I'm teaching a class called "A History of Video Games" and I need your help

Unickuta

Unickuta

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I volunteered to teach an after-school program to 4th-6th graders at my old elementary school, and decided to start a new class called "A History of Video Games." I've always had a certain fondness for older video games, though I'm only in high school, and it would be wonderful to introduce some of them in a semi-academic setting to kids whose idea of a "retro" game is New Super Mario Bros. on the DS.

I have a general idea of what I'm going to do in the class. There are four 90 minute classes over the span of a month. I plan to teach a different "era," if you will, each class. One class would be about the period from Pong to the NES, then the SNES/Genesis, then the N64/PS1/Saturn, and then Dreamcast/PS2/Xbox/GC. I'll sprinkle in portable and PC games into their respective time periods.

What I'm basically asking, though, is what should I focus on? Do my time devisions seem okay?

And more than anything else, I want to know which games I should use as demonstrations of the eras, the most popular/best games. I have a SmartBoard and projector at my disposal.

Suggest away, please - anything is appreciated.
 
divisions by time should be fine as long as you move through pong quickly and get to SMB (you won't have their attention until you mention Mario.)
 
[quote name='lokizz']you may want to start with the guy who invented the first game. pretty cool story think his name was Baer. Ralph H Baer.


http://www.ralphbaer.com/[/QUOTE]
Uh, no. Steve Russell's Spacewar is widely considered nowadays to be the first computer game, and Nolan Bushnell was just as active in the old days as Baer was.

OP: Your devisions look okay (ideally, I would've wanted five classes so as to give the 8-bit era its own devoted space). Also, I hope you plan to touch upon arcades; they were a big part of gaming culture for a long time.

A few recommendations for games which may be suitable for your needs:

Class 1: Ms. Pac Man (probably the one game from that era that has aged the best), Centipede (has also likely aged well), Super Mario Bros. 2

Class 2: Tetris (portable gaming started being big around this time; besides, this is one of the most popular games ever made), Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Lemmings (if PC gaming counts ;))

Class 3: Super Mario 64, Gran Turismo, Pokemon Red/Blue

Class 4: ICO, Katamari Damacy

I'm sure others can build (or improve) upon my list; hopefully it'll give you some ideas, at least.
 
[quote name='blueshinra']Uh, no. Steve Russell's Spacewar is widely considered nowadays to be the first computer game, and Nolan Bushnell was just as active in the old days as Baer was.

OP: Your devisions look okay (ideally, I would've wanted five classes so as to give the 8-bit era its own devoted space). Also, I hope you plan to touch upon arcades; they were a big part of gaming culture for a long time.

A few recommendations for games which may be suitable for your needs:

Class 1: Ms. Pac Man (probably the one game from that era that has aged the best), Centipede (has also likely aged well), Super Mario Bros. 2

Class 2: Tetris (portable gaming started being big around this time; besides, this is one of the most popular games ever made), Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Lemmings (if PC gaming counts ;))

Class 3: Super Mario 64, Gran Turismo, Pokemon Red/Blue

Class 4: ICO, Katamari Damacy

I'm sure others can build (or improve) upon my list; hopefully it'll give you some ideas, at least.[/QUOTE]


i take it you glossed over the article baer is the first. as the article says it depends on how you define a game. baer was first.
 
[quote name='blueshinra']Uh, no. Steve Russell's Spacewar is widely considered nowadays to be the first computer game, and Nolan Bushnell was just as active in the old days as Baer was.

OP: Your devisions look okay (ideally, I would've wanted five classes so as to give the 8-bit era its own devoted space). Also, I hope you plan to touch upon arcades; they were a big part of gaming culture for a long time.

A few recommendations for games which may be suitable for your needs:

Class 1: Ms. Pac Man (probably the one game from that era that has aged the best), Centipede (has also likely aged well), Super Mario Bros. 2

Class 2: Tetris (portable gaming started being big around this time; besides, this is one of the most popular games ever made), Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Lemmings (if PC gaming counts ;))

Class 3: Super Mario 64, Gran Turismo, Pokemon Red/Blue

Class 4: ICO, Katamari Damacy

I'm sure others can build (or improve) upon my list; hopefully it'll give you some ideas, at least.[/QUOTE]

I really like these ideas. My ideas about the four:

1: Super Mario Bros. 2 sounds great, but as I'd be bringing in a NES anyways, what other NES games would be good? Duck Hunt? Punch-out? I don't want to focus too much on Mario and Zelda.

