I’ve been thinking about gaming today. We got to try out some games in class today, and it really put things into perspective for me. Being a single mom and a full time student, I know a thing or two about not having enough money all the time. I played the game called “Spent”, and it made me feel really stressfull and inadequate…. I know what it’s like to have no money at the end of the month, and the good feeling it is to finally make it to payday!
The choices we were given in the game “Spent” was usually quite ok and easy to make in the beginning, such as; would I buy the expensive or the cheaper pair of sneakers to my son (of course I chose the cheaper ones), – but the longer into the game I came, the more difficult, and sometimes impossible, the choices became! When the amount of money were decreasing by the minute, the more difficult the choices became, and in the end you could’t even do the right thing anymore.
I felt like no matter what choices I made, and how smart and frugal I thought I was, I’d still lost every time….. The game was soooooo frustrating! It made me make choices that I normally would never do, and it made me feel like a criminal. Like driving off after bumping into a parked car because I did’nt have the money to pay the costs….
I really feel for all the poor people around the world, and at the same time it makes me feel so lucky and fortunate to be able to live in Norway….I am really GRATEFUL. I have a beautiful and healthy son, a fantastic family, I have love in my life, and a lot of love to GIVE, a roof over my head, food, water and everything I will ever need. We are SO lucky, and it’s important to be grateful for all that we have.
Playing this game made me think about how much I HAVE instead of the things I don’t have. Being a mom and a student is a privilege, and even if the money seems to leave my bank account almost before they enter it, well, that’s how it is these days. I’m sure there will come better times in the money department, as soon as I get a job after my studies. But for now, I will enjoy this opportunity I’ve been given, to take this education to ensure a better future for my son and I.
This week we were introduced to Electronic literature. I were kind of sceptical because I don’t really enjoy literature to often. I’ve often been told that I should read this and that but I’d much rather prefer to sit down and watch a movie or a series. I’ve been told that books are better because you can use your imagination instead of being told how something looks and feels from a screen. My problem with books is really that I just can’t seem to find a book that catches my interest and even when I do i forget what happened or what was said on the previous page. That’s why I prefer a movie over a book.
What I actually liked about Electronic literature was that there was actually something happening and something visual for me instead of the casual black text on white paper. Another part that i enjoyed was that the reader could actually decide the outcome of a situation on some level by getting options of what to do next or where to go. It almost felt like a simple platform game to some degree. And because I am a gamer and spend a lot of time on games I enjoyed that and it was kind of similar to some games you can find today. Something that I didn’t like was the ones where there were just words on the screen that was moving and kind of dancing around. Maybe it was just me, but I didn’t really get the point and a lot of it didn’t make sense to me. I’m sure I felt that way just because I don’t generally like books and poems etc.
Over all I had a good experience and I learnt that some of it were actually cool, even for me. I’m glad we talked about it in class and were shown some examples.