Spencer

Haute Couture of Videogames

In chapter 7 of How to Talk about Videogames, Bogost discusses the game Hundreds. Specifically, he delves into the cool aspect of the game.

Bogost begins by analyzing different forms of media, and their purposes. He explains how design, or the appearance of media can often be the purpose. Rather than penetrating our lives, they may just skate the surface. Thus he points out fashion, and designs are cool.

He continues to change our perceptions of the game by zooming in on the game. He mentions the past success of the creators, and their games. He finishes this section by explaining how their previous games were dorky and wacky, rather than the cool seen in Hundreds.

Next, Bogost points out the complexity and originality of the seemingly simple app. Despite its competitors, Hundreds keeps the full attention of its players and actually utilizes the phone to a fuller extent of its capabilities. While Flappy Bird requires just one finger and minimal attention, to play Hundreds and succeed, players must focus completely and use both hands to succeed.

Finally, Bogost finishes the chapter by explaining how the design being better than the functionality epitomizes the coolness of the game. He describes how fashionable accessories are not practical, but manly for looks, which makes it cool. Even though Hundreds has secret messages and a secret power, it is almost ignorable as this is not the cool way a Hundreds player would go about the game.

Pokémon as a Teacher?

Video games offer a lot more than a distraction. Eli Neiburger analyzes Pokémon, describing it as perhaps one of the most influential learning tools in kids’ lives.

Neiburger gives and in depth analysis of all the facets of gameplay, and community that facilitate learning. He explains the widespread impact of Pokémon. Having 200 million units sold (at time of publication), it is only second to Mario, and much larger than the likes of Madden and Halo. With such a large following, the impact on kids (the largest fan base) is very important. He continues explains how the obsessive tendencies the game can create may cause some annoyances, like a dog named Squirtle, but does not justify its ban from schools. In fact, he explains how Pokémon teaches kids, just like school, and in a more effective manner.

With such a claim, Neiburger needs a lot of supporting evidence, and he brings it. He highlights the literacy impact of the game. The solely text dialogue, with over 200,000 lines of text, without audio, forces kids to read. Yet as he explains the search for key information in the game, as it is hidden all over, creates a motivation for kids to read and better their reading skills. Such a learning contribution sparked my thoughts of whether schools should be promoting the game rather than banning it. Neiburger was nowhere near done praising the games influences, though. The low risk environment created by the repeatable in-game events teaches kids to experiment. Being overly shy and nervous to fail is a major downfall of education, and life overall, so learning to try in a harmless game is a huge success. The large amounts of abstract knowledge players are exposed to, and forced to process, promotes handling of complex datasets and dimensionality, an intellectual skill often reserved for older students. The amazing, positive Pokémon community also fosters communal learning and scientific thinking. As game developers are deistic gods of the Pokémon universe, players are left to themselves to figure out the workings of the game, which has led to the players working together, as well as developing skills to better test hypotheses and make discoveries. The scientific method and critical thinking skills are essential subject matter of schooling, and this game seems to motivate kids to learn about them and foster a positive environment, rather than a hostile one that should be kept away from schooling and other learning. The game even exposes kids to ethics, specifically digital ethics with consequences of cheating, which can help develop the exact social skills and thought teachers seek in their students.

Overall, Neiburger presents a very comprehensive analysis and support of this popular game that is often overlooked as just a piece of entertainment and as a disturbance to learning. From reading his article, I am more proud and aware of the effects of my own playing of Pokémon, but even more so interested in the educational power of videogames and their applicability to schooling. Who knows, maybe in a few years schools will revolve around video games as teachers, and students may “go to school” on their sofa in front of a TV.

Neiburger, Eli. “Pokémon.” ETC Press Well Played 3.0 (2011): n. pag. Web. 20 Oct. 2016

Link: http://press.etc.cmu.edu/content/pok%C3%A9mon-eli-neiburger

Pokémon as a Teacher?

Video games offer a lot more than a distraction. Eli Neiburger analyzes Pokémon, describing it as perhaps one of the most influential learning tools in kids’ lives.

