At the beginning of this course I had to explain to my dad that I was taking a class on video games, something which he views as a “valueless activity.” Sadly, in our world of politics and in our society, video games have seemingly taken the blame for many of todays problems such as children’s lack of attention, mental health issues, and a general propensity toward violence. So it’s easy, then, for many parents to view video games in a negative light and easily connect them to such issues. But I’d like to push back against this tendency, and my dad’s perspective, by highlighting the value of studying video games taking note on the things we discussed in the final class and throughout the quarter.
As someone mentioned in our last class when refferring to their own experience of talking with their dad, they said that they had brought up the economic side of video games as a point to explain how studying video games is valuable. To me this is something I’d say most dads can get behind. During our first week of classes I was very surprised to hear that the video game industry made a lot more money than the music and movie industries. And I excitedly told my own dad this fact to which he expressed his own discontent finding that this money and attention ought to be reallocated to something that is “productive” and lends to human progress. Essentially he was upset that so much money could be spent and used for something “designed to provide instant gratification and dopamine highs.” While there are certainly such games that are intended to do just that in order to make money, those are not the type of games that are worth studying nor do they represent video games as a whole or as an art form. Certainly the economic value and potential that can be further understood (or exploited) by coming to a deeper understanding as to what makes video games fun to play, leaves players wanting more, and what makes them considered to be great and/or works of art makes studying video games worthwhile.
Yet even beyond the economic side of video games, I see video games as a sophisticated and more layered form of media that can just as easily deliver important messages and serve as an educational tool for children similar to how books and movies do. In the overall scheme of things I think all types of media can fit under the umbrella or storytelling which is meant to provide others with new information and personal experiences. What differs is the way in which each of these forms of media accomplishes this. And for video games there is a lot of intentional design choices such as the mechanics, game space, narrative, visuals, gameplay, etc. that can accomplish some type of deliverance of meaning.
Lastly my dad told me how he envisioned a world without video games as being one where so much more could have been accomplished. I found this to be a shocking statement. Despite it’s obviously biased and inconceivable nature, in my opinion video games have had a largely important impact on technology as a whole and the way information is shared throughout the world. Look at the Playstation 2 for example. This piece of hardware was designed for the purpose of playing video games, yet at the time it was considered to be a technological wonder and helped pave the way for others to imagine what more could be accomplished and achieved by utilizing technology. Video games have also changed the way we think and deliver messages. Take Dys4ia for example, such a short and simple game, one that is palatable and enjoyable, has had such an impact on individuals such as myself and my classmates as it gives insight into a difficult social issue and allows for the player to empathize and come to understand what it’s like for someone to deal with issues of gender identity and change.
I hope more and more people will defend the study of video games and it’s value to society, establishing it as something worth studying at major universities around the world.
