My roommate has almost every game system known to mankind. From NES to PS3, the only things glaringly absent are Sega systems. I had an SNES that my grandmother got for us because she had one and I loved it so much when we went to visit. The only games she had were Super Mario World, Jeopardy, and Lagoon, the latter being a pretty spectacularly boring top-view game. Those friends who knew Grandma had an SNES thought it was amazing and very funny, especially when it came to the fact that she was the one who beat the hard levels for me. My mom did the fortresses. The only games I ever had were Super Mario World (really, this game is hard to beat in its awesomeness) Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Yoshi's Cookie, and Clue. In college, I was introduced to my roommates' N64, PS and PS2. (They played Final Fantasy. A lot. And I can't blame them). But now, living with every game system known to mankind, including Famicom, I'm exposed to all manner of games I never even knew existed. And since TRoommate knows all kinds of things about video games, I've been motivated to become aware of the video game world in a way I never really was before.
The thing that I'm learning is that there is an incredible diversity of games out there. This should come as no surprise to anyone who hasn't been living under a rock for the past two decades, and indeed it really wasn't a surprise to me either. But I think one has to pause and be impressed. I was clearly raised in an environment that didn't see anything wrong with electronic entertainment, be it TV, movie or game. But I grew up in a time when I was very aware of the knee-jerk reaction of many people to the "brain rotting" horrors the perpetrated on unsuspecting young children. As I learn more and more about the games that are available now, many of them as well thought-out and creative as they are beautifully rendered, I can't help but wonder, as I often have, what all the fuss is really about. I like to think I am a fairly responsible person, who is intelligent and has high standards for entertainment. I want something fun, but also something smart. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I have found myself so captivated by a video game that my real world obligations have suffered. To wit, I spent 70 hours this fall playing Twilight Princess, and my thesis still isn't completed. Am I proud of this? Not really, no. But my thesis likely wouldn't have been completed anyway. And I generally feel life is too short to avoid doing things you really want to do. The thing I don't get about the "Oh no! Video games are destroying our youth!" argument, as well reasoned as it sometimes is, is that it never takes into consideration the fact that ANYTHING that distracts kids (or young adults) from their obligations has the same effect. It seems to me the thinking that supports the stigma associated with video gaming just isn't well reasoned. The major arguments against video games, as I understand them, are that because of them 1. people avoid social contact, 2. people zone out and don't engage with the real world, 3. people do not meet responsibilities and expectations. Are these true? In some situations, absolutely. Are they generally negative? Sure. But doesn't reading books for pleasure have the same effects? Some games force you to solve puzzles to advance the plot. Isn't that even more engaging that just laying a story out? (Obviously, some books are better than others, just as some games are better than others) Don't get me wrong, I love to read. I love books, I always have and I always will. To me, there's something more personal about reading a story as opposed to watching it unfold. But a well-designed game has that feel to me, too. Yet I've never heard anyone say books will rot my brain.
4 comments:
To offer a counterargument, I think there's a way in which games, like TV are more engrossing then books and hence more dangerous. They come at you in more modalities and they work directly on your senses as opposed to through a mediating symbology like language. This, I believe, makes them more compelling and potentially more addictive.
I truly believe that my brother lost his youth to video games. My parents limited his game time but we later found out he played all the time on the sly, including many times all through the night, because he was basically unable to stop. He dropped out of three schools and eventually got his GED. Now he's very cautious about playing.
True, not everybody gets addicted, but, like alcohol and opiates, video games are addictive enough that society is right to treat them as mildly dangerous. Especially for developing brains.
(urrionf)
A lot of the argument stems from "zoning out." To the detractors, who mostly haven't played many, if any, video games, it's not the same as zoning out with a book. They don't recognize that video game players have that intent look because they are focused and engaged with the story and the game, they think the gamers are just staring at a bright colored screen. It's the same mindset that says TV rots your brain, too. You should read Everything Bad Is Good For You. There's a growing body of evidence that playing video games is good for you.
Anne, I think it's wrong to say that video games are like alcohol and opiates. And to state straight out that they ARE addictive--they CAN be addictive, but so can a lot of behaviors. It's valid to say they can be addictive like gambling, but in both cases, I don't think the problem lies in the medium, but in the addicted person. There are a lot of really important skills that developing brains can learn from video games.
I think you both have good points. Anne, I think you're right to point out the multi-sensory aspect of the games. The way my brain works when I read a book (i.e. it might as well be on a screen) is almost certainly not the way everyone's brain works while reading. So perhaps for many people, the differences between the experiences are greater than for me. I'm sorry to hear about your brother's struggles. I don't think they're quite on par with opiates, and what I object to isn't the recognition that they shouldn't take over one's life, because obviously no one thing ever should. The problem is the wholesale condemnation of video games that doesn't take into consideration their benefits (or at least their benign aspects). Christine, that's a good point. You could say the same external view of zoning out applies to reading, but it's just more socially acceptable. An interesting thought I just had is that I can't play games while lounging around, I have to sit up and pay attention. Part of it is mental, and part of it is fine motor control. That's just me though, I'm not as coordinated as you'd expect a musician to be...
Thank you for the reminder of all those hours I spent playing final fantasy (XII?)! I don't actually know how many hours I spent on that couch, but they were mostly fun, except for when they were frustrating and curse-inducing.
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