Play This, Learn That

This assignment is going to keep track of my reflections as I continue to read Play This, Learn That by Dr. Chris Haskell. Each chapter, I will add my thinking on to the original post.

Introduction:

The use of commercial gaming in the classroom could foster creativity, upper level thinking, and problem solving capabilities. Students progress through challenges that have them encounter a problem, think about possible outcomes, and receive a consequence, either positive or negative, from that decision. Commercial gaming could expose students to the academic world outside the traditional subjects and skills taught within the walls of a classroom.

Chapter 1 - Minecraft:

If my administrator were to ask me what I believe to be some redeeming qualities to Minecraft, I would have to say the engagement factor. From overhearing student conversations about video games, Minecraft comes a lot. There are some academically inclined students in my class who even write about Minecraft when they are aloud to choose their topic. This shows me that there is already an interest in the game. It would be easy to engage students who are already familiar with the inner workings of the game. The only part that would need to be introduced is the academic portion and tasks needed to be completed.

Another redeeming quality is the ease in which it could be used for academics. Minecraft, especially Minecraft EDU, was built to incorporate into the classroom. Minecraft EDU allows teachers to manage student dashboards and create student lessons and objectives. The students would be responsible for making the choices that could lead them to reaching the objectives. Students would need to problem solve and work with one another both inside and outside of the virtual environment to see that their task is complete.

As far as my colleagues are concerned, they would need to know how Minecraft educators like Glen Irvin and Jim Pike created and facilitated the lessons. My team would be more concerned about HOW to create a lesson and implement those lessons in class. They would want to see the lessons and time frames in action so that they could visualize how their classrooms would look and run during their own lessons.

Video Game Graphics

This assignment was to watch a video about the early progression of graphics used in video games. Although I was only able to identify nine of the numerous amount of games listed, I could recognize the difference in the graphic types. There is a clear progression in the quality of graphics used by video game designers.

Some of the games I could identify fell into a few categories:

Pixels
Pong
Space Invaders

Color
Indy 4
Galaxian
Pac-Man - I remember playing this game in elementary and middle school on the one computer we had in class. If you were well-behaved, the teacher would let you use the computer for your free time activity. My friends and I would write down our high scores on our folders to keep track of who was the best.

Vector
Asteroids

Scrolling
Super Mario - This was a staple in my house growing up. When my brother got his first Nintendo, this was the game to play. We would all fight over who got to play, and then get grounded from playing it.

Scaling
Turbo - This was the go-to racing game at the arcade. My dad used to be the head of security at a fun-plex that was filled with the latest and greatest arcade games from the 80's and 90's.
Hang-On

Sploder Games - Types

For this assignment, I am going to keep a running blog post about different types of games that I will experience and eventually, create.

Platformer

This type of game allows the player to have the character jump from surface to surface while collecting items and defeating obstacles. When I played it, I had a hard time getting from some of the surfaces to the other. I am a total rookie when it comes to playing video games, so having no hand-eye coordination may make an impact on this style of game. I do not want to make this type of game for my project. I want to create a game that is more structured and allows the player to go in a linear fashion.

Liked:
-3rd person perspective.
-Token reward system.

Disliked:
-Having such free range for the character. (Choosing which direction to go on the screen.)
-Having to defeat opponents with weapons.


3-D Mission

This type of game reminds me of looking down into a maze. There are corridors that your avatar needs to maneuver in order to achieve a certain objective. There are bad guys that get in your way, and you need to defeat before you can continue throughout the maze. While playing this game, I continued dying over and over. It took me about 10 resets to finally defeat only the second bad guy on the level. Clearly, I am not doing something right, but will keep trying to beat the level.

Liked:
-Having an objective to complete.
-Thinking through strategies and choice making.

Disliked:
-3rd person perspective.
-Top down viewing angle.


Physics Game

This type of game is almost the "Angry Birds" style game. Your job is to shoot cannons at a box to move it. The only way to win the level is by shooting your box closer to the coin. Once the box hits the coin, you win. This would be relatively easy and boring if there weren't a timer ticking down. Not only can you see the timer, but hear the timer getting closer to the end. This kid of game doesn't necessarily require skill, just a sense of ball trajectory and what is needed to move the box.

Liked:
-Does not require an obscene amount of hand-eye coordination.
-Countdown to put the pressure one.
-Ability to replay levels when you die.

Disliked:
-Shooting the red box and dying instantly. There was no warning that the red boxes mean death.


Retro Arcade Game

I love old school arcade games! Although I am doing this quest after I did my research and made my choice of video game to create, I still sat here and played other people retro games for a half hour or so. I could definitely keep playing. These games remind me of sitting around playing Mario with my friends for hours on end. I was never very good at them then (nor am I now), but the nostalgia of laughing with my friends will never get old.

Liked:
-Narrative that talks you through the game and gives you hints.
-Collecting coins.
-A reasonable number of bad guys.

Disliked:
-Drowning
-Not being able to reach high enough to see above the screen level without getting killed by a bad guy.


Shooter

This game was a little chaotic. All of the little ships were trying to shoot me, while I spun in circles and tried to shoot them first. This game reminds me of the old space games that have the enemy ships coming to shoot you while you duck, dodge, and dive away from the enemies.

