I love gaming. But I hate its image. People think it is a childish, nerdy, boring, socially-reclusive real-life-surrogate to act out aggressive power fantasies.
Though they never phrase it that way …
The truth is gaming has a lot to offer the mature, cool, interesting, out-going pacifists living real lives. And of course, the rest of us as well.
So what are the benefits of gaming? For one, it increases your so-called visuospatial skills, meaning you’re better at judging distances, mental rotation tasks and other forms of thinking in 3D. The Scientific American suggests boys score higher on visuospatial skills than girls partly due to the fact that they play more video games. Think about it, all the racing games where you have to judge at what angle and what speed you can take that turn. Or what about the shooters where you have to keep track of where the enemies are around you while not running off a cliff or into an enemy turret nest. And let’s not forget the puzzle games like Echochrome. That was a definite brain tickle.
But that’s not all. Gaming can be a social activity (Mario Party, Rock Band), an artistic experience (Prince of Persia, Heavenly Sword), an emotional journey (Lost Odyssey, Heavy Rain). There was an interesting article on Kotaku today where the author points out how hard it is to get non-gamers to appreciate games as a mature medium. And with “mature” we’re not talking foul language and getting too many inside and outside angles of the human body. “Mature” as in a respectable medium on a par with literature and film. However, it seems to me that gamers keep forgetting that literature and film aren’t appreciated by everyone either. There are enough people that don’t get why anyone would want to read a book for fun. Movies might have a more universal appeal but it is hardly fair competition. People’s only investment in watching a movie is sitting down and keeping their eyes open. Only sleeping is less demanding.
Even leaving this brilliant argument behind, games should still not aspire to be “like” movies and books. A psychologist with the lucky name of Csíkszentmihályi Mihály outlined his now well respected Theory of Flow . Flow Theory states that people truly enjoy an activity when they are optimally challenged. Basically, when it’s not too easy (boring) or too hard (frustrating). Of course this doesn’t apply to some activities. Sleeping, getting a massage or … watching a movie, hold no challenge and so cannot create flow. It’s like eating. It’s either good or it’s not. You either enjoy it or you don’t, but it has little to do with your skill at eating. Same goes for watching movies and up to a point for reading books. How can games compete with that?
They shouldn’t. Games are interactive, they are a challenge, and they can create an experience of flow. The great thing about that is that experiences of flow are what we humans also consider rewarding and meaningful experiences. So while a good movie or book offers as sense of enjoyment, a good game gets you high on your own personal achievement. For many this will not come as a surprise as Microsoft even gives you pop-ups on the Xbox to tell you that you’ve achieved something. Thanks!
To get back on track, there are of course many books and movies that are not simple entertainment but that change the way you view the world. To pick up this change in view you have to put in mental effort, so this can be considered a type of flow as well. It’s even true that if the book or movie is too easy, you will be bored. While if it’s too hard you will be frustrated. However, if we confine ourselves to the majority of books and movies out there, then they are mostly pure entertainment having more in common with eating a cheese burger, or possibly a shiny bevel-embossed silver barrel of caviar, than with a rewarding sense of achievement.
So why is the geek-supreme image still the dominant stereotype for us gamers? If games are good for you and offer a more meaningful experience then the mainstream media of movies and books, then why are videogames still the stepchildren of the mass media? Maybe we need to work on our PR. World of Warcraft gets it:
The last movie I watched in the cinema, I think it was Sherlock Holmes, was preceded by a number of trailers. Nothing weird so far, but one of them was a cinematic trailer with live actors for Heavy Rain.
Nothing made it look different from any other movie trailer, untill at the end, there was the screen “Only on PlayStation 3″.
What was the reaction of the audience? Laughter.
Obviously, gaming is very far away from being a respected and mature main stream medium.
Though the laughter is discouraging, I was only thinking “awesome” when reading the first bit: that a cinematic video game made it into the actual cinema trailers of a blockbuster movie. We might have a long way to go in getting the main stream audience to take video games seriously. But your anecdote makes me feel we might actually get there.
Heavy Rain IS laughable shit though.
True point. However, since it appears that a lot of gamers spend hours and hours behind their computers, it seems like gaming tends to disassociate you from the rest of society.
Carrying out this message is just like convincing people that LSD enhances your life. Even though it might be true, nobody will agree.
@MdR: Books and movies dissociate you from society in the same way. Especially school books! But as long as you live a healthy life style, including socializing with people in real life, then games are as valid a pass time as tv and books. And depending on what you play, watch and read, video games might be the most “useful” of the bunch.
And I don’t think the comparison with drugs holds up. All hard drugs are, or can be, a serious risk to your health. Even if you only use them once. In the case of LSD you might trigger a psychosis or jump off a roof because you think you can fly. Video games hardly ever have such an extremely negative effect on people.
Though I might not agree with you, I do appreciate your unique angle on things. Thanks!
@Shos: Agreed, book and movies can be either just as bad or just good as games. And, like you stated, taking into account you ‘get out’ every now and then. However, I think you’re missing the point (or I am).
Though gaming has a lot offer, a lot of people I know get swallowed by it. How play’s WoW for 2 hours a week?! I used to play 20 hours a week and still finding it hard to constrain myself to not play more than that.
