Hi everyone. My name is Alan, and I’m a senior history major. I don’t have a long history with gaming; I have never gamed on a computer (aside from Oregon trail) and didn’t own a console until the first Xbox, although I spent time playing on N64’s at friends’ houses. That said, I still play casually, but have never played a Final Fantasy and the only Zelda I know is Ocarina of time. Lately I’ve been playing a lot of Destiny with some Grand Theft Auto and Alien: Isolation thrown in. Other recent favorites have been the Battlefield, Far Cry, and Elder Scrolls franchises.

I actually registered for this class with sports more in mind than video games, though I am still open to writing about either. I’m most interested in baseball, though I also follow football and basketball. While I do have my favorite teams from childhood, I don’t really watch sports with the mindset of rooting for one team. I gravitate more to teams or players with particular styles of play that interest  me the most, which usually means the bizarre ones.

My favorite book about a game is Playing for Keeps. It’s an academic history of early baseball, particularly its rise from a children’s game to a sport played by professionals. I’ll also attach a couple shorter pieces that are readable online, one by John Updike on Ted Williams and one by Chuck Klosterman on Barry Bonds.

I’ll finish by saying that I’m really looking forward to this class and working with all of you! The content and the format both look exciting. I hope that the collaborative (and public!) nature of it will be really beneficial.