Researchers have explored the therapeutic potential of video games in mental health treatment. A systematic review published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that video game-based interventions can effectively reduce symptoms of depressive disorders. Additionally, a study from Nanyang Technological University reported that adults who regularly played the puzzle game Cut the Rope experienced improvements in executive functions, including cognitive flexibility (a trait often diminished by mental health struggles). These findings suggest that video games can serve as tools for psychological growth, much like the resilience-building mechanics found in games like Dark Souls.

​But let’s not get carried away. Games aren’t a replacement for therapy, medication, or support systems. They’re tools—supplements, not solutions. Think of them as the digital equivalent of a weighted blanket: comforting, but not a cure-all.

Generally speaking, there isn’t a wide variety of strategies used between these games. Some games attempted to alter the palette of the game, while vignetting is often used to focus the vision. Additionally, a variety of saturated/glowy highlights are often employed for important objects or characters, and in most cases, players are  allowed to see through walls.  ​

When looking for models to print online, there are a lot of options. To start I’d recommend browsing thingverse.com, they have a wide variety of free to use models and I would just keep an eye on the number of “makes” a file has. If it has many people making it, I would assume the files are pretty good to print. If you’re unsure, you can always use other sources like etsy to purchase a model, these may be more reliable since you’re actually paying for them. As far as legality on if you can resell printed models, that’s typically between you and the artist… best bet is to ask. Once you have your files, they’ll typically be in a zip folder of STL or perhaps OBJ files. These should all load within the Creality Slicer that came with your Ender 3.
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It’s possible to pause and resume your prints using the onboard Ender menu, but it’s very finicky and I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. The issue I typically run into, is when you use the onboard “resume” function, it will move the extruder head linearly into position to resume… which could mean dragging the extruder tip through already printed material… it makes a mess. After learning a method on how to repair a gcode file, I tend to go back to this method to resume my prints. ​

Filament grinding is another issue I’ve run into, what this looks like is your filament stops printing and if you look closely… the little gear used to extrude material will have worn away a smooth zone on the filament and it is no longer feeding it into the tube. You’ll need to pause your print, and pull the filament out if you can. I tend to just clip a little bit of material off the end, just enough so I can feed enough to get past the grounded spot. Then re-feed your filament back into the machine, and it should be good to go. I haven’t had issues with the extruder head becoming clogged but I know that it’s an issue. I’ve found to compensate for filament grinding you should consider increasing the heat of your extruder tip, this way the filament can more easily flow out. I suggest going up 10*C or so, and you can also consider slowing down your print. If you’re doing a fast print, this could cause some filament grinding. Finally, it also comes down to the quality of your filament. I had a beginner roll that just never really wanted to feed well, so keep that in mind. ​

I believe that covers all of my initial lessons learned… I’m sure there are things I’m missing here but hopefully this is helpful to some of you looking to get started, and are running into some of the beginning issues I was. My final words of wisdom would be to not let any of this intimidate you, you’ll have good prints and failed prints. I’m reminded of my Tech Ed teacher from Middleschool who always said “The quality of a Carpenter isn’t gauged by the number of mistakes they make, but by how noticeable they are in the end.” This has been my mantra as I stumble my way through this new world of 3D printing, but I find it fits well. ​

Hope this was helpful in your 3D printing adventures!

We’re constantly on the hunt for the “perfect” way to teach, one that resonates and is impactful. The difficulty here is that people are unique, each with their own motivations, modes of learning, and literally the way our brains are wired to absorb information. Gamification isn’t the first attempt at a perfect solution, television and radio had their time as well. Before we dive deeper into how gamification enables professional, adult learning, let’s understand how history has taught communities.

