Final Blog 7

 

                                                To Game or Not to Game: That is the Literacy Question

Video games itself are complex, including their presentation of stories and plot within their game dimensions. As someone from a reading and writing background, I find that video games can be seen as literary too, based on its rhetoric through their usage of language and aesthetics.  That is, the player’s interaction with the text commands onscreen provides a similar metacognitive experience as with reading a literary text. Growing up, I was surrounded by both and video games and have equally utilized both mediums for my development of literacy. Furthermore, during my undergraduate career, I learned of English professors who included video games in their required reading list. It then intrigued my curiosity and I began to wonder on the various attributes gaming may have  when introduced as a reading requirement in academia. Thus, brings me to my inquiry, which is the question on how gaming can be incorporated as literacy in a reading classroom setting. Additionally, I also want to explore on how will games be evaluated and proven as literary for academia. As gaming literacy is slowly making its way into the academic setting, I am quite interested in the developing conversation. As I continue my research, I have uncovered various articles that would make for interesting discussion. I will first focus on the specifics in terminology of gaming literacy and utilizing the article “Gaming Literacy: Game Design as a Model for Literacy in the Twenty-First Century” by Eric Zimmerman. Then, take into account of  gaming literacy examples in Kurt D. Squire’s “Video-Game Literacy —— A Literacy of Expertise.” Lastly, I will present a specific example of a classroom setting where gaming literacy was its priority through “Whose Literacy Is It Anyway? Examining a First-Year Approach To Gaming Across Curricula,” written by Jonathan Alexander and Elizabeth Losh. Through this discussion, what I hope I can accomplish is to provide an adequate contribution with my own comprehension of gaming literacy. Despite my experiences with gaming, I am still not familiar with discussing gaming through academic conventions. However I am willing to investigate the medium in order to see how I myself can possibly incorporate gaming literacies into the classroom setting.

In Eric Zimmerman’s article “Gaming Literacy: Game Design as a Model for Literacy in the Twenty-First Century,” he discusses how traditional literacy have (2007) “centered on reading and writing —— the ability to understand, exchange, and create meaning through text, speech, and other forms of language” (p. 23). He then continues about how traditional literacy was extended through media literacy, which enabled those same reading and writing strategies towards literary text with the notion of media literacy, diversifying the notion of critical thinking with various aspects of media such as advertisements and film.

Zimmerman continues stating how both literacies are “necessary but not sufficient for one to be fully literate in our world today. There are emerging needs for new kinds of literacy that are simply not being addressed, needs that arise in part from a growing use of computer and communication networks” (Zimmerman, 24, 2007). What Zimmerman appears to imply is that as technologies continue progressing and advances, so does the definition of literacy. Therefore, the inclusion of gaming as literacy becomes necessary since as technology continues progressing within society, so will the capacities of literacy. What Zimmerman addresses presents a need in allowing a discussion on gaming within the topic of literacy.

Furthermore, Zimmerman argues that since games are systematic since it involves the rules of the game and in order to “play, understand, and —— especially —— design games, one ends up having to understand them as systems” (pg. 26). He continues arguing that it doesn’t just end at understanding games as systems but to also analyze the aspect of playing the game. He states that ( 2007) “play is far more than just play within a structure. Play can play with structures. Players do not just play games, they mod them, engage in meta-play between games, and develop cultures around games” (pg. 27). He continues in stating how playing the game can translate into literacy since it incorporate’s the game’s task into the player’s skill level. Depending on the player’s motivation, each task can be achieved depending on how much devotion and time the player will be willing to spare (Zimmerman, 2007, pg. 27). Thus, like with reading and analyzing text, it would acquire the player in conducing skill-set strategies in beating various levels. The main core of Zimmerman’s argument is to show how the complexities of gaming can still be interpreted as reading. How the player will interpret the game depends on the player’s devotion to the tasks being displayed onscreen. The player’s relation to the gameplay itself, with consideration of Zimmerman’s argument, is what constitutes as gaming literacy.

The act of gameplay becomes tied in with what Kurt Squire presents in “Video-Game Literacy —- A Literacy of Expertise.” What Squire discusses is viewing the game as an artifact and taking into account of its space for rhetorical analysis. As Squire states (2008) in gaming, “without the player, there literally is no game. This leads to a core challenger for literacy researchers: How do we study a phenomenon that cannot exist without its players” (pg. 644). This further elaborates Zimmerman’s argument in that the players’ relationship with gaming is what equates with literacy. Squire continues by showcasing an actual video game example, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. He explains it as a first person shooter game which allows the player to make the conscious decision in stealing random automobiles and running over various pedestrians. For a player to read the game as a text, it would require the player to question why that task was being made and what occurred in the world after the result of the conscious world. Additionally, the issues that would raise in terms of rhetoric considering that the consequences of assault and battery are typically avoided if the player can escape the police in haste. Such metacognitive questions provides an ample of amount discussion for the classroom setting.

Furthermore, the game also allows players to customize their character by selecting the outfit, type of cars, and even choice of health and diet. He even claims that players even “appear to conceptualize the worlds and themselves within” (pg. 645). He cites players’ interviews for his source in that some “used the game as little more than a “pimp your ride” car-customization kit (he wanted to pursue a career in car customization), one used the game as a chase-scene simulator as a relief from school, and another as fantastical escape from the suburbs” (pg. 645). The purpose in revealing these perspectives is that he serves the main focus of his argument, in which that gaming literacy allows the player to interact with their literacy and even incorporate themselves into such games like Grand Theft Auto. When taking into account of the spaces within the game’s dimensions, as both Squire and Zimmerman have argued, the game exists as literacy because of the player’s interactions. Actively reading the game’s dimensions in addition to interacting as a player is what enables the main argument on gaming literacy from both Squire and Zimmerman.

