When I think of video games, I think of all the good times I’ve had with my friends. No, I do not imagine myself in a dark basement playing games until my eyes explode out of my sockets and no, I do not imagine a Godzilla-sized male lying down on a sofa while he chows down on Cheetos and moves his greasy hands over his gaming peripheral. I picture the times where I’ve sat down with my friends and played games like Age of Empires II. I imagine the day where my friends and I competed amongst each other in a thirty three person Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament. None of us are exorbitantly obese. None of us are mentally unstable, waiting for a perfect time to savagely slaughter one another. And yes, some of us are female (albeit, a minority in our group). Yet, the media stereotypically portrays the people playing video games as males who do nothing more than plop the “Halo” games or those dang “Call of Duty” games into their console or PC. Fox News, one of the most highly watched television networks, has commented immensely on the dangers of video games. For example, it held a segment over Mass Effect and the imminent danger of “full digital nudity” showing up while an innocent child looks upon the screen. They focus mainly on why it’s wrong and distasteful to have such images in a video game so easily accessible to young children – but here’s the catch. Mass Effect never shows any full frontal nudity.
The growing misperception that video games are the source of all evil continues to permeate mainstream media. There is significant reason to believe that video games aren’t as bad as many people and groups like “Mothers Against Videogame Addiction and Violence” (MAVAV) believe.
Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been playing video games, from “Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo” to “Math Blasters” to “Jump Start 3rd Grade.” All of these games are targeted towards growing children and are meant to have some educational value depending on the skill level of the child. For example, Math Blasters taught me how to add and subtract quickly and I always tried to compete with my sister since there was a multiplayer component in this game, allowing us to duke it out. Even Putt-Putt, which is a very simple game, taught me problem solving as I adventured my way through the “Articland,” “Grasslands,” and “Jungle Land.” It showed me how to use materials like hot chocolate, a shovel, and a rope to save the lost animals and bring them back to Outback Al. These childhood games helped me and many others, assumedly, develop logical thinking skills that would help later in life.
However, these are not the video games most people are concerned about. Many people are concerned about games like “World of Warcraft,” where people are able to play in the persistent online world of Azeroth and band together to defeat mighty creatures like the Lich King and Deathwing the Destroyer, whose return from Deepholm has shattered Azeroth. Many people, like MAVAV, are concerned about its use of violence and the “addicting effects” the game might possess. On its website, MAVAV stated that games like World of Warcraft include an option to join clans and guilds, which is “an underground video game phenomenon which closely resembles gangs” (MAVAV | Mothers…).
These mothers definitely do not like video games (clearly shown by the "no" symbol over the controller).
Are online games really turning our children towards physical violence and street fights? Well, the clans and guilds represent a group of people bonded together by a name, which is like a gang. However, these groups tend to use team work to accomplish some type of positive goal; for example, they use their ability to take down humongous monsters in what are called instances. These instances require team work and patience in order to defeat them properly and the game developers do not make it easy. Guilds do not engage in any rituals or practices that would harm anyone in real life; instead, they use their cooperation, manpower, and combined resources to accomplish a goal in the video game.
One of the most notable examples of video games being indirectly beneficial includes Stephen Gillett, currently the chief information officer of Starbucks. Previously, he held executive positions at Yahoo CNET, and Sun Microsystems. On the Starbucks website, it states that his current job is to “use technology to connect with consumers and enhance their experience” and that he is also “an avid multiplayer online gamer” during his free time (“Starbucks Newsroom…”). Many people believe that much of his success at such a young age comes from the skills he learned as a leader in one of the top guilds in World of Warcraft. As a guild leader, he had to coordinate strategic plans that would benefit the guild as a whole. In World of Warcraft, there are ten different types of classes someone can play as. Each type of class has a specific role, from being a healer to being the damage absorber to being the damage dealer. As a guild leader, Gillett assigns people roles and tells them how they should initiate during a battle. Part of his job too was to recruit new members that are deemed that they qualify the guild’s standards, advertise the guild, settle arguments among members, and train people who have recently joined. Why is this applicable to the real world? Why does it matter? It matters because it is like the kind of environment a real manager would work with; many managers have to negotiate with unhappy employees and hire new members that would increase the quality of the workplace. In a Wired article, Gillett is quoted to have said he now thinks of tasks like a video game “quest; by being willing to improvise, I can usually find the people and resources I need to accomplish the task.” Managers in real workplaces must have the power to influence groups of people in order to be effective. This kind of unintentional learning can be seen elsewhere as well.
