Why video games are good - My take on video games

I married a wonderful young lady a few years back, and I'm very happy to be sharing my life with her. My girl, though, doesn't consider herself a gamer. In fact, she entered our marriage having a somewhat negative view of video games.

When a gamer and a non-gamer marry, you may wonder,

HOW DOES THIS GET RECONCILED???

Allow me to answer this decades-old question. The answer is simple: the same way married couples reconcile any of their other differences.

From my point of view, I had to recognize that there was much more to life than video games. This wasn't hard for me because I fell pretty hard for my wife and if I was given the choice to spend time with her or spend time on video games, I obviously would choose her! It also helped that by that point in young adulthood, I had already established responsible habits and set life goals for myself, largely because I was going to college.

From her point of view, she had to understand why I liked video games, what they really are, and how one can benefit from making a hobby out of playing them.

That's what I'm here to explain: how video games can be more than just a time-wasting diversion and can arguably be as enriching as reading a book or engaging in other hobbies.

Video game skeptics, including my wife at one point, would scoff at my comparison to reading a book. Based on parenting articles, church messages, and conversations with skeptics, this is why video games are "bad" and thus not beneficial in the same way a book is:

• they promote physical inactivity and laziness
• they promote interpersonal disconnectedness
• they promote violence
• just like watching TV, your brain is so overrun by visual stimulation that your brain activity decreases

Each of these concerns is valid for certain video games or certain playing habits. However, each of these points have counterarguments and examples to prove them:

Physical inactivity and laziness

The original Nintendo console (the NES) had certain games that used a "Power Pad' or a large electronic mat with foot-sized buttons to allow you to play sports games such as World Class Track Meet. That was 30 years ago. 10 years ago, we were treated to the novelty of Wii Sports. I worked up a sweat as a kid running in place on that power pad, and I still work up a sweat (and I get sore too!) when I play Wii Sports boxing at my parent's house.

To be fair, these games are nowhere near as common as traditional sit-on-the-couch games, but they do exist. To address those, or even laziness in general, one has to look at the gamer themselves, not the game. In future posts, I'll write more about how it is possible to manage your time responsibly (including having a good exercise routine) and still play your favorite video games.

Interpersonal disconnectedness

Since the days of Pong(1972) and before, video games have often involved multiplayer gameplay. Some of my fondest memories growing up involve playing video games with family and friends. Whether I was working together with my older brother to beat Bowser in Mario 3, dueling my friends in various fighting games such as Super Smash Brothers, or laughing with my wife and another married couple while playing Mario Party, I was getting some serious positive social interaction.

Again, there are plenty of games that are 1-player (or that involve playing online with people you can't see) that don't meet this criteria, and again, I will refer to future posts about managing yourself responsibly. With that in mind, I can also say that I've had numerous engaging conversations with other gamers about their progress and experiences in certain 1-player games that we both play.

Violence

This one is tough. I definitely believe that many video games are too violent for me or my family. With today's graphics capabilities, a brutal death can be depicted and carried out by the player with more disturbing reality than ever before. It can be discouraging to see how much of a hold on the video game market mature rated games have, especially among youth.

My argument here is that one's attitude about games should be the same as with other sources of media. If you don't like violent games, don't let them into your home! There are plenty of wholesome alternatives that are just as fun or even more fun. With that said, I personally am okay with mild violence or even more intense alien violence (like in Halo) depending on who is playing. If a child is too young or is imbalanced with their socialization (even as a teenager or young adult), they should steer away from violence in games.

It melts your brain just like watching TV

False. Even the most mind-numbing games require player input. Therefore, playing a game is not a passive activity. Yes, some games are more stimulating than others (see my post on games that aren't worth the time)

My best counterexample is the Legend of Zelda franchise. These adventure games require a lot of thinking and puzzle solving, among other brain-stimulating exercises. There are many other examples showing how video games are positively stimulating, but Ill refer you to future posts about what makes a video game good.

My take on video games
If the above concerns are avoided, video games can be a stimulating diversion like any other hobby. That's the point of this whole blog: to promote video games as a hobby and to blog about my hobby like anyone would about reading, following sports, quilting, and so on.

With any hobby, video gaming can easily become an obsession that causes imbalances in your life. Society singles out video games in particular as a negative obsession simply because it is one of the most popular hobbies and easily noticed. However, I have heard of people getting a little weird and obsessive about reading and other hobbies.

The purpose of video gaming, like any other hobby, is to expand your imagination, connect with others in your hobby's community, develop various skills, provide family and friends with a good product, and to simply provide a diversion from life's stresses.