Personally, I believe that completing this project has allowed me to learn several more things about video games. What I thought to be just simple references and easter eggs to culture has opened up so much that I can now understand the reason for the inclusion of such references. I learned the several traditions, customs, myths, lifestyles belonging to Japanese culture as well as the rich history of European and Spanish cultures. Creating a website that explores the representation of culture in video games truly helped me to understand deeper the global context Personal and Cultural representation which refers to how beliefs, values, customs and traditions are expressed and conveyed. All of the above as seen in video games can be portrayed through in game stories, characters, settings.
Through this project, I have also developed as an IB learner: Communicator: As a communicator, I learnt to express myself creatively through creating this website. Through interacting with my peer and supervisor, I was able to work collaboratively with them to accept feedback and discuss various issues. During the interview, I listened carefully to my peer and accepted the different perspectives she had on the representation of culture in the videogames. Additionally, when communicating with my supervisor, I had to ask several questions and doubts and understand what next steps he provided me with which improved my communication skills. When working on the research, I listened to several videos and read articles on what cultural reference a part of the game was. For example, one video explained the wind chimes in Kakariko village to be Naruko clappers (Gaijin Goombah Media), one thought that it was Shime torii(“Kakariko Village”), and another said it was the Omamori (Dr.Wily). Another way I established being a communicator was by presenting my ideas creatively through my website. Thinker: As a thinker, I used critical and creative thinking skills to analyze the use of these developers’ creations and their inspiration behind them. Through this project I was able to critically think about the impacts these changes had on the player and how they affected gameplay, plot, and the characters. I had to reference why I thought that why this part of the culture was included by using my creative thinking skills. Using creative thinking skills, I had to assume the role of the player and analyze how the representation affected my point of view and understanding of the culture. I had to find out how this changed the viewer’s mind set and perspective on the culture using my critical thinking skills. Openminded: Going to an international school has exposed me to a wide variety of cultures. As a result, I have learned to be more open-minded and appreciative of the traditions and values of new cultures. Being open minded allowed me to appreciate cultures and histories of several global nations. I openly accepted a range of different views which allowed me to grow. I critically appreciated my own culture because when I analyzed Animal crossing new horizons, I mentioned how I could the game could also include more festivals and celebrations from my culture. Additionally, I appreciated the values and traditions of Japanese, European, Middle Eastern, Spanish and American cultures throughout my report. I became open minded as I had to recognize the areas lacking in my report and provide myself with critics on how to improve it.