When I was about 4, I was invested in this interactional, easy to play, and fun-learning game called Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo. I would play this game non-stop during preschool whenever I had the opportunity to play. It was easy for young kids to play on their own, and I adored it.

Putt-Putt was a game series about a purple car named Putt-Putt, who lead the player through puzzles and mini-games that were designed to be both educational, and entertaining for the target audience player. These games taught young kids to feel comfortable using a keyboard before they advanced onto typing full words and sentences.

These days, I play more team-based games, such as Overwatch and Left 4 Dead 2, that I can play with my friends. These games require a group of people to reach point A to point B while trying to survive and beat the other team.

Left 4 Dead 2 takes place during the apocalypse, where you and your teammates must reach the escape vehicle while fending for your life against zombies and mutated zombies, called the “special infected.” This game contains a “Versus” mode, where two teams of four take turns playing as both the survivors trying to reach the end and the special infected, whose goal is to prevent the survivors from, well, surviving.

Overwatch is another team-based action game I enjoy with a wide selection of characters to choose from, each with unique abilities and skills. Similar to Left 4 Dead 2, your team of six must reach the last checkpoint by moving a payload vehicle, playing capture the flag, and other map styles. The opposing team of 6 must stop you from reaching the end or securing the checkpoint, like how the special infected of Left 4 Dead 2 tries to stop you from reaching the end of the map.

Left 4 Dead 2 and Overwatch are two types of games that give you a sense of accomplishment and pride when you defeat the opposing team or a sense of guilt that you let your team down when you lose. I feel that playing these types of games often helps me to accept losing, and learn how to not be a sore loser when my team is defeated.

With most games I have played, I never thought in-depth about the story behind it. I mostly played games for entertainment purposes, and to achieve a goal in said game. With Putt-Putt, the game was designed to help young players complete tasks and feel rewarded along the way, while team-based action games are designed to teach you how to be a team player. There is a much more in-depth point to video games than what is shown on the screen. I believe this course will give me the skills to easily notice these stories and the in-depth purposes not everyone sees at first glance.