Session Name: | Knowing the Past: Game Education Needs Game History |
Speaker(s): | Clara Fernandez-Vara, Jesper Juul, Noah Wardrip-Fruin |
Company Name(s): | Singapore-MIT GAMBIT Game Lab, New York University, University of California Santa Cruz |
Track / Format: | GDC Education Summit |
Overview: |
Though our students are often described as "digital natives" or as natural video game players, most students have a cursory and selective understanding of video game history. This presents problems both in school and after graduation. Teachers need to actively include game history in their curricula, so that students understand how game genres and technologies develop, can draw on the past for critical discussion and creative inspiration, and can participate in informed discussion with peers, mentors, and the public. The presenters discuss why we need to teach game history, describe what the challenges they have come across, and suggest their strategies to overcome them. |