The dimension of the game along and the interpretation of those dimensions ties in with the discussion in “Whose Literacy Is It Anyway? Examining a First-Year Approach To Gaming Across Curricula,” an article authored by both Jonathan Alexander and Elizabeth Losh. The article features their study and observation of a year-long sequence course which was entitled “Computer Games as Art, Culture, and Technology.” It was taught at the UC Irvine and advised by three faculty members from Informatics, Computer Science, and Media Studies. The instructors had to strategize together in constructing a curriculum that allowed students in developing their critical thinking skills with computer and gaming studies which then fulfills their general education requirements for humanities, social sciences, and writing. In addition to lecture, students also had to attend a weekly seminar. In doing so, it provided students an equal amount of time for discussion on the rhetorics of the game while also learning various strategies in applying their knowledge through reading strategy skills. It was a class that primarily focused gaming literacy and to approach it through critical reading and writing activities.

The coursework in this case study takes on Squire’s and Zimmerman’s argument and puts it into action. The class requirements expected students to document and summarize (2010) “the basic principles of game design and how those principles were used in the development of games” (Writing and Gaming section, para. 1). The assignments were necessary in the development of students’ rhetorical analysis skills through gaming literacy. An example that Alexander and Losh cites in their case study is when students had to select a game and identify its “cultural significance or social usefulness” (Writing and Gaming section, para. 3). One student in particular focused her argument on the widely known Japanese card game and video game Pokemon. She analyzed that Pokemon’s social usefulness comes from how a child can further his or her development skills based on actively reading the text and images. For the Pokemon card game specifically, it requires the players to follow specific rules based on each card’s visual character and text, thus determining which of the character’s strengths outweigh their opponents. In doing so, players would need to actively read the gaming instructions and the card itself. The development of reading comprehension comes from the players understanding of the game and the rules that apply to gameplay. Additionally, players would have to communicate and cooperate with each other according to the rules. The game essentially requires players to actively communicate with one another in order for each round of gameplay to progress.

The student also “uses and cites, images throughout her essay, commenting upon them at length, noting in particular how the visual dimension of the game is intimately tied to gameplay” (Writing and Gaming Section, para. 3). The student analyzed the game’s rhetoric, noting how its aesthetics and gameplay appeals to its target audience. Pokemon are fictional creatures, often with big, childlike eyes, which would appeal to its younger target audience. The student’s argumentative purpose in identifying the Pokemon characters themselves was that it was marketably successful because of its popularity which also connected with her argument of the franchise being socially useful. To not only view the game for its gameplay and dimension but also considering the rhetoric of its producer also allowed the student to further her understanding of games in general. In identifying Pokemon as just socially useful, she is also implying that she views the game as not culturally significant but rather a successful marketing campaign that is able to provide useful tools for literacy development. The overall assignment allowed the student to further her critical reading skills through the integration of gaming literacy. The argument on gaming literacy from Squire and Zimmerman perseveres through the gaming literacy coursework and how it required students to specify their rhetoric through gaming literacy. Thus, showcasing how gaming literacy can be accomplishment depending on the specificity of the coursework requirements. It pushes students to go beyond with what they see by considering what the rhetorics may be from the producer’s or writer’s perspective.

In conclusion, my prior inquiries on gaming literacy is beginning to surface in regards to my own understanding. The successfulness of including gaming literacy in one’s own pedagogy depends on the instructor’s own understanding of that literacy. In doing so, the instructor can be able to incorporate gaming literacy if the course requirements has specific requirements in order for students to adapt their gaming literacy onto the page. While I may not necessarily include gaming literacy in my own coursework, I will strongly encourage students to pursue that literacy for their rhetorical analysis assignments. I do intend on incorporating all forms of literacy in my coursework plan and feel that the diversified approach to teaching would still require print literacy. In doing so, it would allow myself to incorporate my own understanding of literacy while also learning from how students comprehend on what they define as literacy. Students need a variety of different literacies to enhance their reading. It would require an intensive amount of specific guidance, especially for students who still view reading and gaming as two separate forms. So essentially, it would be essential to diversify a student’s schema of reading through the presentation of various literacies, which includes gaming. Therefore, students can have the option of furthering their reading comprehension through gaming literacy. Gaming literacy can serve as an useful tool in the reading classroom if utilized wisely. The attributes from introducing gaming literacy can be seen as positive since it would students to consider the dimensions and rhetorics of the game. Through continuous metacognitive conversation, gaming literacy can then continue making its way through academia.

Works Cited

Alexander, Jonathan and Losh, Elizabeth. (2010). “Whose Literacy Is It Anyway? Examining a First-Year Approach to Gaming Across Curricula.” Currents in Electronic Literacy. Retrieved from: http://currents.dwrl.utexas.edu/FIP/intro.html

Squire, Kurt D. (2008). “Video-Game Literacy —- A Literacy of Expertise.” Handbook of
research on new literacies. 639-673. Retrieved from: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=7FE94E971AA81905FEA110609E1B07E8?doi=10.1.1.173.474&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Zimmerman, Eric. (2007) “Gaming Literacy: Game Design as a Model For Literacy in the Twenty-First Century. The Video Game Theory Reader 2. 23-31. Retrieved from: http:// ericzimmerman.com/files/texts/Chap_1_Zimmerman.pdf