Ready, Set, Game Time

Played on Nintendo

Played on Super Nintendo

If I could lock myself in a room and play video games, these would be the games I'd play until I couldn't play it any more.

Donkey Kong Country  and Tetris would also make the cut. I will need something else to play once I save the princess.

                         

When I think about playing video games I'm immediately transported to my childhood. I was born in the video game generation. Arcades were the place to hang out until I was actually old enough to hang out in them. Why? Because Nintendo came along and changed the video game world. Now, instead of flocking into an arcade and feeding your quarters in a machine so you can beat the top score and add your name to the top of the leaderboard, your favorite video could be played from the comfort of your own home. In your pajamas in your room. All. Day. Long. Thus a generation of gamers were born.

I excitedly shared my favorite video game when it was my turn only to realize that Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong were only my gateway into the world of gaming.

Now, I eventually grew out of video games. I only maintained my interest enough to talk to boys and have a basic knowledge and ability to play the games they were interested in. When I was dating my husband we spent days playing Playstation's Grand Theft Auto III. I'm talking cheat codes and everything. We played this game until our eyes would no longer remain open.

So yea, when we started talking about games I thought about how much time I spent playing them at one point in my life. And now I hardly every play games. And they are right at my fingertips all day. I did participate in FarmVille on Facebook at one time. Trivia Crack, Words with Friends, and Bejeweled Blitz( a game I do play usually in the summertime or when I am on a break from school or waiting at the doctor's office.) 

Now, that I've gotten my thoughts out of the way, onto the list. Cause let's face it, there some things that I have to do. Even though I love talking about games and writing blogs this is a graduate class and I have to do actual work-- right? 

Daily Digital Alchemies:

They're getting harder...yikes! That. Is. All. 

On a serious tip, I am doing the ones I can do. The more I learn, the more I realize that I still don't know how to do all of this fancy stuff  with light and sound in this daily digital alchemy world. 

The Referendum:

My contribution to the referencium, is a video I've used with my students I taught a research unit where students looked at the effects video game had on adolescents' developing brain. I found this Ted Talk to be a good addition to the conversation around gaming. And I loved that this game designer is a woman! She suggest that if people spend more time playing games where they make the world better, then that can result in people actually start making the real world a better place. Sounds crazy right? But if you listen to her TedTalk, it will all make sense, I promise. 

I also, tweeted out some links to articles that list the best video game podcasts. And I listened to a video game podcast on iHeartRadio. It was pretty informative. The world of gaming is so extensive. I found the way they ran the podcast to be very laid back and conversational in a way that made the gaming world come to life. It is always interesting to learn of the worlds that exist within the framework of the games. I also noticed that the games I tend to play with the exception of the competitive ones tend to have a story. 

I have a sneaky feeling that Alan is gearing up to have us create games. Alan, I just want to create the story!