Opinion: Video Games Are The Silver Bullet
[In this in-depth opinion piece, game commentator Duncan Fyfe considers the educational potential of games -- and wonders whether the ardent hype that surrounds certain flagship titles may be a part of that potential.]
What makes learning fun? Check with any demographic that's high school age or younger and the answer will probably be "nothing."
School is where we are introduced to the idea of learning as a regulated process, and it is expressed to us there as a punitive contract.
Often we try to learn because we fear the consequences, not because -- especially not at an early age -- we have a Jeffersonian zeal for knowledge. Rare and precocious are the self-made seven-year-old scholars, and the rest become combative and reluctant when faced with calculus and biology.
The truism we learn the best is that learning is work. That's even the case with ostensibly enjoyable subject matter. Kids are smart, and they sense that To Kill A Mockingbird is really about writing essays and delivering presentations. Put any great work of literature in a class of high school boys and watch it be diminished to to a laughable, pretentious relic. Few can appreciate a classic in that environment.
The problem isn't with the novel or even with the intelligence of the boys. The contract of learning is the problem. In high school, they'll discover way more about chlamydia than they will about Keats. Students are conditioned to approach literature with entirely the wrong mindset.
Allow Learning To Entertain
The trick to enthusiastic learning is the trick. We need to have the right attitude, need to be in the right frame of mind to develop interests in art on its own terms and at our own pace. It's not necessary to instantly attempt a codification of its merits even when the art does not move us to speak.
We grow up viewing classic fiction as homework first and art second. It follows that we like learning best when we don't think we're doing it. We like literature more when there's no studying involved. What better medium for learning, then, than that apotheosis of anti-intellectualism, the video game?
We can learn a lot from games in ways we cannot from more traditional avenues. Simply by virtue of being entertainment, of course, video games automatically bypass defenses against intellectualism. I posit that there is more to it. Certain games are in a position to take advantage of gamer psychology peculiarities and have players happily engage with potentially educational themes. The game's intention is probably not to teach, and the player's intention is certainly not to learn, but it will happen nonetheless.
Educational video games are represented on a broad continuum. Educational and Serious games, those that are exclusive to school computers, are one thing. Mass market puzzles like Brain Age and Typing of the Dead are one more. Another thing entirely is high-profile, sophisticated games like BioShock, Metal Gear Solid 4, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
Clearly, they do not explore their political and philosophical themes -- objectivism, the war economy, the Middle East conflict -- at any level deep enough to substitute the video game for a university education or even the introductory paragraph of a Wikipedia article. They are not academics, nor comprehensive, nor credible.
Graduates will boast that their college professors were Cornel West, John Rawls and Michael Abbott; no one will cite BioShock, PhD on his thesis. Compared to video games like Big Brain Academy and Darfur is Dying, however, BioShock and Metal Gear Solid have the potential to be better teachers.
They have a captive audience. At present, the psychological climate of gamers is both frightening and alluring, but it is, amongst other things, the right mindset.
Capitalize On Hype Catalysts
Video games are an exceptionally diverse medium, but they suffer from a dearth of creativity within sub-strata. If one likes the fundamental gameplay model of an RPG, they'd better learn to to like fantasy and science fiction, because that's all they have. If one likes the visceral action of a shooter, they'd better learn to like World War II and... science fiction. If one has only a PlayStation 3 for gaming, they'd better learn to like Resistance and Ratchet & Clank.
No one bought Metal Gear Solid 4 solely for Hideo Kojima's unique treatise on private military corporations and the war economy, but a lot of people bought it because it was a major title for the only console they own, and were looking to validate that original purchase. When Metal Gear Solid is the only game in town, the player is going to get very well acquainted with it.
More still bought it because they were invested, via message board proxy wars, in the financial success of the PS3 platform. Metal Gear Solid 4, as a major exclusive title for a console which attracts relatively few major exclusives, evoked a great protective fervor in its audience that it would have done had it appeared simultaneously on Xbox 360, PC, Wii, DS, PS2, PSP, the iPhone, and the N-Gage. Or if there were a dozen other titles releasing at the same time -- on any platform -- with comparable levels of production, positive hype and potential for high sales.
BioShock and Call of Duty were not exclusives but, as triple-A titles, they reached such a critical mass of excitement and press that guaranteed their voice would be heard, as hardcore gamers had to play them to stay in the loop.
