532: Different Types of Games

Action Games

Arcade Games:

I went to ClassicArcadeGames.com and played the classic Pac Man game.  It has been many years since I have play this or any other arcade game.
This type of game is thrilling to players because there is the uncertainty about whether or not you will complete the level.  You may lose several times, but each time you get farther than the time before.  This increases excitement, interest, and motivation.  You want to keep trying over and over until you are able to do it.
When I started playing the Pac Man game, I got frustrated because my fingers didn't move fast enough and I kept losing.  After a few tries, my fingers were working better and better.  Then the frustration turned into motivation.  Once I beat the level, I felt like I could take on something harder.  This would also mean that I could earn more points.
When I started playing the Pac Mac game, I thought that it did not take a lot of thinking or strategy. The more I played it, the more I realized that I had to make quicker decisions on which way to move my player and also to watch all the other ghosts at the same time.  I had to choose an ideal time to eat a power pill.  I needed to wait until the ghosts were close enough together that I could eat as many as possible before the power pill ran out.  As the time went on, I realized I was doing a lot of critical thinking.
I think arcade games will help students work on quick decision making, reflexes, fine-motor skills, and critical thinking.  I always thought that playing arcade games would rot your brain.  Now my perception has completely changed!

Other Games

Card Games:

I did not spend a lot of time playing the poker game, because I do not know the rules of poker.  Card games are great for teaching students number sense.  I teach second grade, so we would not be playing games like poker, but we could use games like go fish, old maid, memory, and war.  These games can teach students ordering, addition, subtraction, composing and decomposing numbers, and much more.  These are great for math.

Board Games:

Board games are great to teach students strategic thinking.  They need to be able to think critically and to problem solve.  They will be anticipating what move the opponent will take and then have to revise their strategy if the opponent makes a move they were not expecting.  

Dice Games:

Dices games are also great to teach young students number sense.  Yahtzee is a fantastic game that is sure to engage students while teaching them math.  While playing Yahtzee, students have to recognize numbers, order them, and strategically pick what category they want to use the roll for.  In older grades, Yahtzee can be used to teach probability.

Narrative Games

Interactive Fiction:

I had never played an interactive fiction game before.  This was quite the experience for me.  I played the game, Zork I: The Great Underground Empire.

This was very confusing for me at first.  I clicked on the game and it didn't do anything.  I thought that the link was bad, and I almost gave up.  After I clicked on the help link, I realized the game was waiting for me to type in a command.  There were no instructions, so it was very confusing.

The first time couple of times I played, I managed to open a mailbox and read a letter.  Then, I wandered into the forest and got stuck.  I got to a spot where I could not go north, south, east, or west.  I started over with zero points.

After a few tries at the game, I was able to explore a lot farther than the previous times.  I started trying new commands and picking up objects.  I also fought a troll and slaughtered it.  I was very proud of myself.  By the end of my twenty minutes, I had advanced to an amateur adventurer.

When I first started playing the game, I got pretty frustrated.  I thought it was a little boring just wandering around the forest.  As time went on, I was motivated to make it farther than I did the time before.  Then, I started getting more creative about the moves that I tried.  When I did moves that were more than just a direction, like sit on the rug, it led to more discoveries (there was a trap door under the rug!)

This game took some critical thinking and creativeness.  I had to try new ideas and think outside the box.  I had to remember where I had already been and what I had already tried.  Once I encountered a troll that I was able to fight, the game became more interesting.  

This game will keep players engaged by exploring territory, interested by encountering surprises, and motivated to beat their own score.  Even though I wasn't playing against anyone else, I wanted to keep playing to beat my previous score or to find a new surprise.

Graphic Adventure:

I played the Graphic Adventure game, Peasant's Quest.  I like this narrative game better than the interactive fiction, because you could see what was happening on the screen.  In the narrative fiction game, you could only read what was happening.  I did enjoy getting to look around while playing.
This was truly an adventure game.  I had to explore everything to be able to solve a puzzle.  There were people to talk to you items to gather.  There were also villains to watch out for.  
This game is unique because you really have to explore and think of different ways to find puzzle clues.  The game does not lead you in a direction or have levels to complete.  You have to find places and items, and ask people questions.  You also have to add to your inventory without knowing when or why you will need something.  
This game is engaging, because once you die, you want to try again with a new strategy.  You have to ask yourself, "What did I try last time?" Then, you need to try something different.  It really takes a lot of thinking to complete the exploration.

Another Graphic Adventure:

I played the graphic and action adventure game, Zelda.  In this action adventure game, you are required to use skills and also follow a storyline.  There are different ways to move and to defend yourself.
In this game, there is a consequence when you make a mistake and get hit or touched by an enemy.  It does not make you lose the game right away.  It impacts your health, but you get about three or four chances before your health runs out.  You can find new hearts and gain additional health.  When you die, you do not have to start over at the very beginning. You get a chance to go back and start at the starting place and the enemies that you conquered are back, but you still have your weapons and rupies.  This makes it more motivating to keep trying and not give up.  You can also collect rupies to buy additional weapons and health.  
The storyline makes this game interesting.  There is background information at the beginning of the game to give you a direction for the game.  Then, you are left to explore on your own.  You can make your own decisions about where to go and which enemies to encounter, but it's not just random exploration; you know your purpose.
This game is engaging, due to many reasons.  There is a storyline that you want to complete.  It gives you an incentive to finish.  When you die, you want to try a new strategy.  My first strategy after dying the first time, was how to defeat the first set of enemies. (No, I did not make it very far my first time.)  I knew that I needed to try something different.  
This was my favorite narrative game.  It was more exciting and interactive than the interactive fiction and there was more guidance and more of a direction than the Peasant's Quest narrative game. 

Simulation Games

Sim City:

I played the Sim City-RPG Adventure Game.  This game was quite confusing for me.  There were little directions, and I am not familiar with Sim City games, so I did not find it very interesting.  

While I was playing, I started by building roads and residential areas.  Then I added parks next to the residential areas.  Next, I added more of the essentials of a town - a fire station, police department, and shopping centers.  After that, I added a few factories.  I tried to add an airport, but the game wouldn't let me.  

Then, I got a message saying that a nuclear plant was needed.  I did not have enough money left to build a nuclear plant, so I raised the taxes.  I received a message saying, "villagers pleased remained high taxes." Once the taxes were high, my village support started to decline.  I waited until 2028, and I didn't get any more money, so I was not able to build the nuclear plant.  I did not figure out how to collect taxes.  I'm not sure if I just needed to start over and budget better.

There were something unique take-aways from the game.  I needed to budget and plan what my town needed.  I should have used a better strategy.  This simulation really shows the economics of a community and how the environment affects it.

As a second grade teacher, this is not something that I would use to teach my students economics.  They don't have a grasp on money yet.  They believe that $100 will buy them a car or a house.  Instead, we could use it to discuss community helpers.  As we build a community as a class, we can see what happens to the crime rate when there is no police department.  We can also see what happens if there is no fire department.  We can discuss the factory workers, people to work at the shopping centers, people to take care of the parks, people who build and maintain the roads, and other community helpers.