Games and Society

Have you ever wondered about the effects of gaming on society? This is, unfortunately, a rather controversial topic as most people that I have met or read about hold rather strong opinion on. Furthermore, those who usually put out their opinion the most, are people who are extremely uneducated on the matter. It's common to hear parents say that they limit children's screen time, and forcefully relocated their child's time on to something they deem more worthwhile while having little to no understanding of what is actually happening while games are being played. Then as if to add insult to injury, they end up playing a similar game on their phone, unaware that they are playing their own video game that may likely takes less brainpower than the game they removed their child from.  

So who am I talking to? My audience is anyone who has never given thought to this topic and anyone who would like to know a bit more on the subject before making up their mind. I won’t try very hard to convince those who already have their mind set for or against what I am saying, as it is more often than not trivial to argue with those who feel they have the correct answer already. Nor will I try target those who already agree with me, there is clearly little use in that. This leaves me that middle ground between the two, the average joe who maybe has or hasn’t played games, and who wants to make an informed decision before dedicating their time, or letting others dedicate their time, to this activity.  

Finding sources for this is either extremely easy or extremely difficult. On one hand, anyone who has, or is willing to play video games is a potential candidate for an interview. Because of the prevalence of games in our culture, almost everyone has had some sort of contact with them. On top of that, any parent who has feelings on their children's video games, or video games of their own, is a potential source. So the pool to gather information from is very large.

On the other hand, we have the internet, a cesspool for all things conflicting when it comes to the gaming community. I will ultimately have to pull sources from online, though, which means I will have to trudge through the ridiculous amount bias that surrounds this topic. It’s an unfortunate really, almost anything the can be said about gaming is said, true or false. One site will have research stating that playing games will “rot” your mind, while another will advocate for the intense brain­ building power of video games. So I will be looking for sources that look reputable and as unbiased as I can find.

For my interviews I will be able to speak with friends, coworkers, fellow students, and hopefully I get a few parents from different sides of the debate, but I might be reaching too far on that one. For my online sources, there is not much else to do other than sort through as many different sites as possible to pick out the best of them. In this case, the bigger more established sites are usually the more trustworthy, however I will have to watch for flipping opinions and findings in all of them. Consistency in data is key and will be a large portion of what I am looking for in a good site.

Ultimately what I hope to get out of this is a well-rounded article, with information that I would deem good enough to give a solid footing for one to base their opinions on. Because of the lack of clear information available I will look at the ups and downs of gaming, so that I can present both arguments surrounding this topic. I will have four main topics I will cover: what are Video Games? The negative effects of video games. The positive effects of video games. Why should the public be interested in video games? When these are all tied together it should paint a bigger picture of what I am aiming for with this article.

For those with extremely little, to no prior knowledge or experience with video games this beginning is for you. Still, I would recommend even the most avid gamers pay attention to this segment, as many of my latter arguments will be built off of the conclusions that I will arrive at here. They might seem obvious, or unimportant, but it is good to get a base to go off of for later. So, for now, I will be discussing what a video game is to build a better foundation to go off of as we progress.

This might not be as easy to state as it looks to find a way to start. It is kind of like asking what is a sport? Or what is a game? These same obvious at first but then when we try to define them we get stuck. The same is true for video games.

For those who want a formal definition, I looked to Merriam-Webster to provide. To Merriam-Webster, a video game is, “(A)n electronic game in which players control images on a television or computer screen”(Merriam-Webster). This simple definition actually covers a massive amount of games that most would never consider being a video game. Many people play video games every day without a clue about it.

Another article I read added “Rough simulations of everyday life” as a general description, and I quite liked that. If you remember, earlier I mentioned a parent playing solitaire, and that was not just a random example. It was a specific example used to illustrate the point that a video game can include a whole variety of other games that others wouldn’t even consider to be related. In real life, the player of solitaire used large physical paper cards placed in order to store information about their progress and performance. In a video game, the same rules and standards apply, but the information is stored in a computer, and output is displayed on the screen. To me, the choice of which method of playing to the game is clear, the computer can’t have it’s cards overturned and ordered, it is immensely faster, and cheating is significantly harder, all while giving your brain the same problem to overcome. It’s like comparing punch cards to computers.

