(Begins May 24 - Ends May 31)
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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?
Chapter 11
ReplyDelete1. The administration attempts to make the games unfair for Ender by stacking the odds greatly against his favor. This involves doing things such as giving the opposing team a tactically superior position from the start of the game, pitting Ender against more than one army, cutting the time in between battles shorter and shorter, forcing him to stage more than one battle a day and allowing the enemy to unfreeze in mid fight. Ender responds to this with anger, but for the most part he’s patient. He stays civil as long as he can manage. Even though he does become angry, he still keeps enough focus to overcome the problems, usually by looking at them from another angle or attempting an unconventional move or formation. Much as Ender feels the games are unfair, as much as he wants to quit, he continues to play, trying to overcome the new problems given to him. Ender describes it as “cheating back”.
2. Ender begins studying old war vids about battles with the Buggers. At this point, he is convinced that everything he’s been made to do up until this point is in preparation for battle with this old enemy. Nothing in his experience at the battle school so far is self-contained.
3. Bean, aside from becoming a confidant of sorts for Ender, is made into somewhat of a secondary strategist. It’s his job to draft solutions to problems his army has not yet encountered so that Ender can concentrate on what’s in front of him. In this way, Bean is also to serve as backup for Ender, since the stress of having to lead his army in the relentless battles is beginning to take its toll. It’s unconventional, but like many of Ender’s unconventional moves, it makes a lot of sense. It might not work for every team, but with a group of people engaged in an activity demanding strategic thinking in atypical situations, having someone like Bean in the position in which Ender places him could be a boon. As already stated, it relieves some of the workload from Ender, allowing Ender to focus on the present while Bean focuses on the future. The danger is that the two commanders could wind up butting heads. Thus, the only way this system would work is if there was a clear chain of command in which one commander would always default to the other.
Chapter 12
ReplyDelete1. The adults want Ender to think that he will always be on his own, that there will never be someone to solve his problems for him. Ender has this realization when he’s forced to confront Bonzo on his own. In some ways, this is a valuable life lesson. It’s important to realize that you may not always have someone to help you. I have had moments where I have realized this and I’d like to think I persevered in the best way I could. I’ll admit, though, that there are times where I’m not as self-reliant as I should be. Video games or games in general can do this quite easily by starting the player out on his own, establishing that his companions are weaker than he (sometimes this is done inadvertently through poor AI) or giving the player support, then suddenly cutting said support off. Many horror games like to play with this idea of isolation. The reason some of them are so visceral and terrifying is because they pit the player against a relentless enemy so that the player can’t count on the game to stop itself before “killing” the player.
The problem with the realization at which Ender arrives is that it’s near-absolute. Ender feels as though he can’t trust anyone. Later in the story, we find that he’s able to trust others to assist him in battle, but Ender could have just as easily assumed he had to do everything himself. This can lead to a breakdown in team dynamics, in real life as well as games or simulations. Not to mention, it can destroy a person socially; Ender constantly second guesses himself when interacting with people, unsure if they’re just trying to use him or if they genuinely want to be his friend. Realistically, though there will be times an individual won’t have assistants and while it’s good to be prepared to be self-sufficient, you’ll be afforded the help of others. It seems to me, at least, that the reason for many of people’s most common failures is because they did not ask for help or communicate their difficulty. Humans are more social animals than we think. We need one another.
Chapter 12 (continued)
ReplyDelete2. How necessary it is to win a game all depends on the game itself, moreover, on the stakes of the game. If the result of a loss his minimal consequences, then winning isn’t as vital. If a loss results in harsh penalties, then winning becomes more important, in which case people will be more driven to win. For example, in the book, Ender feels he has to “win” the scenario in which he is involved with Bonzo, namely because if he looses, he will die. To this end, Ender injures Bonzo in such a way that Bonzo is unable to attack Ender ever again, much as he dealt with the bully back on Earth. Because of the high stakes, victory becomes a necessity.
Sometimes, the necessity of victory can become murky. If we look at the battle room in the book as a game, then, realistically, a loss in the battle room isn’t that bad of a thing since everyone remains alive and grades are not impacted. However, reputations are harmed. Ender feels as though if he fails, he will no longer be considered fit. Whether or not this is true is debatable. Therefore, much as how we can classify a game based on the player’s perspective, we can determine how vital it is to win based upon how the player perceives failure.
Other times, winning and loosing have very mixed effects. If we look at school as a sort of game, where a high grade is considered a win and a low or failing grade a loss, provided a student puts forth effort, a lesson is learned no matter if the student failed or passed. What’s more, a failure doesn’t necessarily mean a student’s reputation is permanently tarnished. So long as the student can comprehend what they did wrong and grow from it, they improve. However, this lesson is learned at either the cost of time (being held back) money (college courses need to be paid for in full even if you fail) or both.
The most important thing about most games is that you learn a lesson over the course of the game. All games tend to do this, even if the lesson only applies inside of the game. If I loose a game, provided I can recognize how I lost and the reasons for a loss aren’t all related to odds, luck and other things out of my control, I can learn how not to play the game, thus making me a better player. It might take me a few tries to learn a lesson; I might learn a lesson from one failure. With a win, you need to be more observant in order to learn. If you win out of superior tactics, you need to be able to comprehend why those tactics worked. If you win out of sheer luck, you need to recognize this so that you don’t think it was some other factor within your control. Winning, however, can have its own advantages, particularly if the player is challenged to think about a problem in a new way. It can allow the player to more easily solve lateral problems.
The reason winning is a part of games is different for each game. In some cases, winning demonstrates a comprehension of the materials to be learned, such as in a puzzle or educational game. Particularly in single-player games, a win is supposed to signify that a player understands and is adept at figuring out the rules and using the resources provided to them in said game. In the case of competitive games, it demonstrates one party’s superiority over another in some aspect, whether it’s strategy, reflexes, problem solving, etc. However, as stated before, some wins come about out of sheer luck. Since it is difficult to always determine which winds result from luck and which from skill, winning isn’t always a reliable measure of, well, anything.
Ch 11:
ReplyDelete1] They constantly give him battle day after day, resulting in him and his team getting fatigued, as well as pitting him against 2 teams at once; He lashes out at the commander.
2] The buggers
3] Commander; Yes, because it shows that even the smallest, weakest unit can also be the strongest.
CH 12:
1] That it's constantly around him; yes; not necessarily; no; Possibly make me think about the situation more seriously.
2] It's really important to Ender; To show others as an example that he's not useless and weak; To improve their skills for battle.
1.) Ender is mad at first but always kinda keeps cool and works with what he's got.
ReplyDelete2.) He is concerned with the buggers and begins researching into old battels and stuff.
3.) Bean becomes Ender's like second in charge, he helps ender stratigize and such.