DOCSLIB.ORG

A Cultural History of Children's Software

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Cultural History of Children's Software ENGINEERING PLAY A Cultural History of Children’s Software Mizuko Ito The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. For information about special quantity discounts, please email special_sales@ mitpress.mit.edu. This book was set in Stone Sans and Stone Serif by SNP Best-set Typesetter Ltd., Hong Kong. Printed and bound in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ito, Mizuko. Engineering play : a cultural history of children’s software / Mizuko Ito. p. cm.—(The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation series on digital media and learning) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-262-01335-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Children’s software—Development—History—United States 2. Computer-assisted instruction—United States. 3. Computers and children—United States. 4. Enter- tainment computing—United States. I. Title. QA76.76.C54I86 2009 790.20285—dc22 2009006116 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Index Abu-Lughod, Lila, 13 competitive, 139 Academic achievement, 44, 85, 86, consumption of academic, 43–54 103, 188 display, in Island of Dr. Brain, The, Academic content 62–68 case study of, 50–81 and gender, 44 engagement with, 68 link to edutainment, 187 in Island of Dr. Brain, The, 62–63 in MSBEHB, 121 link to edutainment, 187 orientation, lack of in MSBEHB, 114 and marketing, 46 recognition of, 62, 68–72 shift from, 99 recognition of, in Island of Dr. Brain, Academic genre of participation, 26, The, 62 29–84, 86–87, 108 technical, in SimCity 2000, 169 defi ned, 3, 7, 39 Action-entertainment games, 90, 108, Academic performance, 43 134–139 Academic self-esteem, boosting of, 56 content of, vs. educational content, Access to games, 195n1 181 negotiations for, 178 cultural content of, 139 Accomplishment Adult/adults creative, 171 authority, challenges to, 184 technical, 166 challenges to goals of, 177–178, 181 Accountability as collaborators, 59–60, 64–65, 67–68, lack of, in SimTown, 132 69–72, 116–118, 165, 166–169, in SimCity 2000, 125, 127 172–175, 181–182 Achievement, 31, 33, 36, 42–54, 86, 88, goals of, 62–68, 116–121, 131, 132, 91, 99, 108, 132, 140, 166, 171, 188, 133, 139, 177–178, 181, 187 190 guidance by, 163 academic, 43–54, 85, 86, 103, 188 and kids, negotiations between, 187 in academic genre, 82–83 orientation toward SimCity 2000, anxiety, 101, 141, 188, 191, 83–84 163–164 assessment of, 43 resistance to goals of, 131, 133, 164, case study of, 58, 72–81 190 210 Index Adult/adults (cont.) Anger, 58–61 and SimCity 2000, as collaborators in, Animation, 90, 92, 96, 121–126. See 165, 166–169 also Graphics and SimCity 2000, goals for, 163–164 as “fun spots,” 132 and subversion, as collaborators in, in Island of Dr. Brain, The, 54–56, 57 181–182 role of in MSBEHB, 114 supervision, role of, 24 as selling point, 101 values, childhood resistance to, 88–89 Anti-authoritarianism, 86, 88, 89, 135, Adventure games, 39, 101, 103 145, 148, 184 adventure-puzzle games, 54–56 Antisocial effects, of game playing, 127 Advertising. See Marketing Anxiety, achievement, 42–43, 83–84, “Aesthetic of simulation,” 146 101, 141, 188, 191 Aesthetics Appadurai, Arjun, 16 engagement with, in SimCity 2000, Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow, 36, 37 165–166 Apple Multimedia Lab, 92, 93 and girls, 170–171 Apple II, 2, 36, 37, 38, 54, 83, 85, 86, Age dynamics, and construction genre, 92, 98, 145 184–185 Aron, Jeffrey, 19 Age-graded system/software, 50 Arthur, 35 Agency, 12–13, 15 Artifi cial life, 195n2 authorial, as marketing tool, 155–156 Artists, graphic, 