Health Benefits Of Gaming
Need A Valid Excuse To Play Video Games? Here It Is.
In another game made by Baldwin and his team, the user sees their name paired with warm, smiling faces. This creates a link that results in higher self-esteem and reduced aggressiveness with the patients in his studies. The games made by Mindhabits Inc. are a long way from Titanfall or GTA V, but they indicate that games can be much more than distractions.
“The potential of this kind of medium is incredible. It creates an interaction between the user and the game that can mimic the real-world interactions we have with people and other aspects of our environment,” says Baldwin. “A lot of the potential for this kind of medium is the fact that there is this kind of repetitive experience.”
For The Everyday GamerWe are only now starting to see how video games are a powerful medium for training the mind to overcome obstacles and handle stress. But for the everyday gamer with a PS3 or an Xbox at home, what benefits do they see? There are potentially many, and the increasing scope, complexity and realism of games today allows for a near-limitless range of possibilities.
Jason Elliot, a video game design professor at the Art Institute of Vancouver has some insight to offer on this. He wrote in an email, “Games with high intensity action, such as shooters, can help with hand-eye coordination and can improve attention spans and visual processing due to the 'twitch factor,' where players must be very observant of fast-moving, small objects on screen. The puzzle and strategy elements of games help players with problem-solving and help with long-term planning by means of risk analysis. This can be as simple as the inventory systems and planning what to keep and what to sell.
“Socially, games today encourage players to play with others, building teams and clans and working together on shared missions. They also use various forms of chat to encourage players to help support each other.”
So maybe all that time I spent playing Super Mario Bros. wasn’t rotting my brain like Mom said. It was actually building up my confidence and problem-solving skills.