It's safe to say video games are capable of being many things- they can be an intensely competitive experience, similar to sport (e.g. PO lol), weaving powerful stories or simply being amazing pieces of art. However games are often seen as, well, just games by mainstream media, a perception that overshadows the enormous potential of gaming. I finished high school years ago, and I can't help but wish I'd studied them in school, particularly for tasks where we had to find our own texts to study, both because some games are enormously viable in this regard and because it would have been really interesting to see my teacher's reaction when I analyse a game instead of a poem or something. So what games do you think could be taught in schools? What subjects do you think they should be taught in? And what are some obstacles standing in the way their implementation? ============================ Firstly, I would love to see games analysed in English classes. I already have very strong mixed feelings about the texts I was made to study in this class, but that's a rant for another time. The stories crafted by games can be every bit as intellectually rewarding as a novel, and I could easily write an essay on some of the games I have played. They could also be taught in art as well- Journey is the game that makes me think of this, since although it has an enormously powerful story, it's complete lack of dialogue or narration make it a strange choice, while its impressive visuals also fit well within an arts subject. Games that I can envisage studying are Journey, the Bioshock games, Deus Ex (either the original or HR), The Last of Us and Spec Ops: the Line. Trouble is there's one common theme to these games- graphic content. Idk what they're rated overseas, but the majority of games I just listed are MA15+ in Australia. TLOU is R18+. This means it's difficult to envisage schools encouraging kids playing these games. The exception to this is Journey, but that raises another problem- access. Journey is a Playstation exclusive game and not everyone has access to a PS3. So how do kids study a game they can't play? Lastly is the issue of game overs- if a player is not skilled enough to beat a certain boss, they usually cannot progress and experience the rest of the game. Which again raises the question of how can one study a game without playing it.
Well, from my experience, I think Final Fantasy: VII, VIII and IX were some of the best games for me learning English. Since all the dialogue was mostly messages and no voice back on the PlayStation era. The stories were epic and it convinced me to learn and look up words in the dictionary sometimes. I mean, a mind will learn better if it likes how it learns and is interested. If sat in class bored it just going to be wondering half asleep and not learn as easy. Plus, since they RPG games, they help with learning Maths.
Video game story-lines as study pieces in English classes is interesting. Some games (but I will say now, not that many) have strong enough stories for this. However many games tell stories through their gameplay and inherent interactive nature. You can't read a video game transcript and have it make sense you'd actually have to play the game. Now that presents problems. What if some people can't complete Deus Ex, or some people can't afford a copy or a machine that can play it, and if it and the machine are provided that's going to cost a large amount of money. On top of this you encounter exactly the same problem that written fiction encounters. The time investment for a narrative heavy game like Deus Ex can easily reach 20 hours or more, not even starting on a JRPG like Final Fantasy or Trails in the Sky (although I wouldn't use many of the Final Fantasy as representative works) which can reach 40 hours easily. Now that's fine when you want to do it, but the moment you force students to do it, it becomes a huge chore. It ruins the game experience and they'll engage with it no more than they would a book they're being forced to read.
The "what if a student can't finish the game" problem is very easily remedied by just having one or two people who are good at the game playing it. If something like this were done for games like Spec Ops: The Line I would think it would be presented like a movie since a person seasoned at first person shooters can blow through the gameplay bits. Then the teacher can make small notes like how the main character is breaking down. You can also just have someone play through the game and record it, then show it like a movie. Let's plays exist for a reason: games can be just as fun to watch as they are to play, for some people even more so. Look at any sport ever, and for something more relatable to gaming itself, fighting games. And smash bros. People don't have to actually play the game to enjoy a good story. Also, if you know what you're doing, a lot of RPGs can be cut down to less than 10 hours without glitches. The actual gameplay wouldn't be at all important to a class that's studying them in lieu of books; this is where recording comes in. Look up some speed runs to see that. The main problem would be the M rated games since obviously parents don't want some of their kids exposed to that too early. Given the volume of 13 year old kids on Xbox live and even psn, I don't think it would be too big of a problem but there are these things called laws that schools have to follow closely. I'd imagine consent forms from parents would probably go out if schools/teachers wanted to study M rated games in their classes. I don't think this would be as much of a problem since RPGs can just be watched (let's plays exist after all) but there is the fact that books generally are faster to get through. That is dependant on your reading ability though, which is basically the same concept as someone not being able to complete a game faster or as fast as the person next to them. Being able to readily access the game's story shouldn't be a problem; just make copies of the game play readily available online or in the library. It would be interesting to say the least to start seeing this attempted, though if it ever does happen it won't be any time soon. I think an actual English class would never use them seeing as books are just more convenient, seems more useful for things like art classes or psychology. The more specialized and abstract majors and subjects, basically.
