Blog #5: Plants vs. Zombies- Nina

When I first saw that we had to Plants vs. Zombies, I didn't think there would be anyway that I would like the game. I had never heard of it and I thought the game’s name sounded weird. But I was surprisingly wrong, the game was actually so much fun! I liked it so much that I had to stop myself from playing after an hour when I made it to level 5. The only major problem I had with the game was the advertisements, but I understand that’s how they make money. After a few days passed I wanted to play again. The game seemed to be pretty easy and I was interested in how many levels I could get to before it would be hard, so I played again and lost on level 7. 7 out of 50, not too great. Since the advertisements bothered me so much and I thought that it would be fun to play the game regularly and save my progress, I decided to download it. But of course, it would download of my computer. Probably for the better because I have way to much going on to get wrapped up in always playing Plants vs. Zombies. Haha

As much as I liked the game, let’s be real, I am far from being a video game player, I did not grow up with it around, my friends never played them and my mom never let it in the house. My mother always told me it was a waste of time and I agreed. But none the less the game was entertaining and I enjoyed the simplicity of it. Many times I am scared to try a game because I am worried about how hard it is going to be to understand, but Plants vs. Zombies does not require any kind of extraordinary computer skill. Yet this game does offer a bit of educational value in that, the game does involve a strategy: how many plants to put down, where to place certain zombie protections on the grass, it’s good to work that side of your brain. I think it's important to work that side of your brain, like a more conceptual way of thinking. I imagine the more you play, one obviously finds the "do's and don'ts" of placement in order to reach a higher level than I did. I also like that it isn’t played with anyone else. Just you and against the game, a lot of times I get thrown off by the compaction and it distracts me from playing/ learning the game.

Lastly, I can see how Plants v Zombies connects to class material that we learned about on Thursday. I saw this game fitting into the idea of Remediation where the game incorporates something familiar to people: grass outside of a house and mixed with the fantastical zombie invasion. When I was playing the game I definitely felt like I was in the presence of the real thing, as if I was right there inside the game. The use of transparent immediacy through special effects made me feel that way. Even after I was done playing the game I sensed images of zombies coming and my actions of clicking on the sun’s play out in my head.