I am among the 1.2 billion people in the world that plays video games. Ever since I was a child I have explored the amazing worlds created by the good old classics like Pokemon and Super Mario Sunshine. As a little boy video games were just another source of fun, cheerful, and lighthearted entertainment like playing cops and robbers with friends or riding my bicycle around the neighborhood. Fast forward to the present, video games are now under intense scrutiny and and debate. Worried parents claimed that violent video games like Grand Theft Auto are ruining their children's social lives and moral compasses. Of course being a avid video-gamer I decided to dive deeper into the world of video games to find out if video games truly affect us gamers in a truly negative way.
Plenty of games like Minecraft have been used for educational purposes, in fact Mojang recently revealed a Minecraft: Education Edition. This game which centers around a simplistic world emphasizes problem solving with simple mechanic and ideas used to do complex thing such as creating devices and massive “redstone” projects that mimic real life elevators and electrical grids. Games like Minecraft create a “sandbox” environments that allow a child’s developing minds to interact with and create objects without constraints of resources and time. These games force a person to flex their ingenuity by giving little punishment for messing up, having almost useless basic resources and removing the sense of levels and time constraints; essentially allowing them to create their own problems and solutions.
Of course not all games are made with teaching kids in mind. Most games are created to be appealing to the most amount of people possible. Companies that make these games often churn mindless overused game ideas and concepts fueled by advertising. There are a group of video games that bring the entire industry to a new frontier. High skill hyper competitive multiplayer video games formed the rising concept of e-sports. Games like Starcraft, League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-strike: Global Offensive have huge fanbases and massive multi-million industries to promote them. Games like these require serious concentration on the gameplay and strategy, some of the titles mentioned required high caliber player to input 300-400 actions per minute. When I play games like the ones mentioned each match is different me to adapt changing the items I use, the characters I play, and how I play the character. Granted that e-sport “athletes” would never truly compare with the physical fitness and dedication to tennis, football, and soccer players, but one should keep in mind that studies have proven that e-sport athletes have higher than average reflexes and faster reaction times.
In conclusion, it is not video games that ruin a child’s grades and mental health. Frankly videogames benefit your brain in various ways like providing a open world to interact with and enhancing some of your brain’s functions. With all things it is balance that we need, no one would ever benefit from staring at a screen for 14 hours clicking away their lives. As with all things a perfect balance must be made between playing video games and living a functioning life.
Check These Two BBC iWonder pages here and here!
Plenty of games like Minecraft have been used for educational purposes, in fact Mojang recently revealed a Minecraft: Education Edition. This game which centers around a simplistic world emphasizes problem solving with simple mechanic and ideas used to do complex thing such as creating devices and massive “redstone” projects that mimic real life elevators and electrical grids. Games like Minecraft create a “sandbox” environments that allow a child’s developing minds to interact with and create objects without constraints of resources and time. These games force a person to flex their ingenuity by giving little punishment for messing up, having almost useless basic resources and removing the sense of levels and time constraints; essentially allowing them to create their own problems and solutions.
Of course not all games are made with teaching kids in mind. Most games are created to be appealing to the most amount of people possible. Companies that make these games often churn mindless overused game ideas and concepts fueled by advertising. There are a group of video games that bring the entire industry to a new frontier. High skill hyper competitive multiplayer video games formed the rising concept of e-sports. Games like Starcraft, League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-strike: Global Offensive have huge fanbases and massive multi-million industries to promote them. Games like these require serious concentration on the gameplay and strategy, some of the titles mentioned required high caliber player to input 300-400 actions per minute. When I play games like the ones mentioned each match is different me to adapt changing the items I use, the characters I play, and how I play the character. Granted that e-sport “athletes” would never truly compare with the physical fitness and dedication to tennis, football, and soccer players, but one should keep in mind that studies have proven that e-sport athletes have higher than average reflexes and faster reaction times.
In conclusion, it is not video games that ruin a child’s grades and mental health. Frankly videogames benefit your brain in various ways like providing a open world to interact with and enhancing some of your brain’s functions. With all things it is balance that we need, no one would ever benefit from staring at a screen for 14 hours clicking away their lives. As with all things a perfect balance must be made between playing video games and living a functioning life.
Check These Two BBC iWonder pages here and here!