Showing that videogames can be a constructive use of our time is one of the biggest battles we face as a culture of gamers. Everybody knows the age-old argument that gaming’s detractors bring up time and again: “Why sit around playing that videogame when you could be doing something productive with your time?”
This statement is usually met with a derisive eye-roll from gamers. Firstly, how can these people tell us to get up and do something productive and then in the same breath go back to their living rooms and watch reality shows on TV for hours on end? Because of this, the argument stinks of simply judging the latest media output because it’s new. The logic of ‘those pesky millennials are ruining the world’.
Secondly, I would like to address the perversity of the statement itself. Have we really become a society that values work over leisure so much that every hour of our time has to be taken up by what people would call ‘productive’ uses? Modern society has already caused an invasion into our personal and leisure time. We’re working or thinking about work nearly all the time these days. It’s a sad situation that has led to an outbreak mental health issues that have reached pandemic levels. The argument that we should control our downtime so that we’re always working is an unhealthy idea. The human mind is not built to cope with the spiralling pace of modern society, so downtime is vital to recover.
Moreover, I would argue that videogames can be a constructive use of our time. Much like movies, the best videogames are those that make us think and reconsider our critical values. Thinking critically and analysing videogames on a high level could someday be seen as an academic exercise, much like how the analysis of film and book tropes are university subjects today.
Being able to engage our critical minds and apply analysis to the way we interact with media is one of the most under-rated abilities in modern society. We can learn so much more when we analyse not only videogames but all forms of art. In other media, high-level analysis is seen as vital; we don’t just look at paintings because they’re pretty, we look at how the masterfully-executed brush strokes and use of colour can make us feel a wide range of emotions. We don’t just love movies because they’re a fun popcorn pastime, but because the right movies can reveal and discuss human nature beautifully; there is something artful in the way a good movie can make us scream, laugh or cry.
Yet, the idea of videogame critique is looked at with derision. In many ways, interaction with videogames is seen as a ‘low’ form of media. Look at how the mainstream television producers sneer at YouTube Let’s Players. Why would you watch someone playing games? It is strange that such a question would be asked when there is a well-established genre of TV show that focuses purely on ‘riffing’ and commentating on movies, arguably a form of media with less value to watch because there is less of a dynamic situation in movies than in gaming. When playing a videogame, the way you play will be radically different from a critic or a Let’s Player. The situations that you can get into and the way you play can be a story unto itself. With a movie, every scene plays out the same way with every viewing; it is only the analysis of the scene that changes from time to time.
Part of the blame for the current derision that videogame analysis receives today falls on us as gamers. There is a wide culture of shaming and mocking videogame critics, and the flame wars over these activities are terrifyingly brutal, sometimes even leading to doxxing and death threats. If we want gaming culture to be treated with more maturity, it is vital that we as gamers start acting mature. We need to show society at large that we are capable of analysis and thought without devolving into chaos.
We have a long way to go before gaming is seen as a constructive use of our downtime. But we must still work towards that ideal. As modern society continues to push into our personal lives, we need to push back and defend our downtime as a worthy activity. Using videogames to encourage high-level analysis and critical thought is a good thing not only for this, but also because academia for its own sake is a goal worthy of merit. Looking at the alternative forms of media, I think that gaming has a great potential to be a powerful source of thinking and ideas in the future, and as we continue to develop we will see people being more open to the medium’s potential for encouraging critical thought.
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