Gaming flash back

My gaming flashbacks take me to remembering my first job which was also my first encounter with computers. Not knowing how to find my way around was frustrating because my colleagues all seemed to be having so much fun playing games at lunch or after hours on the network. I really wanted to join in to get the experience. This was a catalyst that facilitated a rapid learning of how to navigate windows 3.11 (Windows for work groups) at the time.

I started with a game called “Wolfenstein” where you played a soldier with ammo looking for some villain in a maze, discovering secret doors where you got more points and ammo and hiding behind brick walls from the enemy. I was constanlty amazed at the graphic detail of the game at the time and then came “Doom1” and that was a whole new adventure on a higher scale making “Wolfenstein” appear amateurish.

Expectedly, these fun-times were not without pitfalls as a lot of colleagues quickly got addicted to the most popular windows games then- “Chomps” and “Freecell” which led to a lot of rancour between the boss and these fellows as a sure line had to be drawn between work hours and play time so that deadlines for jobs could be met .

In the final analysis, I would say that these games helped me to learn how to use the computer more effectively, learning shortcut keys faster in the process. It was also a good way to connect with colleagues as we played as teams on the network, it was a race for time and skill, trying to discover the “hidden treasures” in each game that gave extra scores and more “life” bars. I would think that these games were stimulating enough for the senses that I still remember each of them quite well even though it has been over a decade!

Posted in: Week 05: Game-Based Learning