Neiburger gives and in depth analysis of all the facets of gameplay, and community that facilitate learning. He explains the widespread impact of Pokémon. Having 200 million units sold (at time of publication), it is only second to Mario, and much larger than the likes of Madden and Halo. With such a large following, the impact on kids (the largest fan base) is very important. He continues explains how the obsessive tendencies the game can create may cause some annoyances, like a dog named Squirtle, but does not justify its ban from schools. In fact, he explains how Pokémon teaches kids, just like school, and in a more effective manner.

With such a claim, Neiburger needs a lot of supporting evidence, and he brings it. He highlights the literacy impact of the game. The solely text dialogue, with over 200,000 lines of text, without audio, forces kids to read. Yet as he explains the search for key information in the game, as it is hidden all over, creates a motivation for kids to read and better their reading skills. Such a learning contribution sparked my thoughts of whether schools should be promoting the game rather than banning it. Neiburger was nowhere near done praising the games influences, though. The low risk environment created by the repeatable in-game events teaches kids to experiment. Being overly shy and nervous to fail is a major downfall of education, and life overall, so learning to try in a harmless game is a huge success. The large amounts of abstract knowledge players are exposed to, and forced to process, promotes handling of complex datasets and dimensionality, an intellectual skill often reserved for older students. The amazing, positive Pokémon community also fosters communal learning and scientific thinking. As game developers are deistic gods of the Pokémon universe,
players are left to themselves to figure out the workings of the game, which has led to the players working together, as well as developing skills to better test hypotheses and make discoveries. The scientific method and critical thinking skills are essential subject matter of schooling, and this game seems to motivate kids to learn about them and foster a positive environment, rather than a hostile one that should be kept away from schooling and other learning. The game even exposes kids to ethics, specifically digital ethics with consequences of cheating, which can help develop the exact social skills and thought teachers seek in their students.

Overall, Neiburger presents a very comprehensive analysis and support of this popular game that is often overlooked as just a piece of entertainment and as a disturbance to learning. From reading his article, I am more proud and aware of the effects of my own playing of Pokémon, but even more so interested in the educational power of videogames and their applicability to schooling. Who knows, maybe in a few years schools will revolve around video games as teachers, and students may “go to school” on their sofa in front of a TV.

 

Neiburger, Eli. “Pokémon.” ETC Press Well Played 3.0 (2011): n. pag. Web. 20 Oct. 2016

Link: http://press.etc.cmu.edu/content/pok%C3%A9mon-eli-neiburger

Spencer in Uncategorized | 555 Words

FIFA 17

Getting lost in a videogame is a pastime of mine. I often get very absorbed in whatever form media of entertainment I am in. It is so common, and so enjoyable that I even seek out this feeling of “getting lost” in a game.

My current entertainment of choice is FIFA 17. I can think of many a time during the summer, and the end of my high school senior year, where I would jump into game and I would “wake” many hours later. I would get so caught up in the ability to plan out my teams, and even future teams, that often I would spend hours at a time on this without even playing a match. I would be inside my mind making all types of connections between players to build team chemistry. As well as trying to maximize the skill and minimize the price of the team. After making the team, with the rewarding feeling of making the team and realizing my idea, I would play a match. Usually playing with the team was a letdown from the excitement of making the teams, so I would sell the team and make a new one. Each time, I would fall into the world of the game and forget everything else. I would only see the screen. I would only know my intentions in the game, not the buttons I pressed. I would not feel my body or even my existence, just the game.
Emerging from the game was a bit surprising. I would look at the clock and it would be a lot later then I had thought. What had felt like a few minutes had been a few hours. Afterwards, I would feel recentered, in my body, and feeling normal again. I would feel relaxed, having destressed in the game. Other times I would feel extra stressed and rushed; because I had planned on taking a break from work and quickly returning, but ended up taking hours and now had too little time to finish. At the end of the day, either way, I would feel happier.

Having experienced this feeling so many times, but lacking an accurate description, it took me until an AP Lang essay in high school to understand it. I was doing a research project on videogames and their effects on people, when I found the concept of “flow“, as described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Flow, as he defines it, is “a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation. It is a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter.” I can say for sure that when I get into a game, like FIFA, I flow.

FIFA 17

Getting lost in a videogame is a pastime of mine. I often get very absorbed in whatever form media of entertainment I am in. It is so common, and so enjoyable that I even seek out this feeling of “getting lost” in a game.

