What are video games good for?

David Plamondon • May 11, 2011 • Comments ()

I recently engaged in a heated discussion with a respected co-worker after hearing him make an off the cuff remark regarding video games.

"Oh, video games are bad for your mind" he said to another co-worker.

What?

Of course, I was outraged. Video games absolutely are not bad for you. He challenged me then to explain what value video games have to individuals, or to society. Like most of the older generation that didn't grow up with the evolution of games, he used Grand Theft Auto as an example.

"What value is there in beating a hooker in the head with a shovel and driving over her with a car?"

Fair point. There isn't much value in that, outside of the raw entertainment value of it, but that's a shaky argument to make. By extolling the entertainment value of murdering hookers, I come off as a sociopath. Instead I chose to point out that the fact that what he's presenting is a small portion of a segmented type of the industry. There are video games out there that have a lot of value.

Outside of entertainment, you can find games that can enhance your life. They can help build hand eye coordination of course, which has been the argument we've made since Pong. That argument is old hat, and easily dismissed since you can develop hand eye coordination playing sports, and get a bit of a workout on top of that. Of course, as video games have become more and more advanced, they teach you problem solving skills. That's our new go-to argument for the benefits of our preferred hobby, but even that lies on shaky ground. Yes, video games can be great for developing problem solving skills, but what else can they be good for? It was a challenge, but I've put some thought into it, and here's what video games have done for me:

Made me a better parent.
After playing Heavy Rain, especially the opening sequences, it really touched on the importance of making time for your children. The game opens by introducing you to Ethan Mars, architect and family man. After waking up and going about some of the more mundane daily tasks, Ethan's wife and children arrive home to celebrate a birthday. You're expected to eat and play with the kids and make it a memorable birthday. Later on in the story, after some tragic events, you are expected to go through the efforts of maintaining a relationship with one of your children. You're faced with the decision to either follow a strict schedule regarding homework/food/bedtime, or let him sit in front of the TV and be distant. As a parent myself, this spoke volumes to me about prioritizing and making the best of my free time with the kids.

Building an understanding of history.
There are a lot of games that take a look at various major events and times in history. More so than movies and television shows, the interactive nature of video games makes you feel a lot more involved in the era that you're playing in. The Assassins Creed franchise takes you through the crusades, and into the renaissance. Leonardo Da Vinci, the Borgias and Machiavelli are all characters that are introduced in the series. Red Dead Redemption will help teach you more about the turn of the century decline of the wild west and the lingering anti-governmental sentiment that was so prevalent then. The list of World War 2 games is so staggering I won't even bother to list them. It's important to remember that "historical" games will almost always contain a level of fictionalization, but they are a good tool to build an interest in the era and inspire the player to learn more.

Communication and team-building skills.
I've extolled the virtue of co-operative games numerous times, and will continue to do so until I stop playing games. Any team based activity will assist in building your communication skills, but when playing video games, it can be especially important to sharpen your teamwork abilities. Most co-operative video games, whether shooters, MMO's, or otherwise, will have you working as part of a team and filling a specific role. Because there is such a variety in necessary roles in video games, each player can be filling an important niche, whether healer, tank, scout, sniper or anything else. With the proper communication and with each player fulfilling their roles properly, your team can excel. If you have a team of players each trying to "lone wolf" it, your team will quickly fall apart. My wife and I have been playing video games together since the start of our relationship, and I cite it as a very strong reason why we are able to communicate so well to each other.

There are plenty of other examples of how video games positively influence our lives as gamers, and I'd be very interested to hear from the community what you think should be on this list. Feel free to comment below!

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I recently engaged in a heated discussion with a respected co-worker after hearing him make an off the cuff remark regarding video games.\n \n\"Oh, video games are bad for your mind\" he said to another co-worker.\n \nWhat?\n \nOf course, I was outraged. Video games absolutely are not bad for you. He challenged me then to explain what value video games have to individuals, or to society. Like most of the older generation that didn't grow up with the evolution of games, he used Grand Theft Auto as an example.\n \n\"What value is there in beating a hooker in the head with a shovel and driving over her with a car?\"\n \nFair point. There isn't much value in that, outside of the raw entertainment value of it, but that's a shaky argument to make. By extolling the entertainment value of murdering hookers, I come off as a sociopath. Instead I chose to point out that the fact that what he's presenting is a small portion of a segmented type of the industry. There are video games out there that have a lot of value.\n \nOutside of entertainment, you can find games that can enhance your life. They can help build hand eye coordination of course, which has been the argument we've made since Pong. That argument is old hat, and easily dismissed since you can develop hand eye coordination playing sports, and get a bit of a workout on top of that. Of course, as video games have become more and more advanced, they teach you problem solving skills. That's our new go-to argument for the benefits of our preferred hobby, but even that lies on shaky ground. Yes, video games can be great for developing problem solving skills, but what else can they be good for? It was a challenge, but I've put some thought into it, and here's what video games have done for me:\n \nMade me a better parent.\nAfter playing Heavy Rain, especially the opening sequences, it really touched on the importance of making time for your children. The game opens by introducing you to Ethan Mars, architect and family man. After waking up and going about some of the more mundane daily tasks, Ethan's wife and children arrive home to celebrate a birthday. You're expected to eat and play with the kids and make it a memorable birthday. Later on in the story, after some tragic events, you are expected to go through the efforts of maintaining a relationship with one of your children. You're faced with the decision to either follow a strict schedule regarding homework/food/bedtime, or let him sit in front of the TV and be distant. As a parent myself, this spoke volumes to me about prioritizing and making the best of my free time with the kids.\n\nBuilding an understanding of history.\nThere are a lot of games that take a look at various major events and times in history. More so than movies and television shows, the interactive nature of video games makes you feel a lot more involved in the era that you're playing in. The Assassins Creed franchise takes you through the crusades, and into the renaissance. Leonardo Da Vinci, the Borgias and Machiavelli are all characters that are introduced in the series. Red Dead Redemption will help teach you more about the turn of the century decline of the wild west and the lingering anti-governmental sentiment that was so prevalent then. The list of World War 2 games is so staggering I won't even bother to list them. It's important to remember that \"historical\" games will almost always contain a level of fictionalization, but they are a good tool to build an interest in the era and inspire the player to learn more. \n\nCommunication and team-building skills. \nI've extolled the virtue of co-operative games numerous times, and will continue to do so until I stop playing games. Any team based activity will assist in building your communication skills, but when playing video games, it can be especially important to sharpen your teamwork abilities. Most co-operative video games, whether shooters, MMO's, or otherwise, will have you working as part of a team and filling a specific role. Because there is such a variety in necessary roles in video games, each player can be filling an important niche, whether healer, tank, scout, sniper or anything else. With the proper communication and with each player fulfilling their roles properly, your team can excel. If you have a team of players each trying to \"lone wolf\" it, your team will quickly fall apart. My wife and I have been playing video games together since the start of our relationship, and I cite it as a very strong reason why we are able to communicate so well to each other.\n\nThere are plenty of other examples of how video games positively influence our lives as gamers, and I'd be very interested to hear from the community what you think should be on this list. Feel free to comment below!