Over the course of the past few weeks, Lacy has got us on this "gaming" fix if you will. We read about video games and how they particularly apply to certain things, and for me it's been quite interesting. Growing up, of course I have played my fair share of video games. I remember one of my favorite games when I was little was Mario Cart on the Super Nintendo. That was my game! Man, nobody could ever beat me at it; I was TOO good. The Super Nintendo was a huge part of my childhood, period. I also remember when Sony came out with the Playstation 1. Man, I was too excited! I think my two favorite games were Crash Bandicoot and Metal Gear Solid. They died out kinda quickly, but it's okay because then the Playstation 2 came out. I think everybody was shocked when some of the first 3D games came out. Grand Theft Auto 3 had to have been my favorite. Then when the Playstation 3 came out, I was kind of grown out of games and didn't really play them anymore. Besides, the system was too expensive anyway. But after I saw some Call of Duty videos, haha, I needed to get a PS3. Me and my brother got one a few years for Christmas. I gotta tell you, I turned into a gaming nerd again after that. Me and Call of Duty became best friends, and I destroyed kids on there. After a little while that died out though....and I haven't really played video games since I got to college.
However, on the first day of English 1102, Lacy made us play string games. I wondered, why are we playing string games? How could this apply the writing, or even English class for that matter? But the connection is very clear now. I see why we started playing string games, as it only led to more. Most recently, Lacy asked us to think of a game to bring to class that would apply to our reading's of James P Gee and our classroom activities. I thought of some computer games I had played in the past, and instantly chose World's Hardest Game. I thought to myself, "What would apply to risk taking, exploring, and trial and error?" I thought of World's Hardest Game because you have to take risks to get through the levels (not to mention they are extremely hard). You also have to go through a lot or trial and error in order to succeed. You have to die many times before you figure out how to get through each level. So far, I like English class and I'm excited to see what else is in store for us!
My brothers and I were obsessed with Mario games as well! But going off of what you said in the second paragraph, I think games with multiple levels are the most rewarding. Kids have to try different strategies to solve certain problems over and over again and it doesn't matter how many times you fail because you are always allowed more chances.
ReplyDeleteI think it is funny how lacy let us sit in class and play games for most of the lecture. Her class is set up in such a way that it almost does not feel like class. Not to say that is a bag thing, but it is deffinatly different from other classes that i have. The game that you picked is a very fun one to play and i am not quite sure how you can learn from it, but lacy feels that you can learn from every game. So I dont know...
ReplyDeleteI have never played World's Hardest Game but from your blog it seems like an addicting game to me because I like trial and error where you have to go back and try it again and get mad haahaha. I love Lacy's concept of games and how she ties it to learning. Definitely wish it were more professors who view learning the way that she does!
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