Friday, October 29, 2010

Week 8 Blog: Ender's Game, Chapter 11, 12

(Begins Nov 26 - Dec 3)
Read Ender's Game, Chapters 11 and 12, and respond to these questions:

Chapter 11
1) In this chapter, we see how the game masters at the battle school intend to make the game “unfair” for Ender. How, then, do they make the game “unfair”? How does Ender respond?


2)Ender once again turns to study the strategy of the “enemy”. What enemy becomes his concern in this chapter?

3)What is Bean’s new role? Should every team have a team member like Bean? Why?

Chapter 12
1) What do the adults want Ender to think and feel about danger and escape? Does Ender eventually have the desired realization? Have you ever had this realization – in real life, or in a game scenario? Would you want to? How would this effect the way you play a game?

2) How neccesary is it to “win” a game? What is the point of winning? Why is winning a part of games?

10 comments:

  1. Josh Halford

    Chapter 11

    1.) They start by forcing Ender's army into battles more frequently than anyone else's i.e. on a daily basis. Ender responds by motivating his army and simply winning the battles, no matter how unfair.

    2.) The buggers on the videos become the subject of is study.

    3.) Bean's new role is to lead a squad that specializes in tactics no one else would think of, mainly "stupid" ones that the enemy would not expect them to use. I think in this scenario, it is good to have a focus on coming up with new and unexpected tactics.

    Chapter 12

    1.) They want him to believe that no matter the danger, no adults will step in to save him. Ender does realize this when Bonzo and the others that dislike him come to fight him. I can't say that I've experienced this feeling, nor would I want to. As long as there are police and law, I don't think I could ever feel like no one will help me. It would affect me in that I would probably do exactly what Ender does, make sure my enemy is not only beaten, but will never threaten me again by whatever means necessary.

    2.) The necessity of winning a game is within the context of the game itself. Winning gives the player a sense of accomplishment, a sense of pride and is mainly instinctual. Man, as well as most other organisms, has the primary goal in life of surviving and reproducing. Winning satisfies this need, whether it's in the form of a little computer game or, in Ender's case, the fate of the world. The winner survives and the loser dies.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chapter 11
    1) Ender is forced to have his team compete more often than usual, leaving his students tired and worn out. Ender motivates his students, continues one, and is still able to win.
    2) The buggers previous invasions to better learn strategies.
    3) Bean now has some command over the other students to try out unusual tactics. Having Bean kinda promoted is a good thing in my opinion. It gives Bean an opportunity to learn how to work and cooperate with the others, to flex his mental muscles, and to see if there are any unusual tactics that could give a surprising upper hand later on.
    Chapter 12
    1) The adults want Ender to believe that no adults can help him or save him. So Ender must watch out for himself. After the fight with Bozo that belief finally clicks into Ender's head. I've had this realization, but definitely not to the same extent as Ender. I realize it is my own responsibility to look out for myself and try to avoid bad situations from happening in the first place, but I still have family and friends to help me.
    I've had this realization in games. Sometimes in World of Warcraft a NPC guard will run and kill something that is attacking you, and other times they just ignore your peril, or you have cool downs on anything that would save you (potions, spells, etc.). This realization can even be applied to tetris! If you accidentally put down a block in the wrong place that can ruin the rest of your game. These are the moments when you realize "oh crap. There's nothing that's gonna save me."
    I think this element is in most games actually. It's up to the player and their skill to get out of the situation, or to have the intelligence NOT to run into the large harmful monster mob. OR you just get it over with by dying, then restarting. This element can be annoying but you can't always have easy game play. It's kind of a challenge in some games, but it also may depend on what games you're playing anyway.
    2) To win a game is to meet the goal/objective of the game. It could be said in the classic "defeat the monsters to save the princess scenario." Winning a game is something to encourage play, something to reach for and attain. Who would want to play a game that you can't win or never ends? Yeah it can be REALLY hard to win, but if you do win a really difficult battle or level that can make you want to challenge yourself to continue, or to do it even better.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Chapter 11
    1) They make ender’s army battle more than any other army and ender has made his army successful at winning no matter what.

    2) Buggers.

    3) He’s over the tactics squad, yes, because you can always use someone who thinks outside the box.


    Chapter 12
    1) That he is on his own, no one will help him. Yes, there is no one to help and I make sure enemies will never think of coming near me again.


    2) It’s important to learn you win some and lose some. Winning is a learning process, you learn how to do the task better with each time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. David Short

    Chapter 11

    1)They kept pushing Ender's army into battling. Ender ends up inspiring his army and winning anyway.

    2)He studies the buggers on the videos.

