The Unexpected Benefits of Gaming
Let’s face it. Video games are no longer just a specialist hobby. They have become ubiquitous in modern culture, as much so as texting or Netflix, and trends seem to indicate that their presence will only increase in the decades to come. As a parent myself, I’ve seen many reports touting the dangers of video games: how they can lead to obesity, addiction, and a life spent pirating the high seas. But what about the benefits? Video games, when screened by parents and played in moderation, can help your child in a number of unexpected ways.
Gaming Requires Creative Improvisation
Video games are a medium that encourage experimentation and creative problem-solving. As evidenced by my son Connor’s recent foray into Hyrule, games can be played in many ways. It is this freedom, the ability for a player to approach a task or challenge from many angles, that make video games a unique and powerful educational tool.
Games are, by definition, an interaction of systems and rules. These systems, often referred to as ‘mechanics’, make up the bulk of the game-play experience.
In The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there comes a point where you need to cross over a deep canyon. The game does not tell you how to do it, or even that you should do it. It allows the player’s sense of exploration to drive them forward. Connor and I first tried jumping over. That failed spectacularly. Connor suggested we climb up a tree and jump off of it, but we still came up short.
Finally, we searched the surrounding area and found an abandoned log cabin. In the back of the cabin was an axe resting next to a fireplace. “We can chop down the tree!” Connor screamed. And so we did. Unfortunately, I am a sub par woodsman. The first tree we felled landed parallel to the canyon and served no purpose at all. The second one, however, formed an awesome impromptu bridge.
Later, while speaking with a friend and fellow gamer, I asked him how he had traversed the canyon. “I walked further down, to where the gap was smaller, climbed to the top of a nearby cliff and jumped across.”
Whether you are solving a puzzle the intended way, finding a hidden solution, or bypassing it altogether, as many speed runners do, you are exercising your brain. You are making creative decisions: utilizing acquired knowledge to support your hypothesis. It is science.
Group Gaming Can Turn Kids Into Teachers
During the week, I teach film and media arts to grade school students. On the weekends, I also head up a video game club for kids ages 10 – 13. We mostly play single player games, but we do it together. Each student has their own computer, set-up with a game that’s intended to be a solo experience. Within minutes, the noise in the room reaches a dull roar as kids dart from station to station, sharing tips and experiences on the fly.
I’ve seen a child become a hero, simply because she knew the secret to progressing further into a game.
A community assigns value to its members based on how much they have to offer, and gaming is no different. Communal gaming provides the opportunity for children to lead, to step up and feel they have something important to contribute to their peers. These moments are the building blocks of positive self-esteem.
Gaming in a group also gives children the chance to practice teaching. Explaining how to successfully navigate a boss fight, or describing the most efficient way to manipulate a mechanic, requires clear and concise communication. A child needs to recognize what part of their own experience was successful, and must be able to distill that information into a series of simple directions. This is a skill valued by most employers and can serve them well in everything they do.
Video Games Can Bring Parents And Kids Together
Gaming can re-frame the traditional parent-child relationship. Playing on the same team, or competing against one another, casts parents and children as equals. It’s a safe place to explore what it means to be friends and rivals, outside the normal parental hierarchy.
Connor and I love to play Rocket League together. Rocket league, in a nutshell, is soccer… if Cristiano Ronaldo was a Volkswagen. You drive around an arena chasing after a giant beach ball, trying to ram it into the opposing team’s goal. It’s an absurd amount of fun.
Connor is obsessed with cars, and competing together against computer opponents is the highlight of many an evening. In real life, he sits in the back seat, strapped snugly into his booster, while I chauffeur him around town. In Rocket League, he controls the boost. He decides how fast the car goes and how high it jumps. When we score a goal, we did it together: a combined and singular effort.
Gaming with and against your child creates shared stories and memories. These are moments they’ll reference for years, because they break the mold and re-frame your relationship, if only temporarily. It gives you a chance to be friends and rivals, to interact on an equal playing field, at least until the system shuts off.