Video Games Can Be Good For You
“Video games are bad for you? That’s what they said about Rock n Roll.”- Shigeru Miyamoto
Screen time, technology, and video games are polarizing topics in the 21st century.
Kids are using computers and phones younger and younger. At first, it was embraced and seen as impressive when a kid could rip around grandma’s computer and show her how to use it. But it’s slowly become a shameful thing if kids are too good. The reality for these digital natives is that they don’t know a world without smartphones or 4k definition.
We can’t fault them for wanting to be pro gamers when they regularly see eSports superstars like GarrettG and SquishyMuffinz earning over $140,000 last year to play Rocket League. Which is loose couch change compared to the top 5 Dota 2 players who all earned $3.7 million in 2021 alone. Most parents wouldn’t be irritated with their kid if they were practicing basketball or chess because they wanted to be a pro someday. And yes, I know…just like with any sport or game not everyone can be a pro. But that doesn't stop Average Joe from joining the local softball league, or Average Jane from the Monday Night Bowling League.
My point is, just keep an open mind while you read the rest of this, okay? Video games have plenty of benefits that go way beyond financial gains and escaping to fantasy worlds.
I’ve played video games my whole life.
We were fairly late to the Nintendo party when I was a kid but we eventually got one. And you know who played it the most? My parents.
I remember many nights hearing the Mario Brothers theme song doot, doot, doing away while I went to sleep. If my mom or dad was Mario? Forget it. They got so good at the game they stopped using any sort of shortcuts and they’d just run through the 32 levels.
I’d spend almost every Friday night at my friend's house and we’d play Tecmo Super Bowl while downing Pepsi and Sour Cream and Onion chips. To this day the taste of Pepsi brings me back to that basement.
We relived the 1991 NFL season an uncountable number of times through that game. And probably went through every “what if” scenario there was. We played it up until we graduated in 2000.
Ask any guy 35 to 45 years old about the zig-zag and watch them light up.
We also got these handheld LCD screen games for Christmas. If you're not familiar, it's a tiny screen with simple, terrible graphics where you had limited options on what you could or couldn’t do.
And to be honest, I would love to get my hands on one for nostalgia's sake.
Double Dragon and Days of Thunder were favorites in our house. In between the hardcore Mario sessions, my mom in particular would make sure she always had the high score on either game.
But video games changed in the mid-90s when Sony came out with the Playstation. Gone were the 8 and 16-bit games. Granted by today's standards the original Playstations graphics are laughable. But we didn't know that back then.
My best friend first introduced me to Playstation after a game of HORSE in his driveway. I remember this moment like it was yesterday.
“Hey, wanna check out my PlayStation?” he asked.
“What's a Playstation?” I naively asked thinking it was a little play area that little kids used.
I truly feel like this was a pivotal moment in my life.
I fell in love with gaming.
At the time, and even now, I hated the word “gamer”. That always conjured up images of the greasy weirdo in his mom's basement lost in a fantasy land of monsters and potions. He was on quests with pointy-eared fairies and didn’t have a real life.
We played Gran Turismo and Medal of Honor all night and into the morning. And if we weren’t playing those we were on the N64 playing GoldenEye.
That nine-letter word is all it takes to shake an elder millennial’s video game soul. It’s so powerful it should almost just be whispered **GoldenEye**.
Anyway, before I get lost in too much nostalgia I’m here to talk about why video games aren’t all bad.
Of course, these are just my opinions and I do agree there is probably a limit, but that’s not for me to set.
I see games as a learning tool.
Sometimes a game will inspire me to learn more about a subject, and sometimes a subject will have me seek out a game to understand it more.
It’s no secret I’m a race fan. And being able to use racing games (or sims) help me feel closer to my interest. This might be part of ADHD hyperfocus, I’m not really sure. One of my current go-to’s in the rotation is Formula One. The F1 Game has won awards for its realism. The game helps explain the technology and the nuances of the sport. They use a complex hybrid power unit that combines an internal combustion engine with an electric motor and an electric regeneration system to put power back into the batteries for the electric motor. The game helps explain not only how that works but how the driver deploys the extra power from the electric motor and when its best used.