2: Sounds great, except I'd like to do something with the SNES. I'm not going out and buying Chrono Trigger, so what would be best here? Mortal Kombat II?

3: Definitely Mario 64 and Pokemon. Probably Gran Turismo, as well. I'm also thinking Ocarina of Time, another PS1 game (Metal Gear Solid?), some sort of handheld, and Goldeneye.

4: I understand those two were critically acclaimed, but I can't show Ico to 5th graders. The game's praise was centered upon its minimalism - gonna be tough explaining something like that.

I was actually thinking something like:

Soul Calibur (the first game of the generation, and still one of the best. Represents a dagger into arcade gaming? I want to do at least one Dreamcast game.)

Halo (This is a must. This game really changed the landscape of gaming altogether, and basically saved the Xbox)

Grand Theft Auto III (Same as Halo, except that I doubt I'll be able to show it.)

Anything else?
 
Street Fighter 2 has to be put in. The history behind this is one of the most important pieces in gaming time and it was a sort of unity on top of it.
 
I'm not going to get too far into this (it's late and blah blah blah), but a good way of handling this would be to really look at games from a truly evolutionary standpoint (I hope you're not teaching this class in the Bible- belt). They started out like single-celled organisms, with lifespans to match; they weren't very complex at all and consisted of simple versus gameplay, whether another person (SpaceWar and Pong) or a computer opponent, in a single "arena." Perhaps from there you can move on to early story-based games, such as those from Infocom (i.e. Zork, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, etc.). This would be the basis for a first class.

The second class would look at the evolution of these two game focuses... those which were skill-based would evolve into platformers such as Pitfall! and Super Mario Bros. as well as reflex games such as light-gun shooters (Duck Hunt) and shumups. We would see story games divide into RPGs (Dragon Quest/Warrior and Final Fantasy) and Graphical Adventure games (Maniac Mansion, Kings Quest and Space Quest). This would also be a great time to talk about the rise and fall of arcades and introduce the "hardcore" aspect of multiplayer gaming... perhaps you can show a clip from The Wizard. ;)

From there... well, you can continue to really look at this evolution aspect. Some topics would include the converging of skill game and story game, the changing of gaming media (cartridges, CDs, DVDs, digital downloads), rise of tournament play and the creation (and ubiquity) of online multiplayer (Sega Channel, Sega.net, Xbox Live), violence and censorship in gaming throughout the years, creation and succession of the MMO crown, etc., etc.

Remember, while it's fun to talk about games that we all like and feel are important to us as hardcore gamers, such as ICO and Katamary Damacy, they are not that important (yet) in the *history* of gaming. I would suggest truly focusing on how we ended up where we are today by talking a good investigative look at the past before you start creating lists of games that have come out in the last 5~10 years that you'd like to discuss.
 
[quote name='Paco']Street Fighter 2 has to be put in. The history behind this is one of the most important pieces in gaming time and it was a sort of unity on top of it.[/QUOTE]

Don't forget to tell the OP to add in lessons for all of the variations of Street Fighter 2. Although, that would take up all four sessions and require adding another ten.:roll:

Although, if the OP lived near where the mythical landfill that contains the most valuable game ever made(ET for the 2600), he could take the 4th-6th graders on a treasure hunt.:lol:

Seriously though, the OP may want to consider Gamespot's History Of Video Games(http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hov/) as a guideline as it's very informative.
 
[quote name='lokizz']i take it you glossed over the article baer is the first. as the article says it depends on how you define a game. baer was first.[/QUOTE]
Baer is well known for writing his own version of gaming history, because he wants to be recognized for making the first video game(s). Take whatever he says with a huge grain of salt :razz:

[quote name='Unickuta']I really like these ideas. My ideas about the four:

1: Super Mario Bros. 2 sounds great, but as I'd be bringing in a NES anyways, what other NES games would be good? Duck Hunt? Punch-out? I don't want to focus too much on Mario and Zelda.

