I am not a
gamer. I enjoy playing board
games, cards and physical games, but I have never quite understood the allure
of the digital game. As a kid, the
dark dungeon-like mall arcade seemed to me to be a place that boys hung out,
and bad girls hoping to hook-up with those boys (no offence intended to any of
you who were in that arcade crowd). Not a place for me. I occasionally tried out the Pac Man
game at the local Mac’s store, but usually I was more content to just suck on
my slurpee and wait for my friends.
All that being
said, I now am entering the world of gaming through my engagement in a Masters
Course in Educational Technology.
It is not the technology part of the course that I approach with
trepidation; in fact, this is my area of specialty and I am confident in my
understanding how educational technology can and should be used to support and
enhance the educational experience of students, teachers and parents. Gaming, however, is somewhat outside of
my comfort zone and has not been something that I have used beyond basic
practice of concepts (i.e. math fact games, spelling games) with my students.
Thoughtful consideration of serious games has not been included in the
instructional design of my units and lessons.
So it is now,
with excitement and optimism, that I begin my journey of learning about what
gaming is and how I can use it within my classroom, amongst my colleagues, and
within my own home. I figured my
blog would be the best place for me to reflect on and share my experiences, as
I move into, and through, this great new world.
I often wonder
what it is about gaming that holds such an attraction for so many people, young
and old. I realize that it is
about play, and play is critical for brain development at any age, but when I
have attempted to game, I have realized a sense of frustration at how the game
works and what I should do rather than a sense of joy or fun in the play. As Squire (2011) suggests, games often
don’t reveal their true depth until a few hours into the gaming
experience. By this time, many
non-gamers have already walked away from the game, thus not realizing its
appeal. Perhaps this is the case for myself; if I stick around long enough to
really get familiarized with the nuances of the game, maybe I will experience
the ‘hook’ that keeps me coming back for more.
I did try out a
couple of games that were suggested references for this week’s course
work. The first, Food Force, I quite liked because it was a
definition word game and I like any kind of game that focuses on fact recall or
language. It was also a very basic
entry game; it gives the word and the player clicks on a basic definition. With my novice gaming skills, I was
able to handle that. The second
game I tried, Darfur is Dying,
involved choosing a character to forage for water before being captured by the
militia. I attempted this several
times, but couldn’t figure out the location of the water well and just pressed
buttons in every direction with no strategic plan on how to win the game
(frustrating). Each time I was
captured, and then the character fell to a horrific demise. This was not an entertaining
game, but it certainly does provide the player with some knowledge about the
conditions in Darfur; the ultimate point of the game.
When I was
reading the first chapter of Squire (2011), I have to admit that his
description of such games as Sim City,
World of Warcraft and Pirates peaked
my interest, as the player engages within the gaming environment, making
choices to solve problems as he/she works towards a final goal. I think I’ll look into these and see if
perhaps they might be a fit for the inner gamer in me.
References
Darfur is Dying [Browser
Game] (2006), USC Interactive Media (Developer),Game Site: http://www.darfurisdying.com
Food Force (2005) Harrison,
M. (Designer)[Windows] Deepend & Playerthree (Developer), United
Nations World Food Programme (Publisher), Game Site: http://www.food-force.com
Squire, K. (2011). Video
Games and Learning. NY: Teachers
College Press