95–96, 97 of children, 17–18, 90, 91, 143 Assessment claiming of, 190 of achievement, 43 computer as tool for, 145 educational, 56, 68 embodiment of in programming, 146 Atari, 29, 85 expansion of, 179, 182 Attitudes fun as, 133 Victorian, 33 struggles for, 185 toward violence in media, 91 uses in learning, 183 Audience studies, 12–14 Agendas Auditory special effects of adults, 133, 163–164, 177–178, 181 engagement with, 126–131 educational, 177–178, 181, 185 in MSBEHB, 114, 118, 120, 129–130 for SimCity 2000, 163–164 pleasure in, 126–128, 129–130 social, 187 of SimCity 2000, 159, 162–163 struggles to defi ne educational, 185 Authorial agency, as selling point, “Ages and stages,” 50 155–156 Algorithms, in SimCity 2000, 160–162 Authoring Alice in Wonderland, 32 games, 6, 144, 166 Alternate-reality games, 153 games, as subversion, 177–183 Alters, Diane F., 4, 14, 34 and girls, 148 Althusser, Louis, 80, 91 media, growth of, 148 Amazon Trail, 39 multimedia software, 144, 145, 151 Ambron, Sueann, 92–93 software, marketing, 151, 155–156 Amusement, 86–91. See also Fun spread of tools for, 192 Index 211 tools, 144, 145, 155–156, 192 Boys tools, and cultural power shift, 184 and challenge to dominance of geek Authority culture, 149–150 adult, challenges to, 184 and geek culture, 149–150, 184 fi gures, 87 and SimCity 2000, 162–163, 169–170 Authorship Boys and Girls Club, 20–22 of children, 143 Brand recognition, 48 negotiation of, 171 Braun, Jeff, 156 Automata, cellular, 160, 161, 195n2 Breakdown situations, 59–61, 63 Awards, 69 Breckenridge, Carol, 16 Bremer, Michael, 156, 159 “Bad screens,” 35 Brøderbund, 85–86, 96, 98, 109 Banet-Weiser, Sarah, 87, 91 Brown, John Seely, 14, 19 Bank Street College of Education, 37, Buckingham, David, 1, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, 85 15, 31, 91, 191, 192 Bank Street Writer, 85 “Builder, child as,” 144 Barbie, 87, 109, 153, 154, 155 Building, world, 170–171 Barbie Fashion Designer, 99, 100, 153 Burp Gun, 88 Barol, Bill, 156 Bury, Rhiannon, 148 Bauer, Jo Anne, 25, 191 “Buzz,” as marketing tool, 183 Baugh, Charla, 23 Baumer, Sonja, 148, 170, 182, 185, 192 Call to Power, 156 Baym, Nancy K., 148 Camp, L. Jean, 147 “Beating” the game, 69–72 Campaign, JumpStart, 44–46 Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, 96 Canonical knowledge, 56 Behavior, codes of consumption, 91 Capital Behaviorism, 39, 46, 144, 187 cheats as gaming, 181 Benkler, Yochai, 148, 192 cultural, 36, 42–43, 131, 139 Bias, gender, and SimCity 2000, 170 gamer/gaming, 153–154, 170, 181, Bijker, Wiebe, 11 195n1 Bird, S. Elizabeth, 13 material, 36 Bittanti, Matteo, 148, 170, 171, 182, Cards, report, 55, 56 185, 192, 195n1 Carlston, Douglas, 85, 91 Blossom, Jon, 154–155 Carlston, Gary, 85–86, 91 Blue’s Clues, 35 Cassell, Justine, 1, 147, 149 Boellstorff, Tom, 153 Casser, Urs, 1 Bogost, Ian, 8, 161, 184 Castronova, Edward, 195n1 Bonding tools, toys as, 87 CD-ROM–based games/software, 54, 83, Books 85, 86, 90, 92, 93, 95, 96, 103, children’s, 31–32, 87 108–109, 122, 191 comic, 32, 87, 90, 96 decline of, 191 “Boosters” vs. “debunkers,” 10–11, 15 fi rst consumer release, 96 Borg, Anita, 147 introduction of, 90, 91–92 Bourdieu, Pierre, 15 spread of, 54, 86, 92, 96, 109 212 Index Cellular automata, 160, 161, 195n2 peer-focused culture, 90 Cendant, 41 software, 2, 5, 29 Challenges software, defi nition of, 6 to adult authority, 184 and technical literacy, 150–154 to adult goals, 177–178, 181 Circumvention, of game rules, 178–179 to research frameworks, 193 “Citizenship, consumer,” 91 Change Civic engagement and game play, cultural and social, 4, 10–16 195n1 educational and social, and practices Civilization III, 8 of play, 189, 190–191 Clark, Lynn Shofi eld, 4, 14, 