Liked:
-Sparks competitive mentality.
-Action-packed.

Disliked:
-No levels.
-Wait for the time to end to see if you survive.


What Makes a Good Game?

After playing all of the types of games above and listening to Dr. Ruben Puentedura's podcast, I think I may have come up with my perfect list of qualities that make a good game.

1. Narrative - Games have to have some kind of story to go with the reason for playing. I am not going to play a game that doesn't have some type story line to follow and a final objective to work toward. I find myself more engaged when my decisions in the game help mold or change a plot line.

2. Scaffolding - As a newbie gamer, I need new skills to be introduced to me on a gradual level. If the skills are introduced too slowly and the game gets monotonous, players get bored and stop playing. If the skills are introduced in a rapid fire manner, players get overwhelmed and frustrated and stop playing. There is a balance needed when game designing to introduce just the right difficulty at just the right time. You have to keep players engaged, but continue adding skill difficulty.

3. Strategy - I hate games where I have no idea how I wound up winning. There has to be enough skill advancement and chance that keeps the gamer wanting to continue playing. Gamers need to be able to use their skill acquisition to advance through levels of the increased difficulty. If they don't have to think, they won't want to play. But again, if it is too much thinking and gets too hard, they won't want to play.

4. Variety - There needs to be multiples types of challenges and conflicts. If a gamer comes across one type of challenge over and over, they are going to get bored. Even if that challenge becomes more and more complex, it is still the same. Games need to break up the monotony and allow gamers to really showcase the range of skills that they acquire through their game play.

Different Types of Games

This is going to be my blog post that will track my quests through the gaming experience.

"Other Games 1"

The "other" category of game is the label for games like Chinese Checkers, poker, and Yahtzee. As far as Chinese checkers, using this in the classroom would be a benefit for students that need a challenge, but could learn some patience. It is a game of strategy and patterns. I, of course, don't have any of those skills and lost miserably to the computer. Poker is for the lucky person. I am not that person. I flew through my allotted amount of money in record timing. Since it is a math and strategy based game, I don't think it would fit in my Language Arts classroom. Yahtzee would be fantastic in the elementary math classroom. Students who are Achievers or Masterminds would like figuring out the different ways to reach their goal and the best probability for obtaining the maximum point per level.


"Action Games 1: Shoot'em Ups"

Shoot'em Ups are games that tend to be a one vs all. The player takes the shape of aircraft or space shuttles and shoots a mass amount of opponents at the same time. Those opponents usually come from the top or side of the screen while the shooter is at the bottom or left side. Players need to have control of the arrow keys to move and the space bar to shoot. I played a few rounds, but died very shortly after beginning. The first time I played, I got 315 points. Basically, I went through all three of my lives almost immediately after starting to play. The second time, I earned 5,190 points. I was shocked I made it into the second level. Between the first and the second times playing, I learned how the enemies move and how I should react. Basically, avoid the bad guys coming for you instead of engaging them. If you engage, you will die.

"Simulation Games"

Simulation games do exactly that: simulate something. I played the Sim City RPG Adventure Game. I had to restart this game about five times due to running out of funds. This is something that I tend to excel at when it comes to real life or simulation games. I am near addicted to the classic Roller Coaster Tycoon game and run out of money constantly. In both games, I had to sit around for a long time and wait for money to roll in. In the RPG Adventure Game, I ran out and stayed out of money. I'm not sure exactly how to get that money back. I know it has something to do with raising taxes, but I had it at almost 12% and thought that was really high.

"Narrative Games 1: Text Adventure"

I once thought that simulation games are my favorite, but I was missing out on the wonderfully detailed and story-like world of narrative games. I was tasked to play the first ever narrative game, Zork, but for some reason the game wouldn't let me type. Who knows...

Instead, I used Steam to get the game To Burn in Memory. At first, I was not into the idea of having to read all the details, but very quickly did I mentally smack myself because I love to read. The romantically creepy music set into the game helped me get into the mood for reading my way through a mystery and choosing my own adventure. I was able to collect some interesting items that I'm sure will eventually lead me to discovering more clues to unveil the mystery. I enjoyed being able to choose where to go based on the given choices. It was awesome.

"Narrative Games 2: Graphic Adventures"

Peasant's Quest is hard! I played out the game twice and died by random monsters. I didn't even get to reach the dragon, Trogdor. This game was easier to follow than a text adventure, but with the basic graphics and simple commands, it seemed tedious. The best part of the entire experience was the sarcastic remarks that the video game designers added into the narrative. Quite amusing! When you did something wrong or didn't need an item, the game would let you know that it was useless to try and acquire that item with some snarky remark. I love snarky remarks, though.

"Narrative Games 3: Action Adventures"

For this quest we had to play Zelda. I could not for the life of me figure out how to use any weapons or win coins. I spent my time running away from bad guys and getting shot in the back. Maybe it's my computer? The directions have joystick controls, but I don't have a joystick. I recruited the husband to school me on his Zelda knowledge, but he was lost as to how to get my character to do anything. I'm pretty sure I pushed every key to no avail. I would probably love this game had I been able to play it the way it was designed to be played. I love a good plot line with my video games.