Challenge and Support
Can you learn a lot from video games? Can they be an educational tool? Can they tell us something about who we are as people? Or are they simply a way for our brain to start to ooze our of our head?
The Nintendo Wii has been quite popular. An initial guess for this popularity stems from the recent (5 years) craze of arcade games which involve some type of physical movement. I emphasize arcade because the Nintendo Power Pad existed for a while and that didn't seem to really catch on. Nintendo capitalized on the fad and decided to find a creative way to bring it home to the younger generation.
While Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft duke it out for first place in the video game wars, video games have transcended to 'norm' in our cultural milieu. While I don't believe they have replaced anything (although I'm sure there are some folks who complain that family game night is gone, or some parental watchdog group nervous every time a Grand Theft Auto game comes out) I do believe that time has come to except that video games are just for geeky kids.
Educationally I do believe video games can teach us one basic thing about who we are people. No matter what the game (sports, action, adventure, role playing) video games offer an amount of problem solving. And how the gamer decides to adjust to that level of challenge must have some correlation to how that person, on the average, deals with problems in life. I will out my own geekiness as an example:
One of my favorite video games was Final Fantasy II for the Super NES (probably one of the best systems of all time). When I first played that game I remembered the instruction booklet indicated that average time it took to complete the game was 30 hours. I remember thinking how cool it would be to beat it in under that time. Needless to say at the time I was far more interested in the story than I was in the actual playing experience. This level of impatience often caused me to have my characters run from the 'day to day' battles then find creative ways to beat the big bad guys, usually marking a turn of events in the story.
I made it to the end of the game, in about 29 hours, but could not beat it with the way I developed my characters. After a while, I decided to bite the bullet and start from scratch. The one thing I changed: fight every battle no matter what. The second time around my characters were at such a high level that I beat the game with ease. And in under 20 hours. Since then I have always played most video games exploring the first time through (which really takes up a lot of time) and then playing them a second time, knowing where everything is, sometimes finding a way to challenge myself (like the time I attempted to play Legend of Zelda without getting the wooden sword-which is the basic weapon until you get the white sword-and yes it's possible).
I've noticed that in life when met with new tasks or responsibilities I am very much the same way. The first time through I usually try to look all aspects of what I'm doing and making sure no stone is unturned. The second venture through a process I tend to find ways to maximize my time and effort. If it's something I've done for a third time, that's when I tend to look for creative challenges. Although I would say that development is a natural part of my personality I noticed it more when playing video games and have been able to actualize for other things I do.
On a last thought, the game de jeur for me is Lego Star Wars II. Just like the first one, it's one of those great games designed for kids (although the Stormtrooper running around in a speedo is a little disturbing), but easily playable for adults. One interesting thing about this game is that there are some really hard parts of this adventure game. Things that cause you to go well beyond being an agile button pusher. Yet this game also rewards after a while. Throughout the game you collect studs (like money) and can purchase things which can strengthen your character. These in turn make things easier enough for you not to give up but there are still some challenges that even if you have them present some critical thought and effort.
As an allegory to what we do in life, this is a great example of mentoring. Being there for someone and finding ways to provide reasonable challenges, offering support when things are getting rough, and rewarding them by reinforcing the strengths they possess as people. And all that just from playing a silly video game.
pb
The Nintendo Wii has been quite popular. An initial guess for this popularity stems from the recent (5 years) craze of arcade games which involve some type of physical movement. I emphasize arcade because the Nintendo Power Pad existed for a while and that didn't seem to really catch on. Nintendo capitalized on the fad and decided to find a creative way to bring it home to the younger generation.
While Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft duke it out for first place in the video game wars, video games have transcended to 'norm' in our cultural milieu. While I don't believe they have replaced anything (although I'm sure there are some folks who complain that family game night is gone, or some parental watchdog group nervous every time a Grand Theft Auto game comes out) I do believe that time has come to except that video games are just for geeky kids.
Educationally I do believe video games can teach us one basic thing about who we are people. No matter what the game (sports, action, adventure, role playing) video games offer an amount of problem solving. And how the gamer decides to adjust to that level of challenge must have some correlation to how that person, on the average, deals with problems in life. I will out my own geekiness as an example:
One of my favorite video games was Final Fantasy II for the Super NES (probably one of the best systems of all time). When I first played that game I remembered the instruction booklet indicated that average time it took to complete the game was 30 hours. I remember thinking how cool it would be to beat it in under that time. Needless to say at the time I was far more interested in the story than I was in the actual playing experience. This level of impatience often caused me to have my characters run from the 'day to day' battles then find creative ways to beat the big bad guys, usually marking a turn of events in the story.
I made it to the end of the game, in about 29 hours, but could not beat it with the way I developed my characters. After a while, I decided to bite the bullet and start from scratch. The one thing I changed: fight every battle no matter what. The second time around my characters were at such a high level that I beat the game with ease. And in under 20 hours. Since then I have always played most video games exploring the first time through (which really takes up a lot of time) and then playing them a second time, knowing where everything is, sometimes finding a way to challenge myself (like the time I attempted to play Legend of Zelda without getting the wooden sword-which is the basic weapon until you get the white sword-and yes it's possible).
I've noticed that in life when met with new tasks or responsibilities I am very much the same way. The first time through I usually try to look all aspects of what I'm doing and making sure no stone is unturned. The second venture through a process I tend to find ways to maximize my time and effort. If it's something I've done for a third time, that's when I tend to look for creative challenges. Although I would say that development is a natural part of my personality I noticed it more when playing video games and have been able to actualize for other things I do.
On a last thought, the game de jeur for me is Lego Star Wars II. Just like the first one, it's one of those great games designed for kids (although the Stormtrooper running around in a speedo is a little disturbing), but easily playable for adults. One interesting thing about this game is that there are some really hard parts of this adventure game. Things that cause you to go well beyond being an agile button pusher. Yet this game also rewards after a while. Throughout the game you collect studs (like money) and can purchase things which can strengthen your character. These in turn make things easier enough for you not to give up but there are still some challenges that even if you have them present some critical thought and effort.
As an allegory to what we do in life, this is a great example of mentoring. Being there for someone and finding ways to provide reasonable challenges, offering support when things are getting rough, and rewarding them by reinforcing the strengths they possess as people. And all that just from playing a silly video game.
pb
posted by Peter Brooks at 12:35 PM
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