Games in Class vs. Pick 3

In class this past Thursday, I played two games, Trigger and Ticket to Ride. I found Trigger to be much more challenging than one would anticipate due to the constant use of negatives and double negatives in the questions. It was a very different game but I enjoyed playing it. My group barely had time to play Ticket to Ride because we had to refer to the rules online as the hard copy was missing from the game box. It seemed to have a good amount of strategy requires and I would like to play it again.

These games I believe fall into the "fun" category if you will (with a touch of education). They definitely have more teaching potential than the games we created during our Pick Three assignment. Trigger could be easily modified to a specific subject, and use more factual questions pertaining to that subject. For example, they could be historical facts, and the player would not only have to be the first to answer, but if the statement was false they would have to answer why it was incorrect. I really can't say how educational Ticket to Ride could be because of the very little playtime we had with the game.

Trigger had some great Player vs. Player interactions, in that you had to be the first one to slap the "target" as well as be correct. As a penalty for answering incorrectly, you would lose a card. Cards essentially kept you in the game, so it did become very competitive on a Player vs. Player basis. There was a ton of Player vs. Game Interaction, in each round, a question was read from a card and a player would have to slap their hand down, their right hand for true, and their left hand for false. The Player vs. Game interaction was somewhat competitive as well because it required you to think on your feet and respond as quickly as possible to the questions, which in some cases, were very confusing to answer as either true or false.

In general, I find Player vs. Player interaction more fun as opposed to Player vs. Game interaction. In my opinion, when a game becomes competitive, a game becomes fun. The actual game is essentially a forum or grounds in which the competition takes place. The game must be clear, concise, and easy to pick up in order to be truly enjoyable. My favorite board games can usually be completely understood after the first game. I really find it annoying when it takes hours to grasp the rules and/or goal of a game. I'd rather do something constructive than "study" a game in order to "have fun" playing it.

Educational Mini-Game Review x4!

Free Rice! is a fun little Quiz game that rewards the player with the donation of Rice through the World Food Programme. The game doesn't seem to have a specific target age group, but I would guess somewhere around the over fifteen crowd due to some vocabulary words that are not used very often until the High School/College level. The designers are attempting to teach the player meanings of word, basic interface interactivity, and that a single person can make a difference in the world. The last point, of course, is more conceptual, but nevertheless does not take anything away from the user experience. I feel the game is successful through an education standpoint in that it teaches you definitions to words you may not regularly encounter. I would say the game could be improved by have different quiz categories, but on second look I noticed you can change the quiz topics to different subjects. 4/5.

Pirates of the Preamble, oh my . . . A quiz based game with the premise that Pirates have buried the Preamble to the constitution in ten separate states. It asks questions dealing with civic knowledge and the constitution in order for you to find the missing pieces of the Preamble. Interesting premise, horrible game. I believe this may be helpful in a High School Civics or American History class, possibly, but some of the facts are really pointless and obscure. History buffs may enjoy it, but I had to restart about 6 times before completing the 10 questions. It could be improved by creating some type of meaningful play/reward other than just seeing a piece of the Preamble appear on the side of the screen. Oh yeah, the Pirate "accent" was also incredibly annoying. 1/5

Medical Mysteries is a game designed for people who care about science, obviously, and playing spinoffs of classic games in a "scientific" setting. I'd imagine the target age group would be High School and up, and it attempts to teach the player the different types of agents that can cause illness/disease, that this information is crucial to learn because of the premise, and that it is important to shoot the right cure at infectious agents falling from the sky. Yeah, I am being completely serious, I hated this game, and I feel like they ripped off George Lucas' droids. 1/5

INNOV8 2.0 (Created by IBM) is an educational simulation game comprised of 3 mini-games. Smart Traffic, Smart Supply Chain, and Smart Customer Service. I played Smart Traffic, in which you help a city lower congestion and pollution levels by using Business Process Management. The target age group put around the College level because it takes a good bit of logic and reasoning in order to balance different planning goals. The concepts being taught are action/reaction based and the delicate balance between cost and efficiency with traffic control. I really loved this game and I'm going to continue playing it! 5/5

Gaming Invasion: Level 1

Games are a great way to distract us from life. Virtually every person in their life has been told to "quit wasting your time playing games and be productive!" You may hear this every hour, daily, weekly, monthly, or once in a blue moon. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you've heard this phrase, or something to the same affect before in your life. Welcome fellow gamer to a multiple-level game entitled "Gaming Invasion". Ok, yes, you've probably called my bluff and I should've title it "Please Read My Blog", but it just didn't have the same ring to it. ANYWAYS, this is the first entry (aka level) in my blog series dedicated to explaining how far games penetrate into our lives. If you feel that you are exempt from this aspect, think again you ripe little n00b (slang for newbie, as in new to a game and inexperienced) because you are about to get PWNED!

