Fix #7-8

Wholehearted Participation

As this is the first, and most likely the last time I will ever be asked to participate in a game for credit in a college course, I overall believe the experience is aligned with the various lessons we have discussed in previous weeks.  As my style of gaming is not exactly the same as the common Settlers player, I have grown found of the challenge and the various levels that come with it.  As a few have mentioned that they only strive to reach level 40 – I may find myself trying to reach beyond that goal.  One reason is that I have already invested so much time, why quit at 40?  I do believe I will slow down and let the island build up necessary resources and may not dedicate as much time to monitoring my adventures, but I believe that the ultimate goal of 50 would be realistic as a casual gamer. 

This week, Chapter 7, “The Benefits of Alternate Realities” ventured into the concepts of Chore Wars, Quest to Learn, and SuperBetter. Starting with SuperBetter, I found this game a little hard to relate to.  To put it another way, I think it is a little silly.  Perhaps since I have never found myself in such a situation as McGonigal was with her concussion.  I am however curious, since my wife has been diagnosed with Crohns Disease, if this approach would be different from all of the other methods she has attempted to follow in order to deal with the pain.  Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to convinced that she would be able to pull off something such as this.  Moving into Quest to Learn, another concept that sounds too good to be true.  As gaming has its benefits in preparing youngsters for life, I believe that there is a time and place for games, and that an entire education based on gaming may not prepare an individual for the real world in which gaming is not always found.  As a specialist in manufacturing, there are limited resources that could be adequately taught through gaming. 

Now I seem to take the negative approach on many of these topics, but will admit that Chore Wars is worth the effort.  My family and I have begun our own quest in the game in hopes to teach our children that keeping a clean house can have more rewards then they know.  We set up our first mission, to rid the bedroom of the evil Trolls who mess them up.  My son has already begun to plot a few other adventures related to cleaning up his cloths.  It involves some type of blob or something that leaves a four smell in the laundry.  Kids!

Meaningful Rewards

McGonigal (2011) states that Fix #8 is that we find satisfaction in meaningful rewards when we need them the most.  As noted, it may not be a game, but a “gesture toward a game”. (p. 148).  I believe that the popular social network Facebook provides a similar gesture.  When an individual comments on a certain activity, situation, or belief, fellow social networkers can “like” a comment.  Other may “like” a graphic or video.  The feelings or getting a “like: can be somewhat compared to a plus one in social networking.  The more likes, the more positive one feels about their comment or shared post. For this, I agree with McGonigal from personal experience.

Now we move onto Jetset. As I read, I become more intrigued.  I fly a tremendous amount now with my new role – almost a new city each week.  As I do not fear flying, I certainly am frustrated with it (especially with Southwest and their ridiculous polices). However, I recently have used Settlers as my escape.  It certainly is more difficult to navigate the interface on a small Surface, but I can atleast send the armies out on an adventure or the geologist out for coal before flight to find them done with their mission when I land.  I however am going to consider Jetset for my next trip to Jacksonville in 2 weeks. 

To conclude my blog with a reflection upon Settlers this week, I agree that beyond the requirements of this course, I have found some intrinsic rewards in completing the levels thus far. I suppose the most meaningful rewards have been from completing the higher leveled adventures which offer a ton of great resources and experience.  As it takes time to build certain resources such as titanium ore and granite, winning an adventure often provides a nice quick set of these resources. To be honest with you, my heart races a little every time I send an army in – waiting to see the progress bar and hoping to breathe a sigh of relief.  It not only means you win – but that you made the correct strategic decision and in some ways makes you feel that your knowledge of attack methods has grown. Once you get have this understanding of the different attack strategies and the capabilities of your warriors, you gain a better sense of control – probably like a real general learning the capabilities of his real army.

McGonigal, J. (2011), Reality is broken, Broadview Press. 

Fix 5-6

KingSala = Level 42

For this first part of the assignment this week, I reached out to a fellow Settlers player who goes by the name, KingSala.  KingSala was kind enough to reply and answer several of the questions.  Sala has been playing for 6 to 7 months.  He generally logs on and plays casually between 1pm and 7pm Pakistan Standard Time.  He plays it mostly for the social aspect, and does socialize a bit. He finds the difficulty of the game to mostly contribute to the challenges he faces. He likes the fact that it is not very easy. His most successful tasks include trading, socializing, and adventures, He however does not play standard video games.  Overall, he choose this game because of the interesting story and goals. 

