Game Reviews – Spent
A game that focuses on putting you in the shoes of someone who is unemployed, a single parent, and is trying to get through the month. It involves a series of decisions, and includes facts along the way, pointing out the implications of your choices.
Posted in: Week 05: Game-Based Learning
ashleyross 2:04 pm on October 3, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
The decisions you have to make in this game and the facts that come along afterwards really makes you realize how easy it is to take for granted the small things in life. I like that once you’re done ‘playing’ Spent they provide you with information on how to help out and where to donate.
I chose to apply for the server job and when the month was over I ended up have just over $600 as I sacrificed almost everything. I also lost my car because I didn’t pay its bills and then lost my job because I didn’t have a car. I ‘played’ Spent again and decided to stick with the same job to see if I would have the same outcome. At the end of the month I only had $150 but still had a job. I found it interesting that Spent doesn’t give you the same scenarios each time and tests you to make sure you can actually complete a task. For instance it tests your skills in math if you say you can tutor your child in math.
Deb Kim 12:37 pm on October 4, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I first chose to work as a warehouse worker, but couldn’t save money before the first month ended. So I played again and this time I chose to work as a temporary worker. I was able to save $424 at the end of the month and realized that it was really difficult to save that much money. The game also tested my ethics. For example, I had to ran away instead of paying $500 for my car. However, I thought about what my priorities were when living with $306/week. I put my “kids” as the first on my priority list and then my family/relatives. Each question made me think before making a decision. It was hard to make such decisions because I had to consider not just myself but also my children who are dependent on me.
This game makes me be a little emotional and think twice before making decisions. What a realistic game! I loved playing it. It’d be very helpful for my students in Apprentice and Workplace Math 10 to do some practice on how to calculate and save their income. I’d like to try it as an exercise for my AWM10 students.
Deb
Deb
carmen 11:47 am on October 5, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I ended up with $547 left at the end of the month. To do that I worked as a server, broke the dishes and hid the evidence so a co-worker was blamed and was fired.. at the end I lost my car and lost my job. This was a fun game! 🙂 It would be great for Math and maybe for Planning too.
jarvise 2:27 pm on October 5, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I can’t believe you hid the evidence! For shame!
Just kidding. But on a serious note, it is a good, realistic exercise in seeing the implications of our decisions.
Emily
mcquaid 10:24 am on October 8, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I finished the month with $337 dollars, but I wasn’t very happy about it. I was just so focused on the goal of making to month’s end that I sacrificed many things, most notably my own honesty / character. I had no fun, didn’t allow for much fun for my kids, and turned into a more dishonest version of myself… having also hidden the dishes and letting my coworker get fired for it. I did do some good things, like return money to whoever dropped it, and a couple of other minor things… but, overall, I was unhappy in what I felt I had to do to survive. I was spent!
Other than the clean look and (forced) realism of the game (which would be great for all teachers to play to have a bit more empathy for their students & their parents), my favourite part of the game was the option to donate money or get involved at the end.
mcquaid 10:27 am on October 8, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As a side note, I found it very frustrating that, although I tried at least three times, I couldn’t get the temp job. I thought I had pretty good typing skills! I got pwned for being the apparent typing noob I am. 🙁
andrea 7:01 pm on October 5, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
After a conversation at work today about personal finances, it was interesting to play this game. It really drove home how tenuous things are for many people – after unexpected health issues or car trouble, it was easy for a series of small things to result in big problems when there isn’t a ‘cushion’ of saving. I played as the factory worker, but will play again in some other role!
Doug Smith 10:54 pm on October 5, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I liked this game and thought it brought some value as a teaching tool for Social Justice. I can also see how it could be extended to other lessons. It was engaging and required a minimal amount of committment in order to play. While this is good for the casual observer, such as myself, perhaps it’s okay to have more involved games for students. I can even imagine trying to get a school or department to purchase this type of game.
