It’s always fun watching kids play games. Whether it’s a physical game, or one played on a computer or PS console. It’s amazing how something so simple, can captivate the player or onlooker’s attention for so long.
So I’m watching a 7 years old boy play VICE CITY when he suddenly looks up at me & says “How do you cheat now again?” I was dumbstruck. Such a simple question, but the impact it has on the individual got me thinking. Is this what our games are teaching us today? How to cheat? NO way! It CAN’T be! So I watched the game, but more closely this time, & to my surprise I learnt so much.
Games have become our best friends. Even I play games sometimes, and many times I’m able to learn a lot from a game. But learning comes in two forms; good or bad. And sometimes who we become, depends on what we were exposed to.
Picture this: your animated representative (the little mannetjie that’s supposed to be you) is running around with a gun in hand, shooting everyone in sight. He steals cars then drives like a maniac. Once that car is destroyed, he goes and hijacks someone else’s vehicle. Once that vehicle is destroyed, he proceeds to steal a police car & even shoot the policeman. So he gets to a vast expanse of water, types in a “cheat code” and his car is able to drive on water. And through all this, he gets more and more points. FUN!!!
We love games like VICE CITY, GRAND THEFT AUTO, NEED FOR SPEED and TOTAL OVERDOSE to name a few. We’re attracted to the racing. It’s as if we’re transported into a totally new world. One which is fun and takes our minds off the real world. But look at the titles of these game. REALLY look at the message it’s bringing across.
“It’s just a game”, we always say. You watch the little boy, so absorbed in his game. You watch the game and all that it teaches, and you ask yourself the question… Is it really JUST a game?