Play the game...save the world?

When it comes to video games, you could call me anything but an expert. I grew up in a house where the only gaming console we had was a Gameboy Color, and the only thing I played on that was Mario World 2 and Pokémon Blue, Yellow, and Silver (my brother has Red and Gold). Just a few years ago, we got a Wii as a family Christmas present. The reasoning behind this was my dad thought it was a more hands-on type of video game system. Well he was right, for the most part. Yes the Wii does have games that involve moving your body as you flick and point the “Wiimote.” Pretty soon the only games I consistently played were Wii Bowling and Mario Kart. This brings me to the article Jane McGonigal wrote and the point I’m trying to make. To put it simply, I heartily disagree with her thesis statement. I do respect her talent as a game designer and her optimism towards making the world a better place. However, I feel that making the world a better place will not occur as a result of people applying what they learn from playing hours upon hours video games.

First of all, and I’m sure many of my classmates have said this already, but the kinds of video games that the youth are addicted to are shooters and other kinds of violent video games. I don’t think many people are playing the kinds of games that will exercise people’s collaborative and creative skills. Another reason that can’t be overlooked is the health that these video gamers are in. Most of them are overweight if not obese, and this problem is most closely directed to their lack of physical exercise and poor diet. If these gamers were to increase the amount of time they play, that problem will only increase. Lastly, I’ve come to the conclusion that many people play video games as a release from their daily routine. Ironically, playing video games has become a part of the daily routine, but only for leisure. I highly doubt that gamers are playing video games to gradually enhance their intellect to solve real world problems.