[PATV] Tuesday, August 30, 2011 - Extra Credits Season 2, Ep. 9: Tangential Learning

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[PATV] Tuesday, August 30, 2011 - Extra Credits Season 2, Ep. 9: Tangential Learning

This week, we talk about one of the ways games can teach us new things (without being boring about it).

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rocksrntpeople

I'm mildly upset that you didn't mention GTA or Portal.Many,many people cite GTA as a big learning tool for driving,especially backwards maneuvers,and Portal taught a lot about velocity,and physics in general,and made it interesting to those of us who don't exactly have an aptitude for math,which barred us from even considering physics as something interesting and useful in the real world(I'm fairly sure plenty of younger kids understood the importance of wearing seat belts way better after playing).Not to mention the psychology involved with games set in space, i.e. relations with new races in Mass Effect,or PTSD as depicted in games like Dead Space.
I think you missed a really huge chunk of the industry by ignoring the subtle,real-world lessons taught in many games.Maybe you just didn't realize they were lessons though,which would only prove my point that in-game learning can be done well in an upfront way,without having to simply spark an interest in a subject or beat us over the head with information.

CaptainBearpuncher

Another good example of a game with tangential learning (for me anyway) was Persona 3 and 4. There is a ton of religious and mythical stuff I looked up over the course of the game and after I had finished it. Another good example is Katamari Damacy. Sure you may know what a mosquito coil or a cat is, but did you know the name of every country on earth? Thanks to Katamari Damacy, you do now. And perhaps you may have been inspired to look up more about these countries based on the quick tidbits in the game. BAM! Tangential learning baby! Yeah!

Dxion

The Secret World (I know it came out after this episode) is a good example. A lot of the creatures are mythological and are based in real world legends. To promote this fact for research and puzzles there is even an in game browser! I learned more about myths and legends then I expected to! (as for Rocksrntpeople) I disagree with you. I can see what you mean about port. But GTA is not something I would have considered for Tangential learning. I never felt like that during or after play.

makehimanoffer

The Assassins Creed Franchise is the perfect example of this. You know some of the database stuff is true and some is false so you wanna distinguish.

pubsky

A great example here that could really be expanded upon is the pokemon franchise. Pokemon is some serious algebra/statistics/cost benefit action. Especially in battles and character maxing. It is also focused towards kids and very approachable. Every pokemon support site like serebii or smogon is essentially a pokemon based mathematics course.

Steelmoon

Dynasty Warriors actually got me interested in Chinese History, and I have taken several College levels courses on the subject because of the game. So it was indeed a good example.

GodlessCommie

It actually wasn't The Sephiroth that I looked up after the episode, more like The Zohar. I understood the surface level information that I looked up playing the games, but nobody told me that there was THAT MUCH cool stuff buried in Xenosaga! Not only did I learn so much more, It added a whole new level of depth to the game itself. The proof of tangential learning sits before you.

Yuurt

Crusader Kings 2 did this with Wikipedia. I love learning from entertainment, and it really drives me to want to make games.

Vanitas

The Total War series got me into learning more about Rome and Greece, sure I already knew about both of those civilizations beforehand but Rome: Total War sparked a great fascination with Roman and Greek in me and I just couldn't help myself learning about their mythology, their culture, the wars they fought in, the enemies they had to overcome, important figures of that time. It would be really nice if there were games all over the place that had the same effect, good vid, doing a run through of all your vids and I gotta say, impressive job.

ripjawwolffang

XD err... Fallout... Working for greenpeace I suddenly discovered everyone likes this game... Because it portrays everything that they fear about nuclear power/weapons/ect... And playing it DOSE make you think... I mean... I went in with a meh, I'm against nukes but what you gonna do? Attitude and came out with a kind of "holy shit they really COULD destroy everything!" kind of attitude adjustment... Even if the game was not the most realistic depiction... It was realistic enough to make you think!

kingceth

You brought up the Codex from Mass Effect but NOT THE ARCHIVE FROM ASSASSINS CREED 2? That one *literally cited real world facts*

Also, that thing literally got me nothing but A's (and I got to tutor a pretty hot girl) when we learned the Renaissance and Constantinople in 9th grade. I even dropped bombs on my teacher at times.

Weird Ozzie

Apparently, somebody has been reading xkcd. I noticed two separate pictures taken directly from there in this episode. I greatly approve of this fact.

Mogg

Ok how many more times am I going to be forced to watch this retarded ad of a german car? I feel sorry for the people who have a download limit. It's minute but it adds up. If I got 1 cent for every breath I took I'd be rich.
Wow sephirot reminds me of the mazoku chart from the Slayers anime.

HaroldZoid

There's a game called "Analogue: A Hate Story" that does this really well. It's heavily based on a period in Korean history, which it reveals at the end of it's fairly short playtime, along with some sources for further information. It actually got me a little interested in something I otherwise would never have known about.

Gaia

The Half-Life series lead me to discover the author H.P. Lovecraft: a core inspiration for the series' writer (Mark Laidlaw). But it's not enough for a game to expose a learning opportunity to the player. It needs to encourage the discipline to follow it through.

What if a game like Dante's Inferno rewarded the player who knew random things from the poem? Like if a player knew that Cerberus could be appeased by throwing mud into his mouths (who'd think of that?), they could avoid a boss fight and instead gain him as an ally!

Piggie

So there I was, sitting there, thinking, "What exactly IS an Arbiter?"

Katamari23

A few years ago, because I was playing one of the Final Fantasies, I looked up the reference to Leviathan in the bible out of curiosity. As it happens, the next day Leviathan was raised in conversation and I came out with the chapter and verse numbers - BAM! - and just stunned everyone. As it happened, one of them was a really religious girl and I'm pretty sure that I earned way more bible-cred with her in that moment than I deserved.

winterblack

I've learned many words by playing Magic: The Gathering. For example, carom.