Why Video Games Aren't For Kids

Disclaimer: Some games are for kids.  Adding that to the title would be less eye-catching.

In this next part of the series, we transition from looking at the good and the bad of video games to taking a look at video games in our culture.  Have you ever heard someone say something like this?: "Those video games are rotting the minds of our kids."  I actually think there's some merit to the idea that overexposure to video games can be harmful to children, but the previous blanket statement is simply too vague to carry meaning.

Whether or not video games are good or bad for children, I think it's time for all of us to start accepting that for the most part, video games are not made for kids.  They may have originally been marketed to children, back when the NES and original Gameboy reigned supreme, but nowadays there is only a small percentage of games that should be presented as "for kids".  Video games should be viewed on the same plane as movies.  In theaters, we get one or two blockbuster children's movies per year, as well as a few others here and there.  The vast majority of movies are rated PG-13 and above, meaning that they're not meant for children.  In case you missed it, video games have a rating system too, and most blockbuster games are rated T (Teen) to M (Mature).  It doesn't matter what video games used to be like, or who used to play them: in order to move forward, we need to accept that video games today are mostly made for adults.

Beyond content and subsequent ratings, let's look at the evolution of controls over time.  Do you think a 7-year old child is meant to pick up an Xbox 360 controller and feel comfortable with it?  My hands are only barely too big for the thing!  Does it make sense for a 9-year old child to have the dexterity to run, jump, aim, and shoot all at the same time?  Once they learn, sure, but these are skills meant for the more developed cortex and dexterity of an adult.  Sure, controllers from twenty years ago used to be a little directional pad plus 2-4 buttons.  That looks more like something meant for kids.  Even the Wii controller, heavily based on motion and featuring very few buttons, is clearly geared to be simpler and meant for either children or the more casual, perhaps less experienced gamer (though, let's be clear, I do enjoy me some Wii games too).  But an Xbox controller?  A Playstation 3 controller?  Those things just look like they're meant for grown ups.

For the last few years, I've read several articles discussing video games as an art form.  I think that more designers and writers are viewing the medium this way, and thus, we see the appearance of more gritty stories, more intense topics, and more emotional moments found in games.  Think about the change in video games over time like the Harry Potter series: the first book isn't meant for adults, and the last book isn't meant for kids.  Over time, it developed more intensity, given the content that it was dealing with.  I think that advances in technology and growth of the video game medium have allowed more talent to dive into making video games, crafting some of the most memorable moments I've ever seen on a television screen.  Grasping a lot of these stories and messages requires life experience.  Some can also require general knowledge, or a more developed ability to empathize with characters.  Kids shouldn't be exposed to these kinds of things.

Online capabilities are playing a bigger role in gaming than they did even five years ago.  There's a reason that every game provides the disclaimer that online activity in the game is not rated.  Not for kids.  Ever.  If you can be sure that your kid is only playing the game online with his friend then yes, that is probably going to be safe.  The internet, as we all know, is a dangerous place in general.  Just as we should monitor what our kids do online, we should be sure to monitor their online gaming activity as well.  I've spent a lot of hours playing League of Legends, the world's most popular online game.  The content of the game might seem more tame than Call of Duty or Halo, but the online interactions?  If I want to remain a gentleman, I probably shouldn't repeat about half of what I hear or read from random folks online that you end up in game with.  Again: not meant for kids, and not really good for teenagers either.

Let's stop framing video games as "for kids".  They're not, for the most part.  Video games have matured and subsequently are marketed towards more mature audiences.  Worry not, young parents: there are video games for kids out there, and they're fun, even for adults.  Do your research and take the time to find these gems.  You won't regret the results.

The series on video games continues next time with an entry on how to introduce games to a new gamer.  Keep your eye out for the next post!  Until then, keep on gaming!

Why Video Games Are Good For You

Happy Easter everyone!  Here is my gift to you all today; the first blog post I've done in over a month.  Yeesh.

As promised from the previous entry, today we're going to a little deeper into why video games are good for you.  Again, all of this will be coming straight from memory; no further research will be conducted, and no claims of "scientific proof" will be made.  I hope that as you read this entry (and the previous entry on why video games are bad for you), you will merely take my thoughts and think about them on your own, to see what you think.  There's a good and bad side to everything, and I certainly don't mind if you don't see things my way.

From Pong to Call of Duty, video games have asked players to use their minds.  How far do you have to move the paddle to keep the little ball in play in Pong?  How far do you have to jump to land on that tiny ledge in the original Super Mario Brothers?  Which room are you supposed to go to next in any Legend of Zelda game?  Some of the thinking will be simple, but some of it will be critical.  Games can ask you to make a decision in a split second, or perhaps give you all the time you want to decide on something.  These qualities, differing slightly or dramatically from game to game, are what draw in the millions of gamers around the world.  No, I don't think you necessarily use your brain more in video games than in reading a book or in school (at least, I'd hope not), but video games are a fun avenue for seeing your decisions play out in real-time (within the confines of the game).

