Video+Games

Video Games in the Classroom toc = = =Introduction= The objective for this wiki is to present a diverse range of video games and virtual worlds, reflecting a spectrum of educational and entertainment purposes. The games are displayed in alphabetical order. Games such as Ace Attorney and Oddysee represent the popular or bigger budget games, while Blueberry Garden, Braid and others represent the smaller independent games. 3rd World Farmer, Ayiti, Food Force and Karma Tycoon are similar “serious games” with easily applicable connections to the curriculum. This list is not meant to be comprehensive, but merely a starting point for you to add a game that you feel is interesting and relevant to the English curriculum in some way. The game God of War, was considered for the wiki because of its applicability to a study on ancient Greek mythology. However after reviewing the game, it was decided that the violence was too graphic and would most likely not be used in a classroom and therefore it was kept off of this wiki.


 * Have an interesting game that should be included here? You're welcome to add it to this list, or post it in a discussion. **

=3rd World Farmer= 3rd World Farmer is a free online "serious game". Designed like many management games, the interactor must purchase and manage products to sustain a living. However, 3rd World Farmer differs from Sims or other games where the object is to accumulate wealth and material rewards. In this farm and family management game, the goal is to keep your family out of extreme poverty after a series of experiences with bad harvests, civil wars, corrupt officials, guerilla raids, or market changes. From what I understand, the game is designed to make you lose everything in a few turns, with no discernible strategy to be successful. Therefore the ultimate goal of the game is really to create awareness about 3rd world issues.

The website claims that this game "is a great starting point for discussions of 3rd World issues, so we encourage teachers to use it in class".

=Ace Attorney= Ace Attorney is an adventure/visual novel game for the Nintendo DS system in which the interactor takes the role of a defense attorney and must investigate, find evidence and solve problems. I know the availability of this game poses difficulty for educators, but I include the game here because it is a "non-educational" game which a lot of educational opportunities including an interesting and engaging narrative story. If interested, see the [|website] for more information.

=Alabaster= [|Alabaster] is an interactive fiction/game format with 18 possible endings to the story. This fractured fairy tale was created using open authorship methods by which Emily Short wrote the introduction and the other authors contributed to the text.

In interactive fiction, the interactor must read and examine the text to infer clues about how to proceed. Alabaster is good because it provides little suggestions about where to go next and which commands you can use to explore. It is a bit like finding keys to unlocked doors, you must type the write word to gain entry to another aspect of the fiction or to progress the story along. As you progress, the environment changes around you and you must reconsider how to interact with the new environment.

The website includes information such as walk-throughs, graphic organizers which explain the plot structure and other key information.

Digital Literature provides students with opportunities to learn new skills beyond the traditional literacy skills. Electronic literature is distinct from traditional mediums in two ways : "autonomy, the ability to act and change on its own, and interactivity, or the ability to listen, think and react intelligently to the audience (the user)" (Stern 16).

=Ayiti : The Cost of Life=

Ayiti: The Cost of Life is a strategy video-game in which the interactor manages the roles of family members Jean and Marie and their children Patrick, Jacqueline and Yves living in rural Haiti. The player chooses among various goals for the family such as education, making money, staying healthy or maintaining happiness and each goal affects the outcomes of the game and there are different victory conditions depending on the strategy chosen. The graphics are simple, but effective and the game provides a good soundtrack and sound effects.

This screen caption to the right shows Jean in front of the work area, where there are several options for the type of work available. The options change when Marie or the children are deciding where to work. Marie has three options, a rum distillery which is difficult and dangerous work environment but pays 308 Goud, a market woman position which pays 252 Goud and a volunteer position which pays 0 Goud. There are options, for example when the weather cools a little to work harder to earn more for the family, but this can cause health problems and require a trip the clinic or hospital.

In between seasons, the game provides information about certain events in Haiti, often depicting information and real photographs of Haiti to increase social awareness. During play, for example in the display on the right, a hurricaine warning occurs and the interactor must decide whether to spend money on boarding up the windows of the family's home or save the money and risk hurricaine damage.

This game was designed with the classroom in mind where supervision and discussion enhance the game. Lead designer Nick Fortugno explains, "Part of the point of the game was that your assumptions about education are shot down in a dramatic way. If I had known that so many people would play it on their own, I might have framed the experience differently, so that people would be prepared for that failure and there would be less of a barrier to replay."

For players like I who quickly found their avatars in extreme poverty and subsequently dead, there is a walk-through available [|here] with tips on how to beat the game.

