Matt Chat 237: Brenda Romero on Learning with Videogames


In this episode, Brenda talks about using videogames and board games to teach kids about history. Then she talks about how crazy it is that hardly any of us–including pro game developers!–knows anything about the people who actually made our favorite games. Thankfully, there’s always Matt Chat!

Support Matt Chat with Patreon–it’s the best way to support the YouTubers you love.

Other links mentioned in the show:

  1. Matt’s Easter Egg Hidden Object game
  2. From Where She Dreams
  3. Everything kickstarter
  4. Sacred Fire RPG

Download the mp4 here.

One thought on “Matt Chat 237: Brenda Romero on Learning with Videogames

  1. James

    In Latin, ‘school’ and ‘game’ are the same word; I feel that Quintilian, and his culture, were onto something.

    As a young-un I would often ‘play’ Graphmatica. Around 13 I discovered a program that would plot 3D graphs; my most nerdy friends and I had a lot of fun with that. I am sure that my mathematical intuition is a lot better for it.

    I could probably list from memory the name, power consumption, amount and type of damage of every weapon in FTL. Imagine a game that could make one rote learn things that are actually useful.

    Games are great for really understanding complex systems, modelling complex “human on human” interactions as rule governed systems can be done well and can also be done terribly; I feel that that is a point where one must be very careful.

    Movie crews, like game development teams, are huge groups of people who all make contributions; but it is interesting how movie directors are high profile, important personalities from whose minds we imagine the movie springing fully-formed (we pay attention to actors too, but the reasons for that are obvious). It tends not to work that way with games; though Chris “Human Stretch Goal” Avellone is a bit of rock star.

    I know that as I mature as a gamer continue to not grow out of video games, I have become much more interested in the people behind them. I don’t know who the lead designer of WoW is but I don’t care a bit about WoW, best I can tell its only innovation is doing what every other MMO tries to do but with more polish. I do know who the lead designer of Starcraft 2 is, and the lead balance designer; I don’t play Starcraft 2 either but I do consider it interesting enough to know about.

    Would you look at that, turns out I can comment on a Matt Chat post without being belligerent. Who knew?

    Reply

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