My current entertainment of choice is FIFA 17. I can think of many a
time during the summer, and the end of my high school senior year, where I would jump into game and I would “wake” many hours later. I would get so caught up in the ability to plan out my teams, and even future teams, that often I would spend hours at a time on this without even playing a match. I would be inside my mind making all types of connections between players to build team chemistry. As well as trying to maximize the skill and minimize the price of the team. After making the team, with the rewarding feeling of making the team and realizing my idea, I would play a match. Usually playing with the team was a letdown from the excitement of making the teams, so I would sell the team and make a new one. Each time, I would fall into the world of the game and forget everything else. I would only see the screen. I would only know my intentions in the game, not the buttons I pressed. I would not feel my body or even my existence, just the game.
Emerging from the game was a bit surprising. I would look at the clock and it would be a lot later then I had thought. What had felt like a few minutes had been a few hours. Afterwards, I would feel recentered, in my body, and feeling normal again. I would feel relaxed, having destressed in the game. Other times I would feel extra stressed and rushed; because I had planned on taking a break from work and quickly returning, but ended up taking hours and now had too little time to finish. At the end of the day, either way, I would feel happier.

Having experienced this feeling so many times, but lacking an accurate description, it took me until an AP Lang essay in high school to understand it. I was doing a research project on videogames and their effects on people, when I found the concept of “flow“, as described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Flow, as he defines it, is “a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity at hand and the situation. It is a state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter.” I can say for sure that when I get into a game, like FIFA, I flow.

The Student’s Union

According to Davidson’s website, the Knobloch Campus Center is a “gathering place for students, faculty, staff, and visitors, providing opportunities for involvement in formal and informal activities”. Knobloch is made up of the Alvarez College Union and the Duke Performance Hall, the latter of which is insignificant to my observations. The Union, as it’s called, or at least my dorm calls it, features an atrium, game room, the Davis Cafe, and more, but I did not observe the rest. The purpose of the atrium, the most used aspect during my observation, is as written on the Davidson website:

“The atrium-a popular gathering, meeting, and study locale-is open to Davidson students around the clock throughout the academic year. The union is also home to the Davis Café, a fitness center, meeting spaces, and a variety of student organizations and services.”

Thus, the deliberate design of the setting is defined. It is important to note that Knobloch was once a gymnasium, built in 1948, but was remodeled in 2000 into its current, modern form. The purpose of the building has always been partly for recreation, but the use does not exactly match the purpose.

The second floor of the atrium is notably filled with tables, coaches, and chairs. Plenty of space for people to sit, talk, have fun, and maybe get some work done. This is exactly what students do in this area. People sit, and eat, but mostly talk and enjoy themselves with their friends. They friendly atmosphere is even appropriated into the Davis Cafe. The cafe is obviously for cooking and buying food, but students often may gather in small groups, maybe waiting for their food; but they start a conversation and end up enjoying themselves in the cafe itself, instead of the tables outside. This behavior did not seem too weird for me as the cafe is not a super quiet or unwelcoming setting, but this behavior is interesting in context of the game room. While the game room has billiard tables, and a foosball table is nearby, they are notably empty. I am yet to see someone play with them at all, even though that is their exact design and purpose. In fact, people are not even around them often, but stay on the cafe side of the atrium and leave the game room completely empty. The laughter and loud talking of everyone on the second floor makes its way up to the third floor, which unlike the rest of the union, is designed for study. The third floor is filled with desks, tables, and separators in an obvious orientation to promote quiet work. Once again people follow the design and work at these desks, but the noise from below changes the setting, some may have to put in headphones to cancel it out, try and ignore it, or even talk themselves. The physical set up of the third floor has an intention of studying, but the sounds of the floor below create an atmosphere that at times can lead to appropriating the third floor as an extension of the social second floor. In this way, the second floor, made for the social, talkative environment it holds, has the power to change the nearby areas designated for other purposes, disrupting other activities that where intended.

Overall the building has provided an obvious, and well followed design for use, but has allowed for the domination of the social context over the intellectual.

