Short post today. I'm through with my first book for this class! It was really an excellent read, despite what Goodreads says. (Seriously, don't go through those reviews. I try not to, but every once in a while I get sucked in.) I still wouldn't consider myself a gamer in the way that some of my friends, or my boyfriend is. I just don't have the patience for it, I think. He can sit for hours and hours (he's doing so right now, blasting away zombies! I know who's team I'd be on for the zombie apocalypse...) and play a game, and I can barely watch a movie without feeling like I have to do something while I'm just sitting and watching. (As I post tonight, I have two other tabs open in my browser, and I'm seriously considering turning on Firefly to listen/watch while I do other homework after this.)
So what did I learn from this book, you ask Dear Reader? Well, for starters: a whole heck of a lot more about the history of video games than I ever thought I would know. The book went in mostly chronological order, so the later third of the book was about games that I recognized: Grand Theft Auto, BioShock (which started out under the title "System Shock"), Bejeweled, and many others. It was interesting to read about the history of these recognizable games. I wonder though, if these games are too dated for our students? Maybe not BioShock, but definitely some of these others. The latest in the series, BioShock Infinite was released in March 2013. And what a damn good game that was! But I digress. I'd be curious to know what my students are playing, if they play video games. I know some of them play the 2-D exploration platform game Terraria (one of my favorites, and they lost their minds when I told them I've logged 150+ hours on it!) and some of them love playing first-person shooters games like Call of Duty. But I'd love to know what games they're playing in the middle, between those two rather extreme examples. Then I might have a better idea on how to incorporate games in to my class.
Do you play videogames? Share your favorite game below!
Ok. That's that, let's put the kibosh on video games for now. Tune in next time for the first post from my next reading choice, Make Me a Story: Teaching Writing Through Digital Storytelling by Lisa C. Miller.
Catie - it was really interesting following your posts for this book. I know relatively little about present-day gaming...I think the last video game I played was Duck Hunt when I was 5! Like you, I just haven't had much patience for it. But I do know that video games have a huge presence in the lives of many of our students - and they take many diverse forms. It is really something I should know more about. I've appreciated your commentary on this book. Cheers! - Elise
ReplyDeleteHi Catie,
ReplyDeleteI love video games, and my favorite games are sports games such as FIFA and PES 2014. I also like action games like Metal Gear Solid and Tomb Raider and simulation games. I have played many different games and these are the ones that I really enjoyed playing them.
Cheers!
Hi Catie,
ReplyDeleteI love video games, and my favorite games are sports games such as FIFA and PES 2014. I also like action games like Metal Gear Solid and Tomb Raider and simulation games. I have played many different games and these are the ones that I really enjoyed playing them.
Cheers!
Hi Basim! One of my boyfriend's favorite game series is the Metal Gear Solid storyline, so I'm super familiar with that game.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!