When Rivers were trails was an interesting game. While playing it, it was difficult to understand what was going on, as well as who people were. I think that this was intentional so that the gamer can feel as some of the native may have felt, maneuvering unknown situations. The game may have been more enticing to a larger audience had the creators used more imagery and allowed the characters to perform the tasks rather than using 2-D words. The game I chose to play is called MyoBeats. The game was designed by researchers in Vienna to assist people with disabilities with brain and motor functions. The game requires the users to play along to the game, while simultaneously listening to music that corresponds with the game. The game is designed to be helpful and beneficial to people with disabilities, as well as entertaining. Doing rehab after having a disability, is emotionally tough which makes this game a blessing for people who need to do exercises. The game is a simply movement game, you watch the screen and move according to the signs on the screen. This game is not an RPG, rather similar to Just Dance, Dance Dance Revolution, or any of the other movement games. There are not any social issues brought in the game, as the purpose is for rehab, a fairly small audience of people. Personally, I have always hated video games. I find them boring and a waste of time, however, this topic in class has help give me some perspective. The idea that games are different, and that different designs can create different outcomes. When I think of gaming, I think of violent, gun shooting RPG games, or games like Dark Souls. The majority of people I have witness that love video games, usually played these types of games which may be why I have such a bias against video games. I have noticed that, video games do help many of my friends with social anxiety, similar to how people connect with TV shows, some people connect with the characters in games.
Using video games for therapy, is a great idea, and who would have thought that games like Candy Crush were so helpful. Sometimes I play games on my phone, specifically games that are repetitive. I find myself sucked into theses games and relieved from stress. I think that games as therapy is highly useful when combined with other methods of therapy.
I also thought that the game designed to discover genetic combinations was unique. I had a teacher back in high school tell us about this game. I wonder how many answers have been found from this game, if any at all. Games such as these can often be boring, especially when they are designed for mundane research experiments, however, Games for Change has done a wonderful job creating games that are interesting as well as educational.
Candaules - Popular Culture Blog (UNST 254) 
That is the challenge—so many video games are violent, and so we tend to equate all games as that type of game. And yet, there is a growing movement to create games that are more than that. Games like Undertale, Journey, etc…are captivating most hard core gamers, which is hard to do!
When Rivers Were Trails is boring. I think the triumph is that it is one of the first games where the entire game was written and animated by different Native Americans from different tribes in an updated oral storytelling format. All 20 writers for the game are Native Americans, and each part of the game (if you read the pop up stories, which sometimes isn’t made clear that you need to do that in the game) is written by one of these 20 writers. I think that is the triumph. For once, those whose stories have been narrated by the dominant white culture for the past 200 years are now told through the voices of those who lived this history.
There definitely is research out there, and being done right now at various university game labs, where they are using games to help with autism, disabilities, pain management, dementia, etc…And yes, Tetris was studied as an effective way to curb flashbacks in war vets because of the way it operates on the brain. Candy Crush is similar, so researchers think it would also work with PTSD. i also play a game on my phone called Panda Pop because it relaxes my brain (sometimes too much so, and I get sucked in). I do worry though that I am still engaging in too much screen time, and have forgotten how to sit and read a book without getting antsy. I definitely had to give up my World of Warcraft subscription a few years ago because I was spending at least 20 hours a week playing late at night, on the other hand, I think it helped me mentally process my mother’s death because my mind was relaxed and focused. I needed that escape from grief. Ultimately though, it was through memoir writing classes for my second master’s degree that helped me process my mom’s death, but video games did really help.
I will miss reading your posts, Candaules. Thank you for being so insightful and thoughtful in your discussions.
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