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Editor's note: Having recently gone back to school myself, I'm sad to report I haven't had any video games assigned in class yet. Here, Rachel reports on how what seems to be a dream scenario played out in her class. -Greg
One of the great things about advancing past entry-level college classes is that professors are much more creative in classes made up of upperclassmen. For example, some will shun multiple-choice tests in favor of creative writing assignments and hands-on experience. The only real disadvantage to the more creative teaching is that it can be difficult to know what you are getting into when you sign up for a class.
So it was with trepidation that I signed up for Management 491: Management in Popular Culture not really knowing what a pop culture management class would amount to. Fortunately, not only did I enjoy the class, but it also turned out to be the only college class I’ll take that requires students to play through a video game.
The assigned game was Miss Management, a time-management game that you can find on Big Fish Games for around $7. When our professor first explained the assignment, I was disappointed since I’ve never really understood the appeal of time-management games. What really intrigued me was the fact that we were required to beat all of the game’s 30 levels. When my professor gave that requirement, a good portion of the class began protesting that they weren’t good at games and it didn’t seem fair to ask them to be. My professor was unmoved and told us that once the game was completed we had to write a short paper outlining the problems the main character faced in the office.
At first I was excited that a professor wanted me to play a game. But quickly I began to view it as one more irritating assignment to complete before finals. What strikes me looking back is the amount of annoyance I felt toward the game itself. The entire time I was playing I kept thinking that I could be working on other “serious” assignments. Also, I never once found the game fun. The only thing I cared about was completing the game so that I could churn out the paper and move on to other things.
Now with the power of hindsight, my attitude toward the assignment makes me feel guilty. Why didn’t I view this assignment as a serious class project? Over the years I’ve learned a lot from video games. When I was in third grade my parents bought our first PC. A friend subsequently lent me his copy of Age of Empires and I loved it, not only because it was my first real-time strategy game, but also because it fueled the budding history buff in me. When Age of Empires 2 came out I was delighted to discover that it contained a history page on all of the civilizations and units. I probably spent as much time reading the history pages as I did playing the game.
Around that same time my math tutor began using games to drill me on my multiplication tables. I could go on forever about the resource management, time management, and critical thinking skills games have taught me.
Even with those experiences I still couldn’t take a game seriously as a college assignment. It's possible that part of my problem is that the game just isn't that good. Or, even though I play games, might I still be susceptible to the stigma that games are a waste of time?
What does everyone think? Have you ever had a game assigned for class? What games do you think would be valuable as a class assignment?