Wk 2 — Activity — Virtual: Worlds

I have never been much of a gamer because it’s never been something to catch my attention. However, for this assignment I decided to jump into the world of Mario Kart. I chose this game because most of my friends enjoy playing it, as well as one of my classmates whom I played with. It was my first time ever being in the virtual world of Mario Kart so everything was quite new to me. LBSU and Zoom university differ from each other greatly, but both serve one purpose, to provide students with learning material. In Zoom university we are able to communicate with one another and share our ideas, but the professor can’t use certain tactics to make the lecture even more understandable.I personally don’t mind Zoom university, however I do believe LBSU helps with decreasing stress. After a long day at school you have time to destress when returning home, but now we don’t have that ability. We are constantly stuck at home where we become stressed due to school ,but have nowhere to escape to when we do. After playing Mario Kart for hours I realized that it’s quite different from any social media app. Social media apps can be used for communication, however I feel like people use it for other outlets that aren’t very positive. This causes people to distance themselves from these apps and find others. Games allow people to visit a community where they all have the same interest which is this one game. They are able to share tactics and in that way make new friends. Making friends on social media for me I believe can be quite harder, because you can encounter a lot of cruel people. The one place I can compare Mario Kart to from the real world is the Mall. You can buy coins and special gifts that help your character or automobile be faster. Just like a shopping mall where you find things that help you look better, work more efficient, or have fun. I really enjoyed playing Mario Kart and it gave me new ideas of a sense of place. Almost anything can be a place, as long when you enter this place you feel a sense of belonging. The thing I enjoyed the most about Mario Kart is the longer you play with others the more real it becomes.You start to want to become better in order to show the other gamers your abilities. I think allowing you to choose your own character and automobile really gives you a sense that you are in charge and makes you feel comfortable in the game. Place is somewhere where you can destress, somewhere you are capable of being yourself, and somewhere where spending hours is not torture.