I think that is the reason why gaming has such a reputation. Coming back to the whole acid thing. A guy starts playing some ultra-violent game and walks into a school with a gun. What turns out; he was mentally ill. It’s a shame that the media left out the last part. I will leave the analogy with LSD up to you…
“Video games hardly ever have such an extremely negative effect on people”
You do know that there is a growing demand for gaming-rehab clinics?
Don’t get me wrong, I am not against gaming. My point is that shouldn’t just say that gaming is good. There are a lot of nuances which is, in my opinion I guess, analogues to drugs.
Read your comment today on Kotaku and came to check out your site. I have a lot of interest in the good and bad of gaming. I know that when I am playing a video game I am completely consumed by the experience. I revel in every detail and a well written game with a story can give me weeks of cognitive satisfaction in a way that nothing else can.
I have to agree with Mdr above that it is a lot like a drug.
For me it is an addiction. I would like nothing more than to play WoW but would loose my wife and kids if I did. Can you direct me to any posts on your site or elsewhere that deal with this? I have given up serious gaming and there is a huge hole that I have tried to fill with way too many hours of internet related work. I have ADD and the games helped me focus in everyday life. That focus is missing.
Thanks for tackling these issues on your blog.
@Jack Senzig: I’ve been thinking about writing an article about gaming addictions for quite awhile now. The way I work is that I pick a topic and then try to find papers on it. That way I increase my expertise on a topic as I go along. Once I feel I have a good grasp of the current state of research on a topic, I’ll start writing it up as I understand it. That way I answer my own question about the psychology around gaming. I haven’t done that for gaming addiction yet. I definitely will, but I don’t know when that would be.
That being said, my understanding of addiction is that there are two types: Substance addictions and behavioral addictions. Substance addictions are physical drugs that change your brain chemistry to make you physically NEED that drug. This is an addiction in the true sense of the word. Behavioral addictions (such as gaming, shopping, gambling, etc.) are about having uncontrollable/hard to control compulsions to overindulge in certain behavior to the extent that it makes you unhappy or unbalances your life. Note that behavioral addictions are about behaviors that are not bad in themselves. It’s about HOW you do these things. As far as I know, it makes sense that gaming is appealing to you. It is to millions of people, and your ADD might make it even more attractive and rewarding! The way you describe your enjoyment of gaming makes it sound like very valuable experience to you. It would be a shame to give that up.
One theory about behavioral addictions is that addicts use the problem behavior to cope with something else that is wrong in their lives. This is not always immediately apparent. It can be anything from social anxiety (making online friends instead of real life ones), to depression (escaping in a fantasy world where you are in control). It might help you to try to figure out what you get out of gaming that makes it so addictive. Basically, according to this theory, a behavioral addiction is a symptom of an underlying problem. If you deal with the underlying problem, then gaming won’t be a problem anymore. You can do it because you enjoy it and you can turn off whenever your family needs you.
You might already know all this. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help. As I said, I will look into the topic in the future. So feel free to stay tuned in!
Thanks,
Like most of us my social skills are not great on a one to one basis although I am very good at leading large groups of people. I have my share of stresses that make what you said very possible. I will continue to consider it. It sure would be nice to be able to turn it off. If anyone else has ever successfully dealt with the gaming addiction feel free to give suggestions here or elsewhere. I didn’t mean to leave my real name but ADD strikes again.
I look forward to reading your article on addiction. I’ll check back.
@Jack Senzig: Glad I could be of some help. I guess the gist of what I was trying to say is that gaming probably isn’t the problem. If you can find the underlying problem and deal with that, then you can fully enjoy gaming without the negative sides. I wish you all the best.
As a parent, mentor, therapist and gamer, I can say that games do so much more good than harm. IGN.com has an article about how Nintendogs precipitated an attack on a little girl from the barking sounds emerging from the game. Later, the article referenced that she may have kicked the dog earlier. It is these kinds of situations where folks don’t want to look to the real roots of problems, only to easy targets like video games. I believe that if more kids held game controllers instead of handguns, there would be fewer shootings.
I recently even read a research paper that found that Japanese gamer become LESS aggressive from playing violent video games. Also, the media and literature on video game violence do not distinguish between “violence” and “aggression”. Becoming violent is not acceptable, but a certain measure of aggression, depending on how it is directed and experienced is only natural. That is the core of competition and ambition, is it not?
I’ve seen a few friends go down WoW road, never to return (well, at least I never saw them again)
It was sad, one guy in particular was anything but addictive personality-wise, yet he wound up spending hours on that game, I feel (not that I see through his eyes) that his life was lacking and it gave him a sense of achievement, something that the daily grind of work apparently did not do, I think it’s important to practice moderation, and always be present, that can be hard in games where you get so engrossed the day will just disappear before your eyes.
@Lee: Gaming addiction is something I really want to look into. Right now I’m putting the last touches on my suggestion for a model of gaming motivations. Based on that I’m hoping to be able to shine some light on the addiction issue in a future article.
I’ll be very interested to read your findings.
All the articles here at thinkfeelplay.com are very interesting, I love knowing more, about why we do things, I wish I’d done psychology at school now
Thanks, glad to hear it!
Interesting article and one which should be more widely known about in my view. Your level of detail is good and the clarity of writing is excellent. I have bookmarked it for you so that others will be able to see what you have to say.