Examining Failure through Digital Games

Abstract

Games like Pong, Pacman, Space Invaders and Galaxian filled the TV screens and arcades of my childhood. With each new arrival, I would pick up the game controller and try my skills on each challenge. Inevitably, I would quickly fail at even the most basic level, rarely progressing far in the game-world before giving up. So, while many of my friends became obsessed with video games, I found other hobbies to fill my time. Any time that I decided to try the next generation of digital games, I was quickly defeated. Even as my own children developed a borderline addictive relationship with games, I found it difficult to see the appeal. When curiosity compelled me to take a gamble and enroll in ED 6927:Digital Game Based Learning, I was forced to revisit my uneasy and ignored relationship with video games. Certainly, my first time playing Call of Duty with my son, brought back all of my suppressed negative feelings. I actually felt helpless to do anything about my failure, and almost immediately wanted to give up. The experience was no different with games such as MarioKart, where, despite my spotless driving record of 30 years, I could barely keep a virtual kart on the roadway.