**Lesson Plan**


=Braid= I was first introduced to [|Braid] this year in a course on digital humanities and it changed my perceptions of video games. Braid features gorgeous watercolour graphics, beautiful music and complex characters and plot. Braid is available for Xbox 360 or PC. Tim is the protagonist of the story, who - following traditional video games - is on a quest to save the princess with whom he has had a troubled relationship. As Tim attempts to fix his regrets by undoing the past, the interactor also fixes their mistakes by reversing time, even after death. Each world interacts differently with time and it is up to the interactor to figure out how.

This is a great game to discuss in the classroom to deconstruct traditional gameplay concepts.

=Blueberry Garden=

Blueberry Garden is an independent game. The website explains that it is "a short experimental game about curiosity and exploration. You take on the role of a creature investigating a mysterious world to find out what is going on there." Your beaked character, walks, carries and eats blueberries which provide powers for a limited time, and can fly for brief periods of time. As previously mentioned, the game is about exploration, and therefore apart from learning the basic controls, there are limited instructions. This may frustrate some of your students, so be ready to warn them that it is an exploration game. That being said, there is a basic goal of the game, to plug the faucet and stop the garden from filling with water.


 * Topics for dicussion:**
 * Discuss the visual aesthetic of this game compared to other games. Which is preferred and why?
 * Does the form (the visual, designer grammer, etc) effectively reflect the purpose (or playability) of the game?
 * Discuss the sound and audio. Is the music effective for this game? Why or why not?
 * Disucss the playability of the game? Was it easy to control? How long did it take to figure out the purpose of your exploration?

Below is a video walk-through of Blueberry Garden. Please note, as with most walk-throughs, it does contain spoilers. Some students may want to watch a bit of the video if they are getting stuck on how to play. media type="youtube" key="oB0jhtJMgmc" height="385" width="480"

=Choice of the Dragon= Choice of the Dragon is a free, browser based, choose your own adventure game. The game is entirely text based, without images, but the text is funny and engaging. For example, in one village someone is making a speech, and you are presented with the options, of "He's boring. Eat him now." or "Let him finish." Each decision affects the personality of your dragon. For example, when I elected to battle another dragon my "brutality and honour" increased, a dragon lifestyle, which I had been trying to avoid instead opting for cunning and intelligence to beat my adversaries. You can also decide what your dragon looks like, its gender, colour, and name.

The screen caption below is one of the examples of the text, which can generate some really interesting class discussions. It reads, "As you think about it, the knight's attack was probably inevitable. After all, you did just kidnap the princess from right out of her tower. Although... Isn't it a little sexist to always kidnap princesses?" The class can discuss the roles of princesses in video games. A helpful review from Casual Games explains that:

"Games of this nature encourage exploration. Not necessarily of the "walk every road, dive into every lake" type, but of the story, the characters, and of how your decisions impact the rest of the game. You're encouraged to do as you please, but one thing the game is missing is some sort of checkpoint system allowing you to go back and retry certain parts of the game. It's a fine design choice to make your decisions be a permanent part of the game, as that gives things a sense of permanence and forces you to think about your choices before clicking. There were a few times I found myself morbidly curious as to what some other options would have revealed, though, and I wished there was a way to just peek around the corner before moving onward."

=Enercities=

Enercities is an online game-based learning platform funded by the European Commission. Similar to games like PlanItGreen, the goal of Enercities is to create an energy sustainable virtual city. Players problem solve to create a city that is sustainable in business practices, energy consumption and renewable energy projects. Unlike National Geographic's PlanItGreen, Enercities involves considerations into strategies to balance the economy, environment and well-being of the citizens in the community that the player strives to develop. For example, If you spend too much resources on the industry, developing business like a corporate tycoon, you will have a poor environmental score and eventually run out of resources, limiting your city's growth. With a pretty good graphic design, user-friendly interaction and interconnections to social media, this game will appeal to students. Enercities can be played on Facebook, LinkedIn as well as an online community to discuss strategies and methodologies.

Consider having students play through the game once on their own and then discuss as a group the various strategies that students employed. Students can share strategies on what was successful and what was not.

Issues for discussion ([|Source])
 * Awareness of responsible energy use
 * Co-dependence of natural resources, the environment, economy, population growth and urban landscape
 * Basic function of education regarding energy
 * Cause and Effect of population growth
 * Climate change debates
 * Sustainability
 * Global warming
 * Industry and the environment
 * The rise of new manufacturing powers i.e. China and India
 * The price of fuel
 * Our moral obligation to the planet
 * Local issues about transport

=Flickr Games= [|Photomunchrs] - Munch photos of the corresponding tag whilst avoiding the Traggles.