Fix 5-6

Social Connectivity

To begin the portion of my assignment on fixes 5 & 6, I must take a moment to reflect upon my personal opinion of the readings in a general sense. I personally do not agree with McGonigal’s entire section on social connectivity.  As I don’t think she is wrong, I just believe that as a general statement, not everyone who plays games online is about social interaction.  I personally do not like interacting on this level. On page 81, McGonigal (2010) discusses the nudge that is given by fellow gamers to help one out by supplying gifts and buffs.  This is incredibly annoying for those who do not find an interest in the game.  From personal experience, I can say that many of my close friends are frustrated with game requests on Facebook.  I myself have unfriended individuals who sent me various requests daily.  I did not join a social network to be bothered with game requests, I joined to stay in contact with friends.  I believe that the nudge McGonigal speaks about is somewhat dated, and that the viral obsession with game requests has not done justice for the true benefits of gaming.

With that said, the level of social interaction in Settlers is reasonable.  As buffing and trading are vital components to survive, it is not overwhelming.  Some issues that I have come across include denied trades and other gamers who back out of adventures. As a denied trade could mean that the individual does not have the goods to trade, there is no direct feedback or reason why the trade was denied.  Maybe a future game feature?  Also, the requirement of gamer participants on certain adventures has its limit.  I would prefer to play solo, however many adventures force me to interact.  Now this is not always a problem, but adventures require players to have the same gaming philosophy and strategy, and this is not always possible.  

I currently am part of SirGoffy’s Guild.  I have occasionally reached out to members for assistance, but am reluctant for several reasons.  As far as connecting – I have had several buffs from certain members, and I have returned the favor. As we did not physically chat, the understanding of teamwork is mutual.  As McGonigal states, “Every gift or favor someone bestows upon you helps achieve your goals in the game” (2011, p.81) There is a good feeling about gifting others with buffs and trades in Settlers, and when they return the favor, it knows we are working toward the same goal.

Epic Scale

 I am an avid fan of the “Epic Scale” concept of gaming.  I look at the concept from several perspectives. I choose gaming as a way to physically enter a fictional place and make a difference.  As reading can allow one to create their own vision, video games provide a consistent view of the authors (game designers) vision.  From a former professor of digital animation, I can appreciate the time spent on the planning, creation, and distribution of games with epic scale environments. As I have played all games in the series of God of War, I find the environments to be immense.  As the character Kratos is the main focus of the adventure, the grand scale of the various levels shows one character can cause havoc in the world of Greek Mythology. 

The epic scale of Settlers has not impressed me compared to that of the God of War series.  Two different genres and two different gaming platforms.  However, the ability to expand into other regions for adventures and expeditions is very interesting and adds to the grand scheme of things.  Now to contradict the social aspect of working together to be part of a “Something Bigger Than Ourselves”, Settlers promotes both working together to achieve goals (adventures) but also provides an aspect of completion through expeditions.  This level of competition can be somewhat uncomfortable for certain gamers.  I do not prefer to work against live people.  It is uncomfortable for me.  Beating the computer and winning the game provides enough fiero for me.  The term “completion” was not really discussed in McGonigal’s text.  As it can be implied from many of the examples, competition to be the better player was not explored to its fullest.  In this game, one may consider the reaching of Level 40 to be somewhat of a competition.  As it builds motivation, it may also provide added frustration.  If you are unable to keep up with the team, you may start to feel isolated.  I believe it is an aspect that is not clearly defined, and could be misinterpreted by others.  

McGonigal, J. (2011), Reality is broken, Broadview Press.

