Unit Four: An Exploration of Two Video Games
Return to:
ETAP 623 Spring 2017 | Michael Panetta | Course Home | Unit Three: The Curation Process, or How to Find the Best Game For Your Class
Introduction
From our previous three units, we have explored the history of video games as a medium and the use of games, physical and otherwise, in the classroom. We have also developed a curation process for the choice of a video game to use in the classroom based on several criteria. We will now put that process to the test in the exploration of two video games for the classroom: RollerCoaster Tycoon and Democracy 3.
Exploration of a Video Game: RollerCoaster Tycoon
RollerCoaster Tycoon is a video game released in 1999 by Microprose and developed by Chris Sawyer. It is a business simulator built around the premise of building a theme park under certain constraints such as land limitations, fiscal management, and ride repertoires. The game as released requires the player to build a park that completes certain requirements before a certain time in the game. Such requirements include achieving a certain number of guests by the end of a given year or achieving a certain park value before the end of a given year.
The stated genre of the game, “construction and management simulation”, would indicate an affinity for a mathematics class and indeed the game would lend itself towards a very business-oriented math class. The game gives the player access to detailed financial information regarding the situation of your park. Such information includes the static construction costs of rides and scenery to the running costs of park shops to the wages you pay your mechanics and janitorial staff. It could be used as an anchor for a business math unit where students are required to balance the books of a particularly financially insolvent park and can model their conclusions in the game.
The game can also be used in a science course, especially one focusing on physics. The rollercoaster is commonly invoked during the Newtonian Physics (velocity, acceleration, energies, and so on) as a model for kinetic reactions between large objects. As it turns out, designing rollercoasters are one of the biggest gameplay mechanics in RollerCoaster Tycoon. Students would be able to use the game to design an ideal rollercoaster and could also use their model in the classroom to determine various physical phenomenon within the rollercoaster carts.
Applying our curation process, you need to determine how well your subject material will match with RollerCoaster Tycoon. The noted examples above are what I feel would work best however there can be any number of ways to link the game to your curriculum. A creative or business writing unit, for instance, can benefit from RCT’s anchoring properties, allowing a student to practice their vocabulary by writing about a guest’s experience in the park. A small project on the history of theme parks could also benefit from a student’s experience building their own park from scratch to understand just how difficult it was for attractions like Coney Island to grow to the notoriety they have achieved today.
For your particular subject, how do you feel you could apply RollerCoaster Tycoon?
Exploration of a Video Game: Democracy 3
Democracy 3 is the third entry (go figure) in the Democracy series released and developed by Positech Games. Democracy places the player in the role of a final executive authority passing or repealing laws in a simulated government towards a self-imposed goal. This goal can be anything from simply getting the country out of debt to more esoteric goals such as growing or shrinking certain demographics. The game itself simulates the country through various conditions and crises. Indeed, the game involves anything from managing a cabinet of advisors that give the player character the necessary political capital to pass their legislation to a financial simulation that dictates government spending.
The game itself, although relatively simple to run, is very complex in its implementation. It is very much a game where the player can learn how to play in minutes but take hours upon hours to master every facet of managing your chosen country. A government course could benefit from the use of the game for very obvious reasons. The game can require students to think critically about key pieces of legislation that they themselves may be affected by and to provide a logical reason for why they should (or should not) be passed. In this sense, you can use the game to simulate a parliament of sorts wherein students form their own political parties and debate the policies themselves. In this sense, it can very much be the nucleus of a Model U.N.-style course or unit. Along these lines, the students may also be required to write a political charter explaining the political philosophies represented by the party. In this sense, it can be used as an anchor for an ELA unit on professional writing.
For your particular subject, how do you feel you could apply Democracy 3?
Concluding Thoughts
From the two above examples, I hope to have impressed upon you the power that commercially available video games can bring to the classroom. The above examples are not inclusive for either the game described or the subject materials covered. As with all things, all it takes is the strategic application of creativity and connections to your subject and mandated core competencies to design a course designed to take advantage of these unique advantages video games offer. I hope through this mini-course that you have a greater understanding and appreciation for the medium.
Assignment
For your final assignment, I would like you to take any one of the three games you chose in Unit One or, if unable to do so, any given video game and brainstorm ideas for a short lesson involving the game as an educational anchor within your subject material. Take into consideration your core competencies as well as the cross-curricular connections you can make in the lesson. How did you apply our curation process in the choice of your game?
Please upload this document to the Drive link provided in Unit One. Use the following template for the title:
Your_Name_Unit_Four
As before, you will be able to revisit this link to receive feedback on your work.
Citations
Panetta, Michael. (2017). RCT with stats. Own work.
Panetta, Michael. (2017). D3 with info. Own work.
Return to:
ETAP 623 Spring 2017 | Michael Panetta | Course Home | Unit Three: The Curation Process, or How to Find the Best Game For Your Class
Thank you again for visiting my professional development mini-course!