I am excited to welcome Jenny Nicholson, Creative Director at McKinney, back to the NGPF podcast (here was our earlier discussion about the game Spent). I have gotten to know Jenny quite well over the past six months as we collaborated on a game called PAYBACK (featured in this NY Times article). The goal of this online simulation is to immerse students in the college experience so they can hone their decision making skills to successfully navigate the challenges they will face.     I feel fortunate to have had a "front row seat" to the passion and creativity that Jenny and her team brought to the development process everyday. I think the best games are those that students learn from without realizing that they are learning. Payback is exactly that kind of game. While it may only take 10-15 minutes to play, it will generate classroom discussion that could go for hours (here's the worksheet with reflection questions). Listen to this podcast to get the "behind the scenes" look at the game development process and learn about the in-depth research that went into creating such a realistic simulation. Enjoy!