Magicka - Science game in disguise?

I've had an absolute blast with a game called Magicka, an indie RPG (role playing game) that goes for about $10US on steam. Especially when you play it with friends... Boy oh boy, your stomach will be begging for mercy from all the laughing that will inevitably be happening...

Here's a short clip on the basic concept and mechanics of the game:




If that link doesn't show, you can watch it from YouTube here.

Not sure about you, but that seems to me like a great collaborative inquiry based learning game!
There are basic science concepts like the different elements which do not work too well together (eg. you cannot queue up electricity and water spells at once) or use at your own advantage (and so can the enemies), but it occurred to me that a lot of what this developer said in the video was close to what my friends and I did when we "seriously" buckled down and tried to complete some levels. (The first 2-3 hours was just plain experimenting different and humorous ways on how to trap/stun/knock off map/basically destroy each other!) Some would take certain roles, make plans, re-adjust these plans if they don't work out as intended, discuss alternative solutions and so on. We were doing this with none of us realising it! Something I took away from the recent macICT think-tank session, was about "Immersion" and the difference it has with "Engagement," and I can really see how immersion can really just make one lose themselves in something and subconsciously create their own learning experience. Without knowing, the four of us gained skills in collaboration, problem solving and to a certain extent metacognitive ability (Last attempt I tried to slow them, why did I think that was a good idea? Was it due to poor execution we couldn't succeed, or was there a flaw in our strategy? Other variables such as latency, disconnects, etc?).

I was thinking about this game when doing some research and work on a current SciTech group assignment. We set our IBL (inquiry based learning) unit question on "How do things freeze?" and whilst finding some awesomely interesting and informative videos and websites, the experiences of playing this game kind of crept into my head and it just got me thinking about it.

Ultimately, one major factor that this game can't be used in a classroom (especially a Primary one at that) is plain and simple. The dreaded V word. Violence.

Such a shame, and it is something i want to write about in the future here. The whole validity of violence and sex, not just in video games but other forms of media. But I have some questions first, so would like to at least do a LITTLE TINY WEENY bit of research before I do. Main question I am asking is, who came up with the notion that at age 15 people can watch/play something with low/mid level of violence and low level of sexual reference and some drug use and at age of 18 can experience everything else? Is there actually any scientific research done on this? Or is it just another generalisation/dodgy research like the one about how video games make children into psychotic killers? (Interestingly, in the U.S, M rated games are called T -Teen- and for ages 13 and up, the equivalent of our MA 15 rated games, are M -Mature- rated games over there and are for ages 18 and up, whereas in Australia R rated games are denied classification. Just shows what the rulemakers think of games and gamers. That is, made for kids, used by kids.)

If anyone actually has any answers or even links, insight, commentary, thoughts about this, please comment away as it will make my own research more clearer in direction.

Anyway, that's all for now, GAME ON! errmm.. I mean, write essays :(

Qualities of a gamer, learner, teacher?

Just as I posted that last one, I hopped over to the macICT blog, and found a very interesting article indeed.
Titled, Top 10 qualities of an innovative teacher. Here are some of the qualities DEVANS17 listed in her top 10,

"....

1. Innovative teachers are problem-solvers. They are never too busy to find answers to problems. So when a problem occurs, they don’t see the problem. They are usually already trying a workaround, and usually searching for a solution at the same time.

2. Innovative teachers are perseverant. If the solution to a problem doesn’t come immediately, they persevere until they find one.
3. Innovative teachers are risk-takers. They usually don’t take ‘no’ for an answer too easily. They are willing to make calculated risks, to break rules and often test untried territories on a regular basis.
4. Innovative teachers are gracious and giving. They usually say ‘yes’ when someone asks for help or needs support. They are never too busy to share their expertise.
5. Innovative teachers are not afraid to fail. They see mistakes, errors and wrong decisions as learning opportunities.
...."


For the full article, you can check that out here.

Also check out this video

It's called Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world



If the video doesn't play properly, or if you'd rather see it directly through YouTube, you can do that through this link.


So after reading through the article and watching the video, as a gamer, do you share of these qualities mentioned? How about as a learner? How about as a teacher? Personally, I found it interesting that I share most of these qualities as a gamer, more or less the same amount as a learner, but not that many as a teacher... As a preservice teacher this is something I now know I must work on harder to achieve!