Before video games entered the market in a big way, TV and radio held the spotlight as primary modes by which information was relayed and stories were told. What you might not know is that the channel’s reputation to deliver information to the masses (eventually ‘to entertain’ the masses) was actually grounded in socio-psychological theory. Miguel Sabido aptly named the “Sabido methodology” to define ways in which social attitudes and behaviors were positively changed due to information (aka: a stimulus) delivered from television and radio. Sabido pioneered the use of telenovelas to teach about social issues in the 1970s and 80s, when he was Vice President of Research at the Mexican television network Televisa.
His complex narratives allowed audiences to relate to his characters who were often positioned as positive, negative, and neutral role models. The characters addressed relevant social issues of the times (e.g. women’s status, child slavery, environmental protection, HIV/AIDS) and audiences became emotionally attached to them as they made good or bad decisions within the storyline. Why? Because the topics covered and the character behaviors resonated with viewers.
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What Sabido uncovered in this narrative communication method (complete with relatable characters and compelling storyline) was a new way to teach people about important issues they otherwise might not care to educate themselves on. Over the next decade, Sabido produced six serial dramas that touched on issues of HIV/AIDS and safe sex practices—coincidentally (or not), Mexico experienced a 34% decline in population growth rate during that same time frame. Perhaps the way in which he addressed social issues that were important to his viewers, resonated after all.
We can learn a lot from Sabido’s efforts here. According to Population Media, “The major tenet of the Sabido methodology is that education can be compelling and that entertainment can be educational. Sabido originally termed his approach ‘entertainment with proven social benefit,’ and since then, many communication professionals and scholars have applied the term ‘entertainment-education’ to the Sabido approach.” Sabido helped pioneer a new kind of learning that adults were attracted to and interestingly enough, we see similar “entertaining education” strides made today when teaching is done using gamification.

It’s not shocking that the interactive media and gaming industry has followed this “entertainment-education” pathway. As technology evolves, we naturally find new ways of putting it to work for us in a way that is not only useful and functional but appealing. Sabido’s use of serialized dramas and engaging characters have shown to be extremely effective in igniting social change and shifting social attitudes among viewers/consumers of information—and as professionals in business, we should learn from his work and mission. Consider gamification the latest teaching approach we have at our fingertips. It offers a new way of learning that hasn’t been employed to its fullest potential in other media/education models.

There are three generally recognized learning styles: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic. Kinesthetic learning (learning by doing), wasn’t really an option for Sabido (watching TV was passive information consumption, visual and auditory). However, gamification and interactive media is a reflection of that third learning category, kinesthetic. For the first time, we can take a student to Mars in a virtual environment, or have them interact with a neuron the size of a house leveraging Kinesthetic learning technology. The training and educational possibilities are endless (especially when we layer in elements of gamification) and we’re just scratching the surface.

But learning is only as effective as the approach we deploy to learn. When it comes to assessing the effectiveness of gamification in an educational application, learners tend to evaluate it from two lenses, asking: “How do I learn” and “How do I play?” To answer these questions, we can review various game mechanics and features that make up each of the three learning styles. More on that later. However, we’re missing a large piece of the purpose of gamification if we don’t also ask “Why do I play?” This is equally the most challenging question to answer when it comes to using gamification to teach today’s professionals.

If we are to truly leverage gamification as a learning mechanism for business in professional training and development, we first need to understand how adults process new information. Researchers note “…our problem as adults are that we want to take new knowledge and compare and contrast it to what we already have. Our brains natively know that they can only process so much at a time, so they try to analyze incoming input to identify key material that must be retained, and then immediately file that information alongside relevant contexts. That processing imposes a significant amount of overhead, and it’s why acquiring new knowledge and skills is so much harder for an adult.”

Compare that learning style against the physical act of teaching a child, and we see stark differences. When teaching a child a concept, it is relatively straightforward: preach at them, and they’ll absorb it. For the most part, author Don Jones notes, “they’ll believe it because they tend to lack the context to dispute it.”

Now apply how adults learn to their professional and personal environments. As adults, we’re constantly bombarded, now more than ever, with new information at every moment. Opening up your phone in the morning usually bears forth a host of notifications to sift through, between messages, news headlines, and advertisements. Our brains are constantly working to filter what we care about, and what we don’t. Adults do this natively and unintentionally, as much as we’d like to just absorb all the information we’re presented with… our brains just don’t function that way anymore. We’d be on overload!

