Feralheart: An Educational Game?

[Yognaught]

This topic has been on my mind recently, and I've finally mustered up my courage to post it.

Would you consider FeralHeart an educational game?

Besides people at Bonfire screaming at others because their female hyenas being too small,
does it really teach you things?

From my experience, yes.

I remember joining FeralHeart, and having no clue what roleplaying or grammar was.
My posts were simply: -growls-
But after months of roleplaying, I now have a vast vocabulary and far better spelling and grammar.
And it taught me more about animals too, for example: Wolves don't have retractable claws.
I wouldn't of knew of such things until I've started playing!

Also, it gave me an interest in story-writing and art. And I've improved massively.

For me, it is a very educational game, if you look past the screaming character-enforcers and 'literates.'

 

[Lady_Alizarin]

Feral Heart can be educational to some people. It can be educational to those who are willing to learn a thing or two about different animals, roleplaying, grammar, etc. Come to think of it, Feral Heart is where I learned how to roleplay in a story-telling style, and certain popular books/series.

Besides people at Bonfire screaming at others because their female hyenas being too small,
does it really teach you things?

I've seen plenty of that around FH, where the male hyenas were big and in charge. And when some people try to correct them on how "hyena society" works, the uniformed hyena roleplayer get's all butthurt about it. I've also seen cheetahs that roar, solitary feline species living in big groups, stray dogs hunting like wolves, and people trying to educate them that it's not realistic... even if the roleplayers insist it is. So like I said, it can be educational for people who actually want to learn.

[Jango_Fett]

Honestly, I don't think so.

Sure, my grammar did improve as I played this game, and learned what 'Realistic' animals 'Look like' and how they 'Behave'.

But truly

I don't think it's an educational game.

Mainly because the community and players don't go out of their way most of the time to 'educate' people on certain matters.
Though there are exceptions as I am sure I just made those exceptions upset.

And there are those who try to educate but fail because they're trying to teach stubborn mules.
Believe me, I tried educating people on how Striped Hyenas aren't bright white and dark brown, Spotted Hyenas are not grey, and on how the males don't rule the group.

I've even tried telling the 'Realistic' cheetahs that they don't live in groups.

But, like most of the time, it falls upon deaf ears.

[Wyldercat]

Well, yes and no. It all depends what kind of player you are.
For people who roleplay on this game, new groups and plots can strengthen their literacy skills.

However, in terms of animal behavior... definitely not. Most of the pack/pride/clan roleplays aren't exactly realistic. Even most of the claimed realistic roleplays aren't really accurate at all. (That's not to say they're bad groups, they just aren't dead on realistic with behavior and such.)

So, overall, I wouldn't call it educational. Yes, you may learn some stuff, but it can be unpredictable on what you experience in terms of realism, and isn't really enough to be considered as educational.

[AlphaEclipse]

[DreamerDay]

If Feral Heart was a educational game, then it would be more similar to WolfQuest -- but more stricture on the forums and games; you basically don't have freedom. Then again, you are able to learn a few quite interesting things there. However, for FeralHeart, is different. Yes, animals may sound kinda educational but isn't really. Here, theres more of a exploring game and chatting. You're able to do and make whatever you want, without it being a SPAM. I'm serious. Personally, I don't see Feral Heart as educational as WolfQuest, but more for teens who are older than thirteen.

Also, if Feral Heart was educational, then it would be strict with *harsh* laws and rules. But then again, it's not. It's more of a...get away game with you can enchant and inherit your skills and creative. But just think about it, would really happen if it was educational? Eh.

And even if it was an useful and educated game, just look at the chat. Look at how the users uses them. You only see curses and randomness. Now, that's not professional. Just immaturity.

[Hylocereus]

Lolno. Any educational value comes purely from the people who play, and much of it is questionable to begin with. By itself, Feralheart has no depth to speak of so there's nothing that you can learn. It'd be like calling Skype an educational program just because you can talk to someone who knows more about stuff than you.

[Flamesparky]

I think it is a kind of educational.

[LordSuragaha]

I strongly believe that FH can have the potential to be an educational game unintentionally.

I've learned a good bit about some animals I never knew of myself through side research when I want to keep the realism in my roleplays. I believe many people do a great deal of side research too. On occasion you'll see users who roleplay with animal species that aren't common to most users and their characters intrigue you enough to do a bit of reading. All that reading is teaching us. So whether is researching animals or looking into reading a Warrior series after hearing about Warrior Cats, Feral Heart does seem like an educational game. Some users even improve their writing and imaginative skills through roleplay here but we also work on our social abilities.

[WhiteLightHeart]

By design, FH isn't educational.
But, the environment that is created by the players can offer a lot of stimulus to be educational, however.

I know that roleplaying for several years improved my storytelling abilities and descriptive skills, and making different characters prompted me to think and research more in-depth into the animals I'd been making. A lot of people do these very things, so I think it's safe to say that the environment gives potential for it to be educational, though it wasn't the original intention of the game. On its own, it isn't really at all.

So.. FH's users are educational at times, perhaps?

I also like the social side that Sura brought out, too. Social abilities can be improved here, too. Tact, interpersonal problem solving, awareness of how your speech can affect others (for better or for worse), as well as how to advertise and lead groups in a virtual setting and keep things moving is something I learned a great deal from. Again, this is just the nature of an innately very social game.