The Benefits of Computer Games

The Computer and video game industry developed in astronomic speed during last 15 years. Now we can speak about absolutely original and exciting gaming subculture which came together with other technology adorers communities, for instance cyberpunks. A lot of discussions is taking place about negative sides of computer games (like about TV in 1950’s until now). But is it worthy to make games the issue of first importance? Let facts speak themselves. A survey done by Peter D. Hart Research Associates in April, 2000 which found that 60% of all Americans play computer or video games. 43% of them are women. The average age of gamers is 28. 61% of all gamers are 18 and older . These figures is a very strong argument against those who say, that computer games are played mostly by teens, who afterwards go to school and shoot teachers and their classmates (remember Littleton tragedy last year when 13 people were killed and the Internet and computer games were accused by media and American society). Let’s be honest. Every activity is always two folded having both bad and good sides. The computer games in society has a reputation as source of evil even though there are no much evidence that people after playing computer games become more violent. Everybody are cursing computer games, but is there any use from them? Computer games as social interaction and entertainment

As a survey of IDSA shows, computer and video games are sometimes played together with friends and family members. Doing entertaining activities together with other people develop not only communicational skills, but also integrating into society. This research destroyed the myth that playing computer games is unsociable activity. It showed that 59% of respondents play with friends, 33% with brothers and sisters and 25% plays even with parents. The survey also described the age of respondents: 28 % are under 18 years old, 30 % are between 18 and 35 and 42 % are over 35 years old. Of the frequent users who play on video game consoles, 42 % are under 18 years old, 37 % are between 18 and 35 years old and 21 % are over 35 years old. The respondents of this survey were also asked about computer games role in social activity and personal communication. 37% enjoyed playing with family and friends, 55% said games are great stress reliever, games are challenging - the opinion of 78%, games provide a lot of entertainment value for the money -think 49% and 39% said that games are engrossing. These kind of survey results are not astonishing very much because playing computer and video games becomes more popular kind of leisure and entertainment than TV. The computer games in education Computer games as interactive story telling also could be used as tool to teach and learn. The researches on education and computers are exclusively based on kids learning problems and solutions. Does it mean that adults do not learn anything and they shouldn’t be taught? Apparently not, but because of lack of researches on adult studying and computer games we have to find out if the same terms could be applied both to adults and kids. A lot of typing, language learning, math etc. software are used by adults (from 18 years old) for learning purposes. It is not clear either results of such kind of software which, usually has a game interface, differ very much or not. That make us believe that kids’ educational computer games can be used by adults in the stage of beginning learning a subject. For example if one want to learn a absolutely new language, let’s say French and doesn’t want to do it in rather old and quite conservative way - from books - the educational computer game can help a lot, even though it is designed for a younger audience . Language learning The children eager to play computer and video games face a very serious problem. English language has been dominant in computer game industry and it is going to remain so. Children who do not know English are excluded from playing and understanding the game, because all cheats, descriptions even introduction movies are in English. Adults face the same problem. For those, who learned another foreign language at school but English, problems are huge not only in playing games, but also surfing the Internet. So they have an akin to learn English. These gamers, who know language substantially also might face the problem of specific terms, used in the game. For example if one want to play flight simulation game, there are a lot of aeronautical terms and not knowing them simply can make the player loose the game. So during every game, one learns more and more English words. No matter if the game is violent of not. Games in military The using of VR (Virtual Reality) technologies in US army has proved to be successful. The soldiers, instead of sitting in real tank, chopper or even jet fighter and wasting money on wide-rage training and simulation of real battle field, now can fight in Virtual Reality. It looks like nice war game. It can seem as fun for these soldiers, who only sit in real size simulator of tank with monitor instead of real window and try to fulfill their mission. These kind systems are very complicated because soldiers doesn’t know either attacking 3D chopper is piloted by their colleagues from air forces or it is just programmed. It creates the sense that somebody can be really killed or at least eliminated from the training mission. This is not the same to play against other people, not senseless computer. VR technologies in military allow to save lots of tax payers money, which could be spent on organizing kind of full training including marine troops, air forces, tanks, ships and even submarines. During such kind of training accidents happen, people get killed, expensive equipment destroyed etc. Naming the benefits adults and children receive from playing computer games is not welcomed in the society where all the fault about brutal killings in the school are given to computer games. Society still is not accepting video and computer games as the main entertainment facility for young people. The same was with rock’n’roll and Internet. People just thought about them as embodiment of evil, but later the situation changed. The main question is about choosing the right form of entertainment. And all discussions of adults about their children playing "wrong" computer games in future will show that it is their problem, the problem of educational system, but not games’ designers and players’ themselves. Psychologists now should concentrate not on endless considerations about TV violence, but try to solve some educational problems by proving that prohibition is not the way children could be protected. Adults still has the possibility of free choice, but sometimes they misuse their possibilities. Maybe in next 20years people will learn how to chose the best for them including food, drinks, clothes, accommodations and even computers and computer and video games.