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Video Games Are More Than Entertainment

When video games were first introduced to the world, they were used for entertainment

purposes only. Over the years, scientists and the players themselves have begun to find more

uses for video games. Video games are revolutionizing the world by not only entertaining, but

also helping in the medicinal world, helping in the military, helping with sports, and even

educating the player.

One of the many ways video games have began to help instead of entertain is in the

medical world. Doctors and many rehabilitation clinics have begun to use video games to help

treat their patients virtually. Game developers have created games that have the player practice

medicinal methods such as surgery so that a surgeon could practice without the risk.

Rehabilitation clinics use video games to assist with their patients needs. Some clinics use

games for long-term therapy, to help recover from carpal tunnel surgery, overcome phobias,

manage PTSD in Iraq veterans, help boxers who suffered brain hemorrhaging, and many other

rehabilitating programs. To address the patients' needs, customized games are created that are

adapted to the patient's capabilities. More clinicians are willing to adopt these methods on the

account of them being low cost compared to older techniques. One clinician that uses this

method is Grigore Burdea, PhD and director of the Tele-Rehabilitation Institute at Rutgers

University. Burdea uses popular game systems for rehabilitating anatomic function in people

affected by stroke and cerebral palsy ("Popular" n.p.). Another study found that playing

computer games can delay the onset of dementia in the elderly. This study found that out of two-

hundred elderly people those who played video games were forty percent less likely to have

memory impairment ("Games" n.p.). Video games have become increasingly helpful in the

medical world.
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Video games have become useful recently for the United States armed forces. The Air

force recently purchased two thousand Playstation3 consoles, which they intend to link together

and build a super computer to run Linux, a free open source operating system, which will be

used to develop a high definition imaging system for radar. The Air Force decided to use these

specific consoles because it would cost them one tenth as much as a regular supercomputer

would. The armed forces have also started to use war games as military recruitment and training

tools ("Science" n.p.). They have begun to use video games to teach teamwork, flying controls,

safety, how to control submarines, and leadership (Prensky 23). They have found that video

games can also help the soldier learn to aim (27). When they train the soldiers, they have found

that it is useful for small infantry teams and Special Forces. One game that helps the armed

forces train is "America's Army." This game helps get the soldiers use to using anti-tank

weapons like the Bradley, Javelin, and CROWS (Jean 164). One branch of the armed forces that

uses this is the National Guard. Video games are commonly used to train the soldiers because it

is quicker, they can train with other soldiers anywhere in the world, can allow secret training,

and is quicker than gathering everyone (165). The first war game made to help the armed forces

was created in the Army Operations Research office in Maryland at the Johns Hopkins

University; the game was named "Air Defense Simulation." "Carmonette" was another video

game series that was created in 1953 which also helped train the soldiers (166). Training with

video games makes the training process less risky more enjoyable and helps keep the trainees

motivated. The training has been known to help train better soldiers and helps bring in more

recruits as well. According to a study, twenty percent of West Point attendees played prior to the

recruitment and twenty to forty percent of recruited soldiers also played games before (167).

Video games have become increasingly important to the armed forces.

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The military believes that video games are the future soldier trainer and that next gen

systems are becoming future soldier training systems. They believe this because they have found

that training with video games could extend normal training without fatigue. Trainees could also

play against online competitors for better training against real people instead of just playing

against computer-controlled enemies. The training is also unique because the training games

have “re-playability”, which allows the trainee to replay the game with different outcomes each

time (166-168). Research shows that ten hours of gaming has a positive impact on visual acuity,

which increases the amount of information the trainee takes in by twelve percent. This could

help when a soldier gets in a “sticky situation” in a real war because some games simulate

situations that could be found in an actual war and teach the soldier how to survive in these

situations. Many games are also creating game reports that tell the soldier how he did so that he

can make fewer mistakes the next time he trains (166-167). Game creators are currently working

on military games for cell phones so that soldiers can train anytime and anywhere (168). Many

games are created for military use only, and are then “re-tooled” and sold to the casual gamers

for entertainment. This is an attempt to get them interested in war for possible recruitment (166).

Video games may be the future of military training.

Violence in video games helps reduce violence in the real world. Fighting games have

been found to help the player release aggression and help reduce stress by putting the player in

the fighter's body where each button on the controller controls a different limb of the fighter.

Research confirms this because as violent video game sales increase the amount of violent

crimes in the country decreases (Herold 172-174). Violence in video games helps to reduce

violence in the real world.

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Video games have become an increasing influence in sports. There are many different

sports games that are available everywhere. Some of the bigger names in the sports games are

“Madden”, football, “Fifa” soccer, NHL hockey, and “NBA Live” basketball. Each of these

franchises releases a game every year and have become the most popular sports games available.