Weclome fellow N.zoids!

Hello people of the world wide web! (or perhaps just a few friends, family and loved ones as this was created 5 minutes ago...)

First off, I just want to say (or write), that I absolutely love video games! Whether it is playing it, watching friends play, watching the professionals play, reading about it online, through magazines, listening to podcasts (and more recently videocasts - vidcasts??) and so on and so forth. However, I always seemed to hit a brick wall in terms of "skill" in most, if not all, of the video games that I have picked up and played in the past. No matter how much I played, or practised, or read up strategy guides and such, I just plain sucked.

As many ex-noobs may imagine, this lead to many a times where the rage monster (like the cookie monster, but way, way, WAY uglier. Not to mention the mess it leaves behind!) would be unleashed and its wrath would know no end and it'd be chaos in my computer/bed room... Or at least until my ma or pa came in and gave me the ol' LOOK. (You know what I mean. That expression on my father's face when he first saw me 'speaking' to my computer at 4 in the morning on a ventrilo server - oh boy... but that is for another time)

But I digress. Back to the point. What was it? Ah yes. I suck at games. Question is "Why?" (No trolls allowed. I know, I'm kind of feeding them) I mean, I look up strategies, video guides, pro game replays, etc, and of course practise when I can. Yet it only seems to take me so far?

So I thought I'd start this blog, mainly as a therapeutic exercise, to keep the woosah and the RM (see rage monster) within, but also wanted to sort of explore the different types of resources that are available for gamers today, compared to say, when I was 7 and my pa got me a second or third hand atari. For example, in singleplayer games, if you are 'stuck' on a particular level, all you have to do is simply open up your web browser, load up google and search "[game name] walkthough guide." Back then though, when I had my super high tech atari tuned masterfully onto a random, freed up UHF or VHF or whatever they're called frequency, the only guides or hints you could really get (especially at the age of 7) was from your friends or family or neighbours. I'm not too sure if gaming magazines were around then, which would have been quite amusing actually... "WOAH, check out the graphics on this screenshot man! It's got like TWENTY COLOURS! That's like TEN MORE than the first one!"

Ahem. So going back to my story (again), there was this game on that atari, I think it was called Kung Fu Master or something. Definitely had the word Kung Fu in it. It was a side scrolling beat 'em up, really really ancient stuff. Basically you can move forwards, backwards, crouch, punch and kick, while the "bad guys" came charging at you from both sides. As you could imagine, it wasn't that hard. Until I reached the first BOSS. Oh Em JEE. This guy did like the Chun-Li 100s & 1000s kick and this game didn't even have a BLOCK ability! (Btw, I'm pretty sure this was released before Street Fighter II) So naturally I got beaten to a pulp. Of course I kept going back and trying and trying... and trying and trying... eventually even trying different approaches. Maybe I can crouch and dodge the kicks and punch him in the hurt locker? Nope, I just got beaten while crouched. Maybe if I wait for the kicks to finish I can slip in a quick jab to the face? That's a negative, them kicks go for a looong time. Seeing as most of the kids at school were playing SEGA master system or the Nintendo Entertainment system, I had noone to ask for help! Eventually I just booted up RAMPAGE and ate people and cars and blew up cities, which kind of made me feel better.

This idea of all these resources being put out there, by fellow gamers, both hobbyists and ex-pros (retired due to real life commitments, or to start shoutcasting - which is like commentating for professional game braodcasts) is really exciting, and ever expanding, that I just wanted to write a bit about my thoughts on it from time to time.

Another thing I have been slowly uncovering from the internet and recently even at uni (forgot to mention, I'm studying to be a Primary school teacher), is the link between games and education. I think this could maybe get stretched to hobbies and education, but games moreso as I think this is a prime example of everyday technology being used for problem solving on multiple levels. (individual, collaborative and metacognitive)

Finally weaving in and out of these parts will be my own personal history of gaming, from throwing upright joysticks to throwing xbox360 gamepads, and the occasional mice and keyboards.

To finish off, if you are interested in some of the exciting stuff gaming can and is currently having with education, check out macICT, a department in my uni researching this kind of work, through their website.