There were issues with this book, but I appreciate how the Critical Theory aspects of it serve as a sort of "red pill" to break us out of our complacent acceptance of the world--specifically in video games. Many reviews complain about the erudite verbiage, but all Critical Theory makes use of newly-invented words in order to circumvent our preconceptions about the social constructs that rule our lives. I appreciated the concept of the "allegorithm" of how the programming of games is used to define a world, the questioning of "play" in games when really many games are actually work, criticizing the concept of "flow" and calling it "non-contemplation," and the idea that the best gamers are merely the ones who most internalize the algorithms. This book is not for everyone. It is dense and obtuse, but also highly effective and will be very enjoyable for the right readers.
Constructivism
Jean Piaget’s work is the origin of Constructivism, which is the foundation of learning-centered classrooms (Bogost, 2007). Constructivism is a broad theory of learning that argues (quite unlike Essentialism) that what matters in learning is not the accumulation of facts, paradigms, and theories but rather the meaning making that comes from taking these disparate notions and integrating them to form new knowledge. What matters is not the received wisdom handed down from generation to genera...
notes A Harsh Death Penalty Affects the Game "Real Life"
While certainly realistic, the harsh death penalty makes players think twice before trying anything adventurous. Risk avoidance then leads to long stretches of the game where nothing much happens, which can be a bit boring. As a consequence Real Life is one of the few games where the crafting and tradeskill part of the game is more popular than the combat part of the game. Well, truth be told, combat in Real Life isn't much fun anyway. But in consequence many players spend a lot of time in RL...
1 As a result, crafting is more popular than combat.
Leveling Up in the Game "Real Life"
The gameplay itself is extremely open-ended, though it's structured in such a way that you'll have a fairly clear path to follow when you're just starting out. Real life features a great system whereby newbie players will automatically be guided along through the early levels by one or more "parent" characters who elect to take newbie characters under their wing. This is a great system, as these older, more-experienced characters reap their own benefits from doing a good job of guiding the ne...Open-ended, a grind, but ultimately very rewarding.
