I have often thought about where Video Games fit in Society, like the range of titles as well as the genres themselves we push these games into convenient yet one dimensional categories, like Predator of Children, Scapegoat for civil violence/disobedience and Virtual babysitter. But have we ever stopped to consider Popular Video Games as a topic of study in Education, similar to the way we look at literature and film as text, now I'm not referring to those lovely educational games that we used in high school to teach us how to touch type. No I refer to titles like Grand Theft Auto, World of Warcraft and other popular titles, which means the study of the Conceptual underpinnings of Video Games and by extension the culture that comes with it. Now I know what you're probably thinking "oh LJN how dare you compare Video Games to Art, you're so crazy, thinking you can discuss Video Games beyond the Programming classroom". In which I reply with "why the hell not?"
Video Games can be discussed in the classroom from all different Method perspectives, for instance Objectivist underpinnings and the use of post WWII Art Deco to convey ideas of Grand Vision, in the Video Game BioShock. You could possibly go further and compare both BioShock to its sequel BioShock 2 as virtual perspectives on Objectivism vs Altruism in a Philosophy class about issues of Utopia and Dystopia. Or you could go look at the pros and cons discovered in the Virtual self through interactive Avatar based environments like Second Life, World of Warcraft and Eve, better yet discussions of virtual currencies in reality based Economics is bound to be fun.
Before you laugh and make some kind of joke about WOW click the link below
THIS LINK
The world changed incredibly with the invention of the television. In the beginning, stories, ideas and advertising was limited to the select few, but since then television has become mainstream; available nearly everywhere in the world. I've been surprised to found a television even in the most remote areas on earth.
ReplyDeleteSo, what's my point? How does this relate to video games? Well, society not only deals with the ongoing delivery of information (good and bad) from television, we now have it on our phones, computers - the Internet. Like McDonald's and CocaCola and video games - they are everywhere.
The difficulty is in moderating how students and society in general interact and experience these things. Pretending that they are not there is not a viable approach; it could breed curiosity and lead to deeper interest. It's about a balance. I feel that if, as educators, we ignore for example, video games, and neglect informing students of their purpose, value (and *danger*), we are abandoning their needs.
So - bring them in the class. Show them. Study them.
By incorporating as many of the components that students deal with in their daily life and helping them make sense of these we can shape their perceptions and opinions.
MD.