Kids who have never actually participated in these sports out side of the video games have the

chance to learn these sports, which could be new to them, by playing the newest game that was

released for that particular franchise. These games allow the child, or even adults who do not

know a lot about the sport, to learn new sports and possibly play them with their friends outside

of the game (Hayes 74). This is one of the most common reasons that athletes start to play a

sport (68). Sports games tend to motivate kids to play the sports that they play in the video

games because they have learned what it is and want to try it out for themselves (70). Video

games help introduce sports to younger children and motivate them to go out and try it for

themselves.

Video games teach the smaller aspects sports as well. Playing a sport requires the athlete

to learn a lot of terminology. If the athlete is new and does not know most of the terminology,

they can play the game that is based on the sport they play and learn the terminology easier.

Many of the games available contain a training zone for new players where they can learn the

basics of that sport. In the training areas, the game helps define terminology that is used

frequently in that sport. To allow the player to learn terminology while playing, the game has a

built in A.I., known as the Artificial Intelligence, that uses terms that are commonly used in the

actual sport (69).

Another aspect that is taught in games is one of the most important aspects athletes need

to learn if they plan on actually playing the sport, teamwork. All sports require the player to use
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a lot of teamwork because that is what a team is based on. All sports games require this as well

so that the player can learn to use it (71). If a player does not use teamwork they will usually

suffer a loss and have to learn from their mistakes. If a player does not know what teamwork is

then the game will teach them how a team functions, player roles, and the importance of unity in

a team (74). Sports games also teach players how skills affect how an athlete plays (75). Along

with showing this they also teach the player new skills they can use when they play the sport and

allows them to rehearse these skills without risks. When rehearsing the skills in the game it

allows the player to see virtual people execute the skills perfectly. Playing sports games allows

the players to practice the skills they have learned with fewer risks to their self-esteem and

physical safety (69). Many sports require strategy to outwit your opponent and win the game

showing that your team was superior. Playing video games can teach players the fundamentals

of strategy. Video games also allow the player to learn new strategies and become aware of

strategies that their competitors might use (68). If the player wants to practice what they have

learned, they can face the A.I. If they beat the A.I. and found it to be too easy, they are able to

raise the level of difficulty and try again, this provides challenge to make the player better (73).

Current cognitive theory supports the notion that the mind works by storing records of

actual experiences and constructing intricate connections among them. From this perspective,

human understanding consists of how people imagine, or simulate an experience in a way that

prepares them for the actions they need and want to take in order to accomplish their goals. This

notion of understanding is implicit in the use of mental-skills training in athletics, which engages

athletes in creating mental images of successful performance. By engaging players in goal-

directed actions within compelling virtual environments, video gaming can help players develop
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these mental models, or simulations of experience, in a more concrete and embodied sense than

through mental imagery alone (67).

When an athlete is getting ready for a game, they try to create a mental image of success

so that they have a goal to thrive for. Video games simulate these images in video so that the

athlete can see it on the screen rather than picturing it in their head (67). Some coaches are

starting to use video games to help better their team. Many coaches are taping practices and

games and replaying it to the players so that they can see their mistakes and fix them. The

coaches that use video games to do this show the play being attempted by virtual people

perfectly and help the players connect with the play by having them "get in the body of the

virtual player" (68). When the players see the plays being performed, they memorize them and it

helps them make faster decisions during their actual performance (67). If a player makes a

mistake the coach can use both video and video games to improve the player by pointing out the

mistakes the player is making and show them what they should be doing by using the game.

This helps tie observation and analysis to practice (68). Video games have become increasingly

influential in sports over the past couple of years.

Over the past couple years video games have evolved from being known as entertainment

for kids to being used for educational purposes in schools and in homes. “Academic researchers

at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) have concluded that educational video

games positively influence student achievements and significantly affect student attitudes and

self-efficacy toward the study of mathematics.” UNCW conducted a sixteen week research

study to prove that educational video games can affect a child's attitude toward certain school

topics positively. The participants in the study were two-hundred and fifty middle school

students, ten middle school mathematics teachers, and two computer resource teachers from four
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schools located in Southeastern North Carolina. Over ninety percent of the participants said that

most of the games were enjoyable. Sixty seven percent of the participants felt that the games

were at their level of difficulty and eighty nine percent of them believed that the game allowed

them to demonstrate most of their mathematical skills and knowledge. The games used in