1UP.com's Shawn Elliott wondered recently why Monolith's Project Origin generates less hype than Guerilla Games' Killzone 2, when Monolith has the better track record with F.E.A.R. and Condemned, more to show of Project Origin itself, and no major PR blunder like Killzone 2's "possibly real" pre-rendered footage at E3 2005.
The disproportionate levels of enthusiasm are because Project Origin is coming to the 360, the PS3 and the PC. Neither it, nor F.E.A.R. before it are able to inspire the zealotry associated with flagship titles for the Sony consoles, which the Killzone series can enjoy. Killzone 2 has a dedicated audience that Project Origin doesn't, and so it has a chance -- that it shouldn't waste but probably will -- to talk about something important, to teach.
Guerilla, Kojima, 2K and Infinity Ward have gamers right where a teacher would die to have them. Gamers in the console war mentality are fastidious, enamored and strangely protective of their subject matter, and hyper-attentive to every detail in every screenshot, press release, and NPD chart. They're primed to absorb information.
These developers, of course, don't have a teacher's benevolence, and if their students are learning anything practical, it's because they're being manipulated. They won't, however, be any less engaged. This is condescending. Yet gamers are far more amenable learning about private military corporations when the source is a crazy anime about clones and nanotech rather than an international relations class they don't want to be in.
A Time magazine article on Mark Twain had Yale law professor Stephen E. Carter observing that "Twain melded his attacks on slavery and prejudice into tales that were on the surface about something else entirely. He drew his readers into the argument by drawing them into the story." BioShock does the same thing. Twain's intellectual subversion, however, is rendered inert when his books become part of the classroom.
We're not in a classroom. We're in an arena of spectacle, and while we bemoan all the fanboy bullshit, the hype, the perfect scores, the jaw-dropping graphics, all these little things that are so symptomatic of the race to the bottom, they are still what secures our attention, and that's the first step.
Imagine if that compulsiveness and fanaticism ever translated to those high school English students, who'd form an appreciation society around Huckleberry Finn, ready to defend it to the death. Developers have never had a better opportunity to found their game on real-world subtext. At the moment we don't see the mainstream video game as preachy, or work, or a lecture, and so we will listen.
This is the same phenomenon which spontaneously ignites in three million gamers an interest in fitness. Is Wii Fit attracting fitness buffs, or gamers interested mostly in the Wii, and with gaming trends? Thomas Jefferson would have read all the airport thrillers he could have got his hands on if only they had existed.
Let The Game Sell The Message
Narrative-heavy video games are almost exclusively airport thrillers. Some of those airport thrillers, though, like Metal Gear Solid, like BioShock, like Call of Duty, touch upon serious issues, perhaps introducing the very concepts to a certain fraction of their audience. These games are not didactic -- they're entertainment, first and foremost -- but, at their best, serve as the preamble to an appendix of further recommended reading.
Call of Duty 4, however subliminally, can make gamers more interested than they previously had been in the current Middle East situation, and from Call of Duty it's George Packer and Thomas Ricks and Seymour Hersh, and from there it's so much closer to actually doing something about it in the real world.
Call of Duty is not a history lesson. It doesn't need to be; in fact it needs to be so little. All it has to be is that fleeting spark that lights the fire. To be sure, it will sound bizarre to remark some day, while shaking hands in the White House, that this was all made possible by Call of Duty 4, that renowned catalyst for positive social change.
Yet why should the indignity in that statement matter to anyone? Surely the ends justify the means. Video games can be gateways to higher learning. Is it idealistic? Sure. But the base repudiation of idealism is so often used as a shield against saying anything interesting. Anti-idealism is what keeps triple-A games generic, and the reversal of that trend should already be a good enough target.
Compare the social value of these games to that of Halo or Oblivion. They're just as entertaining, but they are not relevant to any humanitarian or political discussion, and are certainly not literary. The Wire and The West Wing will not reform government but they will challenge and galvanize their viewers.
Now imagine if The Wire was one of five titles available for Blu-Ray at launch and how much larger a pulpit it would have. Blacksite: Area 51 had something provocative to say, but unfortunately for Midway and designer Harvey Smith, it wasn't an exclusive nor did it have the promotion or production of BioShock. Blacksite was marketed on its message (at least by Smith, and to a greater degree than Call of Duty or Metal Gear Solid) and that selling point was evidently not as exciting to gamers.
The game, commendably, still said what Smith wanted it to, but it never reached the audience it could have, because subtext doesn't sell. It's the blood and the psychic abilities that draw gamers in. Sometimes teaching is like a magic trick. You need to hide the blackboard.
