The first topic I wanted to discuss was Gee's chapter on the concept of identity in video games. Gee shows us that the "player as video game character" role that we take up when we play a game has three different identities at stake: A virtual identity, a real-world identity, and a projective identity. For example, if I were playing on my old World of Warcraft troll character named Budnick (yes, because Bobby Budnick of Salute Your Shorts fame did indeed resemble a troll), there are three identities at work here. First is the virtual identity Budnick, my troll hunter character within the game, who can interact with other members of the Horde faction because of his race. What Budnick can and cannot do within the game is based largely on his level-- for those unfamiliar with the game, a character basically gains "experience points" by killing monsters or completing quests for various nonplayable characters in the game world, until the have enough to increase their level. Once the character levels up, they gain an increase in their attributes, they can unlock new abilities, and they can defeat monsters that were previously too strong. For those who require a bit of visual aid, here is an image of a low level troll hunter.
The second identity is the real-life identity of Matt, who can chat and interact with other real-life players in the game in a way that suits his personality. I have my own likes and dislikes, and I also am a complex being who values certain things. My own identity can be seen within the game based on how I talk or play along with other players in the game world. Also, aspects of my own personal identity come through when I initially created Budnick and selected what race and character class I wanted to play as in the first place.
And lastly is the projective identity, or the identity that I as Matt want Budnick to have in the game. The best example of this can be seen on the RP or Role Playing servers-- these servers enforce role play, meaning that players can only talk about events within the game itself or relevant to the storyline of the game. Players can be suspended if they do not follow the rules by talking about modern day events or speak out of character. So if I had Budnick on an RP server, I would concoct an idea of how I believed he should talk and how he react to the world around him, as would all the other players with characters on that same server. When playing with other creative players, just walking through a town becomes a huge story with a ton of potential stories to be told-- players are acting participants in the world that the game designers have produced, complete with their own goals for the projected identities they are attempting to create. This applies to the in-game content as well, as I can have Budnick befriend certain factions within the game, or become bitter enemies with others, all dependent on the identity I wish to create.
Can you think of a single novel that involves such powerful connections to a protagonist? James Paul Gee words it best when he says that that this multilateral play of identities "transcends identification with characters in novels or movies... because it is both active and reflexive, in the sense that once the player has made some choice about the virtual character, the virtual character is now developed in a way that sets certain parameters about what the player can now do. The virtual character redounds back on the player and affects his or her future actions." I don't think any game proves this more than World of Warcraft. Although certain time restrictions have prevented me from being able to start my account once again, to this day I am still proud of my character's in-game gear and stats, of his great standing with the various in-game factions, and of the reputation I got by being kind to other actual players when playing alongside them. Budnick conquered some of the greatest villains in Warcraft lore, and I got to be a part of his story hands on as he matured from a fledgling hunter on the Echo Isles to an established champion of the Horde who helped kill the Lich King once and for all. It was more than just a character in a narrative that I helped create, there were elements of my own identity and my idea of an identity that I wanted the character to have. I'd like to think that games featuring adolescent protagonists would be a wonderful gateway for teenage students in this same regard, not only because the themes in the plot are relevant to what teenagers themselves face every day, but because they can project an identity all their own onto the protagonist, and see elements of their individual identities in the characters as they play. While students may not be able to relate to Ponyboy or Ender because they are passively reading what the characters do without any influence, good video games offer the chance to be a part of the character's makeup.
This interaction between three different identities promotes learning in an entirely different way than is seen in a typical school system, as it creates a "psychosocial moratorium" or a "learning space in which the learner can take risks where real-world consequences are lowered." Students can feel under pressure only to answer if they know the correct answer in an English classroom, which could prevent them from attempting to analyze literature if they fear they will be incorrect. From my own experience, I remember the Scarlet Letter to be a miserable experience, as the symbolism within the book had to mean one certain thing, there was no room for new interpretation. Video games meanwhile offer students the chance to make mistakes, as failing in most games has no major implications- you simply receive a Game Over message, and then resume from a previous point, and try again. There is no harm done to any of the identities that are at work while playing the game. Also along these lines, students will experience a great feeling of achievement in games for relatively minimal effort as well. The player may encounter problems in the game that they must solve, but compared to having to research and type out a report, the amount of effort is significantly less. In the Final Fantasy series, typically if the player defeats a boss, they are rewarded with the possibly of receiving new weapons for their characters to wield, the satisfaction of destroying a monster 100 times the size of their characters, and the progression of the epic story onto the next chapter. All these rewards simply for coming up with a strategy to utilize in the game, and succeeding at it, are incentive for players to keep pushing forward in their endeavors as they are engrossed by the compelling aspects of the game.
There are wonderful cognitive studies throughout Gee's book, and this is merely the first of many. Hopefully, I didn't muddle through it too much, as I still don't feel like I have a full grasp on all of the ideas Gee presents. And on a side note, though I do respect the man, I must emphasize that even if my writing suggests otherwise, I do not have a man crush on James Paul Gee, as some of my friends have questioned. Besides, I already have one...
This interaction between three different identities promotes learning in an entirely different way than is seen in a typical school system, as it creates a "psychosocial moratorium" or a "learning space in which the learner can take risks where real-world consequences are lowered." Students can feel under pressure only to answer if they know the correct answer in an English classroom, which could prevent them from attempting to analyze literature if they fear they will be incorrect. From my own experience, I remember the Scarlet Letter to be a miserable experience, as the symbolism within the book had to mean one certain thing, there was no room for new interpretation. Video games meanwhile offer students the chance to make mistakes, as failing in most games has no major implications- you simply receive a Game Over message, and then resume from a previous point, and try again. There is no harm done to any of the identities that are at work while playing the game. Also along these lines, students will experience a great feeling of achievement in games for relatively minimal effort as well. The player may encounter problems in the game that they must solve, but compared to having to research and type out a report, the amount of effort is significantly less. In the Final Fantasy series, typically if the player defeats a boss, they are rewarded with the possibly of receiving new weapons for their characters to wield, the satisfaction of destroying a monster 100 times the size of their characters, and the progression of the epic story onto the next chapter. All these rewards simply for coming up with a strategy to utilize in the game, and succeeding at it, are incentive for players to keep pushing forward in their endeavors as they are engrossed by the compelling aspects of the game.
There are wonderful cognitive studies throughout Gee's book, and this is merely the first of many. Hopefully, I didn't muddle through it too much, as I still don't feel like I have a full grasp on all of the ideas Gee presents. And on a side note, though I do respect the man, I must emphasize that even if my writing suggests otherwise, I do not have a man crush on James Paul Gee, as some of my friends have questioned. Besides, I already have one...
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