Now, I get the argument that some may like the feel of the paper card, or having a physical object in their hand. That is a matter of personal opinion that I, and I hope everyone else, can understand. That is a definite drawback to video games, they may often provide a sandbox preferable to real life to play in, but they lack much of the feeling of real life. Ultimately, though, to me, a video game is any program that takes human user input, and displays a meaningful and usually predictable output, for recreational use.

With that in mind, think about other forms of entertainment that you use on a daily basis, then think of how that same for entertainment could be made into a video game. Chances are that it could easily be converted into a video game, or at worst tweaked slightly and then converted. This should help show how massively broad the spectrum video games can be. Often times they can be more related to whatever they are trying to mimic then to other video games.

            For an example, we will go back to the game of solitaire. Let's say that there is an app that allows one to play with cards, shuffling, dealing sorting drawing etc., and the owner of this app is playing solitaire with it. By definition, he is playing a video game, which means most would categorize him as playing the same kind of game as a first person shooter, or an MMO, or any other type of video game out there. While that's not completely wrong, in this instance, there is only a connection by definition, and in reality, the game he is playing is more closely related to the plethora of card games out there. In essence, his game is closer to playing a game like Skippo, than a game like Call of Duty.

This type of relation can be seen in almost all areas of gaming. Still, we seem to group all games computed by computers into the broad group of “video games”, despite little to no relation to each other outside of the computer. So, after reading this I hope you know what a video game is in a broader sense, but also now what a video game isn't in relation to other video games

It's no secret that a large portion of society views video games through a negative lens. That being said, many people can’t tell you what they dislike about them or why they dislike them. More often than not, there seems to be certain canned responses that never really go very far into depth. This is unfortunate, because, like all things, video games do come with downsides, and with people across the world spending around 3 billion hours a week on them, I think it is important that people know what they are.

The biggest complaint I have heard or read about so far is that they are a waste of time. I personally don't fully agree to this, but there is quite a lot of truth to it. Like all things, video games can be taken in excess. Modern games are very effective at maintaining their audiences around the clock, having games must play many hours to “unlock” their favorite levels, characters etc. Many games are made to be addictive to keep you playing, and it is very easy to lose track of time in a game and waste the day away. That being said, this isn't the most compelling argument as the same could be said for almost all other forms of entertainment, and it is up to the individual to manage their time.

The next biggest argument I have heard is that video games cause violence. This is by far the weakest argument against gaming. It is very true that quite a lot of videogames are based around violent subjects or stories, involve violent themes, or simulate what would be quite violent in the real world. But remember, these games are not the real world, and violence is a part of everyday life whether we like to admit it. Most accepted movies, books or stories all have their fair share of violence. Even Americas most read religious book, the bible, is an extremely violent book, with horrifying stories ranging from rape to mass infanticide. But many still consider it to be a moral compass and the word of God, people manage to pull from it what they want to. good people use it as a tool for good, bad as a tool for bad, and the same is true for games.

The bible though, is a very old book, with thousands of years of time for it to settle into and shape our culture. When something violent happened in the bible it is not a big deal, because the bible is old and familiar, we as a society know and are used to it, and can handle it. But, when violence, even lesser violence then we are used to in other forms, happened in video games, it is new and scary.  The same thing happens with new music, TV, and Marilyn Manson.

Many studies have been done saying that games cause violence and the games prevent violence, but once situational bias is adjusted for no real evidence has ever been found (The Good, the Bad). However, video games and online communication does provide a tool for those with violent tendencies to go unchecked. Gamertags and usernames give people a fake identity to separate themselves from what they are saying, which can lead to massive amounts of violent and untasteful language, intolerance, and bullying. Though once again this is a problem found in multiple other areas, and games are just a tool that relies on the user to predict the outcome.

But, there is one more that I think has a fair bit of merit to it, and that is the health argument. In today's society, it can often be hard enough as is to live a healthy active lifestyle, and having gaming as a hobby just makes it harder. There is no way around it, if you are sitting playing a game you are not being very active. Many people try to remedy this by playing while standing, but this is at best a weak alternative to playing a physically active game or sport. This to me is the biggest limiter on the amount of time that one should spend gaming. I would have no problem with playing games many hours a day if I have no other obligations of tasks to complete if it was just more physically active.

