School, Play and Ubuntu

"Can learning in school be fun like playing?"

Perhaps, this question has been asked a million times over many years. Yet we see an almost rigid curriculum in most schools that apparently does not seem to change. I was fairly reminded on yet another question that had popped into my mind when i started to learn about Linux nine years back. the question then used to be:


"Can Linux have a graphical user interface like windows?"

Linux offered more control to a user and allowed him to be more productive. But there was a high learning curve to getting the things done. There was a myriad of commands to know, even perhaps to do a simple task. I even remember a hilarious situation where one of my friends could not quit the vi editor.But today, we see that Ubuntu is the answer to that question. It lets a novice user explore Linux through the GUI, while offering him a console to type in commands as he matures using the system. There were GUIs nine years back too, however they were trying hard to cater to an average audience. We have reached a point now, where Ubuntu is a feasible solution to use for parents and grandparents alike. 

I draw an analogy between these questions. Schools of today are like the Linux systems nine years back. They need a good GUI in the form of games that will allow the children to play and learn. Not all the things can be learnt through games, most of it has to do with the permutations and combinations that are involved.. very much like the numerous options a command in Linux can have. Hence augmenting the existing school system with games that teach seems to be the right way. Besides, faster the students learn, the higher they will grow. "Use the technology, to teach technology" is a maxim I like here. So the current curriculum should focus more towards making all the 'frequently used stuff' part of learning into a game. So that students who need just the GUI part will be done with it quickly, while more serious students could quickly learn about the system through GUI and proceed further to use consoles to create their own toolkits. The bar is higher each year in terms of what is to be learned, and so is the necessity to innovate in the curriculum of the future.

Of Toys and Video Games

"Can you find a sport that is not interesting to play with?"

This was an interesting question that sparked in my mind as I heard Jesse reveal the Lens of Toy. Even without a goal, most if not all of the sports are fun to play with. Like football is fun to kick around, Tennis gives us the fun of hitting the ball with the racquet, Athletics like swimming, running or jumping are purely a matter of joy even if done individually. A goal seems to be added later to this activity which further heightens the level of achievement and satisfaction.

I feel designing games with toying around as a perspective could be extremely useful. All video games are projections of the player in the virtual world. There is either a gun in FPS, or a character in 2D like mario, or perhaps just a map that you can pull around in a strategy game like Command&Conquer. All great video games seem to have the property that, they would give the player a sense of control or satisfaction in just toying around with his projection. Be it the sound of mario jumping or the ease with which he can be controlled while jumping. As a player, I could purely toy around with mario for a minute making him jump,crouch, dash and run. when a motive is added, this elevates the level of fun that I am having.

My thought would be that if a player is not enjoying every moment in a game, probably he will find it daunting at a point. And the best way to keep the player interested is, to give him a toy, which in our case is the avatar of player in the virtual world. Even a cool looking gun that fires projectiles that the player can control, is as good as an avatar since that is the projection of the player in a FPS. This could also be the reason for the success of many casual games in the market. they are addictive. I would henceforth consider the toy mechanic in my game design, since I have realized that it is a very important part for any video game.

The properties of a good 'toy in video game' or the 'projection' of the player would:-

1. be highly interactive, to an extent that the player feels completely in control of this toy. this interactivity should be consistent.

2. give the player a joy of accomplishment. this could be as small as jumping or shooting out a projectile.

There should be a seamless integration between what a toy is and what it does in the game. Rather, designing a toy for the game or a game around a toy would be a good bet. I would spend quite a lot of time coming up with the toy, as this is 'the' part of game that the player is in constant touch with.