Video Games

Video games to me are a way of clearing my mind of whatever negative words, thoughts or feelings that I've had throughout the day without vehemently lashing out in a fit of rage. Being able to tune out my surroundings if only for mere minutes is that sole release I need in order to trudge through the rest of my day without wanting to kick a puppy. I know it sounds counterintuitive, for myself at least. I play a specific genre of games commonly known as fighting games. Ultimate Marvel Versus Capcom 3, Street Fighter IV AE, Tekken 6 BR, all of those games to me are the equivalent of taking Tylenol or Aspirin when you've got a headache. All people see when they watch these games are ways and methods of teaching your child to become violent or some lesser form of, "How to Teach Your Kids How to Become Violent Deliquents." What I see are tactics, strategy, reflexes and skill all wrapped up into minute long bouts to the finish.

I'm here to argue that video games don't make you violent and they aren't a complete waste of time.

I mean, I get it. Video games nowadays are all about shooting, killing, maiming, spattering and all that gory stuff. I get where people are coming from. It's hard to overlook all that stuff. BUT, that doesn't mean that it's telling us to go out and do anything of those things. I don't see people running around with plasma swords attempting to slice up every human in sight, nor do I see kids attempting to (actually) fire balls of kinetic energy from their hands. We, as gamers, get that this stuff is fake. We don't get respawns in real life. We can't get killstreaks in real life. We don't get violent because of video games. For that, I'll delve back into my area of expertise.

Fighting games may not have any direct application to real life, but it doesn't mean that you can't apply certain aspects of it to what you're learning. In fighting games, you watch your opponent, react with appropriate countermeasures, and if you're execution is off, you won't end up on the right side of the fight. This can easily be applied to the business world. Similar to upcoming businesses in an new industry, companies need to establish initial strategies in order to build enough market share so that they can maintain their company. By watching their opponents and making sure their execution is done without errors, they are setting the groundwork for an 'attack' to either knock their competitors out or to place themselves in a position where they cannot fail. The fighting game equivalent would be winning.

The last example was shoddy. It was kind of meant to be. Generally when I try to explain that argument to people, I'm met with, "You're just saying that. People don't think like that when they're playing video games. They're just thinking about the video game." My response is normally, "No, they probably don't." Of course we don't directly apply real world applications when we're playing video games. We're having fun. We're ignoring the hazards and obligations of life for a little bit. But that also means that we're not really thinking about anything other than the video game. I don't know if you've noticed, but when people play video games, they get really into the game. Should you even walk within peripheral vision of a person playing Dance Dance Revolution, they are more likely to miss arrows than if no one was crossing their vision. As a person who has played DDR for a long time (eight years and counting), I can attest to this. What does that have to do with video games with actual violence? People perceive gamers who play video games with almost every disregard to the outside world as form of immersing themselves in the violence. To me, that is completely and utterly wrong. They're trying to win so they're shutting out all the distractions to put their full effort into the game. They're not trying to become violent. They're just trying to win.

Now, what does that last paragraph have to do with video games not being a waste of time? As I mentioned in the beginning paragraph, video games may not have any direct skill takeaways (I sadly do not dance better because of DDR), but there are parallels that can be drawn from them. My earlier connection because fighting games and business strategy being one of my examples. My other example is Pokemon. By constructing a team of 6 Pokemon that not only support and work well with each other, but possess certain roles and skill sets, to battle and defeat another opponent whose team is unknown to you. Replace Pokemon with something like "cross-functional team" and the last clause with, "collaborate with one another to plan and execute a strategy that will increase revenue and sales in the next fiscal year." Strange how that works.

I'm not saying that video games will probably make you lazier, but that doesn't mean that they're bad or that they're inherently violent. I'm just saying give them a chance and see what they're about before you pass righteous judgement.