One of my good friends, Bradford, happens to fit this idea of unintentional learning. During a quiz bowl meet, there was a question that described a structure “built by a king to help his wife deal with homesickness.” Immediately, Bradford recognized that the question was talking about the Hanging Gardens. Why did he know this? It is because of Rome: Total War, a game where one can play as different ancient civilizations to compete for world dominance. As a child, Bradford constantly played real-time strategy games like the total war series including Rome: Total War, Empire: Total War, and Medieval: Total War. Some may see these as ways to goof off, but Bradford took these games to a whole other level most people who not see. He claims that much of what he knows about history and geography comes from the video games he played when he was a child. Why is this important to note? It’s because it shows that video games can be used to educate people even in more areas than just the basics. For example, in Empire: Total War, each group, e.g., the French or British, is given factors detailing what life was like back then including their religion, their enemies and allies, and even more intricate factors like whether that society had slavery or not; in the game, Britain was assigned the goal of capturing Quebec, destroying the Caribbean pirates, and capturing India for trade.
There's more to this game than meets the eye.
Learning history is important because it may help in understanding events in the present and how we or different groups of people think today. These games may be able to enlighten some people in significant historical events they may not be able to learn at school or would find boring reading in a textbook.
In a way, video games also help socially. I remember the first day of my chemistry class; I only knew a couple of people and none of my very close friends were in that class. However, one day, one of the kids in the class decided to hold a LAN (Local Area Network) party at his house to play Age of Empires II. Age of Empires is a real time strategy game where one can choose their race, each with their particular benefits and downfalls, to defeat the enemy. Most of us attended and it resulted in one the biggest bonding experiences of my life. While most of us did not know how to play in the beginning, we learned and separated into teams for a friendly competition. Not only did I enjoy playing Age of Empires II with these people, I ultimately grew an intimate relationship with every single person at the party. This later resulted in a lasting friendship that could not have happened if I did not find a social medium like video games. We continued to play Age of Empires II and to this day, my friends and I attribute this video game to why we are so close. During the summer, I conducted and participated in a Super Smash Bros. Brawl tournament. This game involves Nintendo characters (with Sonic and Solid Snake as guest characters from other game companies) battling it out in a two dimensional playing field. The turnout was thirty three people, including both people who never play games to the “hardcore gamer.” All of these people were willing to participate in this kind of tournament because of its social aspect; the combination of video games and social intermingling resulted into an awesome event.
After all of these benefits, I also have to take into account the disadvantages of playing video games. Some may point out that many people become addicted, but an article in the British Medical Journal states that most of this “addiction” is really just “excessive use” (Griffiths, Mark. “Video Games…”). Of course, one could point out that an excessive use of alcohol is not really alcoholism, which is true. To that, I must point out that video games need to be played in moderation. Like just about everything in life, moderating video game play helps limit overuse of video games, which has lead to increased aggressiveness and wrist pains. Controlling how much one plays can lead to healthy play style and the benefits mentioned previously. The media also explicitly points out what they think the flaws are in video games, including some with graphic violence. Video games with graphic violence are mostly targeted towards adults, not children. The games with the most violence in them have an “M” (Mature) rating by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). On the ESRB website, the “M” rating stands for games that may “have content that may be suitable for persons ages 17 and older” (“ESRB…”).