2: Sounds great, except I'd like to do something with the SNES. I'm not going out and buying Chrono Trigger, so what would be best here? Mortal Kombat II?

3: Definitely Mario 64 and Pokemon. Probably Gran Turismo, as well. I'm also thinking Ocarina of Time, another PS1 game (Metal Gear Solid?), some sort of handheld, and Goldeneye.

4: I understand those two were critically acclaimed, but I can't show Ico to 5th graders. The game's praise was centered upon its minimalism - gonna be tough explaining something like that.

I was actually thinking something like:

Soul Calibur (the first game of the generation, and still one of the best. Represents a dagger into arcade gaming? I want to do at least one Dreamcast game.)

Halo (This is a must. This game really changed the landscape of gaming altogether, and basically saved the Xbox)

Grand Theft Auto III (Same as Halo, except that I doubt I'll be able to show it.)

Anything else?[/QUOTE]

1. Ooh, Duck Hunt. Good one - I hadn't thought of that! That sounds good, too. How about Mega Man or Castlevania? Maybe an early racing game, too, like Micro Machines or Excitebike.

2. I'm not too up on my SNES; I was mainly a Genesis fan back in the day ;) Mortal Kombat II might be a bit too violent, even now, though it was The Hotness back then. I like Paco's Street Fighter II suggestion, though; that would definitely work well.

Don't really have any additional suggestions for the others. However, regarding GTA3: that's actually one of the reasons I recommended Lemmings for #2. Lemmings was made by DMA Design, and both the studio and the game's creator went on to make GTA. Unique, creative ideas (and black humor) can be found in both games, and Lemmings is much more kid friendly. There's also been a few console ports (if your focus is strictly console gaming), and it's a great, fun game.
 
Its too bad you cant get drinking games involved as they arent video games!

but this sounds like a really cool opportunity. I would think that if you are teaching eras, you would talk mostly about the hardware and the cultural effects rather than delving fully into games. Of course you have to mention the hits (mario, street fighter) but this should be more about the evolution (getting people involved, corporate tie ins, male/female division) rather than about any specific favoritism of game. again that means removing your favoritism (clearly as you are denying ICO) but going with cultural appeal.

While I do believe founders are important, the kids arent gonna remember hte name of Baer (not that it hurts to mention). And perhaps other cultural introductions. Japanese have Pachinko, and basically brought us Pokemon (start with Tomagotchi and the Nintendo Game and Watchs/handhelds). I cant think up more now.

Find some old Nintendo powers or other gaming mags for hte kids to flip through or make copies of whatever pages you like. Amazon has a book the Ultimate History of Video Games which may come in handy as a reference source for you.

and i would also recommend you ask every CAG to send you their collections so you can peruse them for educational purposes.
 
[quote name='Arakias']Its too bad you cant get drinking games involved as they arent video games!

but this sounds like a really cool opportunity. I would think that if you are teaching eras, you would talk mostly about the hardware and the cultural effects rather than delving fully into games. Of course you have to mention the hits (mario, street fighter) but this should be more about the evolution (getting people involved, corporate tie ins, male/female division) rather than about any specific favoritism of game. again that means removing your favoritism (clearly as you are denying ICO) but going with cultural appeal.

While I do believe founders are important, the kids arent gonna remember hte name of Baer (not that it hurts to mention). And perhaps other cultural introductions. Japanese have Pachinko, and basically brought us Pokemon (start with Tomagotchi and the Nintendo Game and Watchs/handhelds). I cant think up more now.

Find some old Nintendo powers or other gaming mags for hte kids to flip through or make copies of whatever pages you like. Amazon has a book the Ultimate History of Video Games which may come in handy as a reference source for you.

and i would also recommend you ask every CAG to send you their collections so you can peruse them for educational purposes.[/QUOTE]

Just ordered the book. Thanks a lot, it looks good.

When I have vacation next week, I plan on actually sitting down and writing a lesson plan for each class. Identifying general trends, talking more about the consoles, what games brought them to relevance, etc.