    3)Bean becomes a leader and leads a squad that executes simple tactics that confuse the enemy . tactics. Yes. Having the element of surprise is a key essential.

    Chapter 12

    1)They want him to realize that he won't be saved by an adult. He realizes this when Bonzo, and the others, show up to fight. I can only think this would apply to real war. I've never been in one; so, I would have to say no. I don't think so. I would do my best to take care of the situation so that I wouldn't have to deal with it in the future.

    2)There needs to be a balance of winning and losing. If you won all of the time, you wouldn't get better at the game you're playing, and you would develop a pompous attitude. Losing, if taken the right way, helps you strive to get better until you win(reach your goals). Winning is a part of the game because the game should end at some point. It also satisfies the basic human instinct of competitiveness.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Kevin Lam

    1. They make the game unfair for Ender by sending his army into battle extremely early. Also they have him battle everyday and then twice in one day. On the second battle in one of the days he is notified only 10 minutes before hand.

    2. Ender begins to learn strategy from watching old propaganda videos of the previous wars with the buggers. He begins to piece together battle strategies not from the humans but the buggers and how they fought.

    3. Beans new role is to create new strategies and maneuvers that are ridiculously stupid but creative. I think every team should definitely have a member like Bean. He is young and extremely smart, why wouldn't you want a team member like that.

    1.The adults want Ender to think and feel that no one is going to be there to back him up if he is in danger. I have not really had this feeling before and I would not like it. I would play the game more carefully then because I know I dont have anything to back me up in case of a jam.

    2. I dont think it really is necessary to win a game. We choose to win a game because it gives us satisfaction. We get a sense of accomplishment from winning and that makes us feel good. Winning is part of a game because it is taught to us from the begining that it is good. So we think it is necessary.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  7. They make it unfair by forcing Enders army to battle more often.This leaves Enders army tired. Ender manages to keep his Army motivated and win the battles.

    He studies the buggers.

    Bean is promoted and given his own squad in an effort to come up with unusual tactics that the enemy wouldn't see coming. I think this is a good thing and every team should have a member like Bean. Teams need someone that can think outside the box to possibly gain the upper hand against the enemy.

    The adults want Ender to believe that no matter what level of danger he is on his own and no one is going to step in to save him.I have been in this situation before and I would make sure to eliminate this threat so that this situation doesn't repeat itself.

    Winning is not necessary to enjoy a game but I myself make winning a part of games I play. I am very competitive by nature and winning is what drives me to perfect my abilities at a game.

    ReplyDelete
  8. They start by singling out Ender's army and over working them more than any other squad.As a great leader Ender continues to push his team to succeed even through the most unfair conditions.

    Ender studies the buggers invasion from the videos.

    Bean is promoted to lead a squad that comes up with ridiculous, but effective tactics. Bean would be an awesome team mate to have. hes the type of team mate that is underestimated by the enemy and surprises them when they least expect it.

    The adults want Ender to know that they will not come in and save him when he is in danger.I have played games in the past that take your "training wheeels" and throw you into game play with no crutch or support. I figure why not? when I feel like I dont have any backup fighting a boss or somthing in a game i will try harder.

    Winning is so neccessary! Winning just gives you an uplifting feeling of victory. kind of like the same feeling you get when you complete very tough goals.Winning is the ultimate payoff to playing a game.

    ReplyDelete
  9. 1) They start throwing out the time honored traditions and general rules applied to all other armies. Ender nearly breaks down, but keeps pushing through.

    2) The bugger invasions of the past.

    3) He seems to be the patsy for Ender's torment, specifically for (in Ender's eyes) his own good. Ender is doing to him what the leaders of the school did to him.

    4) No one will help him. Yes. Yes. It makes you take things considerably more seriously.

    5) Winning is necessary because it validates your strategies. The point could be any number of things, generally good. Winning is simply the desired goal.

    ReplyDelete
  10. 1) They start pushing him and his team through 2 and 3 matches a day, sometimes without meals, and try to push Ender to his limits and force him to either break or excell.
    2)He studies the Bugger invasion videos.
    3)Bean is the team's outcast, the one Ender sets apart so that the rest of the team can be unified by thier hatred of Bean. Ender went through the same experience and, though Ender may not realize it, the poor treatment is what pushed Ender to be the great leader he became.
    4)They want Ender to feel like he's alone and that he has to save all his own problems because he won't get any help. He comes to the realization after his fight with another boy that eventually lead to death.
    I had this realization shortly after moving away from home and starting out on my own. If I experienced this in a game I think i would be discouraged to play; I enjoy MMO's in which I can interact with other players so that we can help each other.
    5)Winning is important in games, because it gives the game a finality and a goal.

    ReplyDelete