ESRB Ratings
These bloody and graphic video games including games like Left 4 Dead and the always controversial Grand Theft Auto are not designed to trigger aggression and violent activity in children. In fact, most retailers will not sell “M” rated games to anyone under 17 and an ID is required, not to mention the fact that most retailers like Target and Best Buy will not sell Adults Only (“AO” rating) games. It is in the parents’ hands to determine whether or not little Jimmy will be getting the new Grand Theft Auto this year. As such, it is their responsibility to only allow their children play games appropriate to their age group. It is very difficult, if not impossible, for a minor to buy these types of games by him or herself without the consent of an adult. Parents need to be knowledgeable in what each type of rating represents, from the kid friendly Early Childhood “EC” rating to the dreadful “AO” rating mentioned earlier. Now, I am not saying that it is entirely the parent’s fault, but they should at least be aware of what kind of games their kids want and whether or not it is appropriate to buy little Jimmy that game. On the MAVAV website, it states that “Parents NEED to be aware of the hidden dangers [of video games]” (MAVAV | Mothers…). And to an extent, that is true. It is socially responsible in this day and age to make sure that little children are not spending their times playing extremely violent and bloody video games like Manhunt. Parents are socially responsible to their child and they need to teach their child the difference between the pixels they see on the screen and reality. However, everything video games might seem to be is sometimes not true. The media also sometimes has misconceptions about video games, like, according to Fox News, the “full digital nudity and sex” from a game like Mass Effect (“FOX NEWS…”). Mass Effect is a game where one’s actions determine the outcome of both the relationships in the game and events. By striving towards a romantic relationship with a certain character, Shepherd (which can be both a woman or a man, depending on what the player chooses in the beginning), the main character that the gamer plays, can have one scene where the game does show the back portion of a nude character for half a second when it then flashes out. Sure, this is nudity, but it falls very short of the perceived full digital nudity claimed by the media. Also, the player must develop a lasting and meaningful relationship with the romantic interest; it is not a simple “yes” or “no” option in the game. Mass Effect, among other games like it, can be violent, but the point of the game is to narrate a story that the player influences based on his or her relationships with the other characters in game.
Video games are not as bad as many groups like the media, and in some cases, strict parents, perceive them to be. They can unintentionally be educational by teaching leadership skills and by providing historical context to the game, not to mention scientific research concluding that playing video games result in an increase in reaction time and it sometimes results the performance of surgeons, allowing some to execute tasks more efficiently and accurately (Dusen, Allison V. “Gaming’s..”). Video games also in turn help fuel a whole economy that is almost as huge as the movie industry. It is, however, important to note that video games should be played in moderation in order to avoid overuse and it is sometimes up to the parents to decide what is right for their child. Although the media may misrepresent video games, it is becoming an integral part of society and heck, in my opinion, it is a great way to have fun with friends and relax.
Works Cited
“10 Health Benefits of Video Games.” Healthmad. Web. 18 Dec. 2010. <http://healthmad.com/health/10-health-benefits-of-video-games/>.
“The Benefits of Playing MMORPGs.” Squidoo : Welcome to Squidoo. Web. 18 Dec. 2010. <http://www.squidoo.com/the-benefits-of-playing-mmorpgs>.
Dusen, Allison V. “Gaming’s Health Benefits – Forbes.com.” Forbes.com – Business News, Financial News, Stock Market Analysis, Technology & Global Headline News. Web. 18 Dec. 2010. <http://www.forbes.com/2007/03/16/gaming-video-health-forbeslife-cx_avd_0319gaming.html>.
“Entrepreneurs Get An Edge Playing Videogames – Forbes.com.” Forbes.com – Business News, Financial News, Stock Market Analysis, Technology & Global Headline News. Web. 18 Dec. 2010. <http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/28/world-of-warcraft-entrepreneurs-technology-wharton.html>.
“ESRB Ratings.” Entertainment Software Rating Board. Web. 18 Dec. 2010. <http://www.esrb.org/ratings/ratings_guide.jsp>.
“FOX NEWS Mass Effect Sex Debate.” YouTube – Broadcast Yourself. Web. 18 Dec. 2010. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKzF173GqTU>.
Griffiths, Mark. “Video Games and Health — Griffiths 331 (7509): 122 — Bmj.com.” Bmj.com. Web. 18 Dec. 2010. <http://www.bmj.com/content/331/7509/122.full>.
MAVAV | Mothers Against Videogame Addiction and Violence. Web. 18 Dec. 2010. <http://www.mavav.org/>.
“Starbucks Newsroom: Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer and General
Manager Digital Ventures.” Starbucks Newsroom: Home. Web. 18 Dec. 2010.
<http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=224>.
wait what game is that news article talking about
It’s just an article about a variety of games!