Should businesses adopt gamification as a learning strategy to enable professionals in their day-to-day jobs, we must first be cognizant of their perception of “playing a game,” (especially now that we understand how they learn and filter information). Imagine an adult that’s being asked to learn something new on the job by using a gamified platform where they have to play a “video game” to do it. That adult learner may very well bemoan the thought of “going back to school” or “playing a game” to learn something about their job. Unfortunately, video games aren’t something adults take seriously (because up until recently, they haven’t been really applied to support business-like functions and serve a greater good). There’s a perception that playing games is all fun and not meaningful–but gamification has to overcome these misconceptions. When teaching adults, we must remember to communicate the “why”…
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Jones also notes, “I often provide the ‘why do I care about this?’ answer upfront, in the form of a problem statement, where my key point becomes the solution. I then immediately illustrate or demonstrate how the key point solves the problem, providing reinforcement and confirmation to the students’ brains.”

Leaders interested in deploying gamified learning in professional training programs need to communicate the “Why do I play?” to their trainees. The answer isn’t merely to ensure the learner understands the point of the lesson, it’s much more about understanding what drives and engages their brain to interact with a gamified environment in the first place. There are driving motivational factors in gamification that make it a powerful tool for professional training and learning. Given that we all are wired differently, we must understand how to make gamification work best for us, as individual learners.

Yu-kai Chou created a framework for gamification and behavioral analysis that he calls “The Octalysis Gamification Framework.” Within he does a fantastic job breaking down driving factors and motivators for different types of gamers and learners—and we can use this model as a foundation to build out professional learning programs and activities in our own businesses. The Octalysis Framework is extremely deep, yet it’s easier to understand Chou’s eight Core Drivers in human behavior, in the circular graph.
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When we consider Chou’s driving factors, through the lens of “How we Learn” and “How we Play,” in-game mechanics—with the understanding of the three learning styles, it becomes easier to see the potential for gamification as a mechanism to complement other learning styles. By examining the motivating factors that contribute to whether or not something is considered “gamified,” those doing the teaching can clearly see where kinesthetic learning fits within the overall game mechanics structure in relation to auditory/visual representations found in the mechanics.

Notice in figure 2, game mechanics prioritize competitive drivers over collaborative efforts, community over exploration (as indicated by the quantity of learning style icons).

As much as we celebrate the experiential elements of kinesthetic learning in educational literature… there’s much work to be done in gamification to ensure hands-on learning styles are better represented on this model so that more inclusive learning can be had.

Further, game components like “Levels” and “Missions” are incredibly broad terms and they can be as varied as the subjects they attempt to illustrate, yet I would argue that these mechanics determine if a product truly feels like a game more than features like the ability to share accomplishments socially or obtaining a badge.
The reality is, we’ve had a much longer history teaching to auditory and visual learning pillars, more so than teaching and training staff with gamification. If anything, this may illustrate that it’s easier to develop products and software that align with the visual and auditory-based learners versus developing products to meet the needs of those who want more hands-on experiences in a game-like setting. This is why we mostly hear about digital badging, leaderboards, and “leveling up” in the context of video games instead of in training programs for business professionals.

While incorporating gamification elements into a professional development training program can be done, do we need to check off all these game mechanic boxes in order for a product to be considered “Gamified?” Arguably no. It’s all about your demographics and what will drive them to learn most effectively.
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We have reflected upon the history of “engaging educational learning” in the context of telenovela programming, deepened our understanding how we process and retain learned material in an overly interconnected culture, and sought new ways for learning to “stick,” one thing becomes clear: gamification is an untapped learning resource for today’s professionals. Dare I say, the diamond in the rough we’ve been searching for in business training and professional development. If your professional demographic is at all varied (I bet it is), then your teaching strategies will likely have to be as well. It’s time businesses think beyond the passive learning styles of yesteryear, and embrace a new gamified approach to adult training and development—something that better fosters driving factors like collaboration and exploration equally to that of competition, community, and achievement. Only then, will we really have a learning approach that meets everyone where they are.