We still see video games, the commercial blockbusters, as entertainment first and art second. One can read as much into the philosophy of BioShock as they like, but it can still be experienced as just a fun shooter. In this narrow historical window, video games can make learning fun. They can be a podium for developers to share with gamers their ideologies; their interests; their bookcases.
Shakespeare and Milton quotes read as superficial gravitas through overuse, but Deus Ex's inclusion of passages by the less-ubiquitous G.K. Chesterton surely spurred players to investigate Chesterton's body of work. That's the reaction that video games can shoot for but so rarely do.
Talk To Us
It's not all about saving the world. We can still discover things like objectivism, Chesterton and BMI through video games. With the second Guitar Hero, Harmonix, then holding a monopoly on the franchise, had the chance to include whatever music they wanted, lesser-known bands that without Guitar Hero would never have drawn a massive audience of video game players. The tracklist could have been limited entirely to early-eighties post-punk because maybe that was what the developer happened to like.
Even if gamers didn't think they would be interested in the music, they would buy it anyway because it was the only new Guitar Hero they had. They may have found in Mission of Burma or The Fall something that they liked, and have Guitar Hero to thank. Now, the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises are bloated and overexposed, and gamers might as well pick a SKU based on what bands they recognize, and never discover anything new.
In time, this will happen to video games at every level. There will be twenty games that look like BioShock and gamers will choose the one with the best graphics and AI over the one that is sort of a consideration of philosophy and society. Which is why it's important to act now.
This is a call to developers. Ken Levine cared about objectivism and he said so. What moves you outside of games? What matters so much to you, but because you make shooters instead of social policy or literary journals, you never thought you the audience were receptive? Rock music? Mark Twain? Calculus? We're listening. Talk to us.
Comments
I agree, why fight what kids are doing instead of embracing it as a delivery mechanism for educational content. There are some gaming sites that are trying to do that. You can find them at ramo games and educational gaming directory.
http://ramogames.com/index.php
Posted by: ash | August 8, 2008 11:21 PM
You can get paid to play games and tell the developers what they think of the video games. The great thing is that you get to keep the video games you test. So, why would developers pay video gamers to test video games. Video game developers sink millions of dollars into their video games and releasing a video game with bugs or a game that no one will play or return could cost them a lot of money.
Posted by: Bency | August 9, 2008 10:17 AM
Agreed.
Posted by: Cahya | August 9, 2008 11:38 AM
Video games do provide a vast spectrum of knowledge that can be surprisingly accurate. The Medal of Honor and other war simulated games allow a young person to become involved in history while learning from the narratives, mission objectives, etc. But - what is the danger in turning the education of young minds over to a platform that is not an expert in education or the content? It certainly is a medium that can help us reach students, especially those with little motivation; however, we still need to enstill the fundamental principles of education. Jobs in the real world will not have a video game to explain every little detail. Real jobs require attentiveness, diligence, and skills that can only be shaped and reinforced in an educational setting.
Posted by: John G. | October 7, 2008 7:44 AM
Video games can teach lessons or morals to some people. I think its more of what the video gamer decides to take away from the video game. Some people play games just to be playing them and they don't want to look any deeper into them than that, but then you have other people that play them then step back for a second and look for something to learn. So to me its all a matter of who you are and how you view things in life.
Posted by: Carrie | October 7, 2008 12:34 PM
I think that teens can learn good and bad lessons from playing video games. If a teenager plays a video game with violence and bad language in it, he or she might follow its example. If a teenager plays a video game that is educational or has good moral lessons in it, then he or she might take something good from the game. Playing video games isn't necessarily a bad thing. Some teens look into video games very differently than others. I think that it is all up to the gamer whether they learn something good or bad from playing a video game.It depends on their attitude.
Posted by: Allie | October 7, 2008 2:34 PM
Anyone can argue the point that video games are a waste of time and simply destructive to the minds and bodies of todays average teenager. But I believe that if you look deeper into the point you're trying to argue, no matter what situation, you'll find a deeper meaning to the point and maybe even see things from a different point of view. That's how it was for me when I began to think about video games and the effects they have on the population. At first, I took the obvious position and said that video games had a negative impact on teengers and children. But after truly thinking about it and reading more information about the subject, I realize that my thoughts and opinion were completely stereotypical and single minded. I now believe that no matter what anyone says, a video game is simply that; just a video game. I don't think that video games have the power and ability to negatively effect teenagers and children. I believe that if kids are being negatively effected by the games, it's their own fault. In my oppinion a simple game, no matter how much violence and profain words it may be filled with, it does not have the power to make a child bring a gun to school. A video game doesn't have the ability to make a child take the violence they see in a game and use it on real people. Maybe people who form those kind of opinions should stop thinking kids are so innocent and wide eyed, and realize that they have the power to make some of their own choices. If a petty video game has an impact on a childs choice, then maybe they have no business playing the game.
