Summary
- Gaming in education is evolving, with universities offering courses like Fire Emblem Design and Analysis to analyze game design.
- Schools have successfully used games like Minecraft to teach STEM skills, leading to U.S. Department of Education funding.
- Carnegie Mellon University's Fire Emblem course grades students using a special rating system based on in-game EXP levels.
In what sounds like a dream come true for Fire Emblem enthusiasts, an American university is hosting a student-taught course dedicated entirely to analyzing the lore and game design intricacies of the Fire Emblem franchise. With the use of gaming in education becoming more and more common in recent years, perhaps this class centered around Nintendo's acclaimed strategy RPG series could signal the advent of more entertaining extracurricular courses throughout universities in the future.
The incorporation of video games into educational studies and curriculum is, by no means, a new concept. In the past, schools have utilized games like Minecraft: Education Edition to teach students STEM skills in a more approachable manner. Efforts like these have been so successful, in fact, that the U.S. Department of Education even approved funding to teach coding and computer science with Minecraft in more middle schools. Some colleges, meanwhile, have been offering other gaming-related courses, like one that utilizes The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to teach mechanical engineering to students. One recent video game-based class, however, is taking things to another level.
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As spotted by Twitter user lucky_lunatrick, the Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is offering a new "Fire Emblem Design and Analysis" class that is set to be hosted later this year. The course summary of this class states that it will help "students gain a deeper understanding of the game design, mechanics, and writing of the Fire Emblem series." This will be accomplished by analyzing major elements in the beloved Nintendo franchise, such as "unit and character design... Common unit archetypes and tropes... And the lore and storyline of various Fire Emblem games," among other things. Though the summary for the course does state that prior exposure to the series is necessary for all attendees, "detailed game knowledge" isn't required, as that will be taught in class.
What makes this course even more wild is the fact that grades will be determined using a special Fire Emblem rating system. The scores that each student receives from completing quizzes and projects will be converted to EXP. For every 100 EXP a student gets, they'll level up, just like in Fire Emblem. The percentage of their final grade will be the total of "Nino's stats -7, divided by 100." For the uninitiated, Nino is a playable unit from Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. This reference to something as specific as her in-game stats shows just how in-depth this Fire Emblem course truly is.
This Fire Emblem Course Seems Like a Dream Come True For Fans of the Franchise
Overall, this class seems to have everything that dedicated Fire Emblem fans could possibly ask for. Having courses where gamers can play their favorite video games as part of their weekly homework routines seems like something many could only dream of. Maybe one day, if this Fire Emblem class takes off, students might be able to enroll in other gaming-related courses down the line.
Developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo, Fire Emblem is a prolific fantasy tactical strategy game franchise covering a multitude of systems. Fire Emblem features deeply strategic battles, nuanced characters, and intricate narratives for players to enjoy.
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