Since this is only level one, I am going to stay away from any sort of technical terms and go for the easy kill. Life is a game. Cliche? Perhaps, but take a moment to think about it. Life requires planning (strategy), and the choices you make effect the outcome of your life. Yes, some choices, such as what to do with that five minutes after waking up may not effect your life goals. But, there is a real-time effect nonetheless. Actions create outcomes. Jumping off a porch while drunk may effect the next three months of your life, even if it seemed like such a great idea at the time.

If you are still reading at this point, I am guessing I managed to get your attention, and I will award you +3 karma points. Now, let's think real hard, make your brain work, and think of the physical controls you interact with, and the mechanism you use to create interactions. It's hard, I know, thinking requires effort, but here is the spoiler. You play the game! Your mental and physical actions interact with the world. There are some set rules, such as laws, sociological rules, and "world rules" also. Never forget, gravity is not always your ally! Gravity is great when you want to move a beer from a can to your red plastic cup, but it can definitely be a bitch when you decide to try and land a solo keg-stand! Stay alert, be prepared, trust no one. You may proceed to level two when I make my own choice on whether or not to write a second level. GLHF!

Meaningful Play?

This past Thursday in my Game Design class, we participated in a classroom game with very simple objectives. We were split into teams of four and given a pack of bendable straws and a roll of scotch tape. Our goal was to create the highest possible structure that could stand on its on for at least three seconds, and the team that won the game would receive candy during next class.

It was a very fun experience, and this composition has to do with whether or not we experienced meaningful play through the game/exercise. Rules of Play basically defines meaningful play as the relationship between action and outcome which are both discernable and integrated into the overall context of the game. In the case of the Straw Tower game, I feel that we did in fact experience meaningful play, and I was amazed at how such a simple concept could create so many different variables into account.

From a basic overview of the game, it has many elements which created a unique experience. It required communication and almost necessitated that one or more individuals on each team to lead the others in the creation of the tower, either by demonstration or by explaining something as simple as how to easily fit two straws together. Time was also a factor, so it was almost essential to divide the work among different people, with each person completing a specific task.

Through the scope of meaningful play, action and outcome were obviously easily visible. Taping and connecting straws together showed an immediate physical result, and it was also integrated into the larger context of the game. The decisions made during the beginning of the game effected the end results. If the base for the tower is too big, you run out of straws. If the base is too small, you end up with a potentially beautiful tower that immediately falls on its side, thus disqualifying you and preventing your team from winning the game.

It's amazing how simple, yet at the same time complex, a game can be created with such few rules and materials. Next time you feel bored at home or have some friends over, throw straws at them and try your hand at this clever game!

Games, Games, Games . . .

Games and video games have always been very popular ways to pass time, learn, socialize, and even to just take a nice little break from reality. Today in America and around the world, there are huge subcultures revolving around video games with immense numbers of participants usually participating in playing together via the internet.

I have been brainstorming ideas for a semester long blog series on a certain aspect of games, board games, video games, and/or an aspect of the underlying industry. I have yet to decide on a thesis for this research and composition, but I do have several ideas I am currently taking into consideration.

My initial idea would be to research and examine the use of games in a business setting in which they are used as a tool to essentially train and inform an employee of the expectations and responsibilities of their position. I feel as though it may not be a juicy enough aspect of games to keep a fresh and entertaining blog series with such a narrow scope of such a large an interesting industry. The second idea that came to mind is to examine the use of games in order to teach real-time strategy in a way that could apply to real world scenarios, such as the use of video game training for the military and/or law enforcement. I believe this could be much more interesting, and my Uncle actually works at a private firm that works with the government on various homeland security and military strategies and scenarios. I feel he could be an excellent resource in informing me first hand as to just how useful games can be as a way of gaining a basis of background experience to possible upcoming real world experiences.

As of the time of writing this blog, I am leaning toward my second idea for this blog series, however, I will continue brainstorming in an effort to potentially find a more enticing topic.