Would You Like To Play a Game?

Today I played 3 different games that all taught each person something different depending on the situation. There were four things that I noticed with each game that came up that both divided and united these games. The first game to my right is called Stop Disasters! I believe that the target age for this group was 12 and older because of the level of vocabulary that was used in this game and the basic use of understanding what was asked of in the game. I believe that this game was trying to teach that disasters are serious, it was teaching a real life situation/scenario, and that building a community is not cheap! I believe that this game is successful because it teaches a lot about real life and the dangerousness of disasters. However, if I were to improve on one thing it would be the prices, because the price of the homes, land, and whatnot were obviously a lot cheaper than the actual price it would be.

The game to my left, Consumer Consequences, was also a game for people 12 and older. Again, many of this having to do with not only the vocabulary, but him or her would need a good amount of information to play the game. It asks questions about the amount of energy used for your lights, bills paid, etc. Usually that isn't information that younger children have. It mainly tried to teach about cutting down on energy use, increasing "green" products, and promoting environmentally healthy lifestyles. I believe that this game is successful because it shows a person how much someone is actually taking out of the earth and they may not even know it. It brings to life that the lifestyle that person may be choosing is either good or bad. I would improve this game by giving more information on how to cut back besides a general conclusion about how much you suck at life and are killing the planet.

The name of the final game is Hurricane Katrina: Tempest in the Crescent City. This game can be played by anybody, but is most likely targeted towards ages 6-8 years as it gives basic knowledge of things that one may need during a disaster (i.e. flashlight, radio, transportation). I think that it is trying to teach little ones to not be out in the dark or in storms alone, safety and preparations for storms is vital, and that the disaster of hurricane Katrina is still affecting people to this day. I believe that this concept was successful on a lower level, but it was not as effective with the cartoons because it brings a more artificial idea to the hurricane situation and may not be taken as seriously. I would possibly add some more hurricane facts at the end of the game.

Overall, I think these games did a good job at teaching, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't use a little tweaking ;).