There have been several attempts to ix this problem, like attaching controllers to batteries powered by the player pedaling. These are good concepts, but they have never really been implemented effectively, and none of these types of fitness devices have had commercial successes. This has failed mostly because it is hard to get people to focus on exercising while playing a game. However,  games like Pokémon go have shown that games possess the ability to get massive numbers of people up on moving on their feet, so maybe there is potential for games to go that route.

So does this means one should never play video games or try to avoid them whenever possible, or play as much as one can because life is short so one should have some fun? To be honest there is no one size fits all answer. Like all things, moderation is the key, but just what moderation means is for individuals to decide. As far as I am concerned, if you have finished your homework, done your chores, go ahead and play to your heart's content. Just make sure you manage to work out a bit too.

So now that the negative side of video games had been shown, let's move to the positive side and look at why anyone would want to play video games in the first place. “Because they are fun” seems like an obvious answer, or maybe you could say they help stimulate your brain. I'm definitely not here to say any of those wrong, but I would like to go a bit more in-depth than that.

Humans and many other more intelligent animals like to play, or have “fun”, but why is that? Why would a person want to take the time to do something that seemingly accomplishes nothing other than providing enjoyment, and why would that even be enjoyable? The answer is that it doesn't accomplish anything. Playing is an integral part of growing and learning. We do it to get a feel for our world, our senses, and to practice and build skills that we otherwise would not expend the energy (The Science of Animal Play).

So how can video games help give us a feel for our world? Video games provide a unique opportunity for developers to create all kinds of worlds for the player to interact with. They provide puzzles, challenges, and obstacles to overcome which force players to think and-and react, often to dynamic situations. And today with much of the time spent on games being spent playing online multiplayer, it causes people to compete with each other in a sportsmanlike way, much the way that any common sports will do. Now, games defiantly lack the physical entertainment of common sports but what sets video games apart from these is the games ability to be incredibly creative, allowing for possibilities that otherwise would not exist ("The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly: A Meta-analytic Review of Positive and Negative Effects of Violent Video Games.").

Now not all games are made equal in this regard, some do a great job of this and some do little to nothing in this area, but the same can be said for all forms of fun to be had. Think of Legos as an example, his toy has been praised over and over for its ability to help children learn to be creative. That being said, these benefits come more out of the style of play that a child uses than the toy itself ("10 Benefits to Playing with LEGOs - Part 1 -."). That is, how the toy is played with matters more than what the toy is, and the same hold for video games. A player who plays a generally easy game, but plays on hard will ultimately get more out of it than a player who plays a hard game but cheats or even just plays it on easy and takes all that shortcuts.

Last, but definitely not least, the gaming industry creates a whole new market, with new jobs, challenges, and potential for innovation. It creates now products that serve a wide variety of purposes from entertainment to education and is often a very cost effective product for both. So, while video games can definitely come with downsides, they make up for them with a plethora of benefits that while at first might not be apparent, can still do a lot of good.

                So, with all of this said, why should you care? And what about video games even makes them relevant to any average person today? These are hard questions to answer in absolutes, everyone is different and everyone has different motives and values that guide what they care about. Still though, games have far reaching impacts on everyday life that most people are unaware of.  They can range from impacts on daily entertainment, education, and even the economy. So a good place to start is by bringing those impacts to life.

            The first major impact games have is that they bring enjoyment into our lives. It is hard to say enough about this alone. We spend huge amounts of time daily being entertained. Whether that’s reading, watching moves, playing sports, or being out in nature, being entertained or “having fun” is often the end goal to a lot of what we do. Now there are things that come first, we need to have food shelter, and have our basic needs met, but in modern society’s that isn’t much of a problem. In fact, that so relatively easy nowadays that it is not uncommon to see someone work harder to afford their toys then they do to afford their home. We place a huge value on what we do in our spare time for fun or for a hobby, and our economy shows we are willing to spend large amounts of money to prove it. The large amount of strictly entertainment oriented products on the market today shows proves it.

            Think of business’s or people that have made huge amounts of money without offering a single product that anyone needs to survive. There is a surprising amount of them, and big names too, like Hollywood, ESPN, EA, or Disney. And even though they add no needed commodity to humans, it is impossible to miss their importance in our lives. They fill gaps where we otherwise would have had free time, giving us something to do where we might have otherwise had nothing. They create massive flows of capitol, providing jobs research and development, and just plain awe-inspiring new technologies to emerge as a result. Just like the space race created all sorts of unintended benefits form new technology, so to do these companies, and all from the value we place enjoyment of life.

