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

Last Friday, I found out my mother had a stroke. When I initially got the news, my father said that she was fully aware but the doctors weren’t even sure if she could regain her ability to move her right arm, the right side of her body or even be able to speak.  She is still in the ICU right now, but the doctors have found positive signs for some neurological recovery but it will take a lot of work and therapy.  We are still awaiting a full prognosis and would appreciate you keeping my mother in your thoughts and prayers.

It’s times like this that you really evaluate what truly matters in your life and how small are the things we hold dear to ourselves.  All the things we waste time upon instead of truly treasuring the people who make life worth living.  And one of the serious offenders for taking time away from loved ones is games.

The key to games is understanding that games can be powerful servants but awful masters.  Few people realize that games are more than just a past-time – gaming is one of the most powerful tools for accessing and repairing damaged parts of the brain and can be a great boon for humanity rather than a massive time waster that widows wives and orphans children.

Games can repair the brain

Games are a powerful tool not just for education, but for real neurological benefit.  My initial foray into gaming was making games whose task is to stimulate neurological functioning.  Many of these games would seem very inane and resemble variations of the game “Memory”, but given enough time and practice these games can actually improve brain function, delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and rehabilitate stroke symptoms.

What got me thinking was that my mother will need these kinds of games for her rehabilitation as well as entertainment to enjoy.  But a great number of games that she loves and enjoys are simply not accessible for persons without fine motor skills.  One may not think that using a mouse is a “fine motor skill” but for persons with severe neurological damage, a mouse is so much harder to use than a keyboard.  How many games out there do you know are designed for use with a single hand that is not a mouse?

Not meant for accessibility

I’ve taken a lot of thought and decided that after I release my fall game that I will dedicate myself to making not only games that my wife and kids will enjoy, but that my mother can access and use with limited motor function.  I used to be one of the first web technology experts at Booz | Allen | Hamilton for the U.S. Government standards for accessibility (Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act), and so I am familiar on how all technologies can be utilized to overcome all sorts of neurological and physiological disabilities.

Games don’t have to be just mere entertainment and escape.  Games can be an instrument of true freedom and a great boon to humanity and the human drama.

Who says you have to make a 3D game to be considered AAA?  With top notch companies barely scratching a living, even with a million copies sold and barely breaking even, other companies are innovating and producing incredible new titles in 2D.

The first is the infamous indie game “Castle Crashers”:

The second is the company that breathed new life into the 2D genre with their breathtaking game “Odin Sphere”.  Here is their latest title “Muramasa” coming out for the Wii:

And lastly, is a company that is has owned the fighting game genre with “Guilty Gear”.  But since their publisher owns the rights to their groundbreaking fighting game and forced the game to become a 3D RTS, they have broken out and gone indie for their new IP, “BlazBlue” and have rocked the socks out of Street Fighter 4 and King of Fighters 12:

Long Live 2D!