Are Videogames a Constructive Activity?

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.

Gaming's Moral Panic is Over

Not too long ago, video games were seen as the enemy; Jack Thompson, a fanatic among lawyers, was one loud voice among millions calling for the end of gaming. The hobby was under near-constant attack from media of all political leanings. It was a pretty bad time to be a gamer, especially a teenage gamer. I recall having games taken from me because the latest sensationalist article by The Sun called them evil. Instead of being viewed as a source of learning, development of skills and critical thinking, games were the single worst thing to happen to anybody’s childhood. Ever.

The reasons for this are wide-ranging; America had a gun lobby that was too powerful, which desperately blamed everything but guns for the increasing number of school shootings. Western countries being too stubborn to admit widespread social problems and instead blame those pesky new-fangled gadgets that the kids are all into these days. On top of this, we had the confrontational nature of video game companies that sought to flirt with controversy, deliberately courting the outrage of society in order to get the free marketing that came with those angered news headlines.

However, I like to think that we have turned a corner on video game thinking. Jack Thompson is disbarred as a lawyer and has largely come to be ignored. Criticism on games has now taken the form of affecting social change and better societal representation, instead of calling for games to be banned. More people than ever are engaging with games in some way. The moral panic is over.

Perhaps more incredibly, people are now starting to see games as something positive. Even going so far as to suggest the use of video games as therapy. This Reuters article cites a PLoS ONE study that found the video game EVO to have benefits toward ADHD and sensory disorders. Games are now becoming the opposite of what they used to be. Instead, people are realising the positive impact that a healthy engagement with gaming can have on their lives.

I think this is because, as it became apparent that games are here to stay, people had to become more willing to accept them. I am a member of the camp that widely believes that games are healthy and can be used as great teaching and learning devices, as well as great tools for critical and literary thought; I predict that in the next few decades we will begin to see earnest literary criticism of video games by academics.

By accepting video games into culture, this garnered a more positive relationship with them. Instead of being the rebellious thing to do, playing video games is now fairly normal. As this shift occurred, people were now taken seriously for their thoughts on gaming. Celebrities now count professional gamers and YouTubers among their ranks. Culture has shifted to allow video games into the mainstream, and this in turn allows serious academic thought toward gaming.

I believe that video games will make great therapy tools and in time, gaming will become a serious, well-considered subject of learning. Just like movies, and books before them, serious academic thought will turn to video games, picking them apart and understanding the technique behind the classics. Eventually academic study of this will be viable, and I am all too excited for this to happen. I believe that the inherent nature of video games, being at the crucial centerpoint between many forms of art, lends them to be analysed in artistic thought.

We, of course, need to turn this thinking to the next generation. Kids will be raised on ever-more-complex and engaging video games, and gamers, as prospective parents, need to learn how to teach their kids to engage with gaming in a healthy way. When I have kids, I will be looking to engage with my kids on different video games and use this to encourage critical thought. Ask them to look at why they like certain games more than others. Encouraging critique and encouraging academic thought of any kind is vital to developing a healthy relationship with any media, and is an opportunity that I think has sadly been missed out on to any serious extent when it comes to video games.

Soon, I believe that gaming will be as regarded as movies or books. We will have game buffs, as much as we have film buffs and bookworms. We will be able to think in a more evolved, critical sense of video games, and I believe that once we are capable of such analysis, the medium will reach new levels of maturity. I am totally excited for this and wait eagerly to see what gaming in the future has to offer us. Given where we have been, gaming has passed all of its hurdles and challenges, and now seeks as an industry to become mature and take pride of place among other well-regarded forms of media.