Shaun White's Snowboarding: The Beginning

Before last semester I hadn't played a video game in years. The only exception had been the arcade games that I played with the children in the summer camp program that I work at. Needless to say, after not playing for so long, I'm pretty bad.

A few years ago a friend of mine bought a Nintendo Wii (probably around the time when it first came out). When asked if I wanted to try to play bowling I declined. I felt very intimidated by not knowing what to do or how to do it. Years have gone by, and last year my brother got the Wii for Christmas. I watched people play, they even started bowling regularly on Tuesday nights, but I just couldn’t make myself try it.

Finally, one night, after discussing Wii in class, I decided to try. I had a hard time remembering what buttons did what (even though there are only a few), and I tried out bowling, tennis, boxing, and baseball. I wasn’t so good, but I liked baseball the best. I like pitching, and I definitely tired out my arm. I found hitting to be more difficult and I wound up either hitting it very well, or not at all. I was very inconsistent.

Anyway, I did not play again until this Christmas when my brother got the Wii Fit. I love it, but I do not play as regularly as I thought I would. Even though I want to practice and use it to help stay in shape, unlike our students, I do not let my game playing interfere with everything else I need to do in my life. So, I stepped away from Wii for a while until this class.

I decided to play Shaun White Snowboarding (Road Trip) for this project. You step on the Wii Balance Board, and use it like a real snowboard. I chose this game because I watched my brother play one night, and I could not figure out how he was doing the tricks that he did.

What I have learned is that when you start playing the game you go through training and you do not move on to different levels and unlock new characters until you have learned the necessary skills. I am still at the training stage. I have a difficult time making myself do what I am supposed to. At times my balance is off, and sometimes I do not shift my weight with the appropriate amount of pressure, but I think I’m getting better.

The goal of the game is to improve your skills, unlock new characters, and tour around the world. You do not have to play alone. The game allows you to pay with up to four players. I have not tried that yet. I pretty much play alone so I do not get laughed at. When I get a little better maybe I will let someone watch.

I have found that I ask a lot of questions. When I don’t know how to do something, rather than just trying to figure it out on my own I ask someone for help. I like to be taught what to do (in all aspects of life), so I have found that this is no different. The game is physical, so in this case I like to watch others play and try to do what they do.

I can definitely understand the addictive quality of playing this game. If you are someone who always wants to improve, you will spend a lot of time playing. However, if you are someone who gets discouraged very easily, you might give up if you find that you do not improve at a reasonable rate.