Spring 2019 Science Chat!
Join the Foldit team for a chat about the science behind recent Foldit puzzles! If you leave questions in the comments below, we can prepare some answers in advance to help move the discussion along!
Date: Wednesday, April 10th, 2019
Time: 9pm GMT; 1pm Pacific Time Zone
Location: #veteran chat
http://www.thetimezoneconverter.com/
(Thu, 04/04/2019 - 18:18 | 9 comments)Submit cover art for accepted Foldit paper!
The research paper we recently drafted has been accepted for publication in a scientific journal! The paper reports the protein design work of Foldit players from the past 6 years, and will be published in the coming weeks.
Scientific journals like to print each issue with a unique cover, usually with flashy art that describes some of the research in the issue. We'd like to submit artwork that could be used on the journal cover when our paper is published, and we want your help!
If you have an idea for a journal cover related to protein design in Foldit, please share it with us! The ideal artwork should be eye-catching, and communicate relevant themes like citizen science, protein design, creativity, and/or computer games. Please send us any art, as a high-resolution image file, to foldit.publications@gmail.com before April 3 at 23:59 GMT.
Since the journal only allows a handful of submissions, the Foldit team will select favorites to be submitted to the journal as possible cover art.
(Wed, 03/27/2019 - 22:34 | 12 comments)Veterans Needed: Show Us Your Skills
Hey veterans,
This is a request for help from anyone interested in the design of Foldit as a game.
As a game scientist, I am trying to understand how Foldit requires particular skills from you as a player, and trains you in those skills. Skills in this sense are discrete, atomic ideas that the player builds up to larger strategies. For background on this, please read Dan Cook's article on the chemistry of game design.
My mission for you, should you choose to accept it, is to design what Foldit's skill "tree" would look like. What are Foldit's atomic skills, and how do they combine to create the larger strategies that difficult puzzles demand of you?
Dan Cook gives an example of a skill tree here, this one about the basics of Tetris. I've also made a small example about the basics of Mario.
You can make your own skill tree using draw.io. When you've finished drawing your skill tree, please send it to me (joshmiller) in a private message.
Your help in designing this skill tree will be hugely valuable to research on Foldit and citizen science games broadly. Thank you so much for taking the time to help with this project. I am excited to see what you create, and even more excited at the potential that these trees may be used in the future development of Foldit!
(Thu, 03/14/2019 - 14:55 | 7 comments)New Custom Contests feature
We are excited to announce a new feature in Foldit: Custom Contests! As you may know, contests have been a feature that allows anyone to host their own private Foldit puzzle, chosen from a limited, pre-selected list. Now, you can make your own custom Foldit puzzle of whatever you choose and host it as a contest. We designed the Custom Contest feature especially for educators, who can now tailor their Foldit puzzles to their exact curriculum. There are plenty of other uses as well, including private contests that research groups can use to brainstorm new ideas, or even Foldit parties!
We just published a paper that can be found here that describes the Custom Contests in depth. If you’re interested in making Custom Contests, please email mail.fold.it |at| gmail.com for access.
( Posted by
beta_helix 81 1628 |
Mon, 03/04/2019 - 16:53 |
8 comments
)
New Survey: Game Feedback
Hey Folders,
Please help us make the game better by filling out a short 15 minute survey. We want to know about your experiences with the game and how we can make it better. Thanks! https://fold.it/portal/survey2019
