Videogames can help facilitate learning and can be applied to the classroom.

Mahmoud Alhousseiny
University of North Carolina at Charlotte










Introduction:
Video gaming is a sport that has just as much of a skill ceiling and amount of learning involved
as Football. This is due to the amount of freedom and variety present in video games. Video
Games are among the most popular sources of entertainment as there are millions of video games
to choose from and each different from the other. Video games are popular due to the level of
engagement that is present when compared to other sources of entertainment such as movies.
There is also a wide variety of ways in order to play video games and the prices vary depending
on the way the game is played. Video games are not only limited to entertainment value but also
have their own separate uses depending on the game in question. In this paper the aim is to
explore the ways that video games can help facilitate a learning environment as well as enhance
a more traditional classroom setting by incorporating video games into certain activities. What is
taught from video games has changed drastically over the course of this decade. The first ever
video game was pong which is essentially table hockey except slowed down to significant
degree. What was taught from pong is the mastery over the controller in order to score the most
points. This is the most basic type of learning that can occur in a video game and this is
essentially just teaching to master the gameplay aspect of the game without having any
significant real world meaning. As games evolved into recognizable objects that we perceive in
the modern world, games became to include stories and different mechanics that were not
present in previous titles. A classic example is the cult class and one of the most revered video
game genres to this day; Half-Life. Before Half-Life was released there were other first person
shooters of this type except they featured very little story and the overall objective or literacy
mastery was to master the guns within the game in order to beat levels. This formula changed
heavily in Half-Life as the player played a character who was supported by other main characters
within the game. There is an ever arching story within the game that has real world implications.
The game touches on topics of the time period and also presents the player with free reign on
how to beat every level. The literacy within this game involved the comprehension of the world
the player took part in as well as the characters within the game. After Half-Life, many games
began to emulate and enhance what was introduced by the game. Different themes started to
emerge and most of the video games began to have some sort of learning involved. In
comparison I will use Dark Souls as a way to show what kind of themes and literacy is involved
within video games and how specific examples of learning can translate to the traditional school
environment.

Literature Review
Ive spent a great deal of my life playing video games whether out of boredom or for
entertainment. Video gaming is a life style choice I chose to do because for me it is the most
enjoyable hobby I can have. In turn because of my love for video games, I have decided to
analyze the topic of video games and how they affect learning. I will also look at one of my
favorite games of all time, Dark Souls. I want to showcase the many different aspects about
video games that are not often talked about and also to talk about why Dark Souls fits in this
piece as a whole. I will draw upon my experiences with Dark Souls in order to better enhance my
position.
Terms:
Gaming: Gaming is the act of playing a video game through a video gaming device or a
computer. Gaming in todays world is an every growing hobby and in some ever growing cases
it is a fulltime job to play, create, and review video games. It is quickly becoming a sport to
interact with characters on a TV or computer screen. There are many different ways that a person
could play games as there are many devices that are used to play games. Gaming also has
different applications beyond that of entertainment. Gaming can be a learning experience but
video gaming also has health implications (Gee J. P, 2003).
Video games: Video games are a form of entertainment. They often feature interactions with a
character of the games choosing. Video games can be played on devices that have the
capability, such as a phone or a computer. Video games like movies or books, feature many
genres or styles that differentiate every video game from each other. Themes are often present
within video games just as they are present within other forms of media. A Video game in
essence is a movie with a story that the viewer controls. Video games also have different ratings
to distinguish playing ages as some games can be violent and in turn require a certain age in
order to play the game. Video games are not only a source of entertainment but can also be used
for therapeutic uses such as in use after corrective eye surgery or to enhance coordination in an
arm after severe injury has occurred as well as surgeons benefitting from video games due to the
reflexes required by certain video games (Rosser, 2007). Modern games are influencing the
future generation for the better (Prensky M, 2006). This piece also has to do with problem
solving. They offer critical thinking as well as the idea of risk taking. The games have to be
played appropriately and not all games fit this genre of teaching the future generation. Video
games often present morals and ethics to the player which in turn results in the choice made by
the player. This is a present trend as more and more gamers are driven away from the easy games
but then chose to buy harder games to fulfill their growing needs and wants within a video game.
Most gamers also want new breathtaking moments that will be remembered for a long period of
time. Most often these games feature learning and complex set pieces whether through
mechanics or story

