When I signed up for the video game practicum I did not have high expectations because I knew these games would not have the high caliber graphics and game play of an Assassin’s Creed. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how entertaining these games were and found myself playing them for far longer than I had anticipated.
The games I will cover are Argument Wars and 1066. Argument Wars is a game hosted on iCivics.org and the premise is to argue your case in the context of a famous Supreme Court case. 1066 is a Channel4 production that I had a little trouble finding but ended up playing it on Kongregate.com; it has a single player and multiplayer mode, and you can choose to play the story mode or do a simple battle simulation.
Argument Wars
The start screen asks you to pick a case to argue.
The game has you choose and name your character, and it starts with an opening cinematic where each side presents their case; in this case Brown v. Board.
A lot of dialogue ensues, in which the judge asks a series of questions and the attorneys respond. Eventually you get to the main goal: making an argument. The first step is to choose how to argue the case based on what constitutional issue is at stake. For this case, it is the fourteenth amendment, that school segregation prevents equal treatment under the law.
You then draw a series of cards which you play in order to support your argument.
If you correctly support your argument, the judge passes ruling points to you. The Judge has a certain number of points to distribute, and once they are fully distributed whichever side has the most points wins the case.
My favorite part of the game is when the judge asks you to elaborate on your evidence, and a logical premise constructor pops up:
At the bottom of the screen you create the premise by toggling through a sentence constructor. I don’t play a lot of games that ask you to create a logical premise, but I wish I did. This game is not only a great tool to get kids to learn about real history, but also to learn how logic works in arguing cases!
After you successfully argue your case, the game prompts you with the history of the actual case and presents a series of links to interested players who want to learn more.
All in all, a great tool for education.
1066
This game is about the battle of 1066, the Norman conquest of England. As I mentioned it has a single player and multiplayer mode. If you choose the single player mode you can choose to play the story mode or do a simple battle simulation.
I had a lot of difficulty watching the story mode because my computer couldn’t keep up. I did get the idea though; it has a narrator talking over graphics and provides the story of the invasion of England by both Vikings and Normans. So because I was having difficulty, I will just cover the battle mode.
You can choose which of three battles you want, Fulford, Stamford or Hastings, and each has a different map with different barriers. You can also choose the size of the battle, and of course I chose the biggest battles each time.
Next you choose which side you want to fight with: Norman, English or Viking. The game gives you detailed strengths and weaknesses for each army, and I assume that this is accurately representing the actual armies that fought in the battles. Your given 26 points (if you chose the large battle) to choose the makeup of your army, and you decide based on the strengths of each unit.
You then choose how to line up your units, and begin the battle.
During the battle you decide where to move your armies, and after you execute your commands your units and your enemies units move turn by turn. It takes a couple of turns for you to move into battle position, but this reflects actual battlefield tactics of moving your armies based on the enemy’s position.
I think the real utility in this game is in its story mode because it actually provides you with interpretive elements of history, but during the battles the player gets an idea of battle field tactics which is also useful for educating young people. It gives a fuller sense of what historical battles were like the decisions made during them.
Argument Wars is great! I was caught off guard every time a new interface popped up, any games that I played as educational tools through school (not many) were pretty bare bones. And it actually positively necessitates engagement, I kept trying to move through quickly to get a feel for it but found myself slowing down to think about the arguments presented and by the end of it all I found myself invested in the argument I was making. This is a really cool tool that I wish was around when I was younger to make me think through some different court cases on my own.
Or even when I was an undergrad (the first time–much earlier than the rest of you). I once took a course on logic and argument and the instructor was the cliche old, dry and monotone type that made it difficult to be very enthusiastic about the material. But Argument Wars teaches the same sort of concepts in a practical way that really engages users, though it still needs a classroom to give it context.
I think argument wars is a really, really interesting set-up to teach something that American students get precious little experience in: conducting a rational argument supported by the evidence. There are umpteen political figures I would like to force to play this game, for one. I find it really interesting and valuable to put this experience into a video game format. too.