When I finished College, I really thought I had it all figured out. Having taken copious leadership courses outside of my normal degree workload, I was certain that I was well equipped to enter the job market and seek out a leadership position. Having now gone from intern to VP, I realize there was much I didn’t know and continue to learn each day. While College had established truly valuable fundamentals, there was still so much I wasn’t really prepared for. Today’s post is going to be a bit different, as I’d like to talk a little bit about my takeaways from being a leader at two vastly different companies thus far… and what I wish I had known earlier on. ​

This was probably one of my earliest lessons I learned when I became Lead Artist. Early in my career I prided myself in taking on new challenges, new forms of art, and being able to be agile with my workload. That said, it’s a challenge to transition from that mindset in a healthy way once you’re a leader. Once I had my own team, I was often quick to still take on a lot of the artistic responsibilities on projects. I would see my artist being slower than me on a task, and it was hard to not take it away and fix it quickly myself. While in some instances this works, in the long run you’re really not guiding or developing your team. Without given opportunities to try, you effectively start to stagnate your employees and it shows a lack of trust. Effectively one of the hardest things to do, is to learn how to let go once you’re a leader.

​You have to realize that you were given opportunities to succeed or fail, and you need to provide the same opportunities to your employees. Finding areas of safe failure, is both a challenge and a responsibility as a leader. By safe failure I mean you need to provide opportunities where if someone fails it doesn’t implode the project you're working on and you can help build new skills in a safe environment. That said, this doesn’t imply that you shouldn't be in the trenches with your people… in fact I find it to be incredibly valuable for you and them if you are. ​

We all learn about personality types and Myers Briggs in school, but until you’re truly put in a position where you have to educate and communicate with vastly different personalities… this is where it becomes painfully obvious that you have to shift tactics depending on the individual. To that end, setting up personal time to get to know each and everyone on your team is incredibly important. At times this can be easy in an office environment, you invite a coworker to coffee and you can chat about work or life. Yet if you switch to remote work, it’s much more difficult to simulate those casual water cooler type meetups. Setting up one on one calls, and providing a space that isn’t intimidating and centered around the employee is crucial. For some, it can be intimidating to “talk to the boss” yet it’s up to you to help alleviate that fear. Personally I use humor in an effort to remove tension, but leaders should lean into their strengths.

​In today’s world, there’s a lot that can get complicated. Mental illness, depression, and burnout are all relevant fears in today’s working environment. Getting to know your employees builds trust and helps you see problems before they start. There are also those who may leverage mental illness as a shield to protect poor work ethic… which is both extremely hard to identify and a sensitive issue. I have experienced both worlds where people are genuinely struggling, and others who have fabricated some pretty tall tales to avoid work. This is why it’s so important to understand those who work for you, not only to help grow and evolve their careers, but also to spot issues before they start. ​

Objectively while working, it’s highly likely you’ll run across a co-worker that may seem villainous. They could be aggressive and hostile, passive aggressive, condescending in emails, or just plain disrespectful. It may seem like they are out to get you, yet I’ve found that’s rarely the case. What is highly likely, is that they are under pressures unknown to you and are managing it poorly. As much as we don't like to admit, we’re creatures of emotion and many struggle to manage their emotions in productive ways. It’s equally difficult when presented with unprofessional behavior, to not respond in kind or to recognize that it could be coming from external pressures the other person is experiencing… and they aren’t just “evil.” Although there are a couple caveats to this discussion… 

Toxic people do exist

We often throw around the term “toxic” in today’s media, yet “toxic” is extremely hard to define in my opinion. Although I found this article on “The Greatist” that best aligns to my experiences with toxic personalities:  

“One way to tell you have a toxic person in your life: Every time you encounter or hang out with them, you feel exhausted, emotionally drained, and negative. There’s always something with this person.”

