As a kid, I played a lot of PC games. I'll never forget booting up my old desktop PC and waiting for the command line so I could play my new floppy disk. There's been ongoing debate about whether old games are better or new games are better. I can't strongly be for either side (particularly because after recent downloads of MSDOS games, I've realized my love has been driven in large part by nostalgia), but there is a special something about old games, particularly old educational games. To supplement the limitations of 24-bit colors and those catchy-yet-irritating midi tunes, old game developers had to make great efforts in content. The writing and dialogue reflect the love and craftsmenship put into it. Contrastingly, today's games have superior gameplay and graphics, but content that feels less heartfelt.
Secret of Monkey Island: Stands the test of time due to its utterly charming and witty dialogue.
(Lucasfilm Games, 1990).
As a result of these market changes, the consumer education industry has collapsed. I know I sound morbid and old (the former being true, the later being up to your own perspective -- I'm 21), but it's seriously sad. I talked with David Dockterman, a lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Education and the VP at Tom Snyder Productions, and our conversation went something like this:
me (chipper, immature): I love companies like "The Learning Company" and games like "Carmen Sandiego and such"!
him (serious): The Learning Company is dead. All consumer educational product companies are dead.
It was a bit of a depressing realization, to say the least.
One thing I want to make clear is that the majority of current educational software and games -- I HATE. I hate those silly match-the-pattern games, those boring multiple choice question "games", the irritatingly bad role-playing games with too much dialogue and shitty interaction elements. They're just plain boring. They're much worse than the educational games I played a DECADE ago. I dare you to find me another industry that has so severely backtracked as educational gaming. There isn't one.
This is a "game" to teach dads how to cope with their baby. Overly simplistic and boring with a terrible user interface and ridiculous gameplay (even KNOWING the answers, one can fail because he isn't lucky enough to find the right match) makes one go WTF and immediately click [x]. Don't believe me? Try it out here.
(Torque Interactive Media, 2009).
In today's techy environment, immersive, virtual worlds are springing up practically every second. A truly immersive world is where a person's whole attention gets captured, where all his or her senses are awakened. I feel that this is the best place to learn -- despite current offerings, I am positive that technology has a lot of potential and can make learning fun.
Not convinced? Think about reading that 800 page World History book with the teeny tiny text and the tissue-paper thin pages. Then imagine roaming Asia, horseback riding behind Genghis Khan, transporting spices across the Silk Road, or debating Plato and Socrates.
Or think about reading those boring little diagrams in your ridiculously heavy science textbook. Imagine instead exploring the rainforest or desert, collecting specimens and examining them. Imagine exploring the inside of a cell and seeing your macrophages in action.
Unfortunately, all of this would require significant talent and money, which is never going to happen if the large game studios don't think there is profit to be made. Most educational game companies make little money, depend on government subsidies for funding, and invest little money into making sub-par games. Which in turn make little money because they're usually sub-par and boring. It's a self-fulfilling process and it sucks.
Well, anyway, enough talking. I'll be writing more about educational game offerings and the market from now on and be succinct about it -- promise! Happy Valentine's Day :)
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