Games Making a Difference.
Games Making a Difference.
Games Making a Difference.
By Maxwell Maynard
December 09, 2014
Summary
While at times, games have been criticized as sin and equated to doing nothing, games can have a huge impact upon culture in a multitude of ways.
While beliefs concerning games and their worth have varied over their entire existence, the conclusion today by game scholars is that games can teach players all manner of things.
War games developed both as a recreational toy and as a tactics training mechanism for soldiers, and board games in general, at least the more compelling ones, are so popular because, "They are more than just simple fun. They teach and tell stories."
The immersion allowed by games vastly enhances player experience, to the point where the player can come to realizations about themselves as a direct result of the game, or feel something that they never thought they would get the chance to.
Even more, the game is free to play, but any proceeds made from donations to the developers for making the game are sent to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
Tracey Fullerman summarizes these points quite succinctly in her text Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games : "Play has many faces: It helps us learn skills and acquire knowledge, it lets us socialize, it assists us in problem solving, it allows us to relax, and it makes us see things differently." She also goes on to discuss the tools game designers have at their disposal and how they can be used to "Elicit powerful emotional reactions from players.... the media palette of game design has grown to rival film and television, in general, the emotional impact of games still has not achieved the depths it is capable of and that will make it recognized as an important dramatic art form."
Although not everyone might be willing to try such graphic and evocative games as The Last of Us or Heavy Rain where players are put into realistic scenarios and faced with heavy emotional burdens, games like Journey can show that they are more than just recreation; what's more, games can even be used to treat real problems that people face.
Reference
Maynard, M. (2014, December 09). Games making a difference. Retrieved October 30, 2021, from https://www.gamedeveloper.com/disciplines/games-making-a-difference-