The new version of assignments is worse in some ways. Here’s why.

Hey, Josh here, the creator of Gimkit!

I built the new version of assignments, and it’s better in many ways…but also worse in a couple of others.

Making assignments work with 2D game modes meant making some tradeoffs. This post is here to explain those tradeoffs and why we had to make them.

Due date limits & no late completions

This is the biggest tradeoff with the new version of assignments, and they go hand in hand.

Previously, you could assign homework to be due years in the future. Now, you can only assign up to 45 days in the future.

Previously, students could complete an assignment, even if the due date had passed. Now they cannot.

With every single one of our 2D game modes, we’ve made updates to them after they launched based on feedback. And sometimes we’ve made updates to expand the game even further, like adding a new island to Fishtopia.

Each time we make an update, we make a new file. And that new file contains all the information for the latest version of the game mode.

Why do we make new files for each update? Well, when 2D modes were only used for live games, things were a lot simpler. We had just had a single file. And when we made an update to the mode, we would just replace the old file with the new one!

We can’t quite get away with that when it comes to assignments. With assignments, your progress saves as you go. You can leave an assignment and come back a few days later exactly where you left off.

But what if something changes with the mode while you were gone? Maybe you’re completing a Fishtopia assignment, and you leave while you’re in Purple Pond. A few days later, you come back. But during that time, we pushed out an update getting rid of Purple Pond. Now you’re somewhere that…doesn’t exist!

To make sure something like this doesn’t happen, when you come back to work on an assignment, we load you into the version of the mode you started on.

So if you started the assignment in Fishtopia Version 2, and we got rid of Purple Pond in Version 3, no problem! When you come back to the assignment, you’ll still be on Version 2.

Problem solved! So what’s the issue then?

We’re constantly working to improve Gimkit, and as we improve things (specifically our technology), it sometimes means old things break. We’ve made updates to the backend of our 2D modes, and sometimes it would mean Fishtopia, Tag, or Capture The Flag would break!

We go in and update the game mode to work with the latest changes to our technology and then replace the game mode file with the one that works with our latest technology!

But now, since we’re keeping multiple files of all the versions of the mode, we would have to update every version of the mode to work with the latest technology. Not a huge deal when there are only 2 or 3 updates. But over time, as more and more updates are made, there are more and more files we have to update to work properly.

We could do it, but myself and Jakub are the only developers here at Gimkit. Spending time fixing old files would mean less time spent on creating new game modes, adding new features, etc.

All of this adds up to why we limit due dates to 45 days & why you cannot complete an assignment after it is due. It’s so that it’s not possible to play a version of a game mode that’s more than 45 days outdated.

This means when we make an update that would break things for files of existing game modes, instead of having to go back months or years, we can just fix and patch up files from the last 45 days.

I wanted to be 100% confident that we could support all our game modes, while also having time to work on new things, which is why the limit is 45 days. I’m hoping in the future as we improve our processes and become more efficient, we’ll be able to increase this to 60 days and beyond!

I know some of you like giving your students a running review they can use to practice anytime. So, I added something called practice mode.

Just click practice from any of your kits to preview your content and share a practice link with your students.

Practice mode is simple, straightforward practice - no game mechanics or modes. Just questions and correct or incorrect answers.

Thanks for sticking with me on this one. That was the biggest change requiring the biggest explanation. The other ones will be much shorter. 🙂

Updating assignment options is no longer allowed

Our old version of assignments had students playing Classic Gimkit, and they had to reach a cash goal to complete the assignment. You used to be able to modify that cash goal after the assignment was created.

Now, you cannot change any options after the assignment is created.

The reason for this is similar to the one above…it’s all about change.

You know the example above where you were in Purple Pond, but then an update was made so that Purple Pond didn’t exist? Well, the new version of assignments has the potential to allow you to decide whether something like Purple Pond shows up for your assignment at all.

With this, we run into the same issue where a student starts an assignment, leaves, and when they come back, they could be in a place that no longer exists.

Future assignment modes will have options that can change the game quite drastically, such as removing an entire area like Purple Pond. Changing those options after the fact could cause things to break. That’s why we don’t allow editing any options after an assignment is created.

This downgrade is a bit of future-proofing, insurance to make sure things work properly down the road.

Smaller things…

There are some smaller changes to assignments that might have you wondering…why did that change?

When viewing a list of assignments on your dashboard, it used to show the kit image and title so you knew which kit that assignment was for. Now, it shows the name of the assignment, which defaults to the kit name + mode.

Previously, you were able to see information such as accuracy next to a student’s completion. Now you have to click the “View Report” button next to a student to view that data.

Why did these things go away? Well, future-proofing is also the answer to this one. Right now, all assignments involve answering questions from a kit.

The new version of assignments has support for anything that can happen in a 2D world…and that doesn't have to involve answering questions. Possible assignment options in the future might be doing a scavenger hunt & collecting items, visiting a virtual museum & checking out different exhibits.

We designed the new assignments to work with different types of assignments, like the ones listed above. That’s why these little things changed — assignments in the future may have nothing to do with kits or answering questions!

As a tip…if you have lots of assignments and you need to update their names, you can click the title to rename it!

Well, that’s everything that’s worse with assignments and why!

That being said, there’s a lot that’s great with this new version. Assignments now work with our much more engaging 2D game modes. As we build more 2D game modes, if they work for assignments, they’ll be added as an assignment option.

Thanks so much, everyone!