I'm not wasting time playing video games...It's research

Originally, I thought I would have to force myself to play video games for one hour per week; however, last week, I played Diner Dash (1 & 2), the Chocolatier, and Guitar Hero, and I observed a few of my dorm-mates playing Call of Duty and Bioshock.  Needless to say, all of that took a little more than one hour, but my research trip to the gaming world, especially my interaction with gamers, was an interesting experience.

In my own game-playing experiences, and in my conversations with other video game players, motivation and engagement were common topics of reflection and discussion.  While in the real world I am an intensely focused person, when playing video games, I seemed to get disengaged very easily.  Diner Dash and the Chocolatier were fun at first, but after awhile, I got bored with the repetition.  I only had fun playing Guitar Hero when I was with a large group of people, when the challenge of trying to engage the crowd added a new dynamic to the game.  

I was also surprised at the wide variety of answers I got when asking people the reasons why they play video games.  For some, the idea of fantasy, stepping into a new world as a new person, was the biggest motivator, while others seemed to play in order to fully appreciate the music, sounds, and graphics of a well-designed game.  

I'm still not sure which game I will finally decide on, but I am excited by the possibility of finding something that will challenge my perceptions of video games and their relationship to learning.