April 22, 2026
Headlines

Academic

Emory Uses Halo To Teach Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Sudarshan Gopaladesikan28 mins

Starcraft II teaches game theory and multivariable calculus. World of Warcraft gives insight to instructors on how they should structure the classroom environment. Minecraft has even become mandatory in a Swedish school’s curriculum as it teaches urban engineering concepts. To add to this growing list of games for education, Emory PhD Student Samantha Allen has incorporated Halo into her lesson plans for teaching intersectional theories of oppression for her Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) introductory course. This is what I would call an interesting juxtaposition as it bridges the gap between the macho Halo protagonist, Master Chief with sensitive global issues of rights and accessibility to all.

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Gamification Myths Part 2: Game Mechanics are Being Misused

Gabe Zichermann010 mins

One of the more vexing questions within game design is “what is a game mechanic” and its corollary — what isn’t. Along with some of the other major disagreements in game design, the mechanics question is both existential and crucial for understanding the interplay between games and gamification. Very long and interesting articles, papers, speeches and presentations (n.b. there are obviously thousands more) have been given on the topic of what is a game mechanic, how it works, what conflicts are, etc – most of them interesting, if academic.

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