About the [Former] Non-Gamer

Hello! My name is Becky Roesch, and this class is one of three I have left to complete my master’s in  Learning Technology and Design. In my previous life I was a fourth and fifth grade social studies teacher— and we played Oregon Trail via Mac OS 7.1 in my classroom. I love teaching, and I also enjoy trying new things: in the past year and a half, I’ve traveled to Ireland, New England, and visited four Great Lakes; taken trampoline aerobics; done stand up paddle boarding; learned how to bake bread; gotten scuba certified; and completed two sections of improv.

Gamer Motivation Profile 

Candidly, I've largely been a non-gamer up to this point.(Shh! Don't tell--I feel like an impostor, being here!) HOWEVER-- I'm here now, so I suppose that makes me a former non-gamer! Insofar as I qualify for a gamer motivation profile at all, the Quantric Gamer Motivation Profile Survey was surprisingly accurate, and described me as a Gardner. This means I prefer gameplay that is calm, spontaneous, relaxed, and independent. My life is pretty crowded and tightly planned, so I don’t want to deal with unpredictable avatars, Machiavellian motivations, or extra stress and strife in my games. I’d rather zone out playing something in a few minutes of downtime here and there, while I’m waiting to do whatever is next on my list. This attitude is abundantly clear when considering my games of choice. I like to play Arcadia, on either my watch or phone. Arcadia is a collection of old-school arcade style game, including generic versions of Tetris, Pong, Simon, and Ka-Boom. I also enjoy puzzle-wordy games (think NYT Connections, or Wordle), but even when I play those, it’s super casual and not even an everyday event. 

Player and Learner Agency 

Play is a necessity of human function. Player agency focuses on who you’re going to be and what options are then available to you, as well as how you’ll respond in that capacity. If I chose to be a blacksmith, I’d have different options, reactions, and outcomes than I would if I chose to be a knight. 

Learner agency focuses more on choosing how you’re going to learn, and allows opportunity to respond, rather than just react. Choosing the direction of an assigned project might allow me significant liberty to produce deliverables that meet the learning objectives in a way that is academically and professionally meaningful, rather than just meeting an impersonal one-size-fits-all course outcome. More briefly: there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

In my preferred style of game play, agency isn’t super important. It’s nice to choose which one of the handful of games I feel up to trying, but once I’m playing the game, it doesn’t matter much. On the other hand, agency is much appreciated in my learning. I loathe working just for the sake of completing an assignment; I’d much rather do a smidge more work that’s meaningful than less that’s just busywork.