Do Video Games Matter?

[Zachary Van Kleeck]

I wrote an article about the value of video games in the world today. I'd be interested to see what the UDK community thinks of it.


Check it out HERE

[frankit]

Practical but immersive Video Games...

I'd like to see more practical concrete benefits from video games, i.e. games that actually teach you something without realizing you're learning. Especially if this is possible to achieve, without the usual tedium and boredom... I was taught a lot of rubbish at school, colorfully described as 'b-o-l-l-o-x', like the names of clouds or rock formations etc. When in fact, it would have been much more beneficial to learn about backpacking or even plumbing.

So I'd like to see immersive games with concrete benefits, i.e. how to backpack around the world: learn language cheats, discover all the countries and borders and political boundaries, deal with differences in currencies and food and culture. Also, if the game was net enabled you could learn about visas and how-to find money saving routes, and do it all on a shoestring.

Plumbing is self explanatory, its boring, its frequently frustrating, but its really **** necessary sometimes too. So having skills like this or even wiring a socket or absorbing boring financial matters would also bring benefits, as long as the learning was engaging and fun... Before, I would have thought there was no market for this, but if 'Papers Please' (2013) can be successful, then who knows!

Overall I agree, the AAA studios should be doing more, as its all style without substance, but I'm not sure I bonded with many of your game examples. For instance, I found ME to be bland... Thought provoking, emotional story, Nah?? But I played ME3, so perhaps I started out too late in the series... Overall though, being honest, I wasn't swayed by the benefits you highlighted and thought many of these were simply not practical or persuasive enough, or too wish-washy or theoretical or too philosophical etc.

[Zachary Van Kleeck]

I'd like to see more practical concrete benefits from video games, i.e. games that actually teach you something without realizing you're learning. Especially if this is possible to achieve, without the usual tedium and boredom... I was taught a lot of rubbish at school, colorfully described as 'b-o-l-l-o-x', like the names of clouds or rock formations etc. When in fact, it would have been much more beneficial to learn about backpacking or even plumbing.

So I'd like to see immersive games with concrete benefits, i.e. how to backpack around the world: learn language cheats, discover all the countries and borders and political boundaries, deal with differences in currencies and food and culture. Also, if the game was net enabled you could learn about visas and how-to find money saving routes, and do it all on a shoestring.

Plumbing is self explanatory, its boring, its frequently frustrating, but its really **** necessary sometimes too. So having skills like this or even wiring a socket or absorbing boring financial matters would also bring benefits, as long as the learning was engaging and fun... Before, I would have thought there was no market for this, but if 'Papers Please' (2013) can be successful, then who knows!

Overall I agree, the AAA studios should be doing more, as its all style without substance, but I'm not sure I bonded with many of your game examples. For instance, I found ME to be bland... Thought provoking, emotional story, Nah?? But I played ME3, so perhaps I started out too late in the series... Overall though, being honest, I wasn't swayed by the benefits you highlighted and thought many of these were simply not practical or persuasive enough, or too wish-washy or theoretical or too philosophical etc.

Thanks for the feedback.

I agree with everything you said.

I almost all together threw out the suggestions section strictly because I can either say "everyone should be more like minecraft" or try to make a connection that AAA games CAN be positively influential when you step away from the PC or console. Currently, video game's and their producers seem to care very little about anything unless they are abrasively pushing an agenda in their game. I really appreciate your response and love hearing that developers seem to be interested in an educational focus as much as the parents do.

To add, the tricky thing is that you, sort of, have to trick people into learning.

Like a sci-fi space game where aliens have come to take over earth, but cant because we're too awesome, so they go back and time and try to assassinate world leaders and historical characters that influenced humanity to grow positively. In the process you would learn a ton of sweet history as well as blowing aliens up. There would be problems in that story, and it wouldn't work the way it's written here, but I think we can do something more worthwhile with games if we cared to.

What do you think about what Jane McGonigal had to say?

[frankit]

What do you think about what Jane McGonigal had to say?

I just realized a friend sent me this TED lecture once before, a couple of years ago. I like what she says overall. That said, it has to be noted that this is at the upper end of idealism and high-brow thinking, the type that you can only do at a cosy institute. But I do like it and the ideas are grand! From the clips, I just wish the games themselves were a little more visually immersive. It prompts me ask, instead of yet another dumb Crysis game, what if they were to take some of her ideas onboard? The results might be quite interesting.....