educational computer software for low income families in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and other

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

. After 2012 the project was reformed as ''PlayPower Labs, LLC'', which focuses now on educational games for

mobile platform A mobile operating system is an operating system for mobile phones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on ...

Concept

The games are designed to run on

8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit Integer (computer science), integers or other Data (computing), data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet (computing), octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) arc ...

systems, using designs and

processors A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...

that are in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

e.g.

Famicom clone A Famiclone is any clone console of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), known in Japan as the Family Computer or Famicom. They are electronic hardware devices designed to replicate the workings of, and play games designed for, the NES and F ...

s which patents have expired,About the $10 Computer and Playpower
by Derek Lomas (2010) which allows the games to be run on very low cost computers.Old-style computers get new life in developing countries

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

, February 10, 201
Wayback
/ref> For $12, families can buy a compatible computer with an 8-bit, 6502

processor Processor may refer to: Computing Hardware * Processor (computing) **Central processing unit (CPU), the hardware within a computer that executes a program *** Microprocessor, a central processing unit contained on a single integrated circuit (I ...

, a

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, a

slot Slot, the slot or Slots may refer to: People * Arne Slot (born 1978), Dutch footballer * Gerrie Slot (born 1954), Dutch cyclist * Hanke Bruins Slot (born 1977), Dutch politician * Tonny Bruins Slot (born 1947), Dutch association football coach wh ...

for game cartridges, a

mouse A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

, and two game controllers. Lacking its own monitor, the computer plugs into a TV screen for display.$12 Computer: Playpower Wants to Save the World 8 Bits at a Time
Wired, March 11, 2009 Part of the software should be acquired as

source code In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the wo ...

abandoned Abandon, abandoned, or abandonment may refer to: Common uses * Abandonment (emotional), a subjective emotional state in which people feel undesired, left behind, insecure, or discarded * Abandonment (legal), a legal term regarding property ** Chi ...

educational game Educational games are games explicitly designed with educational purposes, or which have incidental or secondary educational value. All types of games may be used in an educational environment, however educational games are games that are design ...

s, like

Number Munchers ''Number Munchers'' is a 1986 video game and a spin-off to the title '' Word Munchers''. It was made by MECC for Apple II, then ported to DOS and Macintosh in 1990. The concept of the game was designed by R. Philip Bouchard, who also designed ''Th ...

and Lemonade Stand, and ported by the open-source community. At least three games were in production as of early 2010, "

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

Typing warrior", "Hanuman's Quiz Adventure" and the "Mosquito game". The project opened the

for these three games, written in

assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

. One of them teaches players how to type, which can greatly improve their earning potential in the job market. Another is a multiple choice question game, somewhat similar to that featured in the film '' Slumdog Millionaire''. And finally, a different game was created to raise awareness of

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

(which infects 1.5 million people a year in India) by allowing players to kill mosquitoes and accumulate points toward antimalarial

mosquito net A mosquito net is a type of meshed curtain that is circumferentially draped over a bed or a sleeping area, to offer the sleeper barrier protection against bites and stings from mosquitos, flies, and other pest insects, and thus against the di ...

History

The organization was founded in 2008 b
Derek Lomas
an
Daniel Rehn
, who were students at the University of California at San Diego at the time, an
Jeremy Douglass
a postdoctoral research fellow at the same school at the time. In 2012 Daniel Rehn announced on his private homepage the PowerPlay project as "finished". After 2012 the Playpower project was transformed to "Playpower Labs, LLC" and offers now

educational games via Apple's

iTunes store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

and Google's play store.

Reception

PlayPower won the MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media and Learning Competition in 2009, for which it received $180,000 to help fund its activities. More than 100 volunteer programmers from around the world have signed up to help develop games. The project was noted in the academic domain and by the web community like BoingBoing.The gaming computer you dreamed of in 1983
by Rob Beschizza on BoingBoing (Mar 27, 2009
Wayback Machine

References

External links

*{{official website, http://playpower.org/
Hanuman Typing Warrior
NES game and source code on groups.google.com Appropriate technology Nintendo Entertainment System hardware clones Open-source video games Educational video games Non-profit organizations based in California Information and communication technologies in Asia Video game organizations

Concept

History

Reception

See also

References

External links