Game play around me

i found that different things happen when people are around me during game play. i think that it is somewhat easier to play when i am with a person who knows the game, this is obvious for many reasons. they already know where to go and what to do and how to do it, EFFICIENTLY. When i'm alone or with unexperienced players, theres a completely different comfort level with the game. I am the one who has to figure out where to go, what to do, and how to do it. If i'm in the adventurous mood playing the game always seems a bit easier. i hate it when my friends try to tell me to go one way, and then it turns out to be wrong, and i have to start all over again.

Cheaters

With the topic of cheating on mind for this week, I thought why not see if i could find codes for playing sly3! before this week i have made a conscious effort to stay away from searching for cheats and codes to make my play time go more quickly or easily. I thought since I would be playing this game for the entire semester than i would want to extend my playing. Google came up with over a hundred websites when i searched for cheating codes for sly 3! i can't believe it! here are some of them... Codes: Restart at Day 1, Episode 1	Press Left, R2, Right, L1, R2, L1.
Restart at Day 1, Episode 2	Press Right, L2, Left, Up, Right, Down.
Restart at Day 1, Episode 3	Press R2, R1, L1, Left, L1, Down.
Restart at Day 1, Episode 4	Press Left, Right, L1, R2, Right, R2.
Restart at Day 1, Episode 5	Press Left, R2, Right, Up, L1, R2.
Restart at Day 2, Episode 1	Press Down, L2, Up, Left, R2, L2.
Restart at Day 2, Episode 2	Press Down, Up, R1, Up, R2, L2.
Restart at Day 2, Episode 3	Press L2, R1, R2, L2, L1, Up.
Restart at Day 2, Episode 4	Press L1, Left, L2, Left, Up, L1.
Restart at Day 2, Episode 5	Press R2, R1, L1, R1, R2, R1.
Restart at Laptop Retrieval	Press L2, Left, R1, L2, L1, Down.
Restart at Op Moon Crash	Press L2, Up, Left, L1, L2, L1.
Restart at Op Reverse Double-Cross	Press Right, Left, Up, Left, R2, Left.
Restart at Op Tar-Be-Gone	Press Down, L2, R1, L2, R1, Right.
Restart at Op Turbo Dominant Eagle	Press Down, Right, Left, L2, R1, Right.
Restart at Op Wedding Crasher	Press L2, R2, Right, Down, L1, R2.
Faster play i also found a bunch of hints for the game at "http://www.gamewinners.com/playstation2/Sly3HonorAmongThieves.htm" i haven't a chance yet to test out these codes and hints but when during my next game play i am going to check it out. I'm a little bit skeptical that they will not work, but at this point i guess ill just do it.	Pause the game play and enter Right, Up, R1, Right, Up, Down

Location, Location, Location

Its all about the location, the mind set your playing in and the people (or lack there of) that you surround yourself with while playing a video game. If you were to be in a sour mood, the video game could turn that around! Other people believe that video games can suck a person into a virtual world that they get lost in, where time does not matter, leading that person to potentially fall into isolation. I for one, have been experimenting with the different contexts in which I could play my video game. In line at the bar, I talk to my friends about my video game. some are more interested than others.... but for the ones who I have found that are interested in playing sly 3 with me, i immediately take them up on their offer! In the beginning of my play, I would work alone in my work trying to accomplish as many tasks and learn as many skills as I could. My friends and roommates would walk in and out of my room, becoming more destructive to my game play than helpful. They would block my vision and make poor sly fall into the water. A few would try and steal my controller and play for me, but i told them it was my homework not theirs! Some became very envious. As the semester has progressed, I have found that its more fun to travel around with my PS2 and the Sly gang. I find that its more motivating if you have a friend either playing along side with you or just keeping you company while you play. I love to play with other friends who have played the game in the past!! they help me out by giving me hints in what direction i should head next, something that has begun to seriously frustrate me when i cannot figure it out (since im a nubby). My friend N claims that he can beat the WHOLE game within one weekend... I think that im going to let him borrow it just to see if he really could. He also offered to play with me, which i might take him up on as well. I've played in basements, houses, sororities, frats, and this weekend i'm bringing my game play to New Jersey! I am here for a family event, and am hoping to get my cousins in on the game! I have also been talking to my dad, who is quite the techie, about setting up a projection screen outside for me to play SLY!!! i think that this would REALLY REALLY get me amped about playing, so that for now is my light at the end of the tunnel.