UNCW's study were created to use important math concepts in a series of first-person action

adventure missions that contain three-dimensional graphics, sound, animation, and story-lines

similar to those use in everyday video games. Students can practice and perfect what they

learned in their math class by solving the middle school math and algebra lessons that were

embedded throughout the game. League of Scientists currently uses math and science

curriculums for elementary, middle, and high school students. These games are currently being

used in many school districts nationwide. Some of the school districts using these games in their

curriculums include New York City Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, Broward County

Public Schools, and Fort Worth Independent School District in Texas. “Research has show that

ninety percent of teenagers play video games, and that the amount of time gamers devote to

playing video games is three times greater then what they devote to any other activities. So

imagine what could be accomplished in a classroom where serious educational video games are

readily available” (UNC n.p.). Over the past couple of years video games have become a utility

in modern education.

Applying video games to education can help improve students' knowledge of science and

possibly motivate them to pursue a career in the scientific field. The League of Scientists is a

free to play two-dimensional game created with young learners in mind. “The League of

Scientists' will help engage students on a new level of learning and will reinforce science as an

exciting and interactive field.” This game allows players to compete against each other in a
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series of games featuring a “standards-based” science curriculum. Monsanto Fund partnered

with Tabula Digita and the International Society for Technology in Education to create this game

with the purpose of helping students improve their knowledge of science and “broaden the

appeal of science as an exciting career path.” The League of Scientists includes four games: Lab

Rat Race, Beaker Blast, Butterfly Boss, and Circuit Center. The science used in their games

were provided by the International Society for Technology in Education and allows a teacher to

introduce or practice life science, earth and space science, or physical science into their

curriculum (Tabula n.p.). Video games applied to modern education can help improve students;

knowledge of science.

Video games in modern education can improve the knowledge of history that students

possess while keeping them interested. The Federation of American Scientists was formed in

nineteen forty five and in two thousand seven they started working on a video game named

Discover Babylon where the “player journeys through Mesopotamian time using their math,

reading and writing skills to take down a renegade scientist.” Waiters Art Museum in Baltimore

and UCLA's Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative allowed FAS to use three-dimensional photo-

realistic replicas of the museum objects in their game so that users learn accurate historical and

scientific information in their journey (Discover 1). Video games in modern education can

improve the students' knowledge of history.

When video games were first introduced to the world, they were used for entertainment

purposes only. Over the years, scientists and the players themselves have begun to find more

uses for video games. Video games have begun to revolutionize the world by not only

entertaining the players when they have free time but more importantly they provide therapeutic
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value in the medical world, have become training tools for the military, serve as motivation and

training factors for sports, and can improve students' knowledge of basic subjects in education.
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Works Cited

“Discover Babylon: e-learning power on second life.(The Gaming Life)(video games as

educational tools).” School Library Journal. November 2007. p.38 Gale Group. Newark

High School. 10 Feb. 2010 <http://www.find.galegroup.com>

“Games Delay Dementia” GP. March 16, 2009: p.06 Gale Group. Newark High School. 7 Jan.

2010 <http://www.find.galegroup.com>

Hayes, Elisabeth and Silberman, Lauren. “Video Games Can Enhance Sports Performance and

Motivation.” Video Games Gen. Ed. Laurie Willis. New York; GreenHaven Press, 2010.

66-76.

Herold, Charles. “Violence in Video Games Reduces Violence in The Real World.” Video

Games Gen. Ed. Laurie Willis. New York; GreenHaven Press, 2010. 169-174.

Jean, Grace. “Video Games Are Good Training Tools For The Military.” Video Games Gen.

Ed. Laurie Willis. New York; GreenHaven Press, 2010. 163-168.

“Popular Technology Becoming Part of Modern Medicine.” Oncology Nursing News. July-

August 2009: 1 Gale Group. Newark High School Library. 7 Jan. 2010

<http://www.find.galegroup.com>

Prensky, Marc. “Video Games Help Children Learn.” Video Games Gen. Ed. Laurie Willis. New

York; GreenHaven Press, 2010. 19-28.

“Science and Technology: War Games; Military use of consumer technology.” The Economist.

Dec 12, 2009. pg. 89 Gale Group Newark High School 8 Jan. 2010.

<http://www.find.galegroup.com>
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"Tabula Digita Rolls Out 'League of Scientists' Video Game." Entertainment Close-up. August

18, 2009: Gale Group. Newark High School. 10 Feb. 2010

<http://www.find.galegroup.com>

"UNC Wilmington Releases Study: Educational Video Games Positively Influence Student

Attitudes Toward Math." Entertainment Close-up. December 2, 2009: Gale Group.

Newark High School. 10 Feb. 2010 <http://www.find.galegroup.com>