You're missing my point. The reason you can't just read transcripts is because the gameplay and interactive elements are important to how you view the story. Spec Ops: The Line was special because it wasn't so much the main character doing what he did it was you. You made the calls to use White Phosphorus or whatever, even if you were on rails and that's why it was powerful. If you're going to study them as a non-interactive medium like a movie then I'll think you find the better writers lie in traditional written fiction and in "oscar movies" (movies made to win oscars not to make money, i.e. not aids summer blockbuster action movies). The reason games are so powerful as a story telling medium is because they are interactive. Watching them takes away all reason you'll ever have to use a game as a subject for narrative study. Also please use SoTC as an example of how not to do camera angles.
Eh, the camera angles weren't too bad. Although it was annoying that the aiming centered itself every time you used the bow/arrow.
For the schooling system I went through, in the last two years of of english for each topic you're studying a concept with one assigned core text, but you also have to find you own supplementary texts. As a text that you can do on an individual basis, video games become much more viable. The only things you've got to contend with are the negative perception of games and the fact that your teacher might struggle to familiarise themselves with the text you're presenting. Let's Plays make for an interesting idea. It's true that they circumvent issues of access and whatnot, but do they convey the importance of interactivity? There's no doubt it's a lesser experience than actually playing through it. Personally I think it's possible for teachers to maybe discuss the role and significance of interactivity without making students experience it. But then it's virtually a movie with a couple novel techniques thrown in. And time is an issue as well, since even being played quickly games will often occupy a good 10 hours at least, there's no way that becomes expedient. EDIT: OMG I FORGOT THE STANLEY PARABLE
I think that Pokemon games could be studied in lower year groups to teach reading and to get a grasp of how to create a story (I think the newer games could be better as they are translated a bit better). I mean, I managed to teach myself to read because I really had to in order to play Diamond around the age of ~3
I didn't miss your point; just because you present a story in another way - like strictly reading Shakespeare's plays and not actually watching them as intended - doesn't take away the enjoyment one can have of it. The fact that spec ops is so linear makes it an excellent supplementary material for study, because you are forced to use the white phosphorus and then you see the effects on captain walker. There is no alternate path or decision to be had; until that end point it's exactly like watching a movie after game play sections. And the different endings are great discussion pieces on his morality at those points and why he chose to do those things over another. The impact of the events themselves do not lessen when you're not playing the game. Mainly because when you're playing you don't get that vital choice to take a different route. Linearity is a student's best friend after all. I doubt many books you've read have branching story paths. And video games have the benefit of having longer exposure to the characters than a movie. Even watching the gameplay inbetween cutscenes allows people to see Walker's change from straight laced captain into someone different. That and this game could definitely be straight up adapted into a movie. I was surprised at the story in this one. Getting off topic though. Wanted to expand on the idea I briefly touched upon on the end of my post but Ortheore said what I would want to. I really don't see video games "taking over" books as the go to teaching and studying materials for English classes, simply supplementary ones that probably won't be used in your standard English classes in grade school. At least not during class time.
Linearity does help. You couldn't use a game with a heavily branching story to learn as a narrative in early education (unless the point is to teach about branching narrative as a relatively "new" aspect of story-telling that has only truly been delivered in any practical way through the video game in recent years. Which may be an interesting thing to teach. But again I don't see a Spec Ops movie having the same impact as the game did. You don't have "agency" in the sense that you can choose another in-game path, but the option to not play the game any more is one that is always open to you. But you don't do it because it's a game and you're there to complete it. Just like the soldier is there to follow orders no matter what he may be ordered to do. Obviously not comparable in scale but on a base level of being railroaded into something almost without knowing it it's a comparable effect and one I think empowers the story to have the player experience alongside Walker. While a transcript wouldn't be powerless for Spec Ops at least, it would become a story that has been done. A soldier's dilemma has been done a few times over in movies and literature, but I think it's something a game has a unique way of showing that can't be achieved through non-interactive study.