For the final learning reflection in Games & Learning course INTE 5320 with Associate Professor Remi Holden I have selected a few things to highlight based on key participation this semester. Works featured include blog posts, annotations via hypothes.is, and affinity space participation and presentation.

http://us.battle.net/hearthstone/en/media/#wallpaper

https://hyp.is/AVPuNPQWH9ZO4OKSlmzt/gamesandlearning.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/jholden-oth-2016-mobile-play.pdf

The Structure of Unity Community

Unity community is an expansive affinity space for members interested in all things Unity. There are approximately 32 threads ranging in topics from “Getting Started” to “Commercial: Job Offering.” The affinity space is so large, I have only focused on a few topics like “Game Design” and “Works in Progress.” I just sort of dived right in to see what sort of things people are posting and talking about without exploring the overall structure. After living in the space for some time, I’m starting to look around and notice some systems in place to better analyze who’s contributing, who’s visiting the space, and how members are measured.

At the top of the forums menu there is a button to click “members” which takes the user to a new page that displays members based on number of messages. These members are listed from the most posts to the least. A user can also click on”most likes,” “most points,” or “staff members.” All of these categories seem useful except “points” is not currently being fully utilized as everyone has 10 points. Although”points” seems like it would be a way to “gamify” an affinity space dedicated to gamers and developers, perhaps it is not being used because members think it might be cliché or they can see through what some might deem as “bullshit” (Bogost 2011). Most posts, and most likes seems to be the best way to currently analyze who is contributing to the affinity space. I’d like to know more about them.

The Three Most Notable Members in Unity Community

Based on the most current number of posts, I have discovered three “Notable Members” in Unity Community: Eric5h5, Dreamora, and Hippocoder. Hippocoder also has the most “likes” so I have ignored the “like” category for now to focus on these three active members based on the quantity of messages, assuming there may be some overlap with the number of “likes.” 

Play Journal Entry #5
As part of the Games and Learning course and study with University of Colorado Denver Information and Learning Technologies Master’s program, students will participate in both shared and individual play sessions. These play sessions are part of “learning by doing” and reflection necessary to understand what it means to be a learner through playing games. The play journals are a synthesis of scholarship and reflection on play per the chosen game.

How would you describe the social context of Heroes of the Storm, and how did this inform what it meant to play?

Game: Heroes of the Storm
Platform: PC (battlenet download)
Genre/type: RTS, action hero. Free to play microtransaction.
Players: Multi-player online or with AI players
Game familiarity: I have watched media about this game for a few years. I have only played it infrequently for 6 months. I still consider myself a “newb.”

I have not played this game with other players, only AI players as teammates and opponents. I would like to explore multiplayer matches with humans and a means for voice communication at some point. I don’t really feel comfortable doing this however until I explore more of the game and learn the shortcut keys and various nuances. I would also like to watch some YouTube video tutorials and read some articles about strategies and other game mechanics. The game does a pretty good job at guiding the player through a match, however there is a lot going on simultaneously so it’s relatively hard to follow all things.

The game universe is centered around Blizzard entertainment products. If you are a player new to Blizzard you may wonder how this odd combination of heroes and villains came together. I think Blizzard addresses this by providing a trailer for each hero or villain. For veteran Blizzard fans the game serves as a fantasy mashup with humorous elements. To play this game you should be familiar with the class types or roles, which are rather typical for Blizzard. Players may also need to have a basic understanding of the objectives of each battleground. Some knowledge of the maps helps as well. The website ultimately suggests to play the tutorials in game first before seeking too much information via the Heroes of the Storm website. Like any RTS, especially one developed by Blizzard who has a history of successful RTS games like Warcraft 1-3, players expect a solid tutorial experience which I believe Heroes of the Storm delivers.

What - if anything - did you learn during this particular play of Heroes of the Storm, and what lessons (more generally) does the game teach?

During this play test, I played with AI set to “adept” setting. I played as E.T.C in the Dragon Shire. I like to play E.T.C. “Rock God” because he is rated high in the survivability category. Otherwise I probably would have died more. The respawn timer can be long at times so it’s annoying to wait for resurrection. In the Dragon Shire players have to hold the two dragon shrines (north and south sides of map) then a player has to activate the dragon in the center of the map. This is hard with AI players because I cannot tell the AI to stay at one shrine or another to defend while I take the middle, or devise any sort of strategy. Instead I have to predict what my AI teammates will do then fill in the gaps. I did not get to activate the first dragon in the match. The opposing team did and I defended it fair enough. I did however win the other two dragons and I won the match on the third dragon spawn. I thought for sure I was going to lose after I lost the first dragon because I could not communicate with the AI. However I didn’t give up, perseverance lead to victory.

