Guild Wars 2

Hello, fellow players.

I’m a graduate student of English at CSULA and I will be presenting at the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association Conference later this fall. The title of the panel I’m in is “Rethinking/Retheorizing Video Games” and what I will essentially be arguing for is the use of video games as digital rhetoric in a 21st century classroom with emphasis on writing studies.

That’s right; I’m planning to stick my nose up at everyone who’s ever told us that games were just a waste of our time.

In all seriousness though, some of what I will be presenting on is to get people to think about how we can harness tools and energy from outside of the classroom and make learning more relevant and dynamic for today’s students. In addition, I want to focus on the collaborative and passionate aspects of gamers and redirect that into education. If you want a further idea of what I mean, people like Dr. James Paul Gee have inspired my presentation.

One of the games I will specifically talk about is Guild Wars 2; its MMO nature will really help capture that spirit of collaboration I’m talking about (trashtalking, ragequiting, and other deplorable behavior notwithstanding). One of the best examples, in my opinion, was the Tequatl overhaul. We had hundreds of players organizing, communicating, cooperating, and teaching each other through studying the game mechanics and trial and error. Furthermore, when it comes to composition in the classroom, imagine having a class of 20-30 in a guild together. Have them do dungeon runs or guild puzzles together, then a potential writing assignment could arise just responding to it: How did other members learn/teach the necessary skills? What were the key moments where people had to be dependent on each other and how did you measure up? How was your performance affected by playing with (see: working with) people you know?

It may sound a bit silly and idealistic, but this is part of the “Rethinking/Retheorizing” process, and I’d like your help.

Anyone who’s willing and has the time, especially guild leaders or event organizers, please drop me a PM or Mail in-game or on this thread to answer some interview questions I have pertaining to my presentation. I will respect your privacy, opinions, and experiences within the game, and if I end up using your words in my presentation, I will not hesitate to credit you. Whether you would like me to use your game ID or your real name will be entirely up to you.

Thank you all very much for your time. Good hunting.

That sounds awesome! I would love to be of whatever help I can.

Also check out the Video Game Revolution. (I think thats the title). A GREAT documentary about video games and how they have impacted the world.

Anyway hit me up anytime.!

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/gamer-revolution/

My thanks to the people who have volunteered their time so far!

Still in need of data and observations though.

I’m down for this. =)
You can hit me up on Skype.

Skype Username: Dreamy Abaddon

Go ahead and PM me the questions, will have a look and help where I can.

I’m not a guild leader or event organizer within GW2 but I have a good knowledge of the bigger events and mechanics, love working with and collaborating with other players, and am pretty familiar with the game as I’ve been in it for a year. I’ve been an officer and event organizer in GW1 and LotR:O so I do have experience there, just not specifically in GW2.

If that’s good enough for you, I’d be happy to answer some questions for you. You can send me mail at any point in game, or PM here, whathave you

I’d like to offer my services as well. Feel free to send me what you have and I will happily answer any questions!