Video games long have been a controversial topic over the last few decades and the debate rises as more and more video games are being produced with more advanced technology like VR mode and dancing mats. Newer platforms like Discord are being formed that encourage gamers to group up and play video games. People often lead video games to topics of addiction, violence, and a change of character. Some of these include the debate whether violence in video games could develop a mentally violent person, the discussion how video games could lead to a more solitary life style that isolates people from society, and the possibility of changing a person's mindset and character entirely with just video games. Therefore, video games have long been bashed by parents, critics, and other people who have gamer friends and thus have received a pretty bad reputation. I don't deny some of the claims that people make about the harmful effects of video games on people but I do want to enlighten people on some fun facts about video games that don't make them as bad as they seem to be.
One of the core skills games help people exercise is their logical thinking skills. This depends on what type of game people chose to play. Some games are plain matching and grouping while some require incredible complex logical systems that need systematic thinking skills in order to get through with the game. As people play more video games, this kind of logical thinking becomes integrated into their mind and when approaching real world problems they're experienced with what patterns to look for and common ways to solve similar problems. This type of skill is not covered in class nor could it be exercised in any other places other than a job that requires such thinking. Games incite people to perform creative thinking and form up ideas on how to solve puzzles that they would normally never get in the real world and thus exercise core skills in logical and creative thinking.
If you've played a role playing game or any type of game that requires the cursor and first-person view, you'll understand that many games require hand-eye coordination. Many first-person shooting games requires players to analyze the environment, the map, the inventory, and other parts of the screen while performing locking on and shooting a target. Not only does this require great organization skills this also calls for great coordination for the player. One slip up and the person could lose his/her coordination and become disorientated in the game.
Most games also provide valuable educational information. All games have some sort of genre to it; whether it's space, biology, aliens, etc. they all mix in elements of fantasy and facts in it. Some games like Sim imitate daily life and provide the gamer with knowledge that's outside of what they would usually learn in a classroom or from people around them. These facts could be really interesting and some could even provide essential life tips like how to put out a fire or how to tie a strong knot or even how to do our taxes, things that we would never consider learning on our own.
Games are basically books for gamers. It's a way for people that like to play to sit down and dive deep within a different world that's not our own. It's full of story and characters just like any book would but without words and we're able to interact with the story. It's like we're the ones making the story rather than reading the story of someone else and this sense of power to create a world is something that draws people into video games. In video games, we're not afraid of consequences because we could always save and load. We can mostly create the story we want because we have so much power over it. Video games are a way for us to escape the real world and its problems and go into a different world that gives us tons of power and unlimited chances to try over again. In this world we're not afraid to try things because of the lack of consequences; we become brave, powerful, strong, and everything we aren't in the real world. Some people enjoy this feeling so much that they become addicted to video games, longing for the feeling of being powerful, and in the end, this becomes an addiction.
Games are like a better form of drugs, it gives us a way to escape the problems we have at hand and make imaginary worlds where we're powerful and it doesn't impact others in the real world. However just like drugs we can become addicted to video games, addicted to the feelings it gives to people. It can even affect us mentally and physically if too much time is spent on video games. Everything comes down to moderation.
