Alana Tush
Crossing the bridge thoughts- I wasn’t in class so I didn’t get to see it played, but I looked up images and it looks similar to some of the other games as have looked up where you have to walk and maneuver through things with the character. It also looks similar to some modern-ish games like stick ninja or something.
What learning games have you played?
Cool math games is still fun and sum dog used to be the shit in elementary school. At the time I didn’t think I was actually learning anything or at least practicing math but it is an effective way to keep kids sharp. While I liked cool math games better, I think sumdog was a better learning game because it wasn’t as broad as cool math games.
What is ian bogost’s argument and do you agree?
His argument is that “gamification is marketing bullshit, invented by consultants as a means to capture the wild, coveted beast that is video games and to domesticate it for use in the grey, hopeless wasteland of big business, where bullshit already reigns anyway.” I agree with him, while I’m not well versed in the game community, all marketing has some twisted/ or un-true element to entice consumers.
What is a serious game and why aren’t they chocolate covered broccoli?
Serious Gaming is used to teach and provide a message. “Games that blur the line between fun and education”…can be called chocolate covered broccoli. “A coating of sweet does not make the learning suddenly fun.”
New ideas for a serious game
1. Match statistics/facts with things in nature to learn about how the environment is being effected by humans
2. Fill out a bingo card of common items that are over consumed and see the amount of over consumption you participate in. For example- owning more than 5 reusable water bottles
3. kids game where they have to practice multiplication to collect items in the grocery store to complete a recipe card. The reward is being able to cook or bake the recipe
When I was in High School, we were forced to only play games on the website IXL. I sucked at math, and will always suck at math. I think I only had a fraction of the fun time with Cool Math Games like everyone else due to sneaking the tabs in a smaller window.
I agree that playing math games didn’t make me like math anymore. I really just wanted to beat my classmates more than anything, but it ended up being more of a chore than actually fun
I played the Crossing the Bridge game in class! It was definitely unlike any other modern game I’ve played. It surrounded the idea of illegally smuggling drugs, weapons, and “aliens” over the border for money to buy furniture for your house in Mexico. Definitely quite different than stick ninja haha
The overconsumption bingo seems like a great idea because that is such a big problem!