34 role of research in, 193 Class, 139 social, 4, 10–16, 187, 188, 189, differences, 34, 36 190–191 identity, 34, 83 technology and social change, 187 link to edutainment, 187 Chat, 149 and marketing, 108 Cheats/cheating, 178–181, 182, 183, and media use, 192 190, 191, 195n1 and multimedia products, 100–101 as gaming capital, 181 and relationship to computers, 146 in SimCity 2000, 166 status, 48 traffi c in, 185 Classroom dynamics, 110–111 uses in engineered subversion, Club, Mickey Mouse, 88, 91 182–183 Clubs Chen, Sande, 7–8 as educational settings, 24–25 Child-centered philosophy of learning, fi eldwork in 5thD, 54–81, 114–139, 144 162–183 Childhood Fifth Dimension (5thD), 18–25, enrichment, 100 54–81, 114–139, 162–183 innocence of, 103 Codes institutional organization of, cheat, 178–181, 182, 183, 185 187–188 of consumption behavior, 91 sociology of, 17 secret, sharing of, 178–181 studies, 17–18 traffi c in cheat codes, 185 transcripts of, 139 Cole, Michael, 18, 19, 65 Child rearing, pleasure-oriented Collaboration approach, 90 with adults, 57 Children/children’s kids’ and adults’, in SimCity 2000, agency of, 17–18 166–169 culture, 88–89, 90, 101 Collaborative learning vs. competition, ecstacy, culture of, 88–89, 101 case study of, 72–81 literature, 31–32 Collaborators lowbrow culture, 90 adults as, 59–60, 64–65, 67–68, 69–72, and marketing, 188 165, 181–182 and media, 4–5 peers as, 65–67, 162, 163, 165, 169 Index 213 in SimCity 2000, adults as, 165 Conceptual frameworks, 4–16 in SimCity 2000, peers as, 162, 163, “Concerted cultivation,” 34, 35, 44, 165 100–101 in subversion, adults as, 181–182 Confl ict Collins, Alan, 19 between education and entertainment Comic books, 32, 87, 90, 96 genres, 187–188 Commercialism, 98 among genres, as site for change, Commercials, 88–89 190 Commodifi cation, of learning software, institutional, between entertainment 83–84 and education, 189 Communication, between humans and Consoles, 35 machines, 63 game, 85, 98, 99 Communities market for, 85 alternative, of practice, 182, 183 Consolvo, Mia, 154, 170, 181, 183, of consumers, 91 195n1 fan, 148 Constraints gaming relationship to, 195n1 on children, 103 of interest, 185 educational, 98 Internet, 146 Construction genre of participation, of practice, 12, 182, 183 27, 143–185.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Simcity 2000 Manual
    ™ THE ULTIMATE CITY SIMULATOR USER’S MANUAL Title Pages 3/25/98 12:00 PM Page 1 ª THE ULTIMATE CITY SIMULATOR USER MANUAL by Michael Bremer On the whole I’d rather be in Philadelphia. – W.C. Fields (1879-1946) Credits The Program Designed By: Fred Haslam and Will Wright IBM Programming: Jon Ross, Daniel Browning, James Turner Windows Programming: James Turner, Jon Ross Producer: Don Walters Art Director: Jenny Martin Computer Art: Suzie Greene (Lead Artist), Bonnie Borucki, Kelli Pearson, Eben Sorkin Music: Sue Kasper, Brian Conrad, Justin McCormick Sound Driver: Halestorm, Inc. Sound Effects: Maxis Sample Heds, Halestorm, Inc. Technical Director: Brian Conrad Newspaper Articles: Debra Larson, Chris Weiss Special Technical Assistance: Bruce Joffe (GIS Consultant), Craig Christenson (National Renewable Energy Laboratory), Ray Gatchalian (Oakland Fire Department), Diane L. Zahm (Florida Department of Law Enforcement) The Manual Written By: Michael Bremer Copy Editors: Debra Larson, Tom Bentley Documentation Design: Vera Jaye, Kristine Brogno Documentation Layout: David Caggiano Contributions To Documentation: Fred Haslam, Will Wright, Don Walters, Kathleen Robinson Special Artistic Contributions: John “Bean” Hastings, Richard E. Bartlett, AIA, Margo Lockwood, Larry Wilson, David Caggiano, Tom Bentley, Barbara Pollak, Emily Friedman, Keith Ferrell, James Hewes, Joey Holliday, William Holliday The Package Package Design: Jamie Davison Design, Inc. Package Illustration: David Schleinkofer The Maxis Support Team Lead Testers: Chris Weiss, Alan