 

The Student’s Union

According to Davidson’s website, the Knobloch Campus Center is a “gathering place for students, faculty, staff, and visitors, providing opportunities for involvement in formal and informal activities”. Knobloch is made up of the Alvarez College Union and the Duke Performance Hall, the latter of which is insignificant to my observations. The Union, as it’s called, or at least my dorm calls it, features an atrium, game room, the Davis Cafe, and more, but I did not observe the rest. The purpose of the atrium, the most used aspect during my observation, is as written on the Davidson website:

“The atrium-a popular gathering, meeting, and study locale-is open to Davidson students around the clock throughout the academic year. The union is also home to the Davis Café, a fitness center, meeting spaces, and a variety of student organizations and services.”

Thus, the deliberate design of the setting is defined. It is important to note that Knobloch was once a gymnasium, built in 1948, but was remodeled in 2000 into its current, modern form. The purpose of the building has always been partly for recreation, but the use does not exactly match the purpose.

The second floor of the atrium is notably filled with tables, coaches, and chairs. Plenty of space for people to sit, talk, have fun, and maybe get some work done. This is exactly what students do in this area. People sit, and eat, but mostly talk and enjoy themselves with their friends. They friendly atmosphere is even appropriated into the Davis Cafe. The cafe is obviously for cooking and buying food, but students often may gather in small groups, maybe waiting for their food; but they start a conversation and end up enjoying themselves in the cafe itself, instead of the tables outside. This behavior did not seem too weird for me as the cafe is not a super quiet or unwelcoming setting, but this behavior is interesting in context of the game room. While the game room has billiard tables, and a foosball table is nearby, they are notably empty. I am yet to see someone play with them at all, even though that is their exact design and purpose. In fact, people are not even around them often, but stay on the cafe side of the atrium and leave the game room completely empty. The laughter and loud talking of everyone on the second floor makes its way up to the third floor, which unlike the rest of the union, is designed for study. The third floor is filled with desks, tables, and separators in an obvious orientation to promote quiet work. Once again people follow the design and work at these desks, but the noise from below changes the setting, some may have to put in headphones to cancel it out, try and ignore it, or even talk themselves. The physical set up of the third floor has an intention of studying, but the sounds of the floor below create an atmosphere that at times can lead to appropriating the third floor as an extension of the social second floor. In this way, the second floor, made for the social, talkative environment it holds, has the power to change the nearby areas designated for other purposes, disrupting other activities that where intended.

Overall the building has provided an obvious, and well followed design for use, but has allowed for the domination of the social context over the intellectual.

 

Gamification

Educators and bosses everywhere are constantly looking for better ways to keep up morale in the school and workplace, as well as boost productivity. A new trend amongst these people is gamification.
Gamification does just what it sounds like, makes things like a game. The purpose of which is to motivate work and learning, as well as breaking down the stigma that goes along with these things. Schoolkids are often ridiculed for playing around too much, focused on games rather than their schoolwork; so making their schoolwork a game should make their game fixation also productive and help them learn. Schoolkids may not be the best example, though. This purports the stereotype that video games are for little kids and a waste of time, these are myths. The average age of a gamer is 35. 68% percent of gamers are over 18, 47% of gamers are women, which means that there are more adult women are gamers than male gamers under 18 (Entertainment Software Association, 2012). Videogames are everywhere, and just about everyone plays them, be it on their phone in the train during their morning commute or on a computer at home at 2 am. If everyone plays, why not make it more than just enjoyment?

Gamification has spread across business education, changing they way people see school and work. Kids play to learn, a big contributor being Leap Frog. Leap Frog has produced countless toys, tablets, and games for kids ranging from newborns to over 6 years old. On the business side, the workplace can turn into a leaderboard. Employees can compete, hopefully in a friendly manner, to do work. Also the tedious or boring work can suddenly become fun, either way the workers should produce more. On the flipside, business has been created by gamification. Just google gamify, and countless businesses come up offering their services to change the dynamic of the workplace. Notably, Bunchball, a gamification software provider, has raised nearly $20 million. Gamification is also seen in many TED and TEDx talks, which provides to some amazing presentations, in particular Jane McGonigal has produced some amazing work on the subject.