[|Flictionary] - Guess the compound word from two images.

[|Flillustrator] - Write a story and each word is illustrated with an image from Flickr, as depicted in my story on the right. You type your story into the box and images from Flickr appear. You can change any photo that you do not like. Students can illustrate poems, stories, etc.

[|Fastr] - Multi-player tag guessing game. Guess the tag of the images.

[|TagMan] - Hangman using tags from Flickr.

[|FlickrFight] - Type in two words and the winner is the most popular tag on Flickr.

[|Flickr Soduoku] - Sodoku using Flickr images. Much harder than the number version.

Snap - Based on a popular card game. The object of the game is to follow someone else's photograph with one of your own with a similar theme, shape or colour.

[|Bubblr] - Create a comic strip with Flickr images. Take a number of images and add speech bubbles.

[|Phrasr] - Write a phrase and be amazed as it is illustrated with Flickr images.

[|Memry] - Popular card matching game using Flickr images.

=Food Force= Food Force is another "serious game" about a hunger crisis in a fictional location, Sheylan. The game is designed for ages 8 - 13 years. In Food Force you join a crisis team to help the island of Sheylan, a community struggling after deforestation, drought, civil war and famine. You and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) team are responsible for managing humanitarian aid. You drop aid from a helicopter, design diets, fundraise, and educate the people of the community so that they can grow crops in the future. A review on Ian Bogost's blog describes Food Force: "Finally! An educational game that rocks! Informative, well produced and very enjoyable to play with....The game consists of several different missions, with animated and video cutscenes in between. Unlike what happens in many videogames, the cutscenes are not there to show off graphics but rather to give valuable information. And what it is best, the designers were able to overcome the most common trap of educational games: they keep a good balance between game and info, so you never get the impression that you are watching either a bad movie nor playing a bad game."

Because Food Force is marketed towards youth 8-13 years old, an interesting approach to analyze this game is to ask students about the appropriateness of the game for younger children, perhaps for their younger siblings or relatives. One thing to note about the game is that although dealing with very difficult issues, death is absent from the game. There are arguments to be made for both for and against the absence of death in the game, but this is an interesting topic for discussion with the students. Should we be privy to "real-world" consequences of famine, conflict etc, or is this too much for children to see?

Topics for Discussion:
 * Review the game after each of the 6 missions is completed. What do the students think about the game?
 * Go to The United Nations' website to learn about "The Reality"
 * Review the game design process that the website describes.
 * Have students research the United Nations, including the critiques against the organization.

Lesson Plans
Food Force offers three lesson plans for the Secondary classroom.
 * The first lesson is titled, "What are hunger and malnutrition?" [[file:lesson1.pdf]]
 * The second lesson, "Why are people malnurioushed?" [[file:Lesson2.pdf]]
 * The third is titled "What can we do to end hunger?" [[file:Lesson3.pdf]]

=Hanamushi: Flower Insects=

[[image:hanamushi-b.gif]]
Hanamushi is one of the most visually stunning games. To begin play, make sure the language is set to English, then find the missing pieces of the rag doll's costume, her legs, etc. That will take you through the first stage. The whole game is point and click adventure and you follow the hands at the top of the screen to move the camera left and right. In order to proceed with the levels you must collect the clothing items, there are about 48 in total and help you on your quest.

The game consists of mini-flash games embedded within the game. The website links are actually incorporated into the universe, allowing you to simultaneously explore the game and web content. media type="youtube" key="a7ArvbBXjhI" height="303" width="392"

=Karma Tycoon= "The more good you do...the more Karma you get!"

In Karma Tycoon, is a management game, but rather than trying to make a lot of money as in Sims or other games, interactors run nonprofit organizations. Interactors have the opportunity to build homeless shelters, animal shelters, youth centres, senior centres or performing arts centres. Interactors can upgrade the shelters built, but it is quite difficult to maintain enough money to sustain upgrades. Therefore, there are a variety of grants for which students can apply, but if you have accumulated too much debt, you do not qualify for a grant. Loans, on the other hand, are automatically approved, but the refinancing interest rate will quickly cause bankruptcy.

The goal of the game is to help as many people as possible, which maximizes your karma. As you progress each city gets increasingly difficult.

