An Open Letter: Video Games

Games, in whatever form they take, offer many things to many different people: for some it offers an escape from reality, to others it gives an opportunity to connect with friends and family, but for most it allows for joy to take hold of the mind. Video games are no exception to the previously listed possibilities, but they can sometimes offer too much of a distraction. The key to most things in life is moderation, and in this case, video games are no different. So, to truly understand gaming and all that it offers, it is important to look at the good, the bad and everything in between.

Harkening back to my statement on moderation, I have witnessed first-hand the extremes of playing too many video games. On one of the games I have played the most, I have spent close to 600 hours playing it. Many have spent even more time on a single game, all the while not mentioning the hundreds, if not, couple thousands of hours people have spent on other games.

I bring up these numbers, including my own, because it is important to understand how much time and energy individuals give to these outlets. Gaming can be a great way to help relieve stress, but it can also bring its own. Place enough time into something and the experience that originally sparked enjoyment will turn sour. But if we choose to manage our time wisely, anything can continuously bring enjoyment. As long as we are aware of all the aspects that go into a relationship to something or someone, we can further develop it in a healthy manner.

Video games, for me, have allowed connections with people I would have not otherwise known. Gaming has also taught me lessons that I would have not otherwise have learned if I had not played the games I had. But in the same breath, it has allowed room for more procrastination.

Games draw us in because they offer a goal to accomplish and a story that paves the way to that goal. Those goals become our own when we play; each game offers paths to level up certain skills, or at least learn through trial and error, offering an unlimited amount of attempts to get it right. What is not often seen is that those games reflect what the player’s real life could be. All those skills learned in game could be skills learned in the real world — both taking time and energy to complete, but the game making them seem somehow more attainable.

The argument I am trying to present is that video games are great: they allow for people to relax, escape, learn, grow, connect and more. But for every minute we place into a game developing a character’s strength, we could be developing our own. For every in-game book read to gain intelligence, we could be doing the same with a book of our own. Don’t give up games, but do evaluate the amount of time we spend playing them and our reasons as to why.

I would not trade the hundreds, if not thousands, of hours I have spent on games for the world. Sure, I can think of some things I could have done to better utilize my time back then, but there is no use in overthinking it. I am still going to be playing games — probably add another couple hundred hours over the rest of my life — but I will be evaluating my reasons why.

The evaluation of my reasons for playing games leads to a more moderate amount of time I play them. The more I moderate my time spent on games, the more I view gaming as a relaxing and enjoyable experience, and less of just something I do. Evaluating what we do and why we do it can apply to more than just gaming. We can allow ourselves more time to spend on things we deem important and ensure that what we once enjoyed doesn’t get overplayed or misused to the point of dread.

Gaming as a whole provides many things, and just like many things, it can be overdone, but we can shape our views of things by how we treat them and evaluate our reasons for them.

Evan Brooks is a third-year Business Management major with minors in Economics and Civic and Professional Leadership. EB916132@wcupa.edu