Previous research has suggested that playing certain types of video games can be good for you mentally.  I certainly buy into this, especially when "brain training" games like Brain Age are available.  The Brain Age series, for those who don't know, are a series of games available on various systems that task you with using your mind to win the game and post high scores.  The suggested conclusion is that these activities can have the same sort of positive effect on your brain that daily crossword puzzles or Sudoku can bring.  We don't want to limit positive gaming to merely Brain Age, though.  Puzzle games like Tetris and Bejeweled carry value.  Music games like Rock Band and Dance Dance Revolution encourage players to learn rhythm.

But let's be real: these aren't the types of games that millions and millions of people play.  Those games are called Call of Duty, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Halo, and others.  I can't really back this up unless you've experienced these games, but the qualities and mechanics of the game also carry some positive effects.  For a first-person shooter such as CoD or Halo, there's the obvious concept of making decisions to stay alive and/or execute kills.  I'm an avid League of Legends player, and there are several layers in that game that I could argue are stimulating for your brain.  A role-playing game like World of Warcraft.. well, I just said it, you play a role.  You start it, you learn as you go, you get better, you earn more rewards, etc.  Yes, there's the obvious issue of getting too absorbed into a role like World of Warcraft, but this is an entry about positive things: see the previous entry if you want someone to agree with you.

Beyond the mental aspects, the Internet and video games have combined to generate vast social networks.  People who never would have known each other before can become friends through meeting each other in-game, online.  People who are friends outside of gaming can use gaming as a method of group entertainment and social interaction.  For instance, one of the reasons I play League of Legends so often is that some of my friends do the same; we can play games together or we can just chat using the system, but either way, the game gives us an avenue for staying in touch.  Should we need video games to keep in touch with people?  No, we shouldn't, but a lot of us do.  Whether it's games or something else, we need something to assist us in staying in touch with somebody.  Maybe you have a friend that you don't get to talk to much outside of a Sunday night conversation about a weekly TV show.  Perhaps you don't see a certain person outside of your book club, and otherwise would lose touch without it.  Online multiplayer video games can function very much in the same vein, and I can tell you from experience that online multiplayer video games are a blessing for my social life, allowing me to keep touch with certain people that I might not talk to much otherwise.

So we've looked at some of the bad and some of the good of video games, and certainly not all of it.  There's still one important matter that I'll get to next time that will sort of combine these two ideas and bring forth a point that I feel is very important to understand in today's culture.

Next time, we're gonna talk about why video games, for the most part, are NOT for kids.  Til then!

Why Video Games Are Bad For You

No, there's no typo in the title.  Video games are bad for you.  Now, they're also good for you, but that's not why you and I are here today.  There are plenty of dangers associated with playing video games, and it would be stubborn for someone like me to not recognize and address them.  Again, I'm gonna try writing with little to no research done today.  I've seen videos and read articles on topics like this, so I will try to recall what knowledge I can, but for the most part, this is just the way that I see things.  Whether you agree or disagree with what I write, the important thing to accomplish today is to put these ideas into your mind to give you a fair chance to assess them on your own.

I think that the root of all of the possible problems we're about to address is relative to the interactive nature of video games.  While movies are very detached for the viewer, and books are a little more attached, neither medium reaches the level of interactivity that video games create.  This interactivity is part of what makes video games good and fun; also, part of what can make them bad and dangerous.  As we continue, interactivity will be the biggest facet of gaming that we cover as we look to the possible detriments of playing video games.

Let's first look at the elephant in the 2013 room.  With the tragedy in Newtown still on the minds of many, gun laws and regulations have become an extremely hot topic in today's society.  Some want to see guns banned, some want to see gun purchases limited, but others (including some outspoken folks in the NRA) would like to see regulations implemented on interactive media (video games).   Though extensive research has yet to show any correlation between video games and violent behavior, the leaders of several organizations continue to point at video games as the leading cause, demanding further research take place.  I don't really blame them for trying to place the blame on video games.  Not only have we seen this in past generations with other "new" media at the time (for instance, the rebellious punk rock music of the 60's), but until this generation, we'd never really seen game franchises like Call of Duty make first-person shooting feel so... real. 

While no correlations have been found between gun violence and video games, research has shown suggestions of a correlation between video games and aggressive behavior.  If you've played any competitive multi-player video game online, this should come as no surprise, as the nerd rage and trash-talking can reach unbelievable levels, not to mention the desire for some players to rack up more kills than their teammates, regardless of winning or losing.  This, in my mind, is what researchers should be diving into more deeply, as building aggressive habits can probably generate some unfortunate responses in social situations.

Let's jump to something else.  The majority of us find ourselves bogged down by procrastination at one point or another.  When we procrastinate, we tend to reach for our comfort activity, or the hobby that gives us consistent joy.  For me and many others, that activity/hobby is playing video games.  Again, due to the interactive nature of the medium, I think that video games are a more concerning procrastination tool than, say, watching TV.  We've all heard stories of those kids who play World of Warcraft like a full-time job, eschewing sleep in favor of leveling their character up.  The game Second Life has become so big and so interactive that people are using it as their full-time job (we even had our first Second Life millionaire not too long ago).  Both games have avenues for making real money, but both also remain as tools to escape real life and to dive into something different. 

