By Vishwa Shah
Youth Contributor
Steven Spielberg once said “the real indicator that games have become a storytelling art form will be when somebody confesses they cried at level 17.” Clearly he hasn’t played Heavy Rain. I still remember the last moments of that game years later, and I would classify it as art comparable to Andrea Bocelli’s ‘Con Te Partiro’.
Well that might be pushing it, but the point is made. The gaming industry has grown to become a multibillion-dollar industry, and with this astounding growth comes the concern of parents. Everything from violence to sexual exposure to inappropriate language causes parents to start class action lawsuits against multiple companies worldwide. But the question is: is this concern justified?
Studies show violent and sexually themed video games do not adversely affect children, but in fact provide a healthy outlet. Action games are considered virtually therapeutic. Parents often complain of their children playing Counter-Strike all day. But virtual knifing or shooting is surprisingly soothing. Maybe if a few more serial killers played Counter-Strike they wouldn’t need to act out their distasteful fantasies.
But putting aside the scientific analysis, gaming, much like television or the Internet, has become an incredible source of information. Multitudes of games are based in different historical eras. Everything from the story to the architecture to the items of clothing is historically accurate.
Assassin’s Creed features an assassin in the era of the Holy Crusades in ancient cities like Jerusalem, Acre and Damascus. All these cities have been recreated to a historical accuracy that is hard to find even in textbooks. Even if one focuses on the assassination and the violence, it’s hard to ignore the architectural marvels that existed in those days. Even gory games like God of War have a plethora of ancient Greek illustrations and lore. I’ve personally learnt enough from that game to write my college-level research paper on Greek mythology.
Games like Little Big Planet are based on advanced physics engines, causing the player to get a deeper understanding of classical mechanics such as momentum, gravity, inertia and acceleration. Though the child doesn’t learn mathematical formulas, one forms a sense of intuition of physics. What better way to gain intuition than experimentation?
I got my answer to the question ‘What will fall faster, the watermelon or the pebble?’ by dropping a little sack and a giant boulder and actually seeing both of them fall simultaneously. Complex puzzle games like Portal provide an intellectual stimulation equivalent to reading Richard Dawkins or solving a laplacian transformation. Even fictional dynamics like portals that break the space-time continuum require a fairly intelligent brain to play around with. Parents often forget the people behind many of these games are creative and intellectual minds.
Point blank, of all the information I share with people, a surprisingly large amount comes from random tidbits I’ve picked up from playing video games. I believe that gaming has in fact made me a more intelligent and knowledgeable person.
Another popular concern is the lack of physical activity. But with new technology like the Kinect, Wii MotionPlus and Playstation Move (all motion-sensing peripherals) those fears can be laid to rest, so to speak. Gaming is no longer an activity that requires the player to sit on his couch for hours with the only movement being his fingers and the occasional restroom break. Obviously gaming can’t provide a complete alternative to physical sports; nothing is a substitute for fresh air and a good game of football, but it’s a start.
It’s parents that need to keep a handle on games their children play, and it’s very simple to find out what a game is about, whether it’s intelligent or not, and whether it’s too graphic for a 12-year-old. Just browse a magazine like GameInformer or go to a website like IGN or GameSpot. A quick summary or video review is all you need.
And so I don’t believe parents should fear if they see their children playing Halo for four hours a day; if nothing else they’ll learn about the impact of war, a substantial amount of knowledge on guns and recoil, maybe even some appreciation of human life, and improved hand-eye coordination. Video games are much more than mindless button-mashing distractions many parents perceive them to be.
With some light supervision and simple Google research, parents could promote their children’s creativity, logical reasoning and even motor skills. In a world where information is a commodity, any distributor is key.
