Thursday - Oldies but Goodies

For Thursday, I followed one of Rachel's activities and had the consultants play classic games from the 80's. First we had a discussion on the oldest game they could remember and the oldest system that they remember playing on. We talked about the differences in the games and system from the 80's and early 90's compared to the games and systems of today.
I used the web site www.80smusiclyrics.com for the games and my instructions were that they play Tetris, Duckhunt, Donkey Kong, and Frogger. We also hooked up the Pacman TV controller and the consultants were required to play Pacman. The consultants could also play the other games on the controller and on the site, but had to play the ones I suggested for the discussion. The consultants really liked playing the old games. They said that having to play the games on the computer took away from the game because it made it harder to figure out, especially Donkey Kong because playing on the keyboard was really difficult and many had a really hard time getting to other levels. Duckhunt was a favorite - the consultants liked how the dog laughed at them when they missed a dog. Playing with the mouse opposed to playing with a gun was a limiting factor, however most were able to figure it out and enjoy the game play. They did say that they wished there were more bullets. Frogger was easy to play and enjoyed by all, as was Pacman. Tetris was the least favorite. The consultants were pretty much in agreement that it was boring - which was suprizing to me because I always found Tetris to be fun and exciting - as well as addicting.
We had a discussion about what they would change about the games and there was a variety of responses. The consultants said that the games needed better graphics. They also mentioned that Pacman and Frogger really had no point.
I was really impressed with a comment that Josh made - he said that he wouldn't change anything about the games because without them as fundamentals, we wouldn't have the games that we have today. I liked that he was able to grasp that concept and understand that things evolve.
Once again, having 8 consultants made the task at hand challenging. There were only enough computers and controllers for 6, therefore I had to have 2 of the consultants playing the handhelds during the rotations which was distracting. I also had issues with the consultants switching games before I asked them too. With 8 in a small room, it is important to have them follow directions to keep order. I have to keep a watchful eye to make sure that they stay on task - of course not all of them get distracted, but when 1 or 2 do, it still causes chaos in the lab.