Understanding of games and learning

During cycles 4-5 in the Games & Learning course at UC Denver, the way in which I think about games, gaming cultures, and affinity spaces have been transformed. Most of the research conducted during this phase has been on gender issues surrounding gaming culture. Topics about gender in game cultures are interesting to me for several reasons. Firstly, I am a white male who is privileged to be positioned in gaming culture as the dominant “norm.” However I do not identify with dominant white heteronormative culture. None the less, just by being present in some gaming communities, one could assume that I would or could perpetuate sexist or biased notions by being privileged as such. Because of this, it is very important that I do understand these issues. And as an educator, especially in settings where I may be implementing game based learning scenarios, it’s critical to exemplify fairness and equality and understand gender issues that may come to light during game play and gaming community experiences.

Secondly, I teach courses in a program where females make up approximately 95% of the student body. I don’t think this will be the case throughout my career but it certainly matters to me in how I am perceived as being a male instructor to a female dominant class. And how does the influence of the male instructor and perhaps one male student in a classroom of 16 change the dynamic? If I were to implement some GBL in these classrooms, would gender issues arise based on gameplay and subjects in the games? Based on minimal research I would suspect “yes” as it’s fairly easy to assume most games are created by males who are mostly ignorant to gender issues. Thus, likely to perpetuate tropes against women. And would the culture in the classroom assume some things based on the prevalent male culture in gaming media and communities? Like men assuming they would be better prepared to play games than women because of the association with gaming and dominant male culture. Or perhaps some students would be involved in affinity spaces or modding communities. It’s possible they may face some discrimination or biases based on gender identity. It’s especially important to understand these scenarios as they are likely to come to light at some point in time during game based learning situations.

My latest research, as well as cycle 4 readings have helped me explore gender in more detail as can be seen in two blog posts and ongoing annotated discussions via open course texts.

Will Video Games Become "Gender Neutral"?

The Sims 2 and Gender, Not so "Nurturing"

Peer Networking to improve learning

Through both peer play sessions, and social networking, mostly via Twitter and blogging, my understanding of games and learning has been enhanced this term. Although during the phase in the course in which this reflection concerns, I have done less networking via Twitter than before. Instead the focus in networking has been on the affinity space, Unity Community, and supporting sites and blogs. However I have not abandoned Twitter, I still used it to network in different ways with less educational focused individuals, and rather, gamers and game developers. Using the hash tag #gamedev and #unity3d has helped me acquire some followers and helped me introduce myself to indie game developers. Some people have asked me to check out their game and give them some feed back, etc. I’ve also met some friendly bots who have helped broadcast my messages.

Feels good to be retweeted even if it's mostly bots. I guess I can live with that. #ilt5320 #gamedev

— Kirk Lunsford (@KirkLunsford) April 6, 2016

I have also reached out to Curtiss Murphy, a moderator for Unity Community (otherwise known as Gigiwoo) “Game Design” forum, via Twitter, Unity Community forums, and his website blog. I have also reached out to some other members of Unity Community. Although so far the discussions have appeared somewhat one sided (no one has directly responded to me) I have learned about community members via their resources and profile pages. I have learnt how Curtiss Murphy in particular is situated in Unity Community as a veteran game designer. He has numerous resources on his website for members interested in learning more about game design. Such as his game design zen podcast and associated blog discussion. Several of Curtiss’s podcasts have helped me learn about game design and in general life issues around the games business. The podcasts also shows how Curtiss is situated as a mentor and game design veteran for Unity Community. This networking, although one sided and observatory, is a big part of understanding game communities and affinity spaces.
There are three blog posts associated with ongoing developments with the affinity space project for the course:

My Affinity With Unity 3D

Situated Learning As a Member of Unity Community

Is Unity Community a Nurturing Affinity Space?

What can I do to improve engagement in the affinity space project?

