Well this class and my career as a college student are coming to an end.
Part of me is curious why I am even bothering to post another blog. It is no secret that this website has been neglected (I of course have lots of excuses: thesis, spent more of my energy focusing on moodle and in class discussions, i really really really don’t like blogging, etc).
BUT. I am posting, so that is good. Anyway the purpose of this post, sort of, aside from making me feel okay with the fact that I know I’ve missed a few posts throughout the semester, is to answer the recently emailed prompt from Professor Mittell: “a “final post” reflecting on what are the most significant things you learned this semester about videogames.”
This may not quite be answering the prompt, but the first thing that came to my head was the surprise that other middlebury students did not have the same or at least similar understanding of the kinda crap that goes down for women in the gaming community. I spoke about this in a previous post (one of the few posts I was actually inspired to write), but it continues to boggle my mind how different my understanding of the video game community is from the majority of my classmates. I don’t really have a solution to this, but that was the most significant moment for me throughout the semester.
On a more academic side, I really enjoyed all the discussions about what is and what is not a game. I am a lover of semantics and watching that conversation grow throughout the semester was quite interesting, although frustrating at times. Trying to understand why it hurt that suddenly the Sims wasn’t a game anymore just a simulation. Why was I even sad about that in the first place especially since games and gaming have such a cultural stigma?
I know I’m jumping around on this (and my previous rant) but forgive me, senioritis has hit me hard now that my thesis is done.
Final Final Thoughts: I definitely enjoyed this class. Like other film classes I’ve taken previously, I now feel like I can examine gaming with a more critical eye (and also use that critical eye as an excuse to play more games). So props to you Professor Mittell, thank you for a lovely semester. I hope everyone has a great summer.