Posted by: ally with a | October 7, 2008 3:10 PM
Video games can be negative and positive. If you are accustomed to violent video games your going to be more accustomed to violence in reality, you might feel the need to act out these fantasy situations with real people. There are also possibilities that you can gain friendships from video games. You are able to compare video games and opinions with people and become friends with them. Saying that video games are all bad is just and opinion and saying they are all good is a lie. It just depends on whether or not you can make the right judgment at the right times.
Posted by: Colleen | October 7, 2008 3:10 PM
Video games have pros and cons. One of the main cons is
the effect that games have on school. The games these days can be very distracting and keep many kids from achieving there full potential in school. I know its there own choice but when a teenager stays up until after midnight playing video games then there school will most likely suffer. They will not pay attention during class and not be able to do there homework when they get home due to this. Soon they will start falling behind and it all goes downhill from there.
Posted by: tyler | October 7, 2008 5:12 PM
I agree, there is a postive and a negative way to look at Video games.A postive outlook on video games is that certain types such as The Medal of Honor can allow teenagers to learn about history while being entertained.Video games can also have an advantege of interacting with people from all over the world. The negative outlook is if a kid goes to school and is unable to focus on their school work because they are too involved in a video game. If a kid chooses to play video games for hours and hours rather then spending time with family or helping in their community then chances are they will have trouble later on in life.
Posted by: brittany | October 7, 2008 5:41 PM
I believe that video games can be both positive and negative it just depends on who the person is and how they look at things.A person with a positive out look on video games would say that there are many video games that are educational and you could learn many things from them while you are doing something that intersts you..for example the Leap Frog game can teach many little kids lots of things from their ABC's to 123's. On the other hand people who have a negative out look on video games they would say that it is a waste of time and will do nothing but lose children's concentration in school and any other extra activities.Another negative fact is that there are some violence games that kids like to play and some would see them acted on the video games and go back and react those things in reality.
Posted by: shelly | October 7, 2008 6:25 PM
In agreement with Duncan Fyfe, I believe some video games are beneficial to a child's education. Approximatley twenty million American children have been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). This disorder makes learning more difficult for children in school. Educational video games offer an alternative hands-on learning method. Technology has made a significant impact on the way children and teenagers acquire academic knowledge. Although video games are a valid method of teaching, they should not take the place of reading a book, writting a paper, ect. An excess of playing video games may cause a student to percieve normal learning habits such as studying, reading and writting as boring and monotonous.
Posted by: Cameron | October 7, 2008 7:08 PM
In agreement with Duncan Fyfe, I believe some video games are beneficial to a child's education. Approximatley twenty million American children have been diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). This disorder makes learning more difficult for children in school. Educational video games offer an alternative hands-on learning method. Technology has made a significant impact on the way children and teenagers acquire academic knowledge. Although video games are a valid method of teaching, they should not take the place of reading a book, writting a paper, ect. An excess of playing video games may cause a student to percieve normal learning habits such as studying, reading and writting as boring and monotonous.
Posted by: Cameron | October 7, 2008 7:08 PM
I agree mostly with Ash on this one of many topics. Since gaming companies have the attention of so many kids. They should make more of there games educational for the child's benefit. Which some but not all are doing.
Posted by: Travion | October 8, 2008 3:25 AM
I believe video games have positive and negative effects. Just like the saying,"To much of a good thing is a bad thing," video games, if played for hours on end can be a bad thing. They are helpful to people who are using them for educational or rehabilitaionaly purposes. Video games can also take away from a child's education. Often times teenagers and children neglect their school work to play video games for hours and hours. Another negative effect is that childern eat unhealthy due to video games. Children choose to eat junk food while playing video games instead of making healthy eating choices. Children who play video games often become obese because of their lack of healthy food choices.
