- A wild ride on Mario Kart Wii
It’s actually a bit of a joke at my house just how bad I am at computer games. I’ve had to put down the Wii nunchuk while playing Mario Kart because of motion sickness (although I attribute that to my son’s driving). My high score on my Blackberry’s BrickBreaker game is 2730.
I’m just not the gaming type. I can honestly say that until the past year, I have not played any kind of video game since high school and even then I barely did. I was always kind of mystified by the whole thing. I thought, don’t grownups have better things to do? I will admit, weekend games on the Wii have provided a family activity. But for years I couldn’t imagine spending hours staring at a screen trying to blow things up.
That stereotype – the solitary young man sitting in a dark room playing violent video games – is clearly changing with the likes of today’s gaming options. Sure, there are still plenty of chances to shoot at enemies. Just look at the popularity of World of Warcraft. But there are so many other game choices now, even some with a social or political message.
The Persuasive Games homepage says,
“Games communicate differently than other media; they not only deliver messages, but also simulate experiences. Our games influence players to take action through gameplay.”
If the action is to create greener forms of energy, understand the impact of poor eating on our health, or just be a little kinder in the holiday shopping aisle, then I’m all for it. In today’s media-saturated culture it takes something a bit different to make a message stand out. Games – if they’re fun – could resonate with people.
I tried several of the Persuasive games: Windfall, Points of Entry, Food Import Folly, Xtreme Xmas Shopping. The one I liked best was Airport Security. I could really visualize that one because we’re all so used to being in that line in real life. What I noticed for all of the games was that they put me in the position of decision maker and forced me to think – about all the decisions that go into finding the best place to put a windmill, how to cover a busy harbor with only two inspectors, what’s on an airport’s changing list of banned items.
These games do simulate experiences. Would they cause me to take action? Not sure yet. I think I would have to practice a bit more. My hand-eye coordination is not great – I suppose due to an extreme lack of video game playing!
ideacellar 