I certainly know more about the 5th and 6th generations than I do about the first four, however. The book and the link provided by IAmTheCheapestGamer certainly help, but anything else you guys know about those two?
 
I would be careful about demonstrating or even showing any scenes from M-rated games to 10-12 yr olds. Some pain-in-the-ass parents might get wind of this and make trouble for the school.
 
[quote name='The Linguist']I would be careful about demonstrating or even showing any scenes from M-rated games to 10-12 yr olds. Some pain-in-the-ass parents might get wind of this and make trouble for the school.[/QUOTE]

This is exactly what I was thinking. Bringing GTA into a classroom with 4th-6th graders? That is a terrible idea.

Your idea to teach this class sounds fun but you should step back a couple of times during the process and make sure you're making the point you set out to make. You do have a plan on what you want everyone to learn, right?
 
Most importantly I would say is to keep in mind who you are teaching and tailor the class to them. 4th-6th graders for the most part are going to have NO idea the history of games. When they hear video games they will think ps3/360 and to a lesser extent perhaps GC/PS2/Xbox. They will have very narrow ideas about Atari, Nes, SNES, Genesis, N64, PS1 and so on. Also, take into account that 90 minutes is a LONG time to expect kids of that age to pay attention even if talking about video games. If you focus too much on just the old games you run the risk of the kids losing interest quickly, especially if you are talking about games they may have never heard of.

Because of this, I would say make sure you are constantly referencing newer games. Show how an old game directly relates to a feature in a new game they are all familiar with. Don't focus too much on the unfamiliar. You could teach the most comprehensive curriculum of videogame history but it'll do no good if you lose the kids attention and they don't take anything away. I would say most of the kids will know Mario, Sonic, Pokemon and Zelda. That said, you'd be surprised how little they actually know about them. I would bet most of them have virtually no knowledge of Sonic and Zelda in their 2D days. Show how the games have changed over the years into the games they know.

In my opinion, I would focus mainly on evolution rather than just a rundown of history. This opens up plenty of opportunities to talk about the history while working in the games they are familiar with. No grade school kids are going to care about or remember Ralph Baer or Steve Russel. You can mention them but don't spend much time. As for some other franchises you could focus on, I think Metroid would be a great one to follow the evolution; 2D side scroller to 3rd person shooter.

I would largely leave mature titles out of the discussion. You can touch on them but certainly DO NOT show any videos. Its a shame to leave out groundbreaking games like Halo, GTA III, and Half Life but parents can be prude and I can guarantee you'll have no problem in finding at least one who will b*tch to the school. Important themes to touch on in my opinion would be the advent and rise of the home console, the advent and evolution of portable gaming, the shift from 2D to 3D, and the evolution of storytelling in games. Be sure to show lots of videos if possible. That will help keep the kids attention as well.
 
There was a great history of video games book by Steven Kent that details everything up to the launch of the PS2 era. There's also a book about the history of Nintendo, called Game Over that is a bit dry in parts, but has an AWESOME overview of the hurdles Nintendo had to go through in the 80's to become a dominate force in America.
 
If you are going history you must include the video game crash of '83. That one is an important milestone that shifted from a US dominated area to the Japanese. One of the reasons Super Mario and Zelda became popular in the first place.
 
[quote name='blueshinra']Uh, no. Steve Russell's Spacewar is widely considered nowadays to be the first computer game, and Nolan Bushnell was just as active in the old days as Baer was.[/QUOTE]

If you want to get more technical, Tennis for Two was the first video game, but even that is up for debate. What constitutes the "first" video game is difficult since you have to define exactly what a video game is. Even the Spacewar that most people know isn't the original Spacewar, as the game began life as essentially an open source project that evolved as many people worked on it.

Honestly, for a class to kids this young I wouldn't even bother getting into the debate. Tell them there is some debate, but Pong was the first mainstream arcade hit. From there I might devote a class to the evolution of arcades, one to the Atari era, one to 8-bit/16-bit, and one to PS/PS2 eras. No need to talk about modern games because the kids all have one. You could spend months simply talking about arcade games and their development, so I would try to hit the highlights of each era. And show lots of videos of different games. That's what the kids are going to be interested in more than anything, and just about anything you choose to teach them is going to be entirely new.
 
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