Just finished reading a great post over at ludiclearning.org about the benefits of using indie games in educational settings. Paul Davarsi notes that the Fullbright Company, makers of Gone Home were really helpful and accommodating regarding getting 50+ educational copies of their game as a classroom text. I also think he makes a really good argument in favour of using commercially available games as opposed to edutainment – we already do this with every other medium:

It’s also worth remembering that in high school English land, few, if any, of the texts we teach were written specifically for educational purposes. Shakespeare and Salinger didn’t write for high school classes, they wrote free standing works of literature that were eventually adopted for educational purposes. Similarly, I believe that many of the games that will find their way into literature and communication classes will not necessarily be designed with a classroom in mind. They will be works of art first and foremost whose innate value as such will make them suitable to study.

 

You can read the rest of the article over here.