dartmonkey

An Education (in video games)

Recommended Posts

Having recently become an uncle, I've been thinking a lot about how difficult it is to catch up with games from the past. With every new must-play there's a dozen industry-shaping games I never got to for whatever reason (lack of money, time or years). It's the same with all media. I'm sure we've all got long lists of classic films and books we feel bad for not digesting yet. My claims to be a cinephile can feel illegitimate because I haven't seen X, Y or Z.

Imagine having a kid today and trying to expose them to a good video game 'education' as well as fostering their love for modern stuff (and without preaching). What games would you choose in order to give someone a foundation knowledge of classics without turning them off? Not necessarily your favourites - things you think will give them a decent historical perspective on 'video games' WITHOUT boring them to death or having to contextualise too much about how amazing they were back in the day. Train Pulling into a Station and Citizen Kane are both seminal but is it important to see the former?

 

Let's just assume your kid is old enough to play whatever you give them, and that they're a willing (or humouring) participant in your Game Nazi curriculum.

 

Taking into account there are massive gaps in my own experience (specifically PC) and obviously I have preferred genres, I'd probably include:

 

Super Mario Bros. 3 - a better intro than the original I think. It's still NES but it's a better game and contains more elements of the lineage that carry into the modern games.

Sonic 2 - to demonstrate Sonic at his best and show why people still give a crap after so many disappointments.

Portal - short and a perfect demo of melding narrative and a puzzle mechanic. Also shows an evolution of the standard FPS.

Super Mario Galaxy - as a 3D counterpoint to SMB3.

Journey - though I wonder if you need a little life experience to appreciate it. Would it not otherwise feel like a rerun of SMB3?

 

There are others like Half-Life hovering around, and there's only two and a half genres in there. Could do better. Sonic 2 is probably a bit frivolous, much as I love it. The challenges of parenting...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The first two levels of Super Mario Bros. and the opening stage from Mega Man X, because they're absolutely perfect examples of teaching a player everything they need to know without a single piece of text appearing on the screen.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Pff.. That's quite a difficult question. Do you want to teach them pinnacles, or the ground breaking games which are usually more rough.

For example, if I wanted to show more of the pinnacle side I would show Super Mario World, but if I would show ground breaking, I'd show Super Mario Bros 3. Not that SMB3 is rough, but I see SMW as a perfection of the SMB3 formula.

For example, would you show Dune 2, or Supreme Commander? SimCity, or SimCity 2000?

 

Anyway, games I would consider include:

Day of the Tentacle, because it's an excellent of point and click adventures.

Titan Quest (instead of Diablo 2 I think) as a top down action RPG.

Supreme Commander is a good example of small to large scale realtime strategy games. It was way more focus on strategy than the more arcade like C&C games.

Settlers 2 (the remake) and a prime example of ... erm, what's that category? The remake it pretty much the original with better tech, but still the same gameplay. There's a lot of focus on resource management, but also change environments and hostility you have to account for.

Unreal so show FPS games before they changed into what we currently call FPS games. Unreal is still fast paced, has large open levels (i.e. not a linear path) and it great to look at.

Rogue Spear as an example of tactical FPS game as contrast to the action oriented FPS games.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution. It's modern, but still very much like the the System Shock/Deus Ex formula. It's maybe a bit more accessible than the others.

Prince of Persia Sands of Time. I think this is a good example of what platform games have evolved to. And SMW to show what it was before.

Legend of Grimrock the dungeon crawler genre. If there is ever a HD remake of Stonekeep I would show that one.

 

 

Hmm... there's simply way too much. I'm not even halfway through.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

SMB3

SimCity 2000

Civilization II

Street Fighter II

Tetris

Curse of Monkey Island (somehow this is the easiest adventure game to get into I think)

Portal

Jet Grind radio

Metal Gear Solid

Pikmin

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

That's a difficult one. I think the challenge is the part where you don't want to turn them off of games. Watching a classic movie you don't like is one thing, that's done in two hours. Games are a bit different, much more time consuming and also require a lot more from the player, you kinda have to be personally engaged for anything to carry on. If you factor in different tastes, very different genres and the speed at which games (or rather components like mechanics, graphics, etc) become outdated, it's a problem. I mean, I enjoyed Dune 2 as much as the next guy, that shit was amazing back in the day. It's borderline unplayable now. Now imagine forcing someone who'd be a lot more into R-Type all the way through an Ultima and this is tricky.
 
Now I am not sure if you meant the OP this way, but considering that I probably would not want to torture my hypothetical kid unnecessarilly (there's a strong chance it'll have part of my genes, so the humouring would only last for so long), I'd approach the question from the angle of "An Education in Video Games she/he'd probably enjoy". Starting out with a very small selection of (mostly modern) games that showcase very different things the medium is capable of, while being short enough to be experienced largely in one or two days. Which is pretty much:

 

Portal

FTL

Street Fighter II

 

If they're still interested after that, I'd transition into:

 

Mass Effect 2

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4

 

This is considering our willing participant is already kinda interested in video games. If that's not the case, I'd start with Tetris first.

