Author: Barson

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Week 4 Questions

  • what learning games have you played? can you categorize them by the theory of learning types: behaviorism, constructivism, constructivism or social nature? if you played more than one which was the most effective?

I have played Behaviorism games (Duolingo), constructivism games (say minecraft), and social constructivism (fortnite). I personally like constructivism games, since they keep the player engaged and you have to take initiative.

  • is gamification bullshit, what is ian bogost’s argument and do you agree? where have you encountered it outside of class and what was your experience?

He argues that gamification reduces the complexities of human motivation. I think there’s truth to Bogost’s critique, especially when gamification is used in a way that feels artificial. I have personally seen it in health apps.

  • What is a serious game and why aren’t they chocolate covered broccoli?

A serious game is a game designed for a purpose beyond entertainment, such as education, training, or social change. The reason they aren’t choccy broccy is because serious games are designed to engage and entertain while still serving a meaningful purpose.

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Intergroup Monopoly

If you love Monopoly you will probably dislike this game, but the point of the game isn’t to be good, but rather to be an example.

In the game, there are 4 different classes (White Male, Females, Minorities, and 1%). Each class has different rules they must follow. The game is basically rigged towards the 1% to win, but that’s the point since it’s how the US functions.

I enjoyed playing this game just because it’s another Monopoly game but isn’t like the rest because there are rules specific towards players. You will get mad playing the game, but you’ll also have plenty of laughs and that’s what the game is about. Definitely plan on playing this one again with my friends.

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7Up Game

This game is an example of a game that is simply not good. I found it very hard to defeat the enemies due to the elevation change in the map and only being able to shoot side to side or down. If you are on a hill, it is very hard to kill an enemy without jumping above it and shooting down, but if you miss you die since you are falling right on top of it. 4/10 would play again if someone had it plugged in, but wouldn’t go out of my way.

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Game Review M&M Kart Racing

In this game, it is basically a knock off of Mario Kart but with M&Ms. The graphics are overall pretty bad, but not terrible considering the time period. The physics are also super unrealistic. But overall, the game is awesome just because it is that bad of a game. Sometimes there isn’t a good reason to play a game other than it being a bad game, but that’s what makes it so fun.

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5 new game ideas that explore changing players minds about … (climate change, energy, politics, etc.)

Pollution Simulator

In this game, your goal is to either pollute the earth or to fight pollution. On the Pollution side of the game, you get to see which products cause the most pollution. On the fighting pollution side of the game, you get to fight it in ways that you think might help but do just as much damage (cough cough electric cars).

Presidential Race

In this game, you basically have to build a plot to beat the other political party. You do this by researching weak / strong points in the others argument. But in the process of doing this, you may end up realizing that you don’t support certain aspects of a political party and could end up fighting on the other side by the end of it.

Electric Racing

In this game, it’s a simple racing game that would be similar to Forza, NFS, etc. But in this game, all the cars are electric rather than a traditional combustion engine. There is barely any sound in the game due to no engines, the cars understeer like crazy due to the weight of the battery, and the wrecks are boring because no gasoline is exploding. This changes the players mind about electric vs. gas cars since they realize how boring they are.

Deepfake

Players work as detectives by analyzing news, social media, and videos to find out what news is fake. As players uncover tactics that are used to fake media, they gain tools they can use to recognize fake news. This can help encourage skepticism of misinformation so people are not as gullible as they are now.

ICE Simulator

In this game, you play as an ICE officer and do what they do best. But during this, you have to determine which immigrants should and should not be deported. This may seem like a controversial game, but the catch is that the people you are trying to find can either be really good or really bad people. So you may either have a civilized conversation and come to an agreement, or you might be in a gun fight. The aim of this game is to spread awareness on what is going on and to simply make the player change their attitude for good or worse.

