The gaming world isn’t filled only with violence and depravity. In fact, it’s mostly enchanting – Naomi Alderman
I recently had a conversation with someone where I admitted I played computer games in my spare time. I could not contain my growing smirk as I watched their happy, friendly face turn to a sudden sigh of an internal thought, “omg she’s one of them”. It was like watching a cloud pass over the gloriously hot sun, casting a chilling shadow on what was once a beautiful golden park. This experience was not my first rodeo!
Just what is it about the words, “computer games”, or “gaming”, that elicits such abject horror when you mention it? I’ll try to fathom it out.
First, a bit about why, how, where, who, what I game/d……
In the early 1980s I was a little 8yr old girl with unruly thick brown plaits & brown corduroy dresses (style guru clearly!?) with a businessman father who loved technology & had a visionary brain. My father introduced me to the BBC micro computer, (if you know you know…) with its cream & brown keyboard (sexy!) & wonderfully deafening mechanical switches (keys to you & me). I was instantly hooked in by the game, “Snapper” !
Soon after, my father then upgraded to a Sinclair Zx Spectrum with what seemed at the time, a futuristic small black keyboard, quiet rubber keys & the infamous rainbow logo swiping across the right corner.
The “Jetpack” game also hooked me in with my dad & I spending hours together playing this in my bedroom. How deeply I’d love to bring him back to life & re-live those bonding days….. I also remember playing Pong for hours but can’t remember what I played this on – not on an arcade machine. Comment below if you know!
Years went by & my love of computers & gaming grew from teaching myself basic coding on MS-DOS to playing the mini handheld Nintendo “Game & Watch” (I can still smell & feel those tiny rubber buttons!) to “Zelda” on the Nintendo 3DS. Nowadays I am a PS4 woman…..I know I know, my teenage son keeps insisting I upgrade to the PS5 😂!
And so cut to the present. My ex-husband and I spent hours after work every day (pre-parenthood!) playing World of Warcraft – I think I was an Orc?? And then he got me hooked on the classic Tombraider, which I still play presently. The kind of games I love do not focus on guns and fighting but rather exploratory role-playing adventures like Little Nightmares, Yarni, “What Remains of Edith Finch” and The Stanley Parable game is just the most wonderful, weirdest and creepy game ever!
I am now in my fifties. I have a main career and a side hustle (working from my desktop Mac) as well as enjoying different interests that keep me very busy. I home educate my teenager, single-handedly run a house, have some amazing friends, am completely independent and when I have downtime, I love nothing better than relaxing on my sofa with my ps4 and escaping life. I have no shame about it.
However…… admitting you enjoy gaming is like basically saying to some people “I like eating glass!.” I questioned someone once, “Why don’t you like the idea of gaming?” and I received very colourful responses.
“It’s just for losers who don’t have a job and like to waste their life away.”
“It’s so damaging and dangerous.” (!?)
“People who game just need to get a life.”
“I refuse for my son to be a gamer. There’s much more important things in life to be doing like working hard at school or finding a job.”
………and so it goes on. I’ve heard it all.
Sometimes I stop myself in conversations from saying I enjoy gaming in my spare time as I just haven’t got the energy to deal with the negativity. Then I think, do I really care what people think anymore?! I pay my bills and my taxes, I work hard, don’t do drugs/drink alcohol, haven’t got a criminal record, I can do what I like!
On the flip side I’ve met some amazing people who also love gaming. I had a PT a while ago who was obsessed with gaming. Him and his girlfriend had two tv’s next to each other in their living room (can’t remember the reason why!!) with every console going and a huge stack of games that they’d escape with on their free time. I also know, and have worked with, people in gaming organisations from Directors to coders to writers and designers. None of these people I would call losers or timewasters!
My teenager has picked up my ex’s and my love of gaming. His bedroom is like a professional gaming workspace! All I see are pretty, flashing PC lights and a mass of tech and wires that has led me to put the local fire brigade on speed dial!
There is so much my teenage son gets out of gaming, especially as I home educate him. His global geography knowledge surpasses mine (!) which he learnt from gaming. He has developed a love of medieval architecture which he incorporates into his gaming designs, something he discovered and taught himself about! His communication skills have improved considerably with building teams, leading teams etc. His knowledge of tech makes my brain ache and his skill in video editing, something he wants to pursue as a career, is incredibly creative. His once timid, angst-ridden social skills have developed him into a confident, polite, friendly young man who has many online friends (some old school friends) and followers, some of whom are professional youtubers and other video editing friends. He often says “I’m working mummy…because editing is kind of my work now, so please don’t interrupt me!”. He’s 14! I’m very proud of who he is becoming.
We also have to be aware that, whether we like it or not, technology is fast becoming our modern world so we better get used to it. Yes we can refuse gaming, tech, tv’s or tablets etc in our home in favour of nature and conversation and arts and crafts and we can severely “limit screen time” for our children. However, there are so many positives to gaming which will arm ourselves and our children with knowledge and power for our future success.
Every age has its storytelling form, and video gaming is a huge part of our culture. You can ignore or embrace video games and imbue them with the best artistic quality. People are enthralled with video games in the same way as other people love the cinema or theatre. – Andy Serkis
It’s so exciting too!! We can transport ourselves to beautiful, historic, dreamy worlds, become immersed in virtual futuristic realities, experience things we’d never encounter, learn skills we’d never take on in real life. It can bring friends and families together, create immense fun and education for young minds, generate fabulous creative ideas for the artisitic brain.
I really would like to see the negative connotations of gaming be cast aside for good. Gaming is not a stigma to be ashamed of. It does not mean one is lazy or a waste of taxpayers money, unambitious, shallow, useless at life and other such diatribes from those who have no idea how pleasurable gaming can be.
However, sadly, I do absolutely admit, there are some who do indeed support the narrative that gaming is wasteful and destructive. If though, a person is on a certain trajectory of life with drugs, unemployment, crime etc then it doesn’t always mean gaming is the cause of this. We’re talking about two very different camps here. They’re not inexplicably linked by default.
Furthermore, I also completely respect the opinion that gaming can, for some, be highly addictive and incite aggression or emotions that cause issues at home. As I said above, it’s not always the gaming pursuit per se that’s the problem but, it’s that a person’s character may well be predisposed to certain moods and emotions which sadly gaming can possibly exacerbate. Understandably then, regular monitoring is necessary, especially where mental health issues are present. If gaming were the cause of all ills though, then surely all us gamers would be consistently violent and aggressive as a result, no?
So, for now, enjoy life! Enjoy your gaming!
Let me know in the comments below all your thoughts (and recommendations!) x
Leave a comment