Becoming a participatory member of Unity Community has been interesting. There are many forums covering many topics with many threads. The threads seem to mostly be about an individual problem or topic rather than general concerns. Because of this, it seems like engagement by users is limited to 1-2 comments per thread, then they move on. Some comments are never addressed as users tend to skip over some postings to focus on another. Not because a particular post was off topic or “trolling” necessarily, but because there are other, more comments to address maybe more interesting. I have commented in detail on several threads but I have not received any direct responses. I am not sure if this is because of lack of interest about what I am saying? Or if the forum thread is “dead?” Maybe my profile does not indicate enough “status” or credibility for someone to take note? My next approach to improve engagement may be to say less in a post but post more times to several different people. I may also try to create an asset or idea about a game or game object and allow members to critique this. By taking the next step and producing artifacts for the community to consume I do believe I can become a more “included” community member.

What are my curiosities about games and learning moving forward?

As I move neck deep into the affinity space project, I'm really curious to learn more about Unity Community members and what drives them to participate. What do they learn about games and game creation by engagement in the space? There are a few filters in the interface for Unity Community to search for profiles based on number of postings, likes, etc. I would like to take a more in depth look at these users with the most amount of posts and see how they are situated in the space. Are they currently employed as a game developer? Are they a hobbyist? Do they work for Unity as a moderator or community enthusiast? How did they become so involved with Unity Community? By being extremely active members I’m sure there will be some evidence to demonstrate what these members are learning about games and games creation. I’m interested to find out if there are some particular things that are explored more in depth, as it concerns games and learning, by creating games or games assets than what could be experienced through playing a game only. Ultimately, I would like this inquisitive focus to allow me to explore more completely the affinity space project and round out the experience to be presented towards the end of this month.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_sims_2.jpg

The continued scholarship and research, as part of the Games and Learning course at UC Denver, has lead me to explore adult learning, simulations, and gender and identity as it concerns gaming. For the most part, videogames and gaming cultures have been the focus. While I searched for articles related to these topics I discovered “Gender and Identity in Game-Modifying Communities” by Hanna Wirman in the Simulation & Gaming journal as part of Sage journals published in 2014. In this article Hanna describes her research based on email interviews with THE SIMS 2 players in Finland. She also described how the media received THE SIMS 2. Finally, Hanna discussed the marginalization of THE SIMS 2 players (Wirman 2014, 71). Hanna wrote her Phd. dissertation on “Playing The Sims 2” so you can bet this article is an incredible resource on the subject. I was interested to see how Hanna presented her research findings compared to what was “nurturing” in “Nurturing Affinity Spaces and Game Based Learning” by Gee.

Compelled to learn about THE SIMS and gender

Reading about THE SIMS 2 and gender is interesting because I’m oddly situated as a white male gamer whose profession is teaching and practicing interior design, a profession dominated by women. Before that I made games for a living, a profession dominated by men (especially when I was making games), and I don’t consider myself in any way shape or form a typical white hetero normal male. I have two students this semester that have talked about playing THE SIMS before seeking a degree program for interior design. For them it was the first step into some basic design and digital literacies including modding. One of the students is male, the other is female which is also interesting. Although I’ve been a gamer and part of gaming culture all of my life, I have not looked deeply into peeling away the layers of the onion to discover what many would suggest a culture dominated, and in some ways exclusive to, white male heterosexuals. The analysis Hanna provided in this article makes it much easier see these layers and subversive dimensions as THE SIMS 2 players and modders.

THE SIMS 2 in a male dominated gaming culture

Although THE SIMS 2 was a very successful game, journalist did not seem to know exactly how to handle it’s popularity. It’s a game deemed by popular culture to be dominated by the feminine domain and likened to “dollhouse” play. This poses a problem for media outlets dominated by male culture as the product is seemingly deemed “too feminine” for proper coverage (Wirman 2014, 74). Males admittedly playing, or wanting to play, THE SIMS 2 suffer emasculation at the hands of peers and society because of established gender roles associated with heteronormativity. Hanna described how one of her respondents reacts to her question:

HW: Why do you think they [male school mates] haven’t played [THE SIMS
games] themselves?
Player 5: I assume they just haven’t bothered to try, exactly because it is considered
a “girls” game, it would make them look somehow “sissy” in their friends’ eyes (Wirman 2014, 75).

Hanna went on to describe how playing THE SIMS does not earn the player much credibility or “capital” as a gamer. Because the game is devalued as such by being “too feminine” and not something seemingly more masculine like a first person shooter (Wirman 2014, 76).