    [Show full text]
  • Download Simcity Buildit Mod Apk Android 1 Simcity Buildit MOD APK 1.38.0.99752 (Unlimited Money) Simcity Buildit MOD APK Is a Free City Simulation Game for Android
    download simcity buildit mod apk android 1 SimCity BuildIt MOD APK 1.38.0.99752 (Unlimited Money) SimCity BuildIt MOD APK is a free city simulation game for Android. This is a famous game in EA’s SimCity series. You can download the original APK file and MOD versions of this game via the links we placed below the article. Introduce about SimCity BuildIt. SimCity BuildIt is a simulation game of the publisher Electronic Arts, a familiar name if you often play games on mobile. They are famous for the Plants vs Zombies game series and some sports games like Real Racing 3. This is the first time, EA tried with a simulation game. And the effect of this game is amazing. Up to the present time, the game has reached more than 50 million installs on Google Play with many 5-star reviews. Gameplay. Launched in the late 1980s, the SimCity series has been the best friend of many generations of gamers and has made incredible strides since then. This latest version feels brighter and more polished from the beginning, and when you take a closer look, you’ll see unexpected details. The basic principles of SimCity remain the same. However, the view from above and the square shapes of the old days have changed, becoming a three- dimensional world that you can build. Soon, the worry that takes over your mind will be to meet high-class needs rather than essential needs. Sooner or later, you will have a donut shop. Then you will think of shopping malls and casinos.
    [Show full text]
  • The Covenant School David Naugle Dallas, Texas August 25, 2008
    The Covenant School David Naugle Dallas, Texas August 25, 2008 The Academy of Popular Culture and Christian Education ~ Cultivating Inquiry ©David Naugle (various quotations welcome, but please do not use this presentation in its entirety without the permission of the author). SimCity “You’re rewarded for creativity, experimentation, and understanding, with a healthy, thriving universe to call your own.” — Maxis Catalog (advertising SimCity) Have you heard of or perhaps even played the video or computer game called SimCIty? In playing SimCity, where the prefix Sim is used as an abbreviation for “simulation” or “simulated,” players act as city leaders and city planners who design, develop, and govern their own ideal town or city. In SimCity, there are no specific goals or objectives to achieve. Rather, it is all about creating a world out of your own imagination. As the Maxis catalog advertising SimCity states, “You’re rewarded for creativity, experimentation, and understanding, with a healthy, thriving universe to call your own.”1 Since its release in the late 1980s, SimCity has spawned many derivatives, such as SimEarth, SimFarm, SimCopter, SimAnt, SimIsle, SimThemePark, SimSafari, and literally, SimEverything, the latter title describing what the creators of SimCity were apparently trying to accomplish overall. SimUniversity “Join a band, crash parties, find a part-time job, or get initiated into a secret society, print money, and cheat on your studies. How will your Sims enjoy their college years?” 2 1 Maxis Software Toys Catalog, p. 10, quoted in Ted Friedman, "Making Sense of Software: Computer Games and Interactive Textuality", available at http://www.duke.edu/~tlove/simcity.htm.
    [Show full text]
  • Visions of the Information Industry - Dreams Or Nightmares?