 

After that I'd ask: "So, what did you enjoy and what was rubbish?"

 

And go from there.

 

This probably looks like a weird selection and a bit far off from a broad education, but these titles as a whole are imo game. And judging from what our adorable little guinea pig thinks about those, we can go more in depth, preferably first into a direction our participant feels a connection with. For example, depending on his impressions on Portal, we could lead him all the way back to Wolfenstein 3D. Or Myst. Or The Secret of Monkey Island. Or Sokoban. All of which were more or less important and strong contenders for universal must plays that might be considered crucial for a history lesson in games.

 

Or in fewer words: there have been so many defining moments and achievements in so many different genres of games (and that's not even considering historical significance on a business level, which would qualify the Double Fine adventure or Duke Nukem Forever among others), that I feel it's pretty much impossible to come up with a generalized list of mandatory games that would work for everyone. And I think the latter part is important, because by Jove, otherwise that introduction to games would overstay its welcome significantly.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

In reality, trying to 'educate' a child by telling them what to play would just turn them off massively.

 

But if i was going to force a child to play anything it would be Soul reaver

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Chrono Trigger

 

This one stands out for several reasons:

1. Yasunori Mitsuda's score is excellent. I will never forget how well the music worked for me in this game.

2. This game was one of the first to implement New Game+ and had over a half dozen endings depending on when you decide to fight the final boss.

3. The story is light-hearted enough for a kid to get into but has a surprising amount of depth.

4. The combat is a great example of a classic JRPG battle system but had a unique special attack combo system with dozens of different attacks that changed depending on who is in your party.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Or in fewer words: there have been so many defining moments and achievements in so many different genres of games (and that's not even considering historical significance on a business level, which would qualify the Double Fine adventure or Duke Nukem Forever among others), that I feel it's pretty much impossible to come up with a generalized list of mandatory games that would work for everyone. And I think the latter part is important, because by Jove, otherwise that introduction to games would overstay its welcome significantly.

I agree that it would have to be tailored to the individual and kept short and sweet. I think this is something that parents must face often. How do you introduce something without forcing it down their throat and switching them off completely. My guess would be to make it available to them and see what they gravitate towards (or play the games yourself and try to pique their interest in that way). Regardless, banging on about it is the last thing to do.

I wouldn't want to use anything that isn't fun to play now. Like with films, I think some things can be appreciated when you consider the context of their time, whereas others hold up fantastically without qualification.

I think GB Tetris would be a good addition. Also I realised I didn't mention a Zelda, though Christ knows which one I'd go with.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've heard it said that everyone should have to play Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the NES, because it so poetically explains what elements are necessary to the player's understanding of a game by having none of those elements present.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think you'd have to include Pong as being so utterly stripped down in terms of game mechanics, yet still engaging and completely iconic. For similar reasons, I'd include Snake. Again, so simple with such immediately comprehensible goals. I'd also want to include an artillery game, probably Scorched Earth, as being a great introduction to strategy computer games: it's almost as simple as a board game, but really can't exist in anything but a digital format. And of course it's really the spiritual predecessor of one of the most popular games ever, Angry Birds.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think GB Tetris would be a good addition. Also I realised I didn't mention a Zelda, though Christ knows which one I'd go with.

 

Well, as far as Tetris is concerned, definitely the GB version imo. But the whole thread is kind of touching the direction I hinted at a bit and you've said it yourself: you'd chose games that are actually fun to play. However, that's a rather subjective term. For example, at the end of the day I think I'm what can be referred to as a "Gamer". However, I didn't enjoy the Mario games I played (with the exception of SMB 3), I didn't enjoy the Zelda games I played (with the CRAZY exception of Link's Awakening), I flat out resented Sands of Time and the list of classics I cannot associate with fun goes on and on. Which is part of why this is so difficult, games are just already fairly varied in terms of genre and, at the end of the day, individual reception. Which is why I had to think for a bit about my examples, because the goal was really to find games that do several things really well within an acceptably short timespan: story, atmosphere, exploration, action, puzzles, customization and so on and so forth.

 

 

I think you'd have to include Pong as being so utterly stripped downed in terms of game mechanics, yet still engaging and completely iconic. For similar reasons, I'd include Snake. Again, so simple with such immediately comprehensible goals. I'd also want to include an artillery game, probably Scorched Earth, as being a great introduction to strategy computer games: it's almost as simple as a board game, but really can't exist in anything but a digital format. And of course its really the spiritual predecessor of one of the most popular games ever, Angry Birds.

 

Those are fairly strong titles imo, I thought about Pong myself.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I had a really ass-backwards upbringing in video games.  Even though I was born in 1985, my first video game experience was Pong.  I found the old sears console in my parents basement and hooked it up myself.  I played against my younger brother and it was great.  I then saved up money and got an atari 2600 at a garage sale, and bought some used games at a local store.  Combat, defender(the shitty 2600 version), pitfall, and atlantis were some of my favorite games as a kid!  I have a weird nostalgia for these games that most people never played as kids, all because my parents refused to buy us a game console.  We did get gameboys when they came out though, something to keep us at bay during long car trips.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Have you ever heard the quotation: "Technology is anything that wasn't around when you were born."?

