Whatcha Playin'? Weekly Video Game Hangout Social Club

Video games are more than point and click, they are stories; moreover, while playing games, we experience our own stories and individual situations that other players might never come across. Sometimes after playing, we want to talk to people who just "get it," who will understand how cool it was that we brought that boss down from half health with only one heart left and no health potions, or who will have other stories of weird glitches seen in games, like the first couple of weeks with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. This class is for gamers, run by a gamer. If you like video games, and want to talk about them, this class is for you. It's casually structured, geared to let the learners direct conversations themselves, whether they're about recent accomplishments, a new game they just started, asking for a recommendation, talking about favorite characters, whatever comes to mind. 

As a gamer myself, I relate to the conflicting desires of socializing while also wanting to play a single-player game, and this is a space for that. Do you play Minecraft and enjoy talking about it, but you're currently in the mood for Genshin Impact? Feel like working on your farm in Stardew Valley but also kind of want to hang out and talk about Pokemon with some other players because they're working through Scarlet and Violet? "Whatcha Playin'?" is a weekly space where all that and more is possible! And since gaming is more than simply an activity, that transcends into being a culture, conversations needn't stop at "oh hey did you beat Hornet in Hollow Knight yet?" because they can also incorporate things that go beyond the actual gameplay; show off your shirts, your figurines, your plushies, your art, everything!

With relation to game ratings, anything that learners are allowed to play in their respective homes is allowed, as parents have different guidelines and boundaries in different houses. However, conversationally, the cap is generally "T for Teen." A learner on the higher end of the age group might be playing something like Doom Eternal, which they can say, but we're not going to have conversations about the actual gameplay, or any story stuff that is inappropriate for a class setting.

If learners would like to play co-op games together, breakout rooms might be created to help structure in the space. For co-op abilities, there are sometimes apps, subscriptions, etc. required to play, such as PlayStation Plus and Nintendo Online.