Videos Games
The gaming industry is making billions of dollars each year. The level to which
the industry has grown since its conception is beyond imagination. Methods used to
develop the games, graphics, sound quality, and dynamics make the games quite
irresistible to the younger generation. The question is: what are the pros and cons of
games? Throughout the years, the gaming industry has developed new strategies to
market their games. These include advertising the medical and educational benefit of
playing games. Researchers have found that frequent game players have better scores
in vision tests as compared to non players. It has also been stated that playing these
games could improve logical thinking abilities and problem solving skills. Many
people disagree with these tactics, but the strategies have, supposedly, doctors and
scientists to back them up. In reality, video games have negative effects on general
health. Common symptoms found among children obsessed with games include eye
strains, hallucination, and pain in the wrist, back, and neck. Many reports have
confirmed that children who spend too much time playing video games have an
imbalanced daily routine and possess social problems. With so many pros and cons to
gaming, would the term “game” have a positive or negative connotation to those who
hear it?
Though there are quite a few pros of gaming, its cons outweigh any benefit
gaming may have. Take for example the gamers have a habit of bad postures,
spending many hours in front of the monitor and not going out enough could also
cause social problems thus resulting in them becoming shy and introverted. The
games developed nowadays happen to be a lot more violent thus the gamers do have a
tendency to lose control and become more aggressive. Extended periods of play can
desensitize a person to related real-life elements causing a hazy disconnection
between reality and virtual worlds. They become desensitized in a way that would not
propel them away from using violence in the real world to obtain an end goal. In
becoming desensitized, these youth are more likely to lack empathy towards victims,
and a lack of empathy is a key characteristic of many violent offenders and those who
suffer from other patterns of delinquency. For example the game Grand Theft Auto
(GTA) has been very vocally opposed, citing its plot that centers on an illegal,
immoral lifestyle, including players participating in acts of brutality. A controversial
new research has proved that excessive playing of games can actually stunt the
growth of human brain. Researchers measured the level of brain activity in teenagers
playing a Nintendo game and compared it with those who played other arithmetic
games. It was concluded that the Nintendo game stimulated activity only in the parts
of the brain associated with vision and movement, while arithmetic games stimulated
brain activity in both the left and right hemispheres of the frontal lobe. The frontal
lobe of the brain is associated with learning, memory and emotion and continues to
develop till the age of 20. Other arguments are that excessive video gaming can lead
to health problems such as obesity, poor-heart health. Addiction of video games can
also cause people to not have a normal daily routine, also giving people false
expectations of real life, as real life cannot be stimulated by video games. This
accusation is of ordinary: Time spent playing video games could be more productively
use on something else. Many adults say that if children continue to play video games
instead of using it on educational purposes, their behavior would result in a deficiency
in intellect that would negatively affect the rest of their lives. In addition, excessive
gaming can lead to poorer grades. Hence it is a matter of concern. Though the games
do provide certain benefits, the question is how much and is it really worthwhile.
Video games have long been portrayed as the “Great Satan” within the
educational board. Games have been depicted as a complete waste of time, capable of
making one violent, and many other atrocities. Yet are video games really the
adversaries of education or are they actually collaborators that have been mistakenly
perceived? The games of modern times have led to the creation of a new word:
edutainment-the marriage of education and entertainment. A memorable 1993 episode
of the Simpsons, mocks the ideas of edutainment. Lisa Simpson imagines that
additional money could be spent on a virtual reality machine for the Springfield
Elementary School. She tries on the high tech helmet and enters the world of Genghis
Khan, who instructs her to, “Defile what I defile, and eat what I eat.”
The reason for the distrust towards edutainment is due to the fact that we can’t
imagine universities and schools without teachers, never mind video games that
would teach us history without the presence of teachers. In reality, there are many
successful examples of edutainment. The Brothers in Arms series, created by Gearbox,
represents an exceptional attempt to convey historical education through a
commercial video game. One of the series, The Road to Hill 30, is a great example of
edutainment. The game is set in the weeks after the Allied invasion of Normandy
during World War Two, in June, 1994. The player is cast as Sergeant Matt Baker,
commander of the 502nd Parachute Regiment. The player must fight his way through
missions based on actual combat operations performed by the 502nd during World War
Two. Yet there are innumerable Second World War shooting games, so what actually
distinguishes The Road to Hill 30, from the other countless popular shooting games?
What makes Brothers in Arms series unique is its narrative, which is taken from actual
reports contributed by historians and World War Two veterans. The combination of
historical documents and interviews integrated into gameplay makes Brothers in Arms
far more educational than other commercial historical games, and has caused it to
attract the attention of historians. In all, although the creators of edutainment games
take advantage of the games’ value as entertainment, they also allow education to
become more interactive and more dynamic.
Video games have been said to cause numerous problems to one, mentally and
physically. Teachers and parents always warn us about the damage video games does
to our eyes, its lack of exercise, and many others. Similarly many activists have also
complained about video game violence and its effects on teenagers through their
experience to brutality within video games. It is an undeniable fact that violent video
games have played a big role in influencing people. For example, in 2003, two
teenagers went on a shooting spree, stating that they were trying to mimic a scene out
of Grand Theft Auto. In the spree, one person was killed, and another wounded. But
these cases are extremely rare. Since most players are able to play violent video
games without becoming violent themselves. The problem lies within the players
playing the games themselves. Another problem that causes the violence is due to
parents buying games not suitable for their children’s age. There are claims by several
organizations that video games can lead to violent behavior; however there has never
been any large scale studies done in order to support these claims. Secondly, it is an
undoubted fact that playing video games takes a toll on your overall health. But video
games can in fact improve some aspects of the human brain as well as cure some
diseases. Video games have the ability to improve one’s reflexes, when playing video
games, the brain constantly shifts from though to action; enabling the player to train
their reflexes over time. Another advantage of video games is its ability to treat
certain diseases; these progressive illnesses would include Alzheimer's disease and
memory loss. Computer games are also being used to treat those with a range of
people with learning and language disabilities. Teachers have found that games that
provide an enjoyable, unique and exciting way for children to conquer their
disabilities. Games have also been tested at some universities in an attempt to
understand how video games can help children recognize and repeat language patterns.
This is very important, since millions of children and adults have been disabilities
with language learning which are related to language development difficulty.
According to Jason Petrina, the Editor of Article Click:
“Video games designed for language disability treatment actually force a child's brain
to concentrate on the desired language patterns, so that they can understand and
process the individual differences.”
Furthermore, video games can release stress and pressure. More and more surveys are
showing adults and children alike are increasingly turning to video games to deal with
their stressful lives. A survey conducted by PopCap Games, including a large number
of gamers, suggests that 88% of all casual gamers play to relieve stress, and 41% said
that it is their biggest reason for playing video games. The idea of video games as a
form of relaxation is relatively similar to other forms of relaxation, such as reading a
book or watching television. Essentially, video games allow people to be elated to a
fictional world for awhile. In the field of leisure, video games are in fact the most
effective form of release, since they offer a far deeper and firsthand transportation.
Regardless of the raging debate concerning the effects of video games, the
billion dollar industry continues to expand, and the number of players is increasing a
dramatic rate. As a relatively new for of entertainment, video games have been
accused of many deeds. As the years go by, the benefits of video games are beginning
to surfacing and although the disadvantages still exist, video games are becoming a
significant element of our daily lives.