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Ian Bogost at X-Media Lab: Serious Gaming

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Australian Broadcasting Corporation

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A Five-Year-Old in Debt: The Instructive Power of Gaming

04 min 43 sec

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Video game designer Ian Bogost argues for the educational power of video games.

He illustrates his point by remembering how his young son grappled with the responsibility of long-term debt in the Nintendo game Animal Crossing.
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32 min 16 sec

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Previous FORAtv comments:

Will Leone

Posted: 10.14.10, 07:33 AM

Thanks for the examples of gaming-as-training, <HerodotusWept>! We might consider extracting the learning models and environments presented in them for future games- whether "serious", "playful", or anywhere "in between".

HerodotusWept

Posted: 07.18.09, 11:03 PM

Pokerandwine - While I understand what you are saying, but both the US military, NASA, and a number of police forces all use "Video Games" for training. Many pilots are now expected to spend many hours on a simulation before getting anywhere near the actual plane. There are months to years of simulation work for the fight of any advanced aircraft, including B2, F-22, and the Space Shuttle. Not to mention the fact that video games when done right can be, especially for children, a captivating learning experience unlike almost anything else they can do at that age... I wish I could remember who said it, but I recall a manifesto of a video game designer who grew up playing Atari that went something like "while my parents were passively watching television, I was making the television work and interact with me. While my parents were dependent on the story and adventure the television provided, I was creating my own story by moving my own character on the screen." While hands-on real world training will always be vital to any endeavor, you make a grave mistake by dismissing video simulation with a phrase like "...don't take them THAT seriously" I promise your children and grandchildren will take them more seriously than you or I can imagine.

pokerandwine

Posted: 07.17.09, 12:01 PM

Ian Bogost clearly spent A LOT of time playing games. His "modeling" idea is dangerous in a way. Although it might be useful to get a feel on being an airplane pilot while playing a simulation game, but it shouldn't by confused with professional training or even serve as any kind of background to it. Don't get me wrong, I like computer games, I just don't take them THAT seriously.

Rdallas1

Posted: 07.15.09, 10:19 AM

Great Talk. I think it's great that they are making more video games like this. If kids are going to park in front of the TV and computer for hours, they might as well be learning something of value. I found an interesting related article from 2005 about a video game for treating ADD: http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/bio...a/videoadd.htm