Video Games and Schools - Is Banning Necessary?

Is the Banning of Video Games Necessary?

Video games have been the crux of many a school-goer's teachers or parents. Many people hold hostile and negative feelings towards our teenage population playing excessive amounts of video gaming, and, glancing at the content of many of the more popular games today, it is not difficult to discern why. The supposed effects of video gaming on our students have often been described as an adequate reason for the banning of them within school and education settings.


As with the introduction of any new technology into a pre-existing system, there will always be conflict and contention. We as human beings rarely want to embrace change, especially if it involves the unknown. With video gaming, school settings are seeing more and more students deciding to bring their form of leisure to their education environment and attempting to enjoy video games during the times when they are not required at classes.


Considering that many people bring other forms of entertainment to their school recesses, such as cards, balls, books, etc., wouldn't it seem that bringing video games should be a simple affair? If you've attended a high school where you've tried doing that, the answer is most likely a resounding no. But why? I believe there are two (and a half) main reasons behind the conflict between video games and schools:

- The idea that the authority figures in charge do not understand, embrace or wish to understand/embrace something as unknown and seemingly dangerous as video games.


- The notion that the content within, and the playing of video games will have adverse and undesirable effects on the player.


- The notion that since a school is an education setting and things not pertaining to education should be banned.


Let me tackle the first idea. An accepted truth about human nature is the notion that we don't like to change our opinions often. Our egos are often tied to our opinions - when we defend our opinions, we are defending our egos. Also consider that many people commonly form opinions about things they know little about. Have you ever had a friend constantly criticize something that they don't understand or have never tried? If we don't understand something, it is often easy to form misconceptions about the particular thing, and in turn making it easier to dislike it immensely.


Couple this with the common criticism that video games are linked to increased violence, and although an authority figure may not have personally experienced a violent video game, he/she will likely form a preconceived notion about such games. Most likely, this notion is one of a negative nature, which then results in a dislike for video games and, in my experience, a ban on them. 


But is this ban really one that is warranted? The banning of something such as video game use will, without a doubt, prevent users from experience the negative effects that such use may or may not incur, but at the same time, it will completely prevent any positive benefits that playing these games may provide. Do the negatives really outweigh the positives in this matter? 


The content in some video games can be considered objectionable, with many games involving aspects of crime and violence. There have been countless studies performed on the link between playing violent video games and a person's susceptibility to performing violent acts in the future. The interesting thing is that the results of many of the studies constantly contradict each other. David Grossman, a former psychology professor, suggests that First Person Shooters are 'murder simulators', and that such games harden children emotionally to the act of killing. Another study suggests that violent video games are associated with increased aggressive behaviour. However, literary scholars criticize these studies fail to cite results that differed from their views, and that they employ highly selective and misleading information.


Other studies suggest that video games don't have drastic effects on aggression and violence in teenagers. An Australian study finds that only people who are already predisposed to violence will be affected by violent video games; other studies find that although violent video games may have an affect on players, that impact is incredibly small compared to other things. It should also be noted that the crime rate in America has dropped drastically since the 1990s, but the sales of M-Rated video games has skyrocketed.


Those against video games suggest that playing and experiencing violent video games will somehow create the desire in the player's mind to re-enact the scenes they have just virtually experienced. Do we really believe that somehow, a violent video game will drastically alter the mental state of an otherwise normal person and cause them to become a murderous killer? I'd like to suggest that although violent video games may have an effect on people, other factors such as mental stability and the quality of a person's home life would have a stronger effect on someone's likelihood of shooting people at a school. 


Video games are a major part of teen culture today. According to one study, 90% of all teenage boys and 40% of teenage girls play video games. When playing team-based or social video games, studies (yeah, I've used that word six times already!) suggest that players increase their mental health, social and interpersonal skills. Completing objectives in video games can increase the patience, focus and concentration of players. What I find most important is that video games help relieve stress.


The third idea that I've come across for the banning of video games in schools is that video games aren't educational, and because of that they have no place in an educational setting. Many video games aren't educational, but at the same time, the vast majority of activities that students participate in during their recesses aren't of an academic nature. The excuse that video games are not of an educational nature and should be banned is like saying that playing soccer, basketball, cards, pool, or even conversation is not of an educational nature and should be banned. It's absurd.


Video games are an integral part of many teenagers' lives. I would suggest that their ability to increase aggression and antisocial tendencies in players would be minimal compared to the effects of say, a disastrous upbringing. Video games provide many benefits, one of these being the ability to relieve stress. In a school setting, stress-relief can be a liberation of the greatest caliber, but it is something that is often denied.


If some of the people in the education sector looked past initial biases and really analysed their perspective on video gaming, perhaps video games will take a greater hold within our education system.


This is not to say that all of those in the education sector are against video gaming - in many areas video games are being increasingly noted for their educational qualities, and in some situations are being embraced. What I hope is that in the future, more and more schools which traditionally frowned upon video gaming will look to embrace it.

Luck and Getting into the Games Industry

The size of the E3 Gaming Expo
illustrates the size of the gaming industry

"Don't aim for success if you want it. Just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally" - David Frost.

You have to be in the right place in the right time and work damn hard if you want to succeed. Not hard, but damn hard. But as many university students and employers will tell you over and over again, simply working hard isn't a guarantee into getting into the field you want.

