Wholehearted Participation
Depending
on the level and the quests, I have experiences an increase interest in the
game the settlers. I find it
enthusiastic when you complete your quests and level up. But when you’re stuck in a level and can’t
get past certain quests it makes it complicated to want to play the game. The reason for the enthusiasm or interest is because
you have a feeling of accomplishment when you complete the quests and move
on. McGonigal states that as game
developers are increasingly starting to push the limits of how much a game can
affect our real lives, the concept of alternative reality is becoming more and
more central to discussions about future of games. It’s helping to promote the
idea that game technologies can be used to organize real-world activity. Most importantly, its provoking innovative
ideas about how to blend together what we love most about games and what we
want most from our real lives. (p. 124-125)
Meaningful Rewards
The
most meaningful reward would be completing the quests and leveling up. It makes the game more enjoyable and easy to
play. The rewards make me feel in
control when I am able to complete the quest easily and understand what it is I
need to do. I feel in control when I can
get things accomplished. When I get
stuck I feel defeated and frustrated.
According to McGonigal (2011), games help put people back in
control. Real gameplay is always voluntary; it is always an exercise of our own
freedom. Meanwhile, progressing towards
goals and getting better at a game instills a sense of power and mastery.
(p.149)
Megan, it was very nice working with you this week. I really enjoyed reading your posts and have had similar experiences. I also never played “The Settlers” until two months ago. I noticed that you wrote, “I know that after playing this game, it will show me that I need to be patient with video games,” in your first post named “Gaming Benefits.” You know what? The game required a lot of patience from me last week. To give an example, when I was too exhausted waiting to train the army and send an explorer to find a coin with a medium search, I wrote in the help tab of the game, “I am too tired waiting for everything. I feel exhausted with everything in this game!” Then a player said that this game does take a lot of patience and I have to be willing to wait for things. Then, the player said that with luck one gets a coin on the Explorer’s first twelve-hour run, otherwise he doesn’t get it for weeks and I just need to make sure the Explorer runs all the time. After getting this motivating answer from one of the players, I feel like I am in a community in which we experience the same difficulties with this game. It was a good experience to me in terms of experiencing a sense of community.
ReplyDeleteGenerally, it seems you are doing well in this game because you said in your blog called “Fix 3-4”: “I find that it is easier to build up on levels now that I haven’t hit a wall. As long as you complete the quests needed, it seems as though you can level up easily.” Apparently, leveling up is not a big issue for you. It is very nice to hear that. However, it is not the same for me. I think it is a little more difficult at lower levels because some missing resources or foods began to come back into play. To make a list in the request paper, I needed to refill these missing items before I was able to complete the quests. In adventure requests, I am not doing well right now because I do not understand what exactly I am doing. However, I am sure I will understand their purpose soon! Excepting these problems, as long as I leveled up, I felt more motivated, as you said. In your post named “Fix 7-8,” you said the most meaningful reward of the game is completing the quests and leveling up. It is the same for me too.
Apparently, you had difficulty understanding how to claim new land and build a warehouse at first because you didn’t give us anymore description than that. I also faced this difficulty. However, I thought it was because English is my second language.
Megan, Tetris is also more of my kind of game to play. As you said, “The Settlers” involves more problem solving and is more difficult than Tetris. However, because this game is more difficult, I feel I am more willing to play it than Tetris because challenges attract me.
Megan, other players were also really nice to answer my questions during the week related to the “Social Connectivity” topic. One of your respondents seemed very helpful to other players because you said, “He mentioned that he likes playing the game because he gets to chat with people from all over and helps them when needed. He really enjoys the chat feature of the game. He calls himself the chatterbox of his guild. He does his best in the game to help others while succeeding in his quests.” I think it is a kind of win-win situation. The game provides us with a good opportunity to interact with others. The other opportunities are buffing other players’ buildings, adding them as friends, and selling some stones and water to others. We get together because of the common goals in the game. In addition, “The Settlers” allows me to thank and be nice to other people in the activities I mentioned above. This situation is a happy experience just like that mentioned by your respondent. Do you ask lots of questions on the help tab of the game? I have asked a lot of questions since I got to level nineteen. In one of your posts, you said you have a guild named Pie, Inc. (PI). Does having a guild help you a lot to level up? In what ways does it help? I do not have a guild yet. That is why I am asking this question.