“Skinning” as modding discredited

THE SIMS 2 supports and encourages modding and there are several types of modding communities. I first read about this in “Nurturing Affinity Spaces and Game Based Learning” by Gee. As Gee refers to affinity spaces about The Sims as shining examples of nurturing affinity spaces. What I did not learn by Gee and Hayes work was how modding, in particular by skinning, in THE SIMS 2 was considered within gaming communities to be a lesser form of modding. Hanna described this as “not fitting into the hacking paradigm.” Why? Hanna seems to suggest because skinning typically only addresses visual and aesthetic appearances, often deemed a more feminine form of modding. Where as coding or otherwise dramatically changing the way a game is played by hacking is considered more masculine in nature and typified by white male culture. Thus, devaluing skinning in THE SIMS modding communities. Is it women are more inclined to enjoy skinning and be less interested in coding because skinning may be thought of as feminine domain? Is it possible girls are not as reinforced in schooling as boys in math and engineering so that they would be more inclined to coding? There may be some truth there, but ultimately, Hanna suggests modding such as skinning (in THE SIMS 2) involves “taste,” in particular taste for fashion and home decoration which lends this form of modding to be discredited due to apparent feminine traits. (Wirman 2014, 83).

Marginalization of The Sims players

Hanna described the way in which the rest of the world received THE SIMS 2 similarly to the Finnish reception. THE SIMS players are marginalized both locally to Finland and globally. Most players that play THE SIMS do so exclusively which works to alienate them in more general gaming cultures (Wirman 2014, 87). Overall the description of THE SIMS 2 Hanna provided was a nice contrast to the more optimistic nurturing view Gee offers. To learn more about Hanna and to see her dissertation on THE SIMS 2, check out Hanna’s website.

Unity Community, an affinity space for all things Unity and game development is a robust online space with many forums. The study of this space, as part of the University of Colorado Games and Learning Course, is just one of many things cooking in the fire of learning ecology. We have our own interest-driven research, participation in course readings through shared annotation via hypothes.is, we have our play sessions, and play journals or other blog posts. As a participant of the chosen affinity space, I am shaped by these various means of simultaneous learning and production. I am not participating in the affinity space as a typical person looking for self-improvement through production of games or game assets, rather my participation so far is more of observation and research. The depth of topics and technology involved in this space is incredibly vast. Therefore, I have chosen to focus on “Game Design,” “Teaching,” and “Works in Progress” forums.

Identity and influence

My initial participation was with the Game Design forum. I posted a comment in the “Clicker Games” thread. But there has not been too much activity there. However, by looking more closely at the thread, and the “Game Design” forum, I discovered Gigiwoo as the moderator. When I looked at his profile, I was able to find out more about him on his web page goodgamesbydesign.com. I was surprised to find a number of resources for game design including “Game Design Zen” podcasts and YouTube videos. There is also a comments section on his web page for each podcast where more discussion can be seen. This is a reminder of the multilayered depth many affinity spaces involve. There’s the forum itself in the affinity space, an avatar and user that interacts with the affinity space, then the person behind this persona and their own website or resources and discussion there. It’s important to understand how others are situated in the affinity space when interacting. Some members may be more inclined to game production, others to theory, others are just starting out looking for direction, and many other possible scenarios. It’s also crucial to pick out certain members as key participants to understand why they are situated this way in the space, and what they offer to the community. In the case of Gigiwoo, he acts as a mentor for design theory and discussion as a video game industry veteran with a lot of experience. And as moderator, he has the ability to spread his influence and direct discussions.

I wanted to see what Gigiwoo is all about. So I started listening to his podcasts because the topics genuinely peaked my interest. I initially had my guard up about this because some focus of the affinity space itself is removed by being a participant on another website or affinity space, although related to Unity Community. However I thought listening to these podcasts were critical to understand how the moderator of the “Design” forum is situated. Where is he coming from? What does he do? What topics concern him? How does this influence Unity Community? Some of the podcast topics are directly related to games development, some are related to life issues around games and quality of work, and other topics are more abstract theory about games. Of course, topics directly related to games are interesting, however I found topics more about life, focus, and quality of work to be most applicable to me as a person situated in the affinity space.