Lesson Plans
Introduction to Non-Profit Organizations City and Non-Profit Internet Scavenger Hunt The Importance of Managing Your Finances Devising a Budget For Your Non-Profit

=Oddworld : Abe's Exoddus= Abe's Exoddus is the sequel to Oddworld's : Abe's Oddysee. Already this game is over 10 years old, but w hat I like about the Oddworld series, is that the whole game develops without the use of a weapon. Abe progresses through the stages using his communication skills. 1 is "hello", 2 is "follow me", 8 is "stop it" etc. Your goal is to rescue the Mudokons, a difficult task because some walk off of cliffs or into bombs. As someone who did not play the original, I followed the basic storyline with ease and quickly discovered the goals of the game by playing with the controls on the first level. An interesting feature is that Abe's Exoddus can be played with two people in a co-op option, you pick up where your partner dies. There are other more recent games in the Oddworld series, including the third, "Munch's Oddysee" and "Stranger's Wrath".

Abe's Exoddus is a painful story, Abe was a dedicated and loyal worker in a meat processing plant, until his boss wanted to turn him into meat. Abe is now on a quest to save the Mudokons, who are like Lemmings and will follow Abe blindly. There are troubling aspects such as a dark storyline and alcoholism and therefore educators should review the game prior to inclusion in the classroom. = = =World of Goo= The World of Goo is another visually stunning game. It is seemingly simple in play, rescue the goo balls by building structures. However, many of the Goo balls have different abilities, some float, some are static until activated, some can be repeatedly shaped, and as you solve each puzzle you advance through different stages of the world.

There is a mysterious sign painter who guides you through the levels with his signs.


 * Educational Features:** The obvious connection to the curriculum is in a math, physics or science classroom, because of the physics-based nature of the puzzles. This means that you must follow the rules of gravity and build your structures accordingly, otherwise you will soon be starting again. There are some interesting tie-ins to the English curriculum as well, some of the sign painter's mysterious clues left on the signs help play the game if interpreted, others are just humourous. An English class will want to discuss how the Corporation functions in World of Goo. Are the Goo being used for consumption in cans of soda and makeup? If so, are we helping or harming the goo by sending them through the pipes?

If played on the Wii, the World of Goo can be played by four players, which requires a great deal of collaboration and communication. (A group of fellow graduate students and myself tried this four player option and it was very amusing!) The multiplayer option is really a co-operative as any kind of competition would quickly result in the destruction of whatever Goo structure you are attempting to create. Perhaps a competitive option could be considered for a sequel (if there is a sequel).media type="youtube" key="Tu1akAEdXJM" height="303" width="392"

The music is also really good for the game. The only problems with the game, is that there are times when all the goo were bunched together and it's difficult to select the correct goo ball, inevitably resulting in a collapse of the structure. I was also prone to clicking on a time bug unintentionally taking me back one move. Perhaps these are not "problems" but extra challenges in the game play.


 * Applying Bloom’s Taxonomy to ‘World of Goo’ (adapted from )
 * **Evalution -** students evaluate the messages of the game
 * **Synthesis -** players need to combine, rearrange and create gooball structure in order to proceed through the game
 * **Analysis -** identification of similar problems and use of previous solutions to solve new games and levels,
 * **Application -** apply the skills and knowledge of the previous level to progress in the next level, read the sign painter's signs to apply the guides to solve the level
 * **Comprehension -** understand the levels difficulties through reading of signs, describe to others what they need to do
 * **Knowledge -** Learn how the Goo operate, recall of levels and high scores achieved, label and name levels and identify problems contained within each

Lesson Plan

 * Topics for Discussion During Play:**
 * What is the World of Goo Corporation? (Student's perceptions of these questions will change as the game progresses)
 * Who is the sign painter? Why don't we meet him or her?
 * Which was the favourite level? Which was most difficult? Why?
 * What are the Goo and what happens when you collect them in the pipes?
 * What are the messages of the game? What does it say about consumerism?


 * Extension Activities**


 * Students design their own World of Goo level. Questions for students to consider:**
 * Is the level at the end of the game, beginning, etc? This will affect how difficult you want to make the level.
 * Will you introduce a new type of Goo ball? (i.e. a goo ball that only stays put for a limited time? One that self-destructs with a timer? Or turns from Green to Black back to Green? A vampire goo that sucks the goo out of other goo balls? A goo ball that shines light to see in the pitch black level?)
 * What will the level look like? Is there a theme to your level?
 * What new skill will the player need to learn to beat your level?
 * What will be the major obstacle in the level?
 * What music will be used in the level? Why?

Students can hand-draw their level and label the different parts or create an image with computer. If desired, students can attempt to create a basic design in a flash program or other animation.

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