Assignments Go 2D!
We rebuilt assignments from the ground up so they work with 2D game modes. This post covers what’s new!
What’s changing?
Until now, assignments could only be played with Gimkit Classic.
When we built the original version of assignments back in early 2018, we didn’t have any 2D game modes. Heck, we didn’t have any game modes at all!
To allow assignments to work with 2D game modes, we had to build an entirely new version.
Over the summer, we removed the original version of assignments, including deleting all existing assignments. We wrote a blog post last April detailing our decision-making process and timeline.
Although removing the old version of assignments was painful, it was necessary to improve upon one of our most popular paid features. Assignments are now more dynamic and engaging than ever!
What’s Better?
2D modes for assignments
You can now assign 2D game modes as homework, making assignments more dynamic and engaging.
There are currently 2 game modes for assignments, Fishtopia and a 2D version of Gimkit Classic called Cash Tycoon.
While not every 2D mode will be available for assignments, we’re planning to add more game modes for assignments in the coming months.
XP & leveling
After we introduced the Item Shop last April, the incentive of earning XP and collecting cosmetics became a powerful engagement tool for teachers
With the new version of assignments, students can now earn XP when completing their assignments, just like live 2D games.
Creating & sharing assignments
Setting up an assignment and selecting game options is a smoother, more intuitive experience, which should save you time.
Now, the flow for creating an assignment is the same as hosting a live game: Choose the kit —> choose the mode —> configure game options.
And when you’re ready to share your assignment with your student, there’s now just one link, which cuts down on clutter and confusion.
Filter & Sort
Viewing assignment results has also been improved!
You can now filter results by status (Completed, Working On It, Has Not Started) as well as class. Additionally, results can now be filtered by either first name or last initial!
What’s Worse?
As with any major product update, we had to make a few tradeoffs.
The latest due date an assignment can have is now 45 days in the future and students can no longer complete past-due assignments.
Also, once you’ve created an assignment you cannot edit its game options.
Both of these limitations exist because our 2D game modes are more dynamic and subject to change.
The ins and outs of these issues and why we made the decisions we did are complicated. So, Josh wrote a post detailing why we made the tradeoffs and decisions that led to assignments being weaker in some areas. Read his full post here.
Thanks for reading!
As always, let us know if you have any questions or concerns. You can share & upvote product suggestions over on our feedback page and we love hearing from you at hello@gimkit.com!