Mini vs Complex
May 9, 2008Marc Prenksy also developed two different types of categories that games fit under, mini-games and complex games. This idea obviously suggests that there are significant differences between games. Browse through this article and discuss, in detail, what the major differences are between complex and mini-games. Also try to categorize some of the games that you play and explain your reasoning for doing so.
-Breeyn
I understand what Prensky is trying to say about the difference between games. He catagorizes card games and trvia games into mini games. He also says that complex games often contain mini games. That is pretty interesting but I am still sticking by my orignal thoughts with the violence of some complex games (I think Oragon Trail and Carmen Sandiago are okay though). This site I found also talks about the differences in games…
http://www.freechild.org/Firestarter/games.article.htm
According to the article, complex games are more modern and recent than mini-games. I think mini-games are the games of the past. Like Kristin said, board games and card games. The new computer games and ones that Prensky states are “multiplayer, collaborative, and competitive” are complex games. They draw on more things. This reminds me of playing games on disney.com when I was younger. Whenever I clicked to play a game, a smaller game showed up in the corner that you could play while the bigger game was loading. The smaller one was simple-my favorite one was snake, while the game I wanted to play usually had many levels. Looking back, I see that the smaller game was a mini-game while the bigger one was a complex game.
This site expands on this discussion: clarkaldrich.blogspot.com/2007/03/mini-games.html
Alexis
Prensky is correct, to our parents and maybe some of you the word game can have multiple meanings. It can mean an outdoor sport or maybe “duck duck goose.” It can be a board game like trouble or scrabble and to me my first thoughts go to “cops and robbers” on the playground as a child. I think that parents can feel very threatened by these complex games because they know nothing about them and they had a great time as a child without them. It’s easy to see where they are coming from just because I never grew up having complex games like these either. I think that the complex games shown in the youtube video before would be more appealing to parents as opposed to some sniper or shooting game. Those are the kinds of violent games that give the rest of complex games a bad reputation. I think that overall, when chosen carefully, these games can be educational and beneficial, but I don’t agree with the violent games what so ever. I found this article on other violent video games and how they can cause aggression in children.http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html
I think this is an aspect of gaming that really needs to be given some attention.
I just wrote a long post and for some reason it got deleted. But, I basically just touched upon the fact that Prensky is correct because the word game can mean many things for every generation or person based on how they grew up. It can mean outdoor games such as sports or board games like scrabble. To me it means running on the playground as a child playing “cops and robbers” or “duck duck goose.” So I can see where parents could easily feel threatened by complex games, simply because they grew up without them and still had fun childhoods. I can relate because I as well never grew up with complex video or internet games either. I think the fact that some complex games are labeled as extremely violent also leaves parents apprehensive to accept them as well. I think that chosen correctly these games can be educational and beneficial for many students but I do not agree with the violent games at all. I found an article that talks about how violent video games can leave children with aggression.
http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html
I think this is an issue involved with gaming that really must not be over looked.
I have friends that play complex games, and I either don’t have the will or the patience. Mini-games are able to be understood and played within minutes, whereas complex games could take a whole day’s worth of playing time to fully understand. Mini-games include minesweeper, solitaire and hearts, whereas complex games include Counterstrike, Sim City and Age of Empires.
I like how Prensky says that most adults have not even tried to play a complex game, which is likely the biggest contributor to the adult perspetive on games: negativity. If adults were to fully realize how intricate and demanding most games are today, they would surely appreciate them more, and might begin to understand why so many kids are gaming rather than schooling, sleeping, eating, etc… crazy gamers! -gg
My last post got deleted….But, I basically just touched upon the fact that Prensky is correct because the word game can mean many things for every generation or person based on how they grew up. It can mean outdoor games such as sports or board games like scrabble. To me it means running on the playground as a child playing “cops and robbers” or “duck duck goose.” So I can see where parents could easily feel threatened by complex games, simply because they grew up without them and still had fun childhoods. I can relate because I as well never grew up with complex video or internet games either. I think the fact that some complex games are labeled as extremely violent also leaves parents apprehensive to accept them as well. I think that chosen correctly these games can be educational and beneficial for many students but I do not agree with the violent games at all. I found an article that talks about how violent video games can leave children with aggression.
http://www.apa.org/releases/videogames.html
I think this is an issue involved with gaming that really must not be over looked.
As Alexis and Garrett have stated above, mini-games seem to be more traditional games, while complex games are newer and much more complicated. This website: http://insomnia.ac/commentary/mini-games_are_for_morons/
explained how mini-games are like arcade games (which we all know and love!) The gamer on this website actually explained how the mini-games are coming back and “that the future of our hobby is no longer to be reached by increasing complexity, but by reducing.” Seems like a serious issue amoung gamers! If any of you are gamers, what do you think?
As Garrett mentioned, I know many people who play complex game and I would never have the time, nor patience to sit in front of a screen that long in order to complete a video game.Prensky’s catergorizes the difference in long and short games in perfectly clear-cut description. I am more of a mini-game kind of girl. While I am online , I will take the occasional few minutes in order to occupy my time with some simple game like Snood or solitaire. This website here has great amount of different mini-games which I like to resort to occasionally. Click-it and see if you like it too!
http://www.oyunlar1.com/minigames.asp