Video games are becoming a huge component in entertainment and even in life, as hundreds upon thousands of children and adolescents spend any free time available in front of the television. Many adults criticize the video games saying it is a waste of time or that it is rotting their children's brains (Flashback to the 50's and the controversy with the television anyone?). Even President Barack Obama was quoted saying, "With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations, -- none of which I know how to work -- information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation." Obama also claims that, "those video games are raising our kids. Across the board … kids are spending a huge amount of time, not on their studies, but on entertainment" (http://www.gamasutra.com). Is what he says the complete truth though? Yes, kids may be spending a bit too much time playing their games and not enough time doing their homework, but can't some video games actually teach students in a more interactive and entertaining way?
Recently I finished a video game called Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. I played for maybe one or two hours each night after coming home from both school and work to unwind before going to sleep. This game took place in the Cold War and I had to play the part of an American spy that was infiltrating the Soviet Union's weapon base, and trying to save a man that was being tortured until he would create a more disastrous weapon than the atom bomb. Coincidentally, at the time I was playing this game, my classmates and I were learning about the Cold War in history class. I understood the Cold War from the class and text book alone, but there was no emotion or first-person insight involved until I would play this game at night. By placing me right in the middle of the Cold War, Metal Gear Solid 3 helped me understand how tensions arose across both the Soviet Union and America. I finally felt how it would be to distrust your closest comrades, your
leaders, and even your government in fear that they were enemy spies or were setting up a plot that no one could discover -- or else be killed. The game also made me think about a few things that I never had before: American citizens defecting over to the Soviet Union and vice versa, and spies killing other spies of their own kind just so they wouldn't be discovered or appear suspicious by the country they were invading. By playing this game, I realized that the Cold War was a much more frightening and larger ordeal than I had thought when I learned about it through class and textbooks.
I am aware that there are also plenty more educational yet entertaining games out there in the market, and they are not too hard to find. Many games also focus on strategy, which is a great skill for any child to enhance and can help in a variety of life's problems. So, as it turns out, some video games may help children understand their studies MORE than if they just read something out of a text book, or invested their time into playing football. What are some video games you have played recently and how/what did it teach you?
SH, Period 5