What I learned about myself and how I am situated

As a learner, a non-traditional adult student, with a full time job, a part time job, and a student in a graduate course. As a gamer, artist, designer and participant in an affinity space ̶ it’s a lot to juggle! The podcast “20: How Do You Do it? Three Tips For Getting Things Done,” really made me think about my habits and how I “do it.” I never really assessed myself in these ways. Moving through life assuming more and more responsibilities and interests, on top of profound levels of communication, phone calls, texts, instant messages, forums, social media, hypothes.is, emails, etc. there are many ways to get distracted. Thinking about “quality of work - all work is not the same,” and “focus” was a wonderful reminder about how I should spend my time. Perhaps these are good things for Unity enthusiasts and developers and people getting started in games to consider? It definitely speaks to me and participants in the thread dedicated to Game Design Zen podcasts in the Unity “Game Design” forums.

Understanding identity

The point is, in an affinity space like Unity Community, it’s easy to interact with someone in a forum, but there is so much more to discover by learning how key members are situated, and reflecting on yourself as a member of the space. What do I have to offer to this community? What will others expect from me based on the information I provide with how I am situated? Being aware of these things can help myself and others be conscious of the identity crafted by interaction in the space. By picking out topics and discussions concerning specific things where I can offer my expertise will help shape this identity. I hope to create some sense of this before the affinity space project is completed. I’m looking forward to learning more about how my own identity will take shape and how others have created an identity in Unity Community.

Play Journal Entry #4
As part of the Games and Learning course and study with University of Colorado Denver Information and Learning Technologies Master’s program, students will participate in both shared and individual play sessions. These play sessions are part of “learning by doing” and reflection necessary to understand what it means to be a learner through playing games. The play journals are a synthesis of scholarship and reflection on play per the chosen game.

As we near the end of another school year, I decided I wanted to branch out from our current curriculum.  I remember learning about Greek Mythology when I was in 5^th grade and how I loved every second of it.  I figured if I love something this much, maybe my students will too!  I did some searching on Teachers Pay Teachers and discovered amazing units by Nicole Shelby (find her units here).  Because Greek myths can be a bit racy, she took the main myths and re-wrote them in kid friendly language.

We are a week into the unit, and my kids are in love!  They walk in every morning and ask when we are going to do more Greek mythology.  Music to my ears!! As we finished our first week, I had the students write their favorite thing they’ve learned so far or one new thing they have learned.  I hope these make you smile as much as they made me! J 

My favorite thing I learned so far is King Midas is a greedy man and powerful man.  I learned that Zeus is the boss of all the Gods and is married to Hera and his brother Hades is the God of the underworld.

- Juan

Something new I learned in from the Golden Touch is never like gold more than your family because you can get sad when something happens.

- Lupita

My favorite thing I’ve learned so far is King Midas because he had the golden touch and because he learned his lesson that family is more important than money.

- Emily

My favorite God is Zeus because he is the king of every God and the king of lightening. 

- Luis

My favorite thing that I've learned so far was sometimes there is bad luck and good luck.
- Josh T.

My favorite thing I've learned so far is King Midas got the golden touch.  One new thing I've learned is never wish a foolish wish.
- Priscilla

More to come every Friday!

                Do you know a difference between a Chimpanzee and Gorilla? First, Chimpanzees and Gorillas both don’t have hair on their faces.  Second, Chimpanzees have brown fur, but Gorillas have black fur. Third, Chimpanzees have flexible arms, but Gorillas arms are longer than their legs.

Have you ever wondered what Chimpanzees and Gorillas eat? First, they both eat bananas, fruit, and flowers. Next, Chimpanzees eat small mammals, apples, sprouts, and seeds. Third, Gorillas eat bamboo, berries, young twigs, tree bark, and plums.

Do you know where Chimpanzees and Gorillas live? First, they both live in Africa, Rwanda, and Uganda. Then, chimpanzees live in Rain forest, middle of Africa, Burundi, and Jungles. Last, Gorillas live in Mountains, Dense Jungles, in small groups, and Western Lowland.

FUN FACTS ABOUT CHIMPANZEES! IF Chimpanzees stand up they are 4 feet. Baby Chimpanzees stay with their mom about 8 or 9 mouths. When a mom dies another mother adopts it. Chimpanzees use tools to help them. Chimpanzees can be 6 or 7 times stronger than a human. Chimpanzees can get the same diseases as humans.

FUN FACTS ABOUT GORILLAS! There are two different kinds of Gorillas a Eastern and Western. Gorillas are the world’s largest primates. Gorillas are almost related to humans, but they are 98% different. Adult Gorillas can eat up to (30kg) of food each day. Female Gorillas only give birth three or four times.

I hope you had fun learning about Chimpanzees and Gorillas!

By: Breanna and Nylah

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