Thursday 26 April 2007
Call of Duty revamps, my heart sinks.
The Call of Duty series have always gotten me going. I'm a huge fan of World War II games as to me it was one of the very few things my grandfather and I had in common, besides the love of ice cream. Call of Duty was sweeping in scope and epic in sound to say the least. My fandom towards World War II has seeped over into my Master's dissertation (they call them dissertations across the pond) by using a similar game, at least in genres. Tad heartbreaking to see COD breaking the trend, but you can't stay in the same rut forever. I'll probably still buy it.
You're going to kill someone with that controller!
Henry Jenkins gives his thoughts on media violence here. I wonder if anyone actually ever plays these video games or watches the movies before they go to press? There is this creeping feeling in me that we need to take all journalists on at least a more updated media studies course because they seem in dire need of reeducation.
In The Beginning...
Honestly, it started with Pitfall and Tennis on the Atari. By six, I was able to put in command prompts on my Commodore 64 and the things that interested me most? Fletch, playing outside, and Keystone Kapers. I led a balanced life as a child but the firm grip of video games has never let up on me. Been a 'gamer' now for 21 years. Long time isn't it? Yet, I don't remember doing one violent thing because of the games I played, but don't tell that to Jack Thompson.
Lots of things get blamed on video games. Kid shoots up a school, video games. Kid takes shots on the freeway, video games. Kid joyrides in a car, video games. Are we getting the picture yet?
Well, I don't buy it, never have and never will. Some of my most fond memories of childhood are the debates I would have with my teachers over what caused violence, me seeming to always take the side of the media. This molding me into a college student, where I studied law and film; desperate to find a middle road in between my two interests I gradually started getting into using video games in education. I became completely hooked, but had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how to further my interest.
A few years later, here I am at Graduate School studying how video games could be used in classrooms. Not the games you remember that were horribly boring and repetitive but games that kids shell out fifty or more dollars for and can't get enough of. I want those in the classroom, not the Oregon Trail (although I loved that game and would probably fail out of school right now if I had a copy). The next few months, these are my goals, this is my website.
Here you will get a partial chronicle of my educational path but mostly I'm using this site as both an educational resource and a news resource. Studying video games and not becoming the swelling masses of reactionaries decrying this type of media is a very difficult minefield to cross. We get asked questions as to the validity of our studies and whether or not what we do is important. On top of this, despite the growing number of educational resources devoted to the study of games, most people who start out have troubles knowing where to go to research. This is where I come in. Here, you will get news resources as well as some of the best educational and online resources that I know of. This website has just started so please be patient, but in time I'm hoping to be one of the many corners of the online universe available to those who play to learn.
Welcome, wipe your feet.
Lots of things get blamed on video games. Kid shoots up a school, video games. Kid takes shots on the freeway, video games. Kid joyrides in a car, video games. Are we getting the picture yet?
Well, I don't buy it, never have and never will. Some of my most fond memories of childhood are the debates I would have with my teachers over what caused violence, me seeming to always take the side of the media. This molding me into a college student, where I studied law and film; desperate to find a middle road in between my two interests I gradually started getting into using video games in education. I became completely hooked, but had ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how to further my interest.
A few years later, here I am at Graduate School studying how video games could be used in classrooms. Not the games you remember that were horribly boring and repetitive but games that kids shell out fifty or more dollars for and can't get enough of. I want those in the classroom, not the Oregon Trail (although I loved that game and would probably fail out of school right now if I had a copy). The next few months, these are my goals, this is my website.
Here you will get a partial chronicle of my educational path but mostly I'm using this site as both an educational resource and a news resource. Studying video games and not becoming the swelling masses of reactionaries decrying this type of media is a very difficult minefield to cross. We get asked questions as to the validity of our studies and whether or not what we do is important. On top of this, despite the growing number of educational resources devoted to the study of games, most people who start out have troubles knowing where to go to research. This is where I come in. Here, you will get news resources as well as some of the best educational and online resources that I know of. This website has just started so please be patient, but in time I'm hoping to be one of the many corners of the online universe available to those who play to learn.
Welcome, wipe your feet.
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