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Week 2 Question Set

  • what advergames have you played? did they influence a purchase?
  • Skate 3 may be a far reach, but for those who don’t know it is one of the largest and most popular skate games ever made. It can be considered and advergame though due to the large amount of brands incorporated into the game. You can wear Vans, Converse, Nike, etc. This did influence me into buying a specific skateboard I had in the game.
  • why do the advergames tooth protector and escape work? What makes chase the chuckwagon and shark bait fail?
  • Tooth protector works since it makes learning about dental hygiene fun. Escape is fun because it gives a sense of adventure and urgency, keeping you playing. Chase and Shark Bait fail due to possible lack of engagement, if the product placement or gimmicks of the game are too obvious is can shy players away.
  • what does volvo’s drive for life accomplish? 
  • They incorporated their safety features into the gameplay narrative, and by doing so it positions itself as a leader in safety for their cars. It also implants into your head that you like Volvos due to the game which can cause you to lean towards one in your next car purchase without even realizing.
  • what company used in-advergame advertising 
  • In the case of Skate 3 which is the game I played, there was plenty of advertising for Dr. Pepper as well as Miracle Whip. In the game, you can even play as a Dr. Pepper can as part of a promotion closer to the games release.
  • what was one if the first home-console advergames and what beverage was it for? 
  • Kool-Aid Man on the Atari was very early, with Pepsi Man later coming to the Playstation.
  • what makes the toilet training game sophisticated and do you agree?
  •  Ian Boogost argues that the toilet training game is sophisticated because of its ability to portray drunkenness by having to relieve yourself. The game directly relates to the product by incorporating the “solution” as the product.
  • what do advergames and anti-advergames have in common, and what principles do they share?
  • They are both trying to convince you of something. But, advergames are meant to be in favor of one thing and anti-advergames are the opposite. But at the end of the day, they are both promoting a product, and there is no such thing as bad publicity.
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Week 1 Question Set

  1. Ian Bogost shows that social games such as Cow Clicker, are usually boring and overall repetitive. In this game, you click a cow every few hours which just relies on the players addictive tendencies.
  2. Games like Farm Ville use friends as resources, which can make friendships sort of more like a transaction / sale rather than a real connection or bond.
  3. Social games force players to check in once in a while or watch advertisements in order to skip timers. By doing this, you feeled tied up in the game since you are waiting for a timer to run out.

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Skater Skirmish: Version 1

Attached above is the first version of our game skater skirmish. In this iteration, the skatepark was much larger and less refined than the final version.

In this version, the deck of cards was also much smaller and included a smaller amount of tricks. I believe this version was important since it gave us a stepping stone to do much better, from a design that already took us long enough.

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Shark Game Review

The game really didn’t have many rules, and was written in a poem format that made it difficult. I’d like to see more action and competition overall. I do not remember the full extent of the game, but I wouldn’t change much other than just adding more to it.

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Dominion

The game was fun, but the turns felt repetitive since we didn’t use any curse cards, which led to more buying than playing action cards. Player interactions were minimal because there wasn’t any attacking, and most of us didn’t use action cards since they weren’t necessary. It took about 15 minutes to grasp the basic rules and around almost an hour to play smoothly. I’d maybe like to play again, especially with all the cards and rules fully in play, as there were many parts we didn’t use.

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Game Review

Was it fun?

Simply yes

What were the players’ interactions?

Being able to place a tile and eliminate another player.

Would you play it again?

Yes, but it is sort of repetitive.

How long did it take to learn?

3-5 Minutes

Analyze the game using the 3-act structure.

In the beginning, it starts simple by following your own path, in the middle it gets hard because the lines are getting confusing, and in the end everyone is basically analyzing the board to see if there is a way they cannot be eliminated.

What is the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game?

Being able to force them off the board.

What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout?

I like that the game was simple to understand, and doesn’t have much of a learning curve and that makes a lot of room for developing a strategy.

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Game Review Citadels

Was it fun?

Yes, + it was very straight forward.

What were the players’ interactions?

Being able to sabotage people made it interesting. As well as the fact that everyone sort of started to figure out what characters people had.

Would you play it again?

Personally no, just not my type of game.

How long did it take to learn?

Took maybe 10-15 minutes.

What is the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game?

There was always a competition between people and the king for who goes first, but there’s definitely an advantage for those who have played it.

What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout?

Every card having it’s own uniqueness and mechanics to it made it interesting, and that stood out to me.

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Game Review Bohnanza

Was it fun?

Yes, simple and easy.

What were the players’ interactions?

Being able to auction and trade beans made the game interesting, adding a strategy to specifically not give others the beans they need.

Would you play it again?

I would, but not the length it is intended to be played since it was taking a while.

How long did it take to learn?

It took me a good bit to understand the game, but after maybe 5-10 minutes it clicked.

What is the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game?

Getting coins was very competitive, but trading was the biggest collaborative part of the game.

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Game Review Tokyo

Was it fun?

Yes

What were the players’ interactions?

It has an aggressive play style, which helps keep the game interesting.

Would you play it again?

Definitely

How long did it take to learn?

15ish minutes, didn’t come super easy.

What is the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game?

Defeating the other players, and the monsters outside vs inside tokyo.

What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout?

Rolling the dice to do actions made it simple, which I like since I personally like more simple games.

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Garden Sabotage Game Review

Was it fun?

Yes

How long did it take to learn?

Maybe 10 minutes, was slightly confused at first.

Would you play it again?

Possibly, if everyone else was I would.

Was it frustrating?

It was difficult to get the cards I needed from what I remember.