Fix 3-4

Leveling Up

 

As I have recently progressed into Level 36 in the Settlers online game, I have a sense of accomplishment, but at the same time have a little discouragement when I realize how much effort needs to go into reaching the next level.  As with many games, each level incrementally increases in required experience points.  As reaching a new level is rewarding, it is also a reminder that you need to try harder if you want to see the next level.  This is exactly what is meant by “virtuous circle of productivity” (McGonigal, 2011, p.53).  A large task at first is too much, but slowly build toward it – and the next level seems a little more realistic.  I suppose this could be a metaphor for education.  As an educator, I found more success with slowly building up the skills of a student, rather than just throwing them into advanced work.  However, I did have the occasional student who wanted to jump right in to the advanced lessons.  It is probably good that games have the ability to limit the challenge.

To reflect more upon the Settlers game – one must consider game play under normal circumstances, and then under circumstances such as ours when we have a limited amount of time to reach a certain level.  As reaching level 40 may be a reasonable goal – adding the time factor may slightly increase the urgency of completing tasks in a timely manner.  However, due to the nature of Settlers, many limitations on the game prevent a player from progressing too rapidly.  Some examples include the limited resources that are available to use on certain buildings.  In order to meet the task of creating a Crossbow Maker, I must not only obtain the 2500 granite for the building, but an additional 3500 for the titanium smelter that is required to manufacture the crossbows.  Since granite is not readily available to mine, you must rely on a search or purchase the granite which is very expensive due to its rarity.  As time would eventually provide the means to obtain the granite, trying to level up by May offers a little more of a challenge. 

Clear goals and actionable steps 

There are many different levels of goals to achieve in the Settlers game.  Some clear and some not so much.  In particular, the goal of leveling up is the most obvious.  Others include the production and balance of products and resources needed to sustain a functioning colony.  In the Settlers game, the depletion of resources is factored in to keep players returning – hence adding to that little bit of obsession or addition that may evolve. I have player a similar game called roller Coaster Tycoon.  As the goal of this game was to build and maintain an amusement park, the system gave you a little more freedom in management.  As the rides you built would shut down and stop producing funds, there was a way to schedule maintenance personnel to make repairs.  This way, if you walked away from the game for a few hours, you would not return to find all of your resources gone for good.

In terms of actionable steps, I believe game very clearly defines this through the interface and task window.  Especially with adventures, subtle hints to accomplishing the adventure are noted in the description.  As the primary goal is to win the battle, each adventure offers a new way to critically think and approach the battles with strategy.  

Feedback

The feedback system in Settlers is designed to provide the gamer with a sense of feeling like part of a colony.  Messages from the King and other avatars in the game explain the purpose for the various missions, tasks, or challenges you face throughout the game. In terms of control, you decide what tasks to complete and in which order.  In some cases, tasks requested of you take time, while other may immediately provide you with an accomplishment from already having the necessary items in your inventory to meet the objective of the task. Most tasks offer some reward, and in most cases, the reward is relevant to the task accomplished.  You may delegate Crossbowman to the King, but he rewards you with more crossbows.  

Most feedback is encouraging in a positive way.  Other games may offer a more realistic approach, perhaps military games where a captain is barking orders at you – screaming for you to win the war.  More dramatic, but also not necessary for this type of game. 

Mastery

There are many aspects of the Settlers game to master.  First is the art of trade.  In order to succeed, you must understand and acknowledge the various values of such resources and items.  If a player is not fully aware of a resources true value, they can quickly lose much of what they worked so hard for.  As time has gone on, I have realized why certain items cost more in this game.

The mastery of war.  This particular topic has much controversy tied to it. Some players use strategy guides or step by step instruction on how to win a war, while others strategically match the strengths of one type of warrior with the strengths of the other - as I call it, trial and error.  One feedback system that was not mentioned earlier, is the ability to mouse over a camp and recognize what warriors are guarding the camp.  It also provides some tid bits of info that hint to how the warrior will go down.  This is also evident in the expedition fights and their various levels of rank.  Mastering the attack plans comes with advancing through the various adventures provided.  

Finally, mastery of building placement.  As you progress through the game, you see the impact of building location on how the resources are sustained.  Particularly, the location of storerooms are vital to success.  Higher (in demand) resources such as gold mines, should be close by a storeroom, while residence have no benefit near the storeroom buildings. Mastering this understanding helps to streamline the performance of the settlers and improve your inventory.