When David Sirlin speaks, I listen. He is the founder of Sirlin.net, a website dedicated to game design, and the pursuit of the philosophy of "Playing to Win," which was recently re-published in expanded book form. He has also authored articles for several websites about game design and the theory of game design.
Sirlin's latest article appears on the Gamasutra website and deals with the life lessons that games can teach us, relating specifically to World of Warcraft. Just a quick gaming background on Sirlin: He is a tournament winning Street Fighter player. His insite comes mostly from the fighters genre. However, it does not matter what game background you come from, as most tournaments and games are very much the same at their core.
In the article, David shares his lessons learned with Street Fighter in direct comparison to lessons learned with World of Warcraft. Two very different games. It seems that while World of Warcraft shares more popularity than any other video game on the market, we can make a case that the lessons learned in most video games (self reliance, social interaction, strategy, and improvisation) are not the lessons learned in World of Warcraft. Infact, World of Warcraft is teaching the wrong lessons. Find the article HERE and read why.
Laugh as you may that a video game can teach a life lesson. As Sirlin points out, many games teach self reliance. The ability to problem solve. The ability the think on your feet. These are all things that are learned at the very core of a game, even if the visual shell is one of cartoons, violence, and other worldly beings.
Sirlin's latest article appears on the Gamasutra website and deals with the life lessons that games can teach us, relating specifically to World of Warcraft. Just a quick gaming background on Sirlin: He is a tournament winning Street Fighter player. His insite comes mostly from the fighters genre. However, it does not matter what game background you come from, as most tournaments and games are very much the same at their core.
In the article, David shares his lessons learned with Street Fighter in direct comparison to lessons learned with World of Warcraft. Two very different games. It seems that while World of Warcraft shares more popularity than any other video game on the market, we can make a case that the lessons learned in most video games (self reliance, social interaction, strategy, and improvisation) are not the lessons learned in World of Warcraft. Infact, World of Warcraft is teaching the wrong lessons. Find the article HERE and read why.
Laugh as you may that a video game can teach a life lesson. As Sirlin points out, many games teach self reliance. The ability to problem solve. The ability the think on your feet. These are all things that are learned at the very core of a game, even if the visual shell is one of cartoons, violence, and other worldly beings.