Literacy: Literacy has many definitions but overall is the way that a person communicates with
the world through many tasks that he or she can perform adequately. These tasks are not limited
to reading or performing a job yet they can expand to any task that a person does repeatedly over
a period of time. Literacy can also change depending on cultures or groups of people. Different
literacies within certain countries are more valued than others, this can vary from country to
country. Literacies can be formed through actors within a figured world that are valued more so
than other literacies. These literacies then can become artifacts in a culture. Literacy has a big
effect within video games and how we approach video games as a whole. How video games
influence learning is key as they explain the idea of failure and retrying at a specific checkpoint
in order to learn the layout of an area in order to master a specific level (Gee J. P, 2003). The
video games designed in the modern day often teach us about real world dilemmas. There is a
difference between learning within video game to learning in the real world. For instance the
idea of failing in the real world has many limitations and limits the process in which a person
learns from his mistakes. Yet in a videogame you learn from the deaths that the player goes
through as the checkpoint system in most games encourages the player to try new things in order
to succeed.
Dark Souls: Dark Souls is a video game that taps into the old school style of video gaming. It
has earned the reputation of being notoriously hard and unforgiving. Dark Souls is a 3
rd
person
dungeon crawler that focuses on one character that is theoretically somehow sacrificing himself
for the good of all others. This game also features a high learning curve and also features many
themes that enter twine with one another throughout the course of the game. The game itself is
not unfair but it will teach the player the idea of success through trial and error. As a person who
has put over 300 hours into Dark Souls I can state that the game features a steep learning curve
that becomes easier as the game goes on. This is due to the nature of the design of the game as
the games primary learning is based on trial and error. This is the primary reason as to why I
will focus on this game instead of others within this piece.
Education: Education is the process of retrieving information. This can occur in the traditional
classroom setting such a school or university. There are many ways in which education can occur
and the types of education vary depending on the course material and the education system in
place at a specific educational center. A way that education can occur is through a mostly
unknown method called video game learning (Dondlinger, 2007). Video game learning involves
a game specifically designed to teach a specific train of thought, lesson, or course material.
Video game learnings advantage over standard methods is that it incorporates the level of
interactivity present in more mainstream games that are used for entertainment value. Video
game learning can also be tweaked in order to suit the educators motives. The idea here is to
apply the concept that video games enforce a specific type of learning depending on the video
game into a traditional classroom or an e learning setting. More and more teachers are
incorporating games within their course schedule in order to enforce learning through mental
invigoration (Squire K, 2005). The games can range from Jeopardy to video games such as mine
craft in order to teach physics or another real world concept. The practice itself is being adopted
in many classroom settings but most importantly e learning is seeing the biggest growth yet this
can be extended to other places. An example of this would be video game simulations that are
used within the army or with airline training centers.
Video game evolution/education: Video games have changed significantly over a relatively
small period of time. As games have expanded the level of interaction present within video
games has changed significantly. It is important to know the difference between educational
video games and entertainment based video games. Both types include learning except that
entertainment based video games cannot be applied to traditional classroom settings even though
they have benefits such as the ability to enhance certain skills like a surgeons precision.
Educational video games incorporate good learning principles, principles supported by current
research and expandable content. A certain degree of interaction is present within educational
video games that helps teach the course material. Videogame design has changed drastically over
time. There are now many types of video games with their own categories that differentiate each.
The main difference that separates both types of games is that within an entertainment based
game the game itself is linear, feed the player the story, and tell the player how to go about doing
things in the game. There is very little exploration within those types of games thus there is very
little to learn and improve upon within the game. Yet within a learning game there is a sense of
interactivity (Mitchell, A., & Savill-Smith, 2004). Games of this nature are usually free world
and offer a variety of ways to explore the world, morals, and society within that world. I will use
this piece in order to differentiate between video games of learning and entertainment. How Dark
Souls fits within the learning community of games will also be included. Videogames offer
critical thinking as well as the idea of risk taking. The games have to be played appropriately and
not all games fit this genre of teaching the future generation. Video games often present morals
and ethics to the player which in turn results in the choice made by the player. This is a present
trend as more and more gamers are driven away from the easy games but then chose to buy
harder games to fulfill their growing needs and wants within a video game. Most gamers also
want new breathtaking moments that will be remembered for a long period of time. Most often
these games feature learning and complex set pieces whether through mechanics or story. I will
use this piece to highlight the need for a complex video game rather than playing an easy video
game over a long period of time. This will also help model how a video game can reflect real life
in some examples.


Enter the Conversation
To present the educational value of video games and to better develop a position on this issue, I
will be used samples of a video game known as Dark Souls, in order to present the idea of
learning through trial and error and how that translates to situations outside the video game. The
focus within Dark Souls is the beginning segments within the videogame. The main theme that
occurs within the beginning segments is the way the player responds to the actions of others
within the videogame. Enemies within the game have very different and unique moves that can
quickly overwhelm the uninitiated yet through trial and error the player can begin to overcome
such obstacles and progress in the game. The class would be set up with two or three computer
monitors that each having a controller in order to play. Each screen will feature the same level
and the students within the class would be gathered into groups in order to finish the level before
the other groups finish. Once each group has failed or finished the level, discussion will begin on
how the level was finished in the fastest and easiest way as well as highlighting what was
challenging within the game. The discussion will close on the idea of Trial and error and its
validity in real world applications. Trial and error is key within these encounters as the learning
of the enemy moves will occur over several fights due to the large amount of moves present by
the enemy. Each enemy has different weaknesses and strengths that will be present over the
course of the game and these weaknesses will become evident as the player interacts with the
world around him. The idea of trial and error within Dark Souls translates to situations outside
the game as a major way of learning information is through trial and error, whether it is math
problem solving or perhaps with cooking a certain meal that requires multiple steps. In regards to
playing games like Dark Souls is that over time learning will occur whether the player does or
does not want to learn. From my experiences I learned how to overcome certain obstacles
through trial and error type learning as that was what Dark Souls was primarily based upon.

Conclusion
Video games have many real world applications that can be applied to certain places within the
job industry. An example of this is the application in the school classroom. The selected criteria
that I think is most important to successfully creating an educational video game that can teach
course material is firstly to gauge what types of video games the classroom is interested in as a
whole.
The reason for this is that certain video games actually turn off certain individuals thus having
every student on the same page is key in order to creating a successful learning environment.
Second, the video game in question has to be light enough that it is not distracting yet engaging
enough that the game itself relates to the course material at hand. An example of this is having a
game such as Dark Souls present in a specific level in order to highlight analytical thinking as
well as multi-tasking. An even better example is using the game Civilization in order to teach
world history. Third, is to have every student interact with the course material at least once
within the class period, this way no student is left behind without actually learning anything as
well as maintaining the level of interactivity that is needed with education video games within a
classroom setting.

















Refrences

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Dondlinger, M. J. (2007). Educational video game design: A review of the literature.
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Rosser, J. C., Lynch, P. J., Cuddihy, L., Gentile, D. A., Klonsky, J., & Merrell, R. (2007).
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Mitchell, A., & Savill-Smith, C. (2004). The use of computer and video games for
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