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Assassin’s Creed is more than a game. If used correctly, it can be used as a tool to teach various historical events. In our podcast we play Assassin’s Creed Unity, which takes place during the French Revolution. We look at the pros and cons of using Assassin’s Creed as a teaching medium and whether or not Ubisoft created the game to teach history.

How is transit relevant to skyrim? Does a fictional world send a better message than a digital real world? What does transit open you up to?

In this episode of Gamecast, Justin and Ross discuss Madden NFL 17, specifically the Ultimate Team mode, and how it relates to Ian Bogost's chapter "Habituation" from his book How To Do Things With Video Games. The fact that this gaming franchise has sold millions of copies and still has such a strong fanbase today merits the catchiness of this game.

Gamecast: Super Smash Bros & Habituation by Student in ENG181 at Emory University

This podcast episode, by Jasmine and Graciela, details the game Super Smash Bro. Brawl. The episode goes into explaining the features of the game as well comparing and contrasting the game to other fighting games. Why do people keep playing this game continually? We turn to Ian Bogost's chapter on Habituation and how the certain aspects of the game pull players back in for more to answer that question.

In this episode of Gamecast, Cindy and Niky discuss the game Cytus, analyzing itsplot and mechanics. We also raise the very important question: does playing a music game help a person learn a real instrument? We hope you enjoy!

Listen in to our conversation about the survival game _Don’t Starve_. While _Don’t Starve_ certainly might come across as a leisure game with its cute style and cynical mini monologues, there is much more to it. The game tests your creativity and forces you to think outside the box about where to find resources. You have to think again about how one person can affect the world and the impact of your actions. To check out how all of it is presented within the game and how it ties to Ian Bogost, click play! http://eng181f16.davidmorgen.org/

Kino Maravillas and Daniel Sperling examine Battlefield 4, a critically-acclaimed first person shooter game from Swedish developer DICE. Battlefield combines high quality graphics, directional audio, and realistic gameplay elements to deliver an immersive shooter experience. We used two chapters from Bogost’s book, Empathy and Drill, to describe how the game conveys these themes and thus supports Bogost’s assertions.

In this episode, students David Golden and Ian Heaven discuss Dark Souls and how it's mechanics, presentation and lore force players to work together to make progress fostering a gaming community unlike any other. This reddit post is a perfect example of that community: https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls3/comments/4epqfj/our_last_summoning/

In this episode, Brian Fan and Mike James explore the graphic design of Halo 4, a game revolving around an epic galactic conflict. To what extent does art function in a game that is primarily a first-person shooter? How do the designs for weaponry and starships evolve as the identity of the game solidifies? Most importantly, however, what role does art play in the creation of a community and culture for the game?

Eric and Emma explore Minecraft by Mojang. Minecraft is known as a “sandbox game” where players can roam freely through an open world and complete missions as they feel fit. Aesthetically, despite its block-shaped obsession, can Minecraft be considered an art game? What makes any game an art game? What even is art??? Background Music: “Night Owl” by Broke for Free http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_01_Night_Owl

Jordan and Mady explore Wii Sports by Nintendo. Wii Sports is an interactive, exercise simulation game. Its purpose is to promote active lifestyle through alternative methods to conventional exercise, such as video games. We examined Wii Sports and incorporated Ian Bogost’s analysis of exercise through video games. Background music: Wii Sports Theme by Wii Sports https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5c4KOopwLs

Lucy Ye and Kiara Ye explore The Sims by EA Maxis. Sims is a life simulation video game and a largely sandbox game. The players create fictional characters and place them into a virtual world, deciding and taking actions to direct their moods and satisfy their desires. Game: https://www.origin.com/en-us/store/buy/sims-4/mac-pc-download/base-game/digital-deluxe-edition Background Music: Sims 4 Music "That’s all right" by Elvis Presley

Nick and Jay explore FIFA by EA Sports. FIFA is an interactive soccer game simulation. Because FIFA is one of the famous games around the globe, its soundtracks attract people’s attention from a wide array of backgrounds. Though FIFA’s soundtracks make users elated and pumped to play the game, they mean more than that. Ian Bogost believes music in video games no longer carry themes and messages with them, however, FIFA is the perfect counter example. Let’s find out why. Background Music: Wavin Flag by K’nann (recorded by ourselves) Works Cited: Quill, Greg. “The Story behind K’naan’s “Wavin’ Flag”. Thestar.com. N.p., 27 Sept, 2012. Web. 02 Mar. 2016. http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2012/09/27/the_story_behind_knaans_wavin_flag.html Goble, Corban. “FIFA 14’s” Steve Schnure on Compiling “the Only Annual Soundtrack for the World”” Pitchfork. N.p., 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2016. http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/76-fifa-14s-steve-schnur-on-compiling-the-only-annual-soundtrack-for-the-world/

Stephen Black and Max Faass explore The Binding of Isaac by Edmund McMillan. The Binding of Isaac is a 2011 Indie 2D dungeon crawler that portrays a modified version of the the biblical story of the same name. After Isaac's mother hears a message from God commanding her to sacrifice her son as proof of her faith, Isaac flees into the horror-ridden basement to survive. Game: http://bindingofisaac.com/ Background Music: The Binding of Isaac Menu Music (recorded by ourselves)

This week's episode looks at the game Cibele and Bogost's term: empathy. Cibele, like many of Nina Freeman's other games, is orientated towards the female player. Because of this, we thought it would be interesting to see how male and female players react to the game and how empathy plays a part in these reactions. Included are an interview with a male and our personal opinions of the game, as well as an analysis of empathy.