    Visions of the Information Industry - Dreams or Nightmares? Tina Cary, PhD ASPRS Past President "The new source of cessing yields informa- funded, and built. The just 20 ground stations? power is not money in tion; the accumulation number of Earth observa- The trend toward per- the hands of a few but and processing of infor- tion satellites being sonal computers for information in the hands mation leads to knowl- planned for launch in ground station use is in of many," John Naisbitt edge. And, we hope, the the next five to seven its infancy. So one pos- (Megatrends, 1984). In accumulation of knowl- years is more than five sibility is that we each 1985, Rutherford Rogers edge leads to the appli- dozen. Some of the sat- have our own antenna said in the New York cation of knowledge for ellites have several pay- and ground receiving Times "We're drowning the benefit of all. We loads, others focus spe- station. The increase in in information and starv- can envision this as a cifically on oceans or number of countries and ing for knowledge." pyramid, with Lots of agriculture. And, while companies launching Where are we today? data forming the base, some of the satellites are Earth observation satel- Where might we be in then information, mov- research oriented, a lites raises the possibil- the first half of the 21st ing up to a smaller number of them are be- ity that open architec- century? amount of knowledge, ing developed for opera- ture may be coming to This leads to other, with benefits at the pin- tional applications.
    [Show full text]
  • Simcity Creator Ds Instruction Manual
    Simcity Creator Ds Instruction Manual This was remade as SimCity DS. SimCity 4 (2003) was the second Notable for coming with a Doorstopper of an instruction manual. SimLife: SimCity meets. Log In needed · $10 · Sonic Chronicles - Nintendo DS Sim City Creator for Nintendo DS, in plastic case. Comes in original case with the instruction booklet. SimCity BuildIt is a spin-off game of the SimCity series for iOS and Android released.. Animal Crossing DS Game in great condition, the memory has been cleaned and comes with instruction booklet. Please Let's Go To The City Bratz The Movie High School Musical 3 Senior Year Dance Sim City Creator. SimCity is a city-building simulation game released in 1989 and designed by eventual Sims creator Will Wright. SimCity, being Maxis' first game and originally. Item, Photo, Description, Bids, High Bidder, Current Amount. Simcity Creator Ds Instruction Manual Read/Download Wii U · Nintendo 3DS · Wii · Nintendo DS · Contact Us · Repair Help Health & Safety Precautions Manual · Product Manuals · Privacy Notice · Terms of Use. SimCity Creator, SimCity Societies, SimCity Societies - Destinations, Skate 2, Skate Electronic Arts will mail a replacement Recording Medium and/or Manual to you. will need to follow the instructions for returns after the 90-day warranty period. Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, or Sony PlayStation. Find Super Mario in Nintendo DS / Buy or sell new or used video games & consoles in Cases and instructions included. of destruction $5 Sim city creator $15 Mario kart $25 Mario Party DS $25 Kirby super star ultra $35 Open to multi-item offers.
    [Show full text]
  • Will Wright: the Mayor of Simcity
    Will Wright: The Mayor of SimCity The innovative computer game SimCity has been overhauled. Now it's called SimCity 2000. By Kevin Kelly Wired: I gather that many fans of SimCity are fanatical players who know more about its population of sims than you, its designer, do. Wright: Yeah, a lot of people like the control aspect. To them it's sort of "I'm a god, you're my sim, obey me." But the sims don't obey. That's what makes it fun. If they obeyed you, what fun would that be? You're trying to keep this city together, but it keeps falling apart. That's what makes most really good games fun: When you have a certain amount of control, but then there's a certain amount of entropy in the system, and it's balanced just right between the two. It's life at the edge of chaos. Shit happens. Wired: Does your new version, SimCity 2000, have that on­the­edge quality as well? Wright: I sure hope so. But of course I don't have a variable in there called "the chaos variable." So, to tune it I have to engineer a lot of little low­level variables to try and get the emergent behavior that will give me that edge of chaos to keep it from getting boring. Wired: Why go through all the trouble of another version? What's new in SimCity 2000 besides cooler visuals? Wright: In the old SimCity, you started with all the technology at once, but in this one you have to wait for things to become invented.