I like that. But to entertain your fantasy:
Bride of Pinbot
Tetris
Super Mario World

Portal

Minecraft.
 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm really confused by the question at hand. Are we looking for a list of games based on historical importance, exceptional quality, or potential for facilitating the understanding of the medium? Because I've been treating it like the latter but maybe I'm supposed to be treating it like one of the former?

 

 

In any case, I nominate at least one Pokémon game for all three.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Custer's Revenge for all three.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I know what you're thinking in the "quality" department, but those were some exceptionally rendered graphics for the time.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm really confused by the question at hand. Are we looking for a list of games based on historical importance, exceptional quality, or potential for facilitating the understanding of the medium? Because I've been treating it like the latter but maybe I'm supposed to be treating it like one of the former?

It has to be a combination of those things. Parents and teachers must face this all the time - how do you make learning fun? Intrinsic motivation is always best but how many kids want to learn history? It needs to be presented in a certain way. If they're interested in the medium you're halfway there. But generally children (hell, most adults) don't have the power to delay gratification - they're not going to plough through something that doesn't grab them immediately just for some historical perspective. The active concentration required to play games is as big a factor as the time investment. They might jump at the chance to watch Battleship Potemkin in class - it's a passive hour or so and they get to avoid 'work' - but spending 5, 10, 20+ hours playing a game they're not enjoying 99% of the time just won't happen.

 

That nebulous word 'fun' is the problem, and it depends on context, disposition and ability. Throwing a stone at a stick can be fun. Is Snake better than throwing a stone at a stick? Not for me but I was always terrible at Snake. Is Super Mario Bros better than Snake? Is Portal better than throwing a stone at a stick? What is game again???

Games.

Pokemon is a great call for RPG initiation. And Minecraft.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think it would be helpful to give them a relatively easy challenge (get to X points, level X etc) so they have a reason to stick with the game for long enough to give it a proper chance but they can drop it after that point if they're not enjoying it. It would be good to instil in them defense against the relatively new problem of having a massive backlog of unplayed/unfinished games.

 

It would probably be good to aim for very accessible games - they won't want to learn a keyboard full of controls or go through a set of tutorials every time they move to a new game.

 

I suggest DooM, as a fun, arcadey and seminal FPS.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think that playing bad games can be as educational as playing good ones, which is why I recommended Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That game's whole thing is that its systems are completely opaque. Things are constantly happening and no player could ever discern what any of it is supposed to mean.

 

Also, adding Super Metroid and Frog Fractions.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think that playing bad games can be as educational as playing good ones, which is why I recommended Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. That game's whole thing is that its systems are completely opaque. Things are constantly happening and no player could ever discern what any of it is supposed to mean.

This has been the case for me, but I think it was necessary for me to already be obsessed with games in order for me to learn from the non-functional ones. We take so much for granted when we claim that a game isn't worth playing because it is a clone or doesn't introduce anything new. It's practically a miracle that it works at all. Playing something with unresponsive controls or that requires the player to use a walkthrough to progress can be enlightening.

Along the same lines, Making a game can reveal a lot. I tried making a 2d shape jump and I spent hours trying to get it to act like Mario. Kodu is free on the PC and is built for making games through a menu system. There is a ios app called "Geovertex" that allows you to make 2d vector graphic games by making menu selections. You quickly get overwhelmed by how many logical triggers are necessary in order to have anything remotely intentional occur. It also shows me the extent to which most games are extremely similar.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

truly Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing will be the marble that tomorrow's greatest artists shall hew their masterpieces from

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I got my mom to try Journey and it was a complete failure. One thing I take for granted is that I trust that the game will have something to discover. She just looked around and decided that there wasn't necessarily anything beyond the dune. I thought that telling her that the goal of the game was to go to the mountain with the light-beacon would be enough of an objective, but there are moments where you aren't supposed to bee-line towards it, so it actually caused more confusion. The very first challenge of using the magical grate to boost to the first sitting-spot was nearly impossible for her, and she had very little reason to care. During our exit interview, I asked her what she thought and she said "I never knew what to do."

By comparison, I showed her Assasin's Creed 2 and gave her the controller after loading my saved game (I didn't want to go through the tutorial and all that). I just said "You want to kill the monk on top of that tower and this button climbs and this button stabs." She spent about an hour navigating to the tower and climbing it. She died a few times, but she was motivated by the game in a way that she was not by Journey. When she killed the monk she was all "Hahaha, I Got Him!" but then when I offered to lend her the Xbox she was like "no thanks."

Makes me think that sometimes specific levels might be good introductions rather than games in their entireity. Still, I have yet to see someone who had no interest in games play something and suddenly be like "Why haven't I been playing these all my life?!"

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now