Posted by: Jessica | October 8, 2008 4:54 AM
Personally, I think video games could be either positive or negative to a person's life. It really all depends on what that person in particular makes of it. Yes, I think some children may take it a little overboard and let video games consume way too much of their time, and I think some children get lazy because that's all they ever do. However, if video games don't consume their time they will find something else to consume their time and who knows what that could be. If they realize they are playing too much video games rather than schoolwork, that could be a problem or negative effect. However, if video games is the one thing keeping them away from doing something stupid, perhaps drugs or getting involved with the wrong crowd, then we could argue that video games is a positive thing. When it all comes down to it though, in agreement with ally...with an a, video games aren't the reason for violence, addictions, obesity or any of this other nonsense people like to say it causes. People say that about anything that children like to do. A certain type of behavior depends on the person themselves. Although in a way, not trying to contradict myself, but I also agree with Colleen in saying that if you're accustomed to violence on video games you're more likely to be accustomed to it in reality. Also, as mentioned before, other types of video games can actually help you learn. So by saying that I think it may be better and people would have a more positive outlook if more "educational" video games were produced.
Posted by: Tressa | October 8, 2008 1:39 PM
I agree with most of the comments that have said that video games can have positive and negative effects on a person. I do think that video games can be educational and that children and teenagers can learn from them. I also think video games can be helpful to injured patients. Like the Wii for example, I think that it can help patients regain their strength. I also think that their are many video games that have negative effects, such as the games that have large amounts of violence in them. There are many teenagers that could play these games and be influenced by the violence of these games. Which could lead to dangerous instances in schools. Which I this all depends on the person playing the game. For example, if you are a person who is influenced or peer pressured easily then I think that you would be more likely to be violent or aggressive in reality. Also I think that playing video games could lead to decrease in school performance, because if you play video games all the time then that means you are decreasing the time for homework and studying. I also think that this negative effect depends on the person also. If you are the person who could set limits on the time you play the games then you might not see a drop in your grades. There are many negative effects such as violence, obesity, and poor school performances but I think it all depends on the type of person you are and the limits you can set for yourself. So I would not try to focus on all the negative effects that video games can have, I would take in consideration the type of person you are and that video games can be educational and challenging entertainment.
Posted by: Katlyn | October 9, 2008 5:53 PM
There are goods and bads about video games. Cildren would spend most of there time playing video games. On the other hand the educational games would help the person playng it with school. The people that play these video games can learn so much if it has a historical background. Some of the games influence some children to do what they see, in a bad way. The negatives of videogames cause problems in their life away from those games. Video games take timefrom the real important things u could be doing. The children become couch potatos and become less aware of important things than games.
Posted by: jacob | October 9, 2008 7:38 PM
Students could either benefit or be hurt from video games. The students that only play entertainment video games will not benefit any, all they do is sit infront of a t.v. and retain which buttons to shoot or run with, or in the worst case, develop a violent nature in and out of school. On the other hand students who use educational video games can benefit from an interesting lesson, and retain what they have been presented with. For example spanish games or even math games that have interesting examples, on the students' tests they will go back to that game and remember what they have been taught.
Posted by: Kelby | October 16, 2008 9:42 AM
Children these days play video games a lot. If we could incorporate video games into education that would be great but it's going to be a big challenge for the gaming industry.
Posted by: thomas | June 17, 2009 1:24 PM
Games are positive because its a way to have fun without going outside for some kids. Some kids can't go outside everyday, what can they do in the house besides watch tv. A game comes in handy then. Some adults parents ETC... say that some games are to violent, but the games just show a part of what really happens in life or something that you'll get to know with or withtout a game. video games are violent, educational, influencing, everything, i say if you dont like them dont play them.
Posted by: Tevin Green | November 3, 2009 5:43 AM
video games have negative affects by, example if a kid stay up from the time he get home until the next day of school that can damage his brain. But on the other hand a positve affect on video games is for toddlers and preschoolers, like leap frog can help toddlers with their abc and numbers.
Posted by: Prince Octavius A | November 3, 2009 5:48 AM
Students can really benifit from video games. Video games are a good way for students to learn about diffrent subjects. It was said that the best way for a student to learn is if they dont think they're doing it. So things like war games,football games there all helpfull in some way. War games help with history,football helps with concentration. Overall games do help young developing minds become stronger.
Posted by: rouse | November 3, 2009 5:50 AM
Video games have a postive way for learning. Leapfog is a children learning game that helps kids to do math and reading.
