From Games to Real Life
by Paolo on Sep.27, 2009, under Meanderings, News
One of the major criticisms of video games is that makes people withdraw from the real world and that gaming has been often unfairly used synonymously with irresponsible behavior. But there are a lot of positive behaviors that games can influence, if used in the right hands.
I recently picked up “Wii Sports Resort” for my family. I cannot under emphasize how much I love many of the Wii games that cater towards party and family play. The Wii alone has made my wife a big time gamer, and Wii Sports is a welcome addition to our family gaming library.
My eldest son, who is about 4 1/2 years, really picked up on Basketball. He still has trouble with shooting, but is a real monster when it comes to slam dunks. After playing a few games with him to learn the ropes, I quickly stopped giving him a handicap and found that I had to play at my best to win.
My eldest son is highly competitive and doesn’t like to lose. After a grueling round of playing, I was barely in the lead and half a second before I could claim victory, my son pauses the game and hits “restart.” He “rage quit.” I couldn’t believe it. I told him that I would not play with him if he did that again because it was rude and unfair. So, after some tears and some encouraging words from my wonderful wife, my son came back said he was sorry and said that he will just try harder next time. A gaming experience became a wonderful life lesson.
Monster Slam!
But what surprised me even more was that the following day, my son asked me if we could play real basketball. I’m happy that he loved playing laundry-basket ball more than the Wii. But he would never have discovered it, had it not been for the game.
This phenomenon is more common than one would think. Apparently, there has been a notable increase in musical instrument sales – especially rock band instruments – since the debut of games such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
You're going to be seeing more dudes like this.
Now, there are certainly games that take people away to mythical fantasy worlds to explore places they have never seen before. And there is certainly temptation to go off into these worlds and never come back. But this phenomenon is not peculiar to games as many a bookworm would tell you.
Not all games take people away from the world. Sometimes it is games that make more people interested in the world around them.
So after this teeth-grinding and harrowing month I had at work, I am taking a long stay-cation and treating my wife and family. Don’t worry, I plan to do some major blogging again. It’s just that my eldest son has been playing this particular game and has been begging me to show him what it is like for real. I’m more than happy to oblige.
Gone Fishing
October 5th, 2009 on 2:57 pm
It’s great to hear that these games have gotten your son interested in real-world activities. I know it was playing games like Civilization II that made me want to read books like Guns, Germs, and Steel back in middle school.
I’m all for games enhancing real-world experience. My interest in games for education, social change, and art are all based around getting players to see or act in the real world in a new way after playing.
Even in abstract or fantasy settings, games are very powerful for their ability to shape the perceptions of players, the so-called “Tetris Effect”. (I wrote about this in a blog post “Games and Perceptual Apathy” – click my name for the link)
And even fantasy worlds don’t have to be disconnected from reality. Tolkien’s defense “On Fairy-Stories” is one thing, but even if you don’t accept that, there can be a lot of allegory and meaning in the most bizarre of worlds. For example, I recently came across an analysis of Spirited Away, one of my favorite animated movies, that explained how the story could be interpreted as a critique of capitalism in Japanese society and the Meiji Restoration. I had always thought that Spirited Away was just an awesomely bizarre and vivid world, but seeing these connections deepened my appreciation of it so much more.
(if you want to read the article, you can search for “A nightmare of capitalist Japan”)
October 5th, 2009 on 8:31 pm
My favorite Miyazaki film is Mononoke-Hime (The Princess Mononoke). It is very obviously a meta-story for the modernization of Japan and its respect for nature. I guess this is a running theme for Miyazaki to be critical of industry and capitalism – but I think that it is more balanced in Mononoke because “Iron Town” is also a refuge for many outcasts of society.
October 6th, 2009 on 3:33 pm
Yes, I also liked Princess Mononoke. I think Spirited Away is less about industrialization as it is about capitalism, consumerism, and materialism versus tradition and spirituality. The train that serves to contrast with the bathhouse is still very industrial, though you could say that maybe it’s more of an in-between transition between the bathhouse and the cottage.
October 7th, 2009 on 3:13 am
About that… I am against hyper-consumerism that plagues modern society. But I am also an Indie Game Programmer and therefore a Capitalist. Not sure what to think of it. I will have to give it more thought.
October 7th, 2009 on 3:02 pm
Haha, yeah. I’m not sure what to think of it either, but I like it when a movie or game or book has a thought-provoking message to explore.