3.5 Seeing Games, Traveling Light

A. Observing Light

We play games because we can see them. We can see them because of light. Designers choose what lights and colors we see.

Directions:

Watch this short video of a video game. What did you see?
How did the designer use light to send images to your eye?

Video games only work because of light. We can only see because of light. To understand how video games display images, we must first learn about how light works.

Directions: Watch the three videos of light below. Act like a scientist and see what you observe by answering the three questions:

Do video games make their own light? How do you know? Do other things like chairs and books make their own light? How do you know?
Do you think light travels in swirls or lines? Why?
When light from a bulb or the sun hits an object, does it stay on that object or bounce off? Hw do you know?

B. Light In Life

Our brains process that light so we know what’s happening in the game and how to respond! But how does that light get to our brains so we can play the game? Now we’re going to learn more about what light is and how it travels, so we can understand how video games send information to our brains.

Now, we’re going to make a model that will help explain how light travels to our brains. In this experiment, we will create a model camera. The camera will have a small hole that allows light from the outside to enter. You will look into the camera to see how light is passing through the tiny hole.

Directions: Make a hypothesis about what light will travel through the tiny hole? What will you see in the box? Write your prediction in your mission log. Then follow the directions and make your camera?