Posted by: Dante M | November 3, 2009 5:52 AM
video games are very good not all games are the sliver bullet some game are made for learing such as the game vtech which is a game that is made to help kids learn thier abc and thier math my brother had ther vtech and now he is one of the best students in his class you could say all day that video games are bad but that is not always ture it iis all in what type game you play yes i agree that some games are bad but not all opf them and that is where i stand on the topic and that is what i have to say
Posted by: Travis | November 3, 2009 5:54 AM
There are a lot of video games in this country; you just can't criticize the bad games. What about V-tech ,leap frog, and fisher price it helps kids to learn their numbers and letters .Wii, Ps3 , and Xbox 360 have educational games as well ,trivia games is the most common .My family and I play trivia games on the ps3 about history ,math or English. Therefore you shouldn't just be talking about the negative, because there's positive as well.
Posted by: bison jones | November 3, 2009 5:55 AM
There are a lot of video games in this country; you just can't criticize the bad games. What about V-tech ,leap frog, and fisher price it helps kids to learn their numbers and letters .Wii, Ps3 , and Xbox 360 have educational games as well ,trivia games is the most common .My family and I play trivia games on the ps3 about history ,math or English. Therefore you shouldn't just be talking about the negative, because there's positive as well.
Posted by: bison jones | November 3, 2009 5:57 AM
Video games have positive and negative effects. The positives are that they show creativity by making games that can help a person physically like the Wii as an example.
Posted by: Gregory B | November 3, 2009 5:58 AM
I think video games have a negetive and positve effect on children and young adults. I myself hav3e had some bad expericances with games myself for example. I played them for minutes and hours at a time. This got my behind in my classes and activities. In about a month of playing games, my grades dramaticlly dropped and I didn't know anything in my classes. The cause4 of this was video games. On the other hand I've seen the positive side too. For example my little neice, who is startintg kindergarden hads a a video game called Learfrog. This is a educational game that helps her withe her numbers and numbers. She plays it all the time and I noticed that her grades improved and she has a A+ in all her classes. This aguement goes both ways.
Posted by: Amanda G | November 3, 2009 6:00 AM
I feel Like there are games that are positive to people like Guitar Hero. Guitar hero gives most of its players a desire to want to use an actual guitar and produce music. Eventhough, there are many games that influence some to preform outlandish acts, others could possibly obtain a new interest.
Posted by: Raziel Herrera | November 3, 2009 7:33 AM
I think there are Video games that are positive and some that are negative. For instance Grand Theft Auto that is a negative and violent game. I feel kids 14 or under shouldn't play that because they might think thats what they have to do to surive in life. And another game is Def Jam Icon that has alot of cursring and fighting and kids dont need to play that. A positive game is Gutiar Hero because if you want to make music when you get older you can play that game. Like myself i want to make music when i get older so i play Gutiar Hero because it shows me how to use a Gutiar. And The Sims is positive because it shows you how life is gonna be on your own. And it shows you what to do and not to do in life.
Posted by: DeCarlos M | November 3, 2009 7:43 AM
viodo games can be a negative and a positve thing. voido games are a nigative thing because they teach peopple how shot,kill,rubb,and say things dont dont need to be said.some positve ways are that they have some games that teach you how to read,math,and splee.
Posted by: Breanna F | November 4, 2009 4:44 AM
viodo games can be a negative and a positve thing. voido games are a nigative thing because they teach peopple how shot,kill,rubb,and say things dont dont need to be said.some positve ways are that they have some games that teach you how to read,math,and splee.
Posted by: Breanna F | November 4, 2009 4:45 AM
In my opinion, video games are negative and harmful.
The reason I say that is because they take up all of your time that you could be using for other things. One example I have are my two little sisters. THey both have Nintendo DSI's, and they play them non stop. My mother made a statment saying if anyone of us made anything lower than a C she was going to take away our electronic devices. One of my little sisters made a D on their report card, and my moter took her DSI away. So Therefore, video games have a neagative effect on students.
Posted by: Kristyn Richardson | November 4, 2009 4:49 AM
I think video games are positive such as leap frog and v-tech. These game systems where design to teach younger kids things they would learn in school, for example my little brother owns a v-tech he played the gmae system every day leading up to his first day of school; then he went to school came home and told me how the v-tech told taught him things that he learned in school. another game system is the Nitendo Wii this game system is popular among senior citizens because, the Wii keeps them active and is a great excrise game system. So whether its a leap frog, v-tech, or Nitendo Wii tese are the game systems that make a good name for technology.
Posted by: King Jai A. | November 4, 2009 4:53 AM