teaching with video games

[shateredsoul]

I might have my students play a video game for a class. I was thinking of having them play an old game via an emulator. Is this illegal? It seems like it would be, but I recall some guy teaching a class on role playing games at some university. That guy must have taught via emulators.. I doubt he was able to secure original copies of the games he chose.

The main point of the exercise is for them to play a video game, and come back the next day and share their experience with learning how to play the game, the conventions within the game, and , if the game allows, portrayal of the characters based on gender (or race).

[05SRT4]

It does sound a little risky, have you thought of any web based games. Also if you end up doing the Emu side how would you get the media to the students? e-mail cd's?

[jimmy2x2x]

If you list the games you are interested in, maybe there are alternatives that offer a good rendition of the games - like jakks or namco tv games for example

[Well Fed Games]

portrayal of the characters based on gender (or race).

Ms. Pac Man has a bow.

seriously, though, it depends on what type of game you want them to experience. There is plenty of freeware out there to keep it nice and legal.

[Vigo]

Are you planning on having this on your personal computer, or on the student machines? If it is just your machine, than I don't think it would be any more illegal than having it for personal use to begin with.

I can swear that some teacher here has a Mame machine in their classroom, does not charge for use of course...I might just be imagining it though.

[shateredsoul]

I was thinking of having them take it home.  Hmm, I just had an idea. I could use the virtualnes website right? I was thinking of having them play Chrono Trigger. But then again, most people have already played that game if they are gamers (soooo many remakes). I was thinking of trying a game that has a lot of story and is an RPG.

Alternatively, I can ask them to play a few games and report back on how they learned to play the games. The differences. Etc.. This would relate to my  lecture  based on intrepid exploration. Intrepid exploration refers to  learning to use digital technology through trial and error (without a manual). It's a term used in the computer sciences and education research.

by the way, this would be with college age kids. 20 to 23 probably. I also provide info about where to find computer labs on campus for students who may not own a computer.

[Howard_Casto]

I think it's a good concept, but keep in mind that most games, even games as simple as those on the NES, can be frustrating to play on a keyboard.  Mind you not all of them, but you get my point.

[Well Fed Games]

Spelunky. It is a free game, PC based, that will run on anything. Exploration, lots of trial and error. And well respected indie game with a retro flair.

http://spelunkyworld.com/

[paigeoliver]

That guy must have taught via emulators.. I doubt he was able to secure original copies of the games he chose.

Because lord knows they couldn't possibly afford to spend $20 on an old Dragon Warrior cartridge for a class the students probably payed $2000 to be in.

You could just use the freely released roms on the main site to be in the clear of course the choices there are so simplistic that they may not really be what you are looking for. You may be better off just using a free PC game or a demo of a pc game.

But you are going to have problems no matter what you choose. Emulators can be hard to use at first for people who aren't good at thinking. Most of your students won't own a gamepad. A huge percentage of them are going to have Macs instead of PCs (and a few may have Linux systems).

[Well Fed Games]

I was actually pretty pleased with my Spelunky suggestion. Would love to hear if OP ever found something to satisfy his needs.