Not Just Any Hunter Safety 101

Interestingly, Dino Hunter took 12 levels to get to some of the principles that they taught in level 1.  Initially, the game starts out in a learning mode where things are slow, and the game really teaches you the fundamentals of long-term game play.  This may seem obvious to us because we have read Gee’s book on learning, game theory, and the learning principles that he lays out.  However, from the view of a gamer who has not necessarily read similar diagrams of how a game teaches you to play, makes it interesting to look at the game a different way.

In the first level the game teaches a few basics, namely how to dial a scope up (larger magnification,) and where vital areas to hit are. 

I took the Hunter Safety Course that Colorado mandates for hunting licenses last March.  In this class, particular attention is paid to shot placement.  In fact, in order to qualify and pass one has to demonstrate that they can recognize what is a ‘good shoot’.  While hunters can take many varieties of shots, it is the lung shot that is the most humane.  This has obvious humane foundations.  The idea is foregoing undue discomfort to the animal.  Regardless of one’s stance on hunting, the goal is to be as humane as possible.

My point regarding the game is that it took 12 levels for the player to be penalized for anything that wasn’t the tasked shot.  The player is not penalized for making shots non-conforming to the target areas, until later levels which the game has specific target regions they want targeted.  While I realize it is a game, and definitely not a humane or safety course video I find it interesting that the game doesn’t place (an earlier,) higher demand on the player for precision of shot.  Having taken the course I mentioned, I found myself throughout various levels attempting only the shots I felt were ‘good shoots’ even though I was playing a GAME.  I know it’s a game, but somehow or another a strange humanistic connection between me, sending a projectile, and dispatching a target still makes me think of making a ‘good shot’ not just any shot.