    [Show full text]
  • News Briefs Simcity to Simfarm Shredded Paper Mulch Better Than
    News Briefs New software Ohio State University study SimCity to SimFarm Shredded paper mulch The software producer Maxis has introduced a new companion title to its already successful SimCity and better than wheat straw SimAnt software packages. Called SimFarm, the new A recent study from Ohio State University has shown software was devised with the help of farming experts to that a new mulch has positive results when used in horticul- offer players the opportunity to succeed in their agribusiness tural and agricultural situations. The new mulch produced careers or lose their farms to the auctioneer's gavel. The higher yields, warmed the soil better, provided adequate players choose the equipment, buildings, seed, fertilizer, weed suppression and was environmentally friendly when pesticides and practices that they will need in their quest to compared to the control material, wheat straw. The new, battle the elements, in the forms of floods, droughts, and improved, low-cost mulch was made from shredded re- violent storms, to bring in a profitable crop and stave off cycled paper. possible bank foreclosures. Cornell University study compares clippings yields Low maintenance turf growth rates compared Cornell University compared the average clippings bluegrass and fine fescues to all dwarf tall fescues, all yield per cutting of eight mixtures of commercially-avail- bluegrasses, and all fine fescues. Each area was established able seed blends and found that blends with high hard under the same excellent seed bed conditions so difference fescue content produced the least amount of clippings per in establishment characteristics were minimized. The table cutting. The eight blends ranged from mixtures of ryegrass, lists the seed blend and their average clippings yields.
    [Show full text]
  • The Civic Potential of Video Games
    The Civic Potential of Video Games This report was made possible by grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in connection with its grant making initiative on Digital Media and Learning. For more information on the initiative visit www.macfound.org. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age by Cathy N. Davidson and David Theo Goldberg with the assistance of Zoë Marie Jones Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project by Mizuko Ito, Heather Horst, Matteo Bittanti, danah boyd, Becky Herr-Stephenson, Patricia G. Lange, C. J. Pascoe, and Laura Robinson with Sonja Baumer, Rachel Cody, Dilan Mahendran, Katynka Z. Martínez, Dan Perkel, Christo Sims, and Lisa Tripp Young People, Ethics, and the New Digital Media: A Synthesis from the Good Play Project by Carrie James with Katie Davis, Andrea Flores, John M. Francis, Lindsay Pettingill, Margaret Rundle, and Howard Gardner Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century by Henry Jenkins (P.I.) with Ravi Purushotma, Margaret Weigel, Katie Clinton, and Alice J. Robison The Civic Potential of Video Games by Joseph Kahne, Ellen Middaugh, and Chris Evans The Civic Potential of Video Games Joseph Kahne, Ellen Middaugh, and Chris Evans The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England © 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of City Planning Simulations
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 384 539 SO 024 707 AUTHOR Kolson, Kenneth TITLE The Politics of City Planning Simulations. PUB DATE Sep 94 NOTE 22p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (New York, NY, September 1-4, 1994). PUB TYPE Speeches/Conference Papers (150) Reports Descriptive (141) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *City Government; *Community Planning; *Computer Simulation; Educational Games; Human Geography; Land Use; *Simulated Environment; Teaching Methods; *Urban Areas; Urban Environment; Urbanization; *Urban Planning; Urban Studies IDENTIFIERS *SimCity ABSTRACT This research paper presents an analysis of the computer simulation, SimCity, used for an urban city planning class. The data were gathered by actual use of the simulation and an electronic mail network was employed to secure impressions from users of the simulation. SimCity (developed by Maxis) provides t .e player with rules of human factors, economic factors, survival factors, and political factors that are both opportunities and constraints to the master planner. In addition, there are numerous maps to monitor land use patterns, zoning, demography, pollution, and other factors as the simulation progresses. The simulation also allows the user to manipulate tax rates and funding levels for the city. The point of the simulation is to duplicate the real world of urban politics with the instantaneous ability of the computer. The attraction of SimCity is the resemblance to the real-life choices that city planners must
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Educational Computer Games
    Beyond Edutainment Exploring the Educational Potential of Computer Games By Simon Egenfeldt-nielsen Submitted to the IT-University of Copenhagen as partial fulfilment of the requirements for the PhD degree February, 2005 Candidate: Simon Egenfeldt-Nielsen Købmagergade 11A, 4. floor 1150 Copenhagen +45 40107969 [email protected] Supervisors: Anker Helms Jørgensen and Carsten Jessen Abstract Computer games have attracted much attention over the years, mostly attention of the less flattering kind. This has been true for computer games focused on entertainment, but also for what for years seemed a sure winner, edutainment. This dissertation aims to be a modest contribution to understanding educational use of computer games by building a framework that goes beyond edutainment. A framework that goes beyond the limitations of edutainment, not relying on a narrow perception of computer games in education. The first part of the dissertation outlines the background for building an inclusive and solid framework for educational use of computer games. Such a foundation includes a variety of quite different perspectives for example educational media and non-electronic games. It is concluded that educational use of computer games remains strongly influenced by educational media leading to the domination of edutainment. The second part takes up the challenges posed in part 1 looking to especially educational theory and computer games research to present alternatives. By drawing on previous research three generations of educational computer games are identified. The first generation is edutainment that perceives the use of computer games as a direct way to change behaviours through repeated action. The second generation puts the spotlight on the relation between computer game and player.
