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| Screen Shot of FFXIV with Moji and Lemurs |
James
Paul Gee’s learning principles, found in “36 Learning principles from Gee,
2003, & adapted by Prensky, 2003,” can be used to address the process of
learning within Final Fantasy XIV.
Video games provide a platform for learning in which experiences while still
unique to the individual gamer are also uniform in the way they gain the
rewards and consequences of their decisions within the game. In The Proteus Paradox Nick Yee describes
this, “Not so in online games. Everyone who slays the evil bandit gets
the same amount of experience points. Goals are clear, predefined, and fair.
Your achievements are displayed in a multitude of easy-to-read progress bars,”
(Yee 35). This concept helps gamers feel more in control of their progress
through the game and thus allows them to feel they have achieved more than they
may in a real-life situation in which there are more variables dictating what
they will gain from their work.
The
“Psychosocial Moratorium” Principle comes out through gameplay as an avatar
within the game. While this character remains an extension of the gamer they
are separated enough from real-life consequences and allow the gamer to shape
their experience with less fear of how it will impact them if they take a risk.
This allows MMORPGs to provide a sense of safety and freedom for the gamer to
become more confident and experimental in the game. In real life the role of
tank does not fit who I perceive myself to be, but in the game the more
tentative side of myself does not impact how I play as Moji. I wanted the
opportunity to be more aggressive and lead groups through the dungeon. It
allows me to step out of my comfort zone without fear. The next that I have
encountered is the Committed Learning Principle in which the gamer works hard to progress
in the game because it matters to them. It has been hard for me to become
invested in gaming previously, but FFXIV creates a connection between the
avatar and the gamer. The gamer creates their avatar and automatically through
building this character they begin to build a connection. Over time through watching
their character grow and gain new skills and levels they continue to build on
this connection and feel the need to continue the game because of their growing
relationship with the game, the community, and with their avatar.
MMORPGs
place a specific emphasis on the Identity Principle. The character that
the gamer enters Eorzea with is not created for them and introduced to them via
the game. Their experience in the game is shaped by the character they put time
and pieces of their own personality into prior to beginning the game in the character
creation process. By being able to inject some of their own values into the
game and build their own background for the character combines the gamer’s identity
with that of their avatar. One of the aspects of FFXIV that immediately drew me
into the game was my quick connection to Moji through the gameplay and how
liberating it felt to be able to watch a character that I had made levelling up
and moving from barely defeating ladybugs to defeating massive tortoises and
bosses. This ties into the Achievement Principle because watching the experience
points, abilities, and growing levels of the character give immediate
satisfaction to the gamer as they progress through the game. There are set
rewards and items to be received for completing quests in the game. When I
agree to a quest I can immediately see what items, experience points, company
seals, and other rewards that particular quest will provide when I turn it in
and I can continue to weigh that against what I need, what yields little
return, and what is worth putting the extra effort into throughout the game.
Over time the
gameplay becomes more difficult and the quests require the gamer to build upon
the skills they and their character have been gaining over their progressions
through the game. This is the Ongoing Learning Principle and while characters
level through FFXIV they gain new abilities or the gamer learns how to more
effectively use the abilities the character has in order to defeat new enemies
and complete new quests. They consistently need to change, learn, and improve
to adapt to new challenges they must face. When I got behind in my quests for
Gladiator I did not gain Shield Lob early enough to use in dungeons initially
and then was missing out on parts of tanking that would have been made easier
with Shield Lob. Once I caught up to the quests for Gladiator and gained that
ability I had to relearn how to best gain and sustain enmity. The final principle
that really stood out for FFXIV was the Affinity Group Principle. This encompasses
MMORPGs as a whole and the social collaboration that sets them apart from other
online video games. In order to complete dungeons and quests in FFXIV the gamer
needs to learn to work within a group of gamers to complete tasks. Dungeons
need a set number of players to begin and each member is necessary to the group
in order to successfully complete the dungeon. Without social collaboration the
game would be unable to function because its mechanics require a community of
gamers.
