Gee brings up the interesting point that after playing video games for “eight straight hours” he found it to be a “life- enhancing experience without even knowing what [he] meant by that. This demonstrates the power of video games as discussed in David Perry’s TED talk titled “Are games better than life?” In his talk, Perry explores the potential of video games to explicate emotion from its player. The ability for video game stimuli to make one feel happy, sad, nervous or whatever other emotion is created through the player’s ability to interact with their environment while creating a fluidity between reality and virtual reality.
Perry mentions another interesting point that propaganda and brainwashing can have more success if done through video games as opposed to traditional means. The ability to connect with the masses in a “fun and engaging” (Perry) way that “leave[s] the brain vulnerable to programming”. The ability for video games to ignite an emotional response from the player can a powerful tool.
The following are a few facts about video gaming from 2006. Some of the facts disspel some myths. [Perry’s TED talk was given in 2006 and Gee’s book was published in 2003]
-43% of gamers are female
-the average age of gamers is 30 years old
-the people who buy the most games are 37 years old
-83% of games do not contain mature content (i.e. violence)
According to the Entertainment Software Association these statistics have minimally changed (this data was collected in 2012).
-45% of all gamers are female
-the average age of gamers is 30 years old
-the people who buy the most games are 35 years old
However, with smartphones (purchase of apps) and increased use of social networking games this area accounted for 40 percent of game sales in 2012.
It is interesting to note that although there is constant debate over whether violent video game content makes players violent- parents are present when games are purchased or rented 89 percent of the time.
I wonder as educators, what our role is in the real/ virtual landscape? As video games become more complex and contain layers that players explicate a lot of meaning, it is necessary to educate our students on video game literacy. Asking students how they feel after playing a game and what created these feelings. Discussions we had on film studies need to occur with video game studies and the same questions need to be asked about emotion, design, etc. As many of our students are fully engaged in the world of video games, it is imperative we incorporate video games and discussions of video games into our teaching practice.
Fatima Ali
Blog post #2
Works Cited
Gee, J. (2005). “Good Video Games And Good Learning.” Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 85.2, 33-37
“David Perry: Are games better than life?”. Youtube. TED talk. Feb 2006. Web. July 15, 2013.
2 responses so far ↓
katrinalo // Jul 19th 2013 at 12:36 am
I agree with Fatima’s point that we need to educate our students on video game literacy. I think, much like with visual literacy, there is a tendency to assume that our students automatically have the metalanguage to discuss and critique video gaming culture without having to be explicitly taught it because they encounter video games on a daily basis and are already so well-versed in these games. However, while students may indeed be much more savvy and knowledgeable about the genres of video games than they themselves realize, they still need to be given the tools to participate in the discourse and approach video games from a critical perspective. I was really inspired by Chris’ comment during his group’s presentation about using the game Call of Duty to engage students in a discussion about American representations of Eastern Europeans in the Cold War Era and how those lingering tensions filter through into popular media today. Thus, while I believe in the importance of incorporating aspects of video games into our pedagogical practices (such as implementing a process-oriented approach, instead of a product-driven one), as Gee advocates in his article, I think that that is not enough. If we are to treat video games as a form of literature—and I believe that they are—then we must teach our students to be critical consumers of video games both as text and as products of an ideologically-laden, market-driven economy. Lessons on the politics of representat3ion, for instance, might ask students to compare portrayals (or lack thereof) of women or of ethnic or marginalized peoples in video games to those in a novel, in film and TV, or in persuasive media, and to explore the effects that such portrayals have on our (subconscious) perceptions. Of course, the point would not be to tear down these video games that our students enjoy and invalidate them because they are problematic, but to help our students understand that they can still enjoy something while being critical of it, and that all texts, from traditional print-based canon to video games, are not without their politics and should be looked at with a critical eye.
Katherine Spilsted // Jul 20th 2013 at 10:58 am
Katherine Spilsted: Blog Post #3
I am not an avid “gamer” but I think the issue of bringing video games into the classroom is pretty interesting and especially when thinking about how teachers can actually use it to enhance the learning of their students. During my practicum, my SA always got me to think in terms of “okay, this may be a fun activity, but realistically what are the students gaining from it?” Now, I completely understand that students need a hook to get them interested or an element brought into the classroom that they can relate to, but I think bringing in video games would have to be done very carefully. I think there’s a limit to the usefulness if the activity is not framed and supported well by the teacher, and just turn into playing a video game and talking about it, time which could have been used differently. I don’t want to say this isn’t possible, but it does make me wonder how the students would react to bringing games into my classroom since they already associate watching movies with time to not pay attention as much- how would they see video games? I bring this up because when the presenting group brought in the video game for our class to try out- even University students had a very difficult time listening once the game was on and everyone around you is playing. It makes it seem as though the point of the lesson would be lost with the ‘game’ factor. I think that maybe the type of game needs to be an important factor and not only think about what pedagogy you can tie into the game after, but what are the students focusing on while they are playing the game?
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