    [Show full text]
  • Playing with People's Lives 1 Playing with People's Lives How City-Builder Games Portray the Public and Their Role in the D
    Playing With People’s Lives 1 Playing With People’s Lives How city-builder games portray the public and their role in the decision-making process Senior Honors Thesis, City & Regional Planning Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for graduation with honors research distinction in City and Regional Planning in the Knowlton School of Architecture at the Ohio State University By William Plumley The Ohio State University May 2018 Faculty Research Mentor: Professor Tijs van Maasakkers, City and Regional Planning Playing With People’s Lives 2 Abstract – City-builder computer games are an integral part of the city planning profession. Educators structure lessons around playtime to introduce planning concepts, professionals use the games as tools of visualization and public outreach, and the software of planners and decision-makers often takes inspiration from the genre. For the public, city-builders are a source of insight into what planners do, and the digital city’s residents show players what role they play in the urban decision-making process. However, criticisms persist through decades of literature from professionals and educators alike but are rarely explored in depth. Published research also ignores the genre’s diverse offerings in favor of focusing on the bestseller of the moment. This project explores how the public is presented in city-builder games, as individuals and as groups, the role the city plays in their lives, and their ability to express their opinions and participate in the process of planning and governance. To more-broadly evaluate the genre as it exists today, two industry-leading titles receiving the greatest attention by planners, SimCity and Cities: Skylines, were matched up with two less-conventional games with their own unique takes on the genre, Tropico 5 and Urban Empire.
    [Show full text]
  • Entretenimento E Capacitação Cognitiva Na Cibercultura: Análise
    Entretenimento e capacitação cognitiva na cibercultura: análise comparativa dos artigo games SimEarth, SimAnt, SimLife e Spore1 Entretenimiento y habilidades de pensamiento en el ciberespacio: un análisis comparativo de los juegos SimEarth, SimAnt, SimLife y Spore Entertainment and thinking skills in cyberspace: a comparative analysis of games SimEarth, SimAnt, SimLife and Spore Fátima Regis2 Letícia Perani3 Resumo Pesquisadores da cibercultura defendem que o entretenimento estimula competências cognitivas em seus usuários. No entanto, há uma lacuna de pesquisas empíricas sobre o tema. Com o objetivo de investigar se há mudanças nas competências requeridas para a prática de games, realizou- se uma análise comparativa das características de games de 1990 (antes da “explosão” da internet e ciberespaço) e 2000 (em plena cibercultura). Os games investigados são SimEarth (1990); SimAnt (1991); SimLife (1992) e Spore (2008). O artigo apresenta os resultados preliminares dessa pesquisa. Palavras-chave: Cibercultura. Games. Cognição. Entretenimento. 1 Artigo selecionado para apresentação no Congresso Internacional de Ciências da Comunicação: Comunicação, Cognição e Mídia, na Faculdade de Filosofia da Universidade Católica Portuguesa, em Braga, Portugal, de 23 a 25 de setembro de 2009. 2 Professora do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Comunicação FCS/UERJ. Doutora em Comunicação e Cultura pela UFRJ. Membro do Conselho Científico Deliberativo da ABCiber (Associação Brasileira de Pesquisadores em Cibercultura). E-mail: [email protected]. 3 Mestre pelo Programa de Pós-Graduação em Comunicação FCS/UERJ. E-mail: [email protected]. comunicação, mídia e consumo são paulo vol.7 n.20 p.121-139 nov.2010 122 entretenimento e capacitação cognitiva na cibercultura artigo Resumen Investigadores de la cibercultura sostienen que el entretenimiento estimula las habilidades cognitivas en sus usuarios.
    [Show full text]