Valve's 'Portal' Now Mandatory 'Reading' for College Freshmen

what other games would you like to see as required reading?

I'm a freshman enrolled in English 1102 at GA Tech. The teacher has decided that video games will be our main focus this semester - we'll analyze plot and storytelling.

Our required "texts" are:

Portal
Bioshock
Psychonauts
Dragon Age: Origins

Any and all of the games in the Myst franchise.
Myst, Riven, Exile, Revelation, End of Ages, URU and URU The Path of the Shell.
I like to call these games interactive novels. They have a fully realized history and culture. There are also 3 novels and a movie is in the planning stage.

It is a natural evolution. These things effect the minds of humans and provoke thought, effect character and "teach" our minds to interract in an ever changing environment. We have been teaching driver's education, pilots and others by video simulations for nearly half a century. I am a proud graduate of Wabash, although we still used stone tablets in my day.

Now I have played many games and MMOs for along time and I hav a theory I want you guys to put to your teachers and test it yourselves......
Most people that pretend they are good citizens and always do good in public are usually total nasty pricks in reality. Case in point, every MMO I have ever played, SWG, Guild Wars, WoW, Shaiya, etc, playing both good and evil sides.
I have found the the evil side of MMOs are usually nice people who help each other out and show others how to do things when they are new.
On the other hand I have tried the good side of MMOs and most of them are jerk offs who wouldnt help you if they were being paid.....LOL

I think it would be fascinating, if not for the "learning" advantage, then for the social statements, to see someone do a study on the MMO "City of Heroes". In it, you can create your own Superhero. Choose your powers, choose your costume, and then go out and save the city. Not long after City of Heroes became popular, they came out with a secondary version: City of VILLAINS. Now, you could create your own Supervillain. The same police officers and "military" that you assisted in CoH were now your enemies in CoV. While CoH was bright and clean, CoV was dark and piled high with bombed-out buildings, trash fires, and homeless people everywhere. And - in the last couple of months - they have released another version: Going Rogue, with the ability to play in the "gray area" between the pure White of being a Hero, and the pure Black of being a Villain. I would love to see a study of how many people play as Heroes, versus how many play as Villains, and how many who were determined to be a pure Hero or Villain have "crossed over" into the gray area with their characters.

Another interesting facet of the "City" games is that on occasion, the creators will determine a time to do an "Invasion" by an alien race specific to the game, and both Heroes and Villains fight this invasion as cooperative groups. There are also Co-Op zones where Heroes can fight other Heroes, ditto Villains, as well as areas where they can either fight one another, or fight TOGETHER against a common enemy (the aforementioned Aliens, in a specific "zone" set aside and accessible by both heroes and villains at any time, separate from the Invasion Scenarios).

It's relatively new, but "Coma" from Atmos games is filled with symbolism and beautiful graphics. The main idea of the game is a young child (a boy?) who is in a dream world (a coma) trying to wake up. His sister is guiding him back from the real world. Here's a link:

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/541124

...um...and what about those of us who view video games as boring, a colossal waste of time, and haven't upgraded from our Atari 2600 sets and have not intention of doing so, or if we do play, we play the free preinstalled games that came with our computers? There is not a single game mentioned in this article that I would willingly play...ever...nor do I wish to be exposed to the graphic violence portrayed therein. If moral questions need to be addressed, then these idiot professors can start with why this country is fighting an unwinable war in Afganistan and why the population isn't up in arms about it.

college freshpersons cant read or write, but they can play games.

I would say Assassin's Creed 2 would be a good addition. My Art History professor is actually contemplating assigning us to play the game (glad I've already gotten 100% on it).

College is such a joke. I honestly don't know why I got a BS in CS only to be told by the career center that the economy is slow and there are no jobs. Good thing I've been in a union for the past 11 years. Job for life.

Consider that certain light patterns can induce particular states of mind. People can be psychologicaly altered during any video game,TV show or movie (ie theater). Many people are not able to watch "LARRY KING LIVE" due to the pattern of the background. It causes them to become dizzy, have headaches and some have seizures. Here is something to think about: Why would someone do 5+ tours in IRAQ ??.... To be with his buddies?.....Or because he is psychologicaly rewired to kill?