This is not something that happens too often, since many college students might say that it's an insane thing to consider doing. However, the one time that I took an upper-division class at 8 in the morning, it was the best decision that I ever made. Not only was the topic fun to learn about, but it was an experience that I will not soon forget. The class that I took was called Game Studies, and like the title suggests, was focused on video game history and theory.
I believed at first that the class was going to be challenging (it was a 383 course), but was proven wrong. The professor was nice, funny, and informative of the topic, and the other students were friendly, as well. After the first day, I realized there would be no problem with waking up early on Monday and Wednesday to attend it.
Although this was an upper-division course, the assignments were not as difficult as I had originally thought. I got to learn about various moments in the history of video games including the origin of Atari and NES, the video game burial at a landfill site in New Mexico, watching documentaries, and virtual reality. The greatest thing about taking this course (besides the subject) was that it fulfilled my STAS and ESI requirements.
I really enjoyed getting to know my classmates and hearing everyone's different opinions on a variety of interesting topics. The quizzes and papers were based on readings and different topics discussed in class. However, this was not the best part of the course. What I liked about the class was learning about advances in technology, and seeing the documentaries "The King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters," "Atari: Game Over," and "Indie Game: The Movie." Since the films were not boring, I was able to stay awake the whole time.
On the day the professor did not have a lecture, the class had labs (which featured both Atari and VR) during the semester. The class played Atari games from the 80s (some I did not know about), which I thought were challenging and fun, and Virtual Reality games.
The only disappointing thing was the planned class trip to see "Ready Player One" at the movie theater (since we read the book, and discussed VR technology in a dystopian setting) that we never went on. Luckily, I saw the film after it's release on DVD, and although I thought the special effects and alterations were cool, I still prefer the book over the movie. Besides that, Game Studies was a class that I do not regret taking.
Even though any class at 8 AM sounds terrible, not all of them are bad. You just need to search for a class with a topic that you would enjoy learning about. The next time you feel hesitant about taking an early class, it does not hurt to look anyway. Who knows, you might find one that is worth getting up for.