sorry for not posting, its coming soon!

the game

As I was sitting at home this weekend, there became a lot of talk about how maryland did so well creaming george tech in the last second. i began to think about how excited i was for the upcoming march madness tournament. i thought about how much i love basketball and the thrilling and upbeat pace of the game. i played NBA Live 2010 to take care of my desire to feel the basketball environment. i LOVE this game. its soooo realistic, i feel like i am IN the game. EA sports is the maker of this game. there is a play by play audio of commentators during your game play. they are either encouraging you and commenting on your play or making fun of you for doing bad. there is even a half time report!! i did a little research and found that NBA live 10 includes "a couple hundred signature sound effects and new animations." i think this is so cool!! there has been so many versions of this game and they are still finding ways to update it and keep gammers wanting to play the sports franchise. i'm really interested in playing this game, and potentially for the rest of the semester.

we shall see

I think that the game could do a few things to help me remember all of the skills that you have learned throughout the different levels. I think that there should be a scroll on the top of the screen stating what you need to do to complete the task. Even though there is the purple sparkles on the ground indicating what way to head through the little community, the game does not indicate if you should go left or right or are actually going the correct way. For instance, if I were to begin following the purple sparkles, and then it leads me to edge around the circle tower, then I have no where to go except around and around and around. I wish that the voices of the game could be a little bit more motivating, like encourage you " yay you're going the right way!" or "whaaawhooo! keep up the good work" or something along those lines. I think that it would be really cool if it was possible for the skills review to be tied into the music. Maybe the words in the songs could be clues to the game! I think my current boredom with the game is because I no longer have a desire to defeat doctor m and save the cooper vault. I'm not being driven to want to accomplish more jobs. I think this is also because i'm still a little bit confused on what I am suppose to be doing for each of the missions and my "gang" is not speaking to me in a motivational tone. My gang has grown significantly since the first time I have played, which is fun. I do enjoy expanding my gang because it actually makes me feel like I am making progress in the game. I am going to continue playing my game and see where things go, I have high hopes for my next round of play. I'm going to start with a different attitude :)

Educational Engagement

Another Friday afternoon spent playing Sly 3. I am starting to get bored with this game. I feel like the different jobs are not becoming more challenging. They are just frustrating to me because I cannot remember all of the skills that I have learned throughout the different levels. Again the music is the only thing motivating me to continue play. I think the music draws me in so much because its the only part of the game I am interested in besides the graphics. The fast up beat nature of the music intrigues me to continue exploring throughout the little community. The slow creepier music of slow beats is also keeping my attention on the game because I am waiting for it to speed up again. When the music speeds up I know that I (Sly) am heading in the right direction. The music in other games that I have played also play a large role for me personally. One of my favorite games Mario Kart has some UNREAL music. Each of the different race courses has a different tone and type of music. I think one of the most important aspects of Mario Kart is the music because it blurs out the background and places full concentration on the course and just making it that one extra lap. The difference is that there are specific noises in Mario Kart that signify when you are doing amazing, or when you have a speed up. This is encouraging.

Collins and Halverson stated in their book Rethinking Education in the Age of Technologythat “people around the world are taking their education out of schools into homes, libraries, internet café’s and workplaces where they can decide what they want to learn, when they want to learn and how they want to learn.” Videogames are allowing this new knowledge revolution be able to take place. There have been many videogames created over the past decade that are intending for the learning of different skills. Many children are learning how to add,subtract,multiply and divide from computer games. Some are even mastering different skills and knowledge about different topics before they are even able to speak. Children born in this new technology dependent era are gaining an immense amount of information via digital games. Adults too are taking advantage of these resources. You can even learn an entire new language from a CD ROM inserted into your computer! This fascinates me that people have 1. invented educational programs that are easy to use and accessible and 2. these programs really work! Engaging in learning has taken on a whole new genre with the help of the digital world.