Mason Tosadori Week 4

Observance

1. What made the experience fun or not?
   • The game was decently fun but there are a few tweaks I would change. The game is very chance based. I believe the americans are really strong and its super easy to catch the people on team MEX. The mex need to reveal themselves to find the churches, which easily gets them caught, and then they have 2 chances to find the green card, if they dont find it they have to send their people to actually stand on the A row and search space by space. If they miss they reveal their location and will easily get caught, so you hav to find it really early on.
2. What is the motivating factor to get or keep players playing?
   • The factor is to go and find the green card and save all your immigrants, or on the other hand stop all the immigrants from getting into america.
3. Is the game persuasive, and what is it trying to get you to do outside of the game?
   • The game is trying to get players to look at and understand whats going on at the border. Aliens want to sneak into America to get a better life while Americans are trying to keep the Aliens out. It shows what both parties have to go through, sneaking in and also trying to keep these people out.
4. What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout?
   • The games metaphor is symbolic of trying to get a better life while others try to keep them away from it. It resembles battle ship in game mechanics but the fact that your pieces directly interact with your opponents pieces is a different mechanic.
5. How does the gameplay make you feel? Who does the game make you feel empathy for?
   • The game makes me feel empathy for the immigrants trying to get into the country, but I understand how people can also have empathy for the workers who are doing their job and trying to keep people from sneaking into the states instead of coming in legally.
6. Is the game an activist game? If so what does the game play advocate for?
   • I think the game is an activist game advocating for immagrants trying to get into the US. It shows their struggles and how dangerous and difficult it is just to try and be more successful in life.
7. Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku
   • Team MEX tries to sneak, the americans catch them, away from better life

LAST RESORT

1. What made the experience fun or not?
   • The game was fun, its a mix of chess but theres a whole new aspect with the civilians and having multiple ways to win. It gives room for alot of strategy while also having a message about 2 sides of war and how it effects innocent people.
2. What is the motivating factor to get or keep players playing?
   • The motivation is to beat your opponent in battle while also keeping civilians safe in the crossfire. Its a 1v1 competitive game so that makes the competiton alot more direct compared to group played games.
3. Is the game persuasive, and what is it trying to get you to do outside of the game?
   • The game is persuasive in the sense of giving the players a deeper perspective of war. It shows how it can effect civilians and how people can get caught in the cross fire. It also gives the perspective of how civilians arent just on the sidelines, but a direct strategy that each side has to take into account.
4. What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout?
   • The games metaphor is symbolic, almost directly, of the perspective of innocent civilians in wars. The game mechanics focus on this by letting you kill and capture the civilians, giving the game a whole other loop off strategy and ways to win the game involvining civilians insetad of just killing your enemies pieces.
5. How does the gameplay make you feel? Who does the game make you feel empathy for?
   • I like the gameplay alot, theres alot of strategy and different moves to make, and because there are multiple win conditions you never know what your opponents goal might be. It is empathetic towards people effected by war who arent directly involved. It shows troops moving around them and even taking thei lives, showing the effects war has on people other than troops.
6. Is the game an activist game? If so what does the game play advocate for?
   • The game seems like an antiwar kind of game. It shows the taking of lives with troops, but also being able to set of smaller bombs and a nuke which can take out most of the board shows the losses and spoils of war.
7. Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku
   • 2 sides of a war, civilians in the way, decide how you win

What learning games have you played? Which learning theory do they fit? Which worked best?
I have played games like Kahoot and Duolingo. Kahoot and Duolingo mostly use rewards like points and streaks, which fits behaviorism because you get rewarded for correct answers. The games are competitive and have leader boards. Kahoot worked for me because it shows the whole class if you got the answer wrong, making me work harder to not embarss myself.

Is gamification “bullshit”? What is Bogost’s argument? Do you agree? Where have you seen it?
Ian Bogost says gamification is “bullshit” because it just adds points and badges to boring tasks. He thinks this does not make something truly fun or meaningful. It only tries to push people to work harder without changing the task itself. I have seen gamification in fitness apps and store rewards programs. It can be motivating at first, but it usually does not last, so I mostly agree with him.

What is a serious game, and why aren’t they “chocolate-covered broccoli”?
A serious game is a game made to teach or explore real-world topics. It is not just a boring lesson covered up to look fun. Learning happens through playing and making choices. This makes the experience feel more real and engaging.

5 Ideas for a serious game.

1. Student money manager
You play as a student who has to budget money for rent, food, and bills. You learn how to save and avoid debt.

2. Save the earth
You run a city and make choices about pollution and clean energy. Your decisions affect the environment and the people.

3. Fake New
You read news stories and decide if they are true or false. The game teaches how to spot fake news.

4. Stop the Virus
You try to control a disease in a town. You choose rules to keep people safe while keeping businesses open.

5. Life Choices
You play as someone facing challenges like poverty or disability. Your choices show how hard daily life can be.

I choose the game Gamer Girl for the podcast.