A look into the personal game history of Marc Guillen.
Created by mtothearc on Nov 28, 2010
Last updated: 11/29/10 at 02:27 AM
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? I have never felt like the most active, or able to do well at most physical activities, however, that all changed once I started playing Dance Dance Revolution. I discovered DDR, as it was called, at my local movie theater and me and my sister instantly fell in love with it. We would go to the theater just to play the game often, and we really began to excel at it. The game was a trigger for me to become more active eventually leading to me losing a lot of weight and running cross country for my school. Question 2: From a Designer’s Perspective, what skills was the game trying to teach? And how did the game try to teach these skills? Dance Dance Revolution was trying to teach you that playing a game didn't mean you had to sit on your couch and press buttons all day. It not only required the player to move around, it also required the player to learn rhythm and beats. By requiring the player to hit an arrow when it was shown on the screen, it also improved hand eye coordination.
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? The Sims was one of the first computer games I ever had and of all the games I have ever played, I would have to say that The Sims takes the award for most played game. I can't even begin to tell you how many hours I spent playing the original sims game, as I was so entertained with the fact that I had full control over these little characters lives. No matter where I was or what I was doing, The Sims was always on my mind. I remember being in school and just sitting at my desk thinking about what kind of house would I build, how many family members will there be, what would I put in the house, etc. Question 2: From a Designer’s Perspective, what skills was the game trying to teach? And how did the game try to teach these skills? The Sims was all about giving you control over your characters destiny. You had to learn to meet the needs of your character as well as knowing there are responsibilities you must undertake. It taught you that there are consequences to not taking care of your responsibilities, such as wetting yourself for not going to the bathroom, or getting fired for not going to work.
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? Speed was another game that I discovered in middle school and will never forget. This was a game my friends and I would play constantly to have fun, and see who could win the most times. We would set up small tournaments in the after school program I was in that almost everyone would enter. I will never forget entering my first tournament and making it to the final and beating a friend, who had been undefeated in the last 5 tournaments, to win it all. Lets just say I had bragging rights, at least until the next tournament. Question 2: From a Designer’s Perspective, what skills was the game trying to teach? And how did the game try to teach these skills? Speed is a game of timing and efficiency. As a player you had to be able to scan your cards quickly, organize them to be dispensed quickly, and keep track of what cards your opponents were playing. Speed taught you to have great hand eye coordination, and counting skills, all while having a ton of fun.
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? M.A.S.H was the game everyone was playing my first year in middle school. In elementary school I was bullied and teased a lot and never really felt like i fit in. My first year in middle school I was in a after school program and I made a lot of new friends and really felt like i was starting to come into my own. M.A.S.H was like a great way for me to meet new friends because it was a great way to have a little fun and to break the ice with someone new. Question 2: From a Designer’s Perspective, what skills was the game trying to teach? And how did the game try to teach these skills? M.A.S.H was all about predicting the future road your life would take. The game taught you that you had choices in many of life's greatest questions such as how many kids will you have, where will you live, what kind of job will you have, and who will you marry. It may not be as simple as counting down the list and crossing off an option in real life, however, the game got you thinking about these things at a very young age. Even though every kid had their fun with the options they provided in each field, I believe it was still a great stimulator for what you truly wanted out of life.
Question 1: Why was this game important to you? This game was very special to me as a child because it was something my mother and I would play together. My parents divorced when I was very young and I only got to see my mother occasionally. I received this game from my mother for Christmas in 1992, and every time I would see my mother after that she would sit and play with me for hours. Question 2: From a Designer’s Perspective, what skills was the game trying to teach? And how did the game try to teach these skills? Candy Land was a game geared toward younger children ages 3-7, and did not require much knowledge to play. Candy Land did however teach children colors and matching. In the game you would draw a card of one color, then you moved your piece to that color. In my own personal experience my mother usually made me announce the color aloud before being able to move my piece.
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