VIDEO GAMES

[Whistler]

Let's practice having a discussion. Here is part of my opinion about video games (I could say more, but maybe that would be boring?)

I like video games, and, in moderation, they are good for you. Adventure games with quirky solutions increase cognitive flexibility and creativity (I have an article on it if you'd like to see it), and the medium of video games is great for teaching complex and sometimes abstract tasks. Portal, for instance, teaches its players to solve complex physics rules with skillful scaffolding (getting gradually harder and harder and making sure you understand one concept before you can move on). I wish that our educational system could capitalize on the fun of learning in good video games (and not just use them to drill like in math blaster).

What do you think of video games? Can they help people learn complex tasks? Do they help people who are far away kill each other or play cooperatively? Do they ruin lives? Is there a game in particular you think is a good example of a game that is good for you? I want to know what you think and it is a topic I am passionate about!

[Marduk]

I'm sure you're already well aware of this woman, as she has been making the rounds due to her book that was published recently, Reality is Broken and I could link you clips from many places, from Radio West to Fresh Air to, well, The Colbert Report.

Anyway, some interesting things to say.

[TheAnswerIs42]

My son's classroom uses a wonderful program called TeachTown, which has been shown to really help children with Autism. I know it has helped my son, and his teacher is thrilled with how much improvement she sees in other kids as well. I am also currently a fan of the Sesame Streetwebsite, which has wonderful games for my toddlers. We got them a computer for Christmas (CRT monitor they can poke at, washable keyboard, cheap old computer with nothing on it we care about) and they love it so much! I am happy to have them on it, because they are practicing colors, numbers, letters and so forth. Even just the spatial relationship of moving the mouse is big for some kids.

So, I don't know about older games, but I think they are great for toddlers. We have a Wii, and I do enjoy that, but I'm not very into that sort of thing. On the other hand, my husband's family used to get together at his parent's house and all go into seperate rooms to link up and play Warcraft together, which was the oddest thing I have ever seen.

[Dead Cat]

There are primarily two video game series that I play: Nancy Drew and Myst.

I've been an avid fan of the Nancy Drew game series since I was 8 or 9 (all I know is that I couldn't play it since the box said you had to be 10 or older). Most of the games are very solid in their edutainmental value. I remember making a project in 9th grade about the Maya civilization entirely from information in the sixth game. Was it a biased piece of work? Maybe. But the teacher liked it enough to ask if she could keep it to show future students. Most games give the player a snippet of history, whether it be Harry Houdini, ghost towns, or the Renaissance. Some focus more on science, with whales, entomology (complete with frass), and tornadoes. The games aren't necessarily realistic (like the locks that you have to open by process of elimination), but they are still quite fun and I have definitely learned a lot from them.

And Myst. Maybe not precisely realistic, but it almost always follows its internal logic. The puzzles range from moderate to super hard. Most games give you a precise goal--Myst has goals, but you have no idea what they are most of the time. You have to either understand what you are doing in the context of the world or be extremely lucky. You can't just pull the lever and expect everything to be hunky dory because of it. Everything has consequences. The characters--except maybe young Yeesha--are believable and complex. The animators always went beyond to make the worlds beautiful--and kind of set the bar for everyone else. On the whole, they are freakishly hard, but worth it.

[Whistler]

Yeah, I think that as a whole people are taking a wider approach to video games. It's not "just" entertainment anymore; games can help psychologists know more about how humans make choices and all sorts of stuff.

One interesting thing I noticed is that Super Mario Galaxy (for Wii) is a popular Daddy-daughter game. The 2nd player goes around collecting star things and paralyzing enemies, and it's a much easier role than the main Mario one. When I first saw the 2nd player in action I thought it was kind of lame, and I had no idea that, for younger children, it might be their preferred way of playing.

[Dead Cat]

I know I get addicted to things easily, especially video games. It is very difficult for me to stop in the middle of things. Now with Minesweeper and Scopa this is less of an issue, but when they release a new Nancy Drew game, it is not uncommon for me to pull an all-nighter. Even when I replay a game, I usually try to finish it in one sitting. Fortunately, I refrain from doing this very often, but I see how it can be a humongous problem for someone who plays many, many hours daily.