It puts me in the virtual driver's seat and lets me see what they see, and use the technology they use.
As a kid I loved football. And I am old enough to say I played one of the first Madden Football games.
It was literally just called John Madden Football for Sega Genesis. That game, much like the legendary Tecmo Super Bowl let me experience football all year round, on my terms. Many many years later I started looking at football more scientifically and wanted to learn the technicalities of defenses and just how certain offenses worked so I dove deeper into Madden and actually read books on different types of offenses, and learned about the coaches that developed them into the modern game. This was a case of my interest seeking a game, and the game piqued my curiosity to learn more about my interest. And overall it made both the game and the sport more enjoyable.
A few years back I found a cheap WW2 fighter plane game.
It centered around the Flying Tigers. And for everything I know about WW2, I didn't know much about the legendary Flying Tigers.
I instantly took an interest because of the story the game told and started seeking out more information. It’s opened a new interest for me that I continue to fill when I have the chance. I even joined a group on Facebook that many of the Tiger’s children and grandchildren are a part of that fondly share old pictures and stories from their dad or grandpa’s adventures in the skies over China.
To me, games are a bridge to knowledge. If I can get closer to my hobbies or learn more about a topic that wouldn’t normally catch my eye, it’s worth something.
Another way I use games is to connect with people I don’t get to see very often.
I recently started playing golf online with a friend of mine that moved to the east coast. We used to actually golf together and found this is still a way we can play a round or two even with several states between us. We’re going to save an ass load on greens fees and new clubs. While also still getting to shoot the shit without having to go searching for our ball lost in the rhubarb patch.
Plus the weather will never affect our tee time again, and our relatively short golf season in Wisconsin doesn’t have to end.
Some people may use games as an escape.
And I think that's ok.
There are days when I need a “reset” and I just want to race a couple of laps to blow off some steam, or maybe life feels a little too chaotic. I’ve found when I really need to slow my world down for a hot minute I’ll play a rally game.
Not to get too deep into it, but rally racing is a form of racing where you try to drive from point A to point B as fast as possible. It’s not on a track so everything you see is new and different.
To get through the stages fast you have to listen to your co-driver telling what's coming.
The corners are either left or right, but they have a number, one through six, attached to them. One is a sharp corner and six is barely a bend, then there are hairpins, and square turns too. There will be other calls as well such as cut or don't cut the corner, watch out for x, jump, etc.
The magic of this game is the amount of focus I need to have.
When my mind feels all over the place this is the perfect CTRL+ALT+DEL.
I get tunnel vision and listen to the co-driver rapid-fire directions at me; “left 1 followed by right 3 tightens, right 4 don’t cut into left hairpin”. All I can do is focus on that. And at the end of the stage, which lasts about 5-10 minutes I feel good again and my mind is back on track.
I do understand that this could also be extremely anxiety-inducing for some folks. It’s definitely not for everyone.
Games aren’t all bad and can be a healthy way to unwind.
Is there a limit? Regardless of what science says, it's really up to the individual.
I know my personal limits and rarely reach them.
If I do, I just stop.
Sometimes it helps to set a timer because it is very easy to lose track of time when you’re doing something you love. The 45/15 rule is a personal favorite when I want to game but have actual responsibilities.
Take a break every 45 minutes to clean or do whatever for 15 minutes. At the end of the 15 minutes stop whatever you’re doing and play for another 45. Repeat until satisfied.
It’s a fun way to break up game-time, or should I say cleaning time?
I’ll leave you with two bits of wisdom.
First, do more of what makes you happy. As long as you’re not already a selfish jerk, take some time for yourself.
And second, but probably most importantly; blame it on the lag.