The games industry is a massive and rapidly growing, and more and more will we see games becoming an integral part of our daily lives. The esteemed Call of Duty: Black Ops took in over $650 million US dollars in its first five days - breaking a global record for income generated in five days for a game, book or movie. It's no little part of our lives, and as the graduates roll out year after year, the games industry - or 'interactive entertainment' industry as they like to call themselves - is becoming an increasingly more appealing option.

During the seven-day Computer Games Boot Camp event, I've noticed a trend with many of the games presenters there - just about everyone from the camera team, the people from the community television show Level 3, the editors and reviewers of game magazines, game composers and so many more people attributes their involvement in the industry to one of two things. Luck and networking.

Before I go into a little more detail into how luck and networking gets one into an industry, I'd like to talk a little about the idea of a 'success formula'. A Google search of those two words yields a whopping 10.7 million results. The self-help industry was estimated at more than $9 billion US dollars in America in 2006. Considering the size of the personal-development industry, an industry that suggests that success comes from solid principles which can be applied to many specific situations, can we expect that the people who have made it into the games industry to have similar traits and similar stories?

Jason O'Callaghan, the face behind the Melbourne-based community television show Level 3, tells me with a laugh that he became a part of the show through pure luck. He was working at a video store when the lead producer of Level 3 approached him and told him that he was making T.V show and needed people. A similar story is described with one of Level 3's reviewers, who was working in a video game store when approached by Level 3. Dale, Level 3's floor manager, was working on community television and radio before discovering that one of his co-workers ran a show, and that this co-worker needed people. These certainly are a testimony to the luck element of entering a business, about being in the right place at the right time. But is there more?

One of the lead hardware reviewers for the hardcore-gaming magazine Atomic describes his pathway into games journalism as being pure luck and networking. His friends were all in the business, which meant an easy foray into the dark and and often inaccessible industry. Liz, an opinion writer for Level 3 notes how industry professionals took an interest in her work and decided to post her writing on their website. One of her friends, who just happened to be part of Level 3, discovered that she was a writer, a discovery that eventually lead to her position in the community show.

The majority of people will tell you that they got into the games industry through luck and networking. But there's more to it than that  - every one of the people who have made it in have had something to offer the industry such as a great skill-set, a portfolio of work, technical knowledge, writing ability and so on. These people have had experience, and even more, they have a passion for what they do. Your skill, passion and experience in what you do is incredibly important - without it, there is no chance of entering any industry. This is not to discount the importance of luck and networking, but to suggest that you have to have skill, expertise and/or experience before these will be of any use to you.

Many successful people talk of making their own luck. Yes, you do have to be at the right place at the right time, but as you develop your skills, your knowledge and increase your experience in a particular field, you're going to find that you'll be at the right place at the right time more and more often. More opportunities will arise, and perhaps you'll find your big break sometime soon. Until then, why not work on something or develop a project?

Level 3 can be found through their website: http://www.level3.org.au/
and Atomic can be found through theirs: http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/

The Mind Behind the Computer Games Boot Camp

Andrew at the Monash University IT Awards Night

It's about doing what other's aren't prepared to do, and taking everything as a learning lesson, says Andrew Owen of Monash University's wildly successful Computer Games Boot Camp. Since its conception in 2009, the event has grown from a five day event with a turnout of around 300 high school students, to a seven day even with presentations and exhibitions from the biggest and most popular gaming and I.T related companies existent on the planet.

When asked about the success of his creation, founder and organizer Andrew Owen notes the importance of initiative, the idea that there's no failure, only feedback and the vitality of persistence. An example that he speaks about is the story behind one of America's greatest politicians of all time, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln suffered from a vast multitudes of failures before ever succeeding in his presidency, such as losing political elections, failing business ventures and having his sweetheart die, but his determination to succeed overcame this failure. Andrew describes how many of the successful people throughout history have had to overcome failure after failure, rejection after rejection before finding the success, and this idea is one that helped the creation of the Computer Games Boot Camp.


A mindset that Andrew employs is that the results you get help you to improve for next time. He is constantly thinking ahead - during the 2011 Boot Camp, he is already thinking of ways to improve and evolve the 2012 event. Every time something goes wrong, it's a lesson for next time and a catalyst for constant improvement. This cycle of utilizing feedback will have been evident for past members of the Computer Games Boot Camp, as a common response from students of the 2010 event was the length and inflexibility of presentations. This has been addressed in this year's event by allowing students to choose the presenter they are most interested in and attend that specific seminar. As a attendee myself, I'm glad to say that this works brilliantly - a testimony to the truth in Andrew's thinking.

Finally, there's the element of "Just doing it'. Owen talks about a celebrity who goes out and just does things for the sake of doing them with the reason that 'no-one else has done it, and now I have'. It was this type of initiative that enabled Andrew to found the Boot Camp. When asked the reason behind starting the event, his response was a hearty "there was nothing else like it". He wanted to give high-school students opportunities that he never had as a student, and present the I.T industry in an environment that didn't include the typical propaganda and promotional material that most I.T related events are full of.

The Computer Games Boot Camp is an annual seven day event showcasing many facades of the Information Technology industry, with presentations from both international companies and passionate students. High school students in years 9-12 will have the opportunity to listen to presenters working in about every aspect of the IT industry. And the sweet thing? It's 100% free.

Check out the website at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/promotion/games-boot-camp/
and the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/97161739747?ap=1