Jim 9:14 am on October 8, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I reviewed SPENT. It had a very nice interface that kids and adults would enjoy using. I did look at some of the other games and it seems to be above the threshold of decent quality. The Arctic Hunter game was lower quality and reminded me of overly rigid, older educational games of the late 90s. The America’s Army military game was based on the unreal engine and looked amazing in the demos. But I did not take the time to install and play that one.
SPENT was similar to many online games I played. I knew before I even started that it was pretty much set up for me to fail. I wasn’t surprised. The first time I played it, I didn’t make it through the month. The second time I did but with less than $100. I get it. I know the message. I do donate significant amounts every month to local and international organizations. I think it is effective at getting the message across and it does so with some style and an easy to use interface. It is a role playing game but all choices are pre-programmed so it can be a little predictable.
I think that this site could be used within a larger framework of social justice initiatives that currently are being infused into classrooms. Nevertheless, ETEC 522 is all about educational ventures, innovation, and marketable products. With that lens, it is difficult to see how a school or board would spend any money on educational games when there are so many freely available games online. The games would have to be bundled with extra features that add value, such as a student progress tracker, or a social media plugin that adds capabilities to share, discuss, and network with other playing the game. Boards general buy educational tools over educational games these days. I think that educational games are seen as either an out-dated use of ICT or the kinds of things that are freely available online.
I think computer systems and software sophistication is not quite at the point where a “killer educational game” app can be created. We will know it when we see it because it will change all the rules for computer gaming. One possible manifestation of this paradigm shifting app is suggested in Orson Scott Card’s novel, “Ender’s Game.”
In Ender’s Game, there is a game that Ender (the main character) plays while in battle school called “Free Play” or, as it was known by those who ran the school, “The Mind Game.” Free Play contained a wide selection of interrelated games, tailored to the players of the game, and Ender, the main character, pushed the program farther than anyone else. He was the first student to get past the Giant’s Drink game and forced the program to create new and more challenging levels for him to play. In fact, an artificial intelligence, called “Jane”, was later born from code and resources of The Mind Game only after it was pushed along by Ender’s interaction with it.
I am unaware of a program that exists today that not only responds so specifically and personally to a player’s actions but also has the ability to self-design customized new complex levels that challenge that player over time. To be sure, game designers use procedural generation to help make game levels and objects in games look random and unique at run time. But, I think that one possible form that the “killer app” in gaming world will take will be a kind of game with built in AI that truly responds to the user’s actions and make a the game experience completely different for every user that plays it.
mcquaid 10:34 am on October 8, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
As a short reply to this thoughtful and meaty post, I think you’re right on the money in that the best / “killer” games/apps will be ones that adapt to each user and are capable of creating customized things for that user.
Did you see the gameplay innovations that Demon’s Souls brought about when it came out? The way that players (even strangers to you) could help out or leave hints to other playing the game around the world is quite neat, among other things.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon's_Souls#Gameplay
It was also lauded (believe it or not) for how punishingly hard it was. It’s a good example of James Paul Gee’s “regime of competence” principle, where gamers excel when met right at the edge of their abilities.
Jim 11:21 am on October 9, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I had not seen Demon Souls and I see why after I checked out the link you provided… I have never owned a PlayStation. I was an avid PC gamer when I was younger (no time now that I work/have kids/doing MET 🙂 so I didn’t see it. I was 100% there on the Doom–>Quake–>Quake2–>Quake3Arena track but after that I completely lost touch. I must say, though, that Quake stand out as the most immerse game experience I ever had. At the time, there was nothing that could touch it! Then, when it went multiplayer online, that was amazing! The people at id software I sure have secured a place in gaming history for what they have done.
Did you play Demon Souls? What was that experience like? It would have been cool if previous players in Quake could have left clues as you mention…
khenry 6:16 pm on October 8, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I played this game twice doing different jobs and I never made it to the end of the month. Clearly i need to never be out of a job! Some issues really affected me in a different way than just hearing about them. For example, I believe that there are just some choices that a parent just must make. However, I found myself thinking that I needed to sacrifice the school plays, the shoes, the ice cream etc. The kids really got the brunt of it. This experience really hit home more so than having a conversation/discussion. Powerful!
Kerry-Ann