Video games present beautiful, expansive alternate worlds like what we can get from books and movies, but they also allow us to live in those worlds, to feel a deeper sense of belonging to it through the ways that we can interact with the world through our characters.  This is a quality about video games that is impossible to match for movies, TV, and books, and thus, what sets video games apart as a powerful (and potentially dangerous) procrastination tool.

Wow... are video games evil?  Not so fast.  Remember, today's post is meant to get your mind going, and to alert you to some of these dangers if you've not thought about them before.  Awareness is a powerful tool in itself, so having awareness of these dangers can help you to avoid succumbing to them.

But as I've learned over the years, awareness is one thing; action is entirely different.  In a future post, I'll dive into my personal experiences with these dangers of video games and perhaps, in sharing, I will help to increase your awareness and your will to act as well.  How do we avoid these things?  Force yourself to act.  If you ever find yourself playing a game online and becoming angered or aggressive, sit back, and remind yourself that it's just a game, and so little is at stake that concerning yourself with it is futile.  If you find yourself putting off important things to play "just one more mission", then the next time you start playing, set an alarm on your phone so you can keep track of the time.

There are many other ways to act as well, but knowledge of the dangers is worthless unless you put solutions into action.

Next time, let's venture back to the positive side of things and dive a little deeper into why video games are good for you.  Thanks for reading, and see you then!

What Playing Games Means To Me

Well then, it's been much too long since I've been here, hasn't it?  Exactly one month and ten days have passed since I last wrote anything.  Gotta imagine that my writing skills are off by now.  Or maybe the break made them better.  You'll have to read to find out, right?

To get back on the right footing, I thought I'd dive into some personal feelings in this post.  Perhaps I'm just failing at finding a decent topic to write about (OK, not perhaps; I am), but I've realized that I'll never get to writing again unless I, well, start writing again.  Ooh look, two paragraphs in and I'm already throwing deep thoughts at you.

Even if you're simply a reader of my blog and don't know me that well, you can probably tell that games are a huge influence on my life.  I'm not just talking video games, but board games, card games, and sports are certainly a part of this mix.  Not a day goes by where I don't play a game.  It might be a video game that I get to spend an hour or two on to relax.  It could be a mind game that my teacher presents to me in class.  It might be a round of Angry Birds on my phone while I wait for something scheduled to get going.  Any instance where I get to play a game holds strong meaning for me.

I suggested that I like to sit down and play video games to "relax", but my mind is hardly relaxing when I play them.  In fact, many video games today are about split-second decisions that can snowball together and determine the outcome.  Video games are a part of my life almost everyday because they are, in a sense, exercise for my mind.  My friends have heard me remark that "If I didn't have to sleep, I wouldn't."  This is because I enjoy engaging my mind so much, which is why I enjoy playing video games.  Now, I've played video games for years and years; there are certain split-second decisions that are almost second nature and don't require much thought. 

Move the stick left.  Press the B button.  These things become ingrained with practice.  Am I using my brain when I'm executing these inherent actions?  I'm sure some cognitive science majors have more insight to this than I do, but I would think that as time wears on, those actions that we get used to become more "mindless".  But this is the beauty of the video game world.  Video games offer so many different types of stimulation, from heart-pounding action that keeps you on the edge of your seat to heartfelt stories that stay with you for a long time.  Some games are built to be art, to express imagery that is meant to make the player question what they know.  Some games are meant to be competitive, to nourish that innate desire that we all have to accomplish goals.

One of the primary ways that I keep in touch with my friends is through online gaming services such as League of Legends and Steam.  A lot of my friends also play games as a hobby, so it's likely that here and there, we'll see each other online and say a hello.  Occasionally, we'll also play a game together online.  Video games not only stimulate my mind and feed my competitive edge, but they've become a powerful social avenue as well.  I don't know that I would keep in touch with these friends as well if it weren't for online gaming services.

As much as I love video games, my favorite kind of games are "tabletop" games: board games and card games.  Here, we get as much of an opportunity to use our minds and feed our competitive desires as we do in electronic space.  Sometimes, if you're playing a longer, more deeply involved game, stories and creativity can really play into the game as well.  Undoubtedly, the social aspect of tabletop games is stronger than you get with video games, just as having lunch with somebody has greater meaning than chatting with them online.

I have so many memories from the games I've played.  I remember the very first time I played the board game 7 Wonders.  I remember the poker games I used to have with my friends in high school, and in college.  I remember playing Halo with 10+ guys over a network.  I remember the video game stories that really drew me in: the Mass Effect series, Final Fantasy X.  I remember the confusion I had to deal with when sorting out the events of Spec Ops: The Line.  I remember being able to share memories of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time with other friends who have played it.

But gaming has never been just about the game.  It's the stories we hear, whether from a game or a friend.  It's the laughs we have, over events in the game or jokes we share.  It's the thoughts we're forced to deal with when we come upon a decision, whether it's chasing the right enemy or choosing the right response in a game's conversation.

Playing games will always carry a strong meaning in my life.  From moment to moment, I might not remember what I just did, but it's those great experiences within that I get to keep with me for the rest of my life.