Video Game Post 2

POST 2

As I continued to play this game, I still found it to be a game that promotes multisensory learning and appeals to all skill levels. I also found it to be individualized in the sense that it was easy to progress on my own time as I was prompted to click “Continue” when I was ready to move on. There was a unique element to this game that I found to add to the authenticity and credibility of the game and that was the photographs. Once moved into the internment camps, I was given the opportunity to click on items in the room. Upon clicking on an item, I was prompted with the name of the item, a description of the item, and a black and white photo of the item. These photographs gave a visual realistic glimpse into what life was like for these Japanese Americans who were sent to internment camps during this time period. To further the authenticity and educational aspect of the game, when having discussions with fellow internment camp stayers, they used very specific Japanese terminology that I had not heard of before. This offered me the opportunity to become more educated about Japanese culture as well as how they Americanized.

Through further exploration and impactful interactions with different elements of the game, I found that I was able to further connect it to Gee’s Learning Principles. While initially connecting it to Co-Design, as I continued to play, I found I could also connect it to the principle of Sandboxes. Based on the definition that states a sandbox is “a video game in which the player is not constrained to achieving specific goals and has a large degree of freedom to explore, interact with or modify the game environment” the experience I am having as Henry definitely feels this way. Thus far I have been exploring the life that Henry lived without a direct goal or objective. Throughout my experience I also have the freedom to explore and interact with the game environment.

As the game went on, I found myself to have more autonomy than I thought. I was able to move about throughout the barracks and talk to people who were in my vision. In talking to these people, I was able to gain insights into the direct thoughts of these people during these times. This was eye opening because I was exposed to the real thoughts of the Japanese who were sent here against their will. This authentic insight aligns with the idea from Squire that “games are an important site of a shift toward a culture of simulation, whereby digital technologies make it possible to construct, investigate, and interrogate worlds” that are different from our own. Through this game, I am able to construct my own version of and investigate the world that Henry was living in back in 1941.

(Screenshot as I (Taylor Loiacono) play “Prisoner in My Homeland” from Mission US: A Public Media Project on 9/26/22)

(Screenshot as I (Taylor Loiacono) play “Prisoner in My Homeland” from Mission US: A Public Media Project on 9/26/22)