Long time no see. Jeff Vogel from Spiderwebsoftware has done his latest Grumpy gamer column, this time talking about educational games and why his company doesn't write them (thanks God, every second distracted from RPG's is a lost second). Well, and he also states that EQ is an educational game - here you go:
Of course, any sensible person can easily see the educational value of a sim game. Let's take on something more challenging. My favorite educational game is EverQuest.
Yes, you read right. EverQuest. First, some background. EverQuest is your standard online role-playing game. That means that you kill monsters, take their loot, gain experience, kill bigger monsters, and repeat the process until it's six in the morning. But, and here's the brilliant part, as you gain levels, the monsters you fight grow stronger faster than you do. That means that, at high levels, you need a large group of competent people, acting in unison, to avoid repeated, bloody, horrible deaths.
EverQuest teaches a skill as vital and important in this society as reading or mathematics. It teaches teamwork. If you're a jerk or selfish or incompetent, word gets around, and nobody will let you join their group. But if you're helpful, nice, listen to orders, and play well with others, you will go far. Even better, when you're experienced enough, you will often find yourself in the party leader position, giving the orders and leading your fellows to victory. Just as in life, you start at lower ranks, but you work your way up to management. And, at high levels, you can start to build even larger forces, with thirty or forty people, all working together for the common good. Raids on the Plane of Fear can have as much planning and care in their execution as D-Day. |
Grumpy Gamer Speaks Again