            So now that the value of entertainment has been covered, just how good are video games at providing entertainment? There are several things to consider here, from how many people video games can entertain, to the price of entertainment, and to the harder to quantify, quality of entertainment. So to start how many people do video games entertain?

            Well as was discussed earlier, the title “videogames” covers a huge amount of ground. The massive amount of different games and genres that fall into this means that it is impossible to track completely accurately the number of people playing games, but we can track the number of people playing online games. Of the total online population, 44% are playing or play some form of game. This means that there are 1.2 billion online gamers in the world, crossing barriers of race, gender, and ethnicity (1.2 billion people). So clearly games is an accessible for of entertainment to the public.

            Games also provide a wide verity of options as far as price is concerned. As smartphones have become more common than not, just about everyone has a device to play on, and there are swarms of free to play games around just begging to be downloaded. Or if you’re an avid gamer and want the best most performance possible for games, it is possible to spend thousands of dollars on a high-end PC. However, most end up buying consoles, a cheaper alternative, with the best balance of price to performance.

            As for the quality of entertainment, it is not quite possible to give a solid number, but there are a few things that can be looked at. For one, games usually offer a large amount of replay ability, with the initial upfront price of the games and gaming machine ending up in a very high enjoyment time to cost ratio. And while there are quite a lot of low budget, or just plain stupid games out there, there are many triple A titles that have massive budgets, time, and manpower put into them. Gaming industries can spend massive amounts of money on development, and because they don’t have to keep replicating the development process for each game, can slit the cost across several million buyers, much like movies or books can do. This means that games can provide quite a long period of entertainment for a much lower cost compare to movies or other such sources of entertainment that only get used a few times.

            We have already talked about video games and their ability to create unique worlds, much like a book or a movie, and then allow the user to interact with these worlds. It’s easy to overlook how important this interacting part is, but that would be a huge mistake. Interaction is a huge part of our world, and humans crave it ("This Is Your Brain on Virtual Reality."). We all have the childlike nature to reach out and pick something up, to touch it and get a feel for it, and have an effect on its place in this world. Stories and movies are great, but they lack this crucial depth.

            On the other hand, video games thrive off offering the player the ability to interact, it is what sets them apart from a movie, or just a story. It is also what allows them to have such an impact on their players. Interaction is also what allows us to get a feel for things. For example, in a book, you can never truly get a feel for a character, as they are only presented in fixed situations, the only way do get more depth is by talking with the author or waiting until another book comes out with a different situation. This is not the case with games, as it is possible to have a dynamic understanding of characters or situations. Like a puzzle game, offering the player the ability to decipher where each piece goes, rather than a book telling the reader where they go as the protagonist figures it out.

            It is also this dynamic ability that gives them such potential as tools for education. We all know the saying “practice makes perfect”, but practice requires interaction, time, and motivation. With a textbook, you can get preset sets of interactions, or problems, but with the exception of any outside motivation you might already have, you don’t get any motivation for the book to ty harder or spend more time on it. Not only can video games offer dynamic and changing sets of problems to overcome, but they can use proven methods already in use in games today to provide extra motivation to do better and spend more time practicing.

            It is also a games ability to be so challenging that can make it so entertaining. Just because something is entertaining does not mean that it always makes you have, or is always fun, it can be quite the opposite. Sometimes the best movies are the ones that make you sad or scared, or the best games or the hardest ones that when into overtime and were full of anxiety. So too, games can be hard, frustrating, and grindy, but the best ones are often the ones that you have to overcome these issues to win. This can be a very valuable tool to young minds, helping give them practice to overcome obstacles and challenge themselves.

            As time progresses games will become a more regular thing, and the points that I have made here will no longer be necessary to make. Society is already in the process of changing its view and attitude towards video games, with game sales growing, and games becoming a regular sight in many households across the world. There is so much room for developers to expand gaming to reach even more people and diversify into the broadest form of entertainment available. It will be interesting to see what comes out of the future of gaming, but whatever it is, I am optimistic for it, and you should be too.