[Marduk]

It would also be intensely problematic if you were into any of the huge RPGs. Some of those can take upwards of 100 hours to finish.

[Waldorf and Sauron]

I think there needs to be a serious study of the effects of edutainment video games on the first generation raised on them. Sometimes I suspect the reason I rocked math was simply the endless hours of math blaster.

[UnluckyStuntman]

speaking of games involving math - does anyone else remember Number Munchers? That game was the bomb.

[thebigcheese]

I was always more interested in the simulation games. Sim City, The Sims, etc. I could sit there for days on end playing with my sim families and my sim cities. In fact, I still consider city planning to be one of my backup careers...

On a totally unrelated note, I think it would be interesting to see if the shooter-style video games could be useful in military applications.

[Laser Jock]

speaking of games involving math - does anyone else remember Number Munchers? That game was the bomb.

Yes! I loved that game. I remember playing it a ton on the old Apple IIe computers a couple of my schools had.

[UnluckyStuntman]

speaking of games involving math - does anyone else remember Number Munchers? That game was the bomb.

Yes! I loved that game. I remember playing it a ton on the old Apple IIe computers a couple of my schools had.

YESSSSS! I went to school in Seattle so all of our computers in my elementary years were Apples. I'm so glad that you know the joy of Number Munchers.

[Waldorf and Sauron]

On a totally unrelated note, I think it would be interesting to see if the shooter-style video games could be useful in military applications.

The military has used shooter games for both recruiting and training.

[Tao]

On a totally unrelated note, I think it would be interesting to see if the shooter-style video games could be useful in military applications.

The military has used shooter games for both recruiting and training.

Also tactical thinking. They're just finishing up on the latest combat simulation training that was built from multiple scenarios faced in recent skirmishes.

And while I'd put MMOs as the most dangerous to addictive personalities, they've been the basis for some interesting studies on human interactions as well. That and terrorist activities.

[ahem.]

One interesting thing I noticed is that Super Mario Galaxy (for Wii) is a popular Daddy-daughter game. The 2nd player goes around collecting star things and paralyzing enemies, and it's a much easier role than the main Mario one. When I first saw the 2nd player in action I thought it was kind of lame, and I had no idea that, for younger children, it might be their preferred way of playing.

...I always play the star character...

YESSSSS! I went to school in Seattle so all of our computers in my elementary years were Apples.

Are Macs somehow special to Seattle? I'm pretty sure all the computers in my schools growing up were Macs. I think I heard somewhere that Apple donated (or discounted?) lots of computers to schools in hopes of getting users at a young age. But that may be unsubstantiated?


Also, let me just admit this: I don't like games. I rarely play video games and then only if I am coerced.

[UnluckyStuntman]

Are Macs somehow special to Seattle? I'm pretty sure all the computers in my schools growing up were Macs. I think I heard somewhere that Apple donated (or discounted?) lots of computers to schools in hopes of getting users at a young age. But that may be unsubstantiated?

You know what, I have no idea. I seem to remember thinking as a kid that there was some significance, but I can't remember why. It was probably all in my head.

[thebigcheese]

I think I heard somewhere that Apple donated (or discounted?) lots of computers to schools in hopes of getting users at a young age. But that may be unsubstantiated?

I've heard that too, and we also had Macs for many of my growing up years (but I grew up in south Texas, not Seattle).

[Marduk]

Yep, had macs in my schools growing up as well, here in Utah. As long as we're reminiscing about old games we played in school, any discussion is not complete without me bringing up Oregon Trail. We had a competition in my class to see who could get the highest score. I won a full-sized hershey's chocolate bar!

[thebigcheese]

Oregon Trail is one of the greatest old-school computer games ever invented. Me and my husband were actually discussing that one day -- how kids these days probably don't even know what Oregon Trail is, and what an abomination that is.

[C is for]

Utah girl, had Macs. I loved playing Oregon Trail. I loved KidPix too! I loved it a lot.

We actually still had Oregon Trail 1 (the CD-ROM version) until last month when we discovered that it no longer works on our computers. Off to DI it went. :'(