Project 2 - Games

The motto of "The Sims" franchise is famously known as "Play with Life."

COMMERCIAL GAME

THE SIMS

Common vocabulary

Introduction

Gameplay elements

Application in the classroom

EDUCATIONAL GAME

MINECRAFT EDU

The official motto of Minecraft is "Create, Explore, Survive."

Common vocabulary

Introduction

Gameplay elements

Application in the classroom

1. Educational Content: MCEDU offers a range of pre-built lesson plans, activities, and worlds designed to teach subjects like mathematics, history, science, language arts, and more. These resources are aligned with educational standards and are customizable to suit different teaching objectives and student needs. 2. Creativity: Students can explore virtual worlds and build structures using a variety of blocks and tools available in the game. This fosters creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills as students’ design and construct projects individually or collaboratively. 3. Collaborative Learning: Multiplayer functionality allows students to work together on projects, fostering collaboration, communication, and teamwork. 4. Teacher Controls and Assessments: Educators have access to in-game tools and controls that enable them to manage student activities, monitor progress, and provide feedback. They can also create and administer quizzes, assignments, and assessments within the game environment.

Introduction

"Minecraft: Education Edition" is an educational version of the popular sandbox video game "Minecraft," developed by Mojang Studios. It is designed specifically for classroom use, providing educators with a versatile tool for teaching various subjects while engaging students in creative and collaborative activities.

Common vocabulary

Needs: Hunger, Hygiene, Bladder, Energy, Fun, Social. These represent the basic needs of Sims, which players must fulfill to keep their Sims healthy and happy. Mood: These are small icons that indicate a Sim's current mood or emotional state, such as Happy, Sad, Angry, etc. Action Queue: This is a list of actions that a Sim is currently performing or will perform in the near future. Players can add, remove, or prioritize actions in the queue. Skill Levels: Various skills such as Cooking, Painting, Logic, etc., are represented by bars indicating a Sim's proficiency in that skill. Relationships: The game displays the relationship level between Sims, ranging from acquaintances to friends, romantic partners, or enemies. Notifications: Messages appear on the screen to inform players about significant events, such as a Sim gaining a new skill level, completing an aspiration, or receiving a phone call. - Dialogue: Text bubbles appear above Sims' heads when they engage in conversation, expressing their thoughts and interactions with other Sims.

1. Blocks: The basic building materials in Minecraft, often represented by cubes of different materials such as dirt, stone, wood, etc. 2. World: The virtual environment or map where players interact, explore, and build in Minecraft. 3. Avatar: The player's in-game character or representation, which can be customized with different skins and accessories. 4. Creative Mode: A game mode in Minecraft where players have unlimited resources and can build freely without constraints or threats from enemies. 5. Survival Mode: A game mode in Minecraft where players must gather resources, craft items, and survive against environmental challenges and hostile mobs. 6. Redstone: A material in Minecraft that functions as a form of electrical wiring, allowing players to create complex mechanisms, circuits, and machines. 7. Crafting: The process of combining materials and resources in Minecraft to create new items, tools, and blocks.

Gameplay elements

Create-a-Sim: Players can customize their Sims' appearance, personality traits, aspirations, and even their relationships with other Sims. Build Mode: Players can construct and customize homes for their Sims using various tools and architectural features. Live Mode: This is where players interact with their Sims and guide them through daily activities such as work, socializing, cooking, and hobbies. Sims have needs like hunger, hygiene, social interaction, and fun, which players must fulfill to keep them happy and healthy. Relationships: Sims can form relationships with other Sims, including friendships, romantic relationships, and familial bonds. These relationships affect their mood and behaviour. Career and Aspirations: Sims can pursue different career paths, from business and science to entertainment and culinary arts. Players can also set long-term goals for their Sims to achieve, known as aspirations. Community and Sharing: Players can share their creations, including Sims, houses, and custom content, with other players through online platforms and forums.

Secondary school students. B1 level of English. 4th CSE. Storytelling. We can provide students with a prompt or theme for their stories. For example, it could be "a journey through a mysterious jungle" or "a “futuristic city on another planet”. After that, we can encourage students to brainstorm ideas and develop characters and plot points based on the given prompt. They will construct the environment that will serve as the backdrop for their narratives. Using the “screen recording mode”, they will record their voices narrating the story while their avatars are exploring the setting.

Introduction

"The Sims" is a life simulation video game series developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. In "The Sims," players create virtual characters called Sims and control their lives, from their daily activities to their relationships and career aspirations.

Application in the classroom

Secondary school students. A2 level of English. 2nd of CSE. During the 1st year, they study the vocabulary related to the family and the house, so we could use The Sims in class to implement a project in which the students create their own family members and build the house they all live in.