Other uses of gamification can be found all over, even in medecine. A very famous gamification example is Re-Mission, by Hope Labs. Re-Mission, and its sequel Re-Mission 2, are games designed to teach and empower cancer patients about their disease and treatment options. The impact is truly amazing and is something to see for yourself:

 

Gamification

Educators and bosses everywhere are constantly looking for better ways to keep up morale in the school and workplace, as well as boost productivity. A new trend amongst these people is gamification.
Gamification does just what it sounds like, makes things like a game. The purpose of which is to motivate work and learning, as well as breaking down the stigma that goes along with these things. Schoolkids are often ridiculed for playing around too much, focused on games rather than their schoolwork; so making their schoolwork a game should make their game fixation also productive and help them learn. Schoolkids may not be the best example, though. This purports the stereotype that video games are for little kids and a waste of time, these are myths. The average age of a gamer is 35. 68% percent of gamers are over 18, 47% of gamers are women, which means that there are more adult women are gamers than male gamers under 18 (Entertainment Software Association, 2012). Videogames are everywhere, and just about everyone plays them, be it on their phone in the train during their morning commute or on a computer at home at 2 am. If everyone plays, why not make it more than just enjoyment?

Gamification has spread across business education, changing they way people see school and work. Kids play to learn, a big contributor being Leap Frog. Leap Frog has produced countless toys, tablets, and games for kids ranging from newborns to over 6 years old. On the business side, the workplace can turn into a leaderboard. Employees can compete, hopefully in a friendly manner, to do work. Also the tedious or boring work can suddenly become fun, either way the workers should produce more. On the flipside, business has been created by gamification. Just google gamify, and countless businesses come up offering their services to change the dynamic of the workplace. Notably, Bunchball, a gamification software provider, has raised nearly $20 million. Gamification is also seen in many TED and TEDx talks, which provides to some amazing presentations, in particular Jane McGonigal has produced some amazing work on the subject.

Other uses of gamification can be found all over, even in medecine. A very famous gamification example is Re-Mission, by Hope Labs. Re-Mission, and its sequel Re-Mission 2, are games designed to teach and empower cancer patients about their disease and treatment options. The impact is truly amazing and is something to see for yourself:

 

Play and Work

The difference between work and play is at first glance very easy. Work is high stress, monotonous, and boring. While play is relaxed, imaginative, and fun. Yet these two things are not as different as they seem.

Let’s begin with play. While play can be relaxed and fun, sometimes it is the opposite. Take soccer for example. Having a pass with some friends is nice and relaxed. You find pleasure in just the act of simply kicking the ball to each other, maybe adding some flair and mixing things up, or having a conversation alongside passing. In contrast, playing in the 90th minute of the World Cup final, with the pressure of the whole world watching and your country’s pride resting on your back, is not the same experience. Where the pleasure is derived from success, both within moments inside the match and in the winning the tournament. Both of which take huge amounts of effort, skill, focus, and even pain and sacrifice. These two different different situations correlate to Roger Callois’s ideas of free lance paidia and structured ludus. With the paidiac form being a simple kicking of the ball between a few people, which is not organized, and in this case also lacking effort. The ludic design of a soccer match, made up of the 17 laws of the game (simplified here) and the countless unwritten rules known between players, taking a lot more attention to detail and energy to achieve the goal of the game, to win. Both the paidiac and ludic components of soccer are still play, no matter the amount of structure and effort. In the latter, enjoyment is achieved through success and multiplied by the effort put in, highlighting the fact that hard work and play are not mutually exclusive. In this way play can be closely related to work. Which is often categorized by the necessary effort.

Work also has its misconceptions that may build up the seemingly large, but in reality, small disparity. The main being the monotony. Work is thought of as repeating of the same act, over and over. But this is not the case, and is not always as tedious as it may seem. More and more often nowadays jobs are being gamified. By that I mean that efforts are put in for the work to seem more like games and made more fun. This movement is supported by the idea that more and better work is produced when the work force has higher morale. While work may not cross to play, it is made playful, as described by Miguel Sicart. When work can now bring some enjoyment and pleasure, it is easier to see the connection it has to play.

Play, especially the more challenging and ludic versions, can take a lot of effort and concentration; and work can be fun and create amusement. The realization of these two simple, but often overlooked parts of work and play accentuates the similarity of the once thought to be separate concepts. You can play at work, and work at playing, and if you’re really lucky your life will combine the two.