#81 - Chasing those Key Moments in Life

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is a great time to become festive, get with family, and celebrate the fall in a Festive way. This year my family and I are celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Mario. I’m going to be Mario (with the Mario Odyssey Cap), my wife will be Peach with the crown, and my little baby boy is going to be Toad with the cap. It’s going to be a lot of fun. 

This is what I call one of those “Key Moments in Life” and it’s something that I heard some Game Developers talk about. 

Game Developers instead of chasing graphics, story, or something else, they want to create those key emotional high points for players all around the world. Resulting in immense enjoyment for their fans and everyone who plays. Similarly, I think us as Educational Leaders need to do the same. Craft those key moments for our students and have them experience these moments with utmost bliss! It’s an incredible feeling!!!!

Framing yourself this way, I think makes the process of development easier and more pure. It’s also the reason why companies like Nintendo have survived for so long. Is it Enjoyable? Is it fun? These are all questions that are important and should be asked. It also makes everything else that is superficial seem unimportant. If one focuses on the user experience and the experience of our students, it would seem that everything else good will follow. But the first thing is first!

This type of mindset is what will turn us educators from just lecturers and graders into true crafters of experiences for our students. And I think it’s a powerful mindset to have. Not only that, but more fun for both the creator and the person who experiences the product. As Creators we take a more active and alert role in seeing not just how we present and craft the experiences for our students, but our students are also more engaged plus have more fun at the same time. 

These blog posts are more or less a sort of collection of ideas. And so I eventually want to start providing little small summaries, almost like playing cards here. That way, they are more accessible and interesting. I’m still working on this idea, since creating my own artwork will cost more time to do these blog posts.

Have a Wonderful Halloween!

-Calvin