I find the toxic people in my life are often dealing with their own forms of depression or mental illness and have a hard time with their own sense of self… and often manipulate others to help fill the void in their own self esteem. In this Greatist Article, Irwin goes on to say :

“You know you are being manipulated when you begin doing, saying, or believing things that are serving them, as opposed to you. Healthy people encourage and empower you to be your best. Manipulators tell people that they know what’s best for you.”
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I would highly encourage that you check out this article to learn more on toxicity, it’s rare but does exist and can easily ensnare you if you’re not careful. 

With egos, sometimes there’s no “winning” 

Some people are purely ego driven and are blinded by it. In these instances, I find it’s hard to get to a logical point in the discussion and it often feels like an argument for argument’s sake. For these types of personalities, you really have to know what hill to die on and understand that you’re going to have to make a concession somewhere in order to further the dialogue. Not that you need to actively stroke the other person’s ego, but letting them feel as though they have a win in the discussion (as painful as that can be) is typically the easiest path to a resolution. It’s not fun, but it becomes a form of negotiation where hopefully the conversation will land in a place that’s fruitful. 

Caveats aside, the sooner you recognize the other person as a person (flawed or not) instead of a villain… hopefully the conversations will become easier to manage and understand.​

One area that’s not often discussed is how difficult it is to let people go. There’s a lot of preconceived notions surrounding being a manager and having the ability to “fire people,” and let me just say…  unless you have some sort of major dislike for the other person, it’s incredibly stressful to do. You’re affecting someone else’s livelihood, and even if you might have had disagreements with that person, as I said above, no one is a villain and it’s a hard decision to make. It’s a delicate situation that you have to make sure you’re confident in, and that you’ve done your due diligence to ensure you’re making the right call.

​On this point, I’ll also bring up how equally important HR documentation is. HR matters and they have your back in these scenarios. It’s always good practice to send our email summaries of verbal meetings, to make sure there’s always a record. If you’re having a disciplinary meeting it’s equally important to not only send a recap, but also invite the other person to weigh in and say if they find it to be either accurate or not. This way you’re keeping an accurate record, and it doesn’t have just a one sided opinion on what transpired. Letting people go is easily one of the most emotionally draining and stressful responsibilities a manager has. ​

We all get comfortable. Sometimes we can find ourselves getting into a comfortable rhythm at work, being an expert at all the processes, your brain can go on autopilot to get the job done. Sometimes we don’t realize that we’ve stopped being challenged… and it feels good. Yet, you may only discover later that you’ve been stagnating. Your skills may get rooted in archaic processes, you start to lose the drive you once had when you were younger, and the status quo becomes pretty appealing. Not to mention that change is scary, we naturally fear the unknown and yet it’s just that… unknown. We don’t know unless we try. Of course there’s always the opportunity for failure, and yet the growth that comes from failure is often the most educational. I’m not suggesting that you should always be changing careers, but I believe you should always be looking ahead and not getting stuck in the past.

​Hopefully if your current position isn’t offering you opportunities to evolve, you’re still at least using that stability to evolve your personal life. Personally I’ve taken a few leaps of faith; moving to Montreal right out of college, moving back and starting a remote career in a vastly different industry, deciding to uproot and move to the opposite coast, and taking on an additional and totally new department at work… all of which has been pretty scary at times. What’s helped me through these phases of change has been to focus on the here and now, what you have immediate control over, and you can’t sweat the mountain ahead of you. Every mountain, in its entirety, seems daunting and yet each are just a collection of steps and you can control your pace. Sometimes the most difficult thing is to take the first step, but you need to remind yourself that you walk every day. 


I hope this has been insightful! It’s certainly been an introspective experience for me to get my thoughts down on paper, as uncomfortable as some of them might be. Thanks again for reading and I hope some of these thoughts might help you as you progress in your career!​

Hey Everyone!

Slightly different style of posting today. I actually wrote an article on "How Gamified Learning Is Changing the Landscape of Cyber Training" and it was published by Boss Magazine! 

Be sure to check it out!

​Thanks again to Boss Magazine for the Feature.