As someone who is slightly outside the usual demographic for video gamers, I periodically get asked what the appeal is.  Of course, it’s usually phrased more like, “Don’t you have anything better to do with your life?”  That depends on how you define better.

The short answer is, “Nope.”  Told you it was short.  That’s because it’s the wrong question.  To more usefully address the implied question, I’ll need to address a common misconception.  Video games aren’t actually any worse than golf, clubbing, drinking heavily, watching sports, reading, watching TV or any other pass time.  From the start, they’ve been regarded as a brain destroying waste of time.  Just like all of the things I just mentioned.

With the exception of clubbing, I’ve indulged in all of them.  Oddly enough, I still indulge in most of them on an ongoing basis.  Not so much with the heavy drinking or sports watching, but you get the idea.  The short version is, most of the people who question my use of time, indulge in one or more of these activities themselves.  So why the negative perception of video gaming?  Because we have to blame something.

Let me use dogs to demonstrate that point.  At the moment, Pit Bulls are the “Dangerous Breed”.  Before that, it was Rottweilers, who came after Doberman Pincers, who followed German Shepherds.  The truth is, none of these breeds are particularly dangerous if trained, treated and handled properly.  But people love bad news, so that’s what the media focuses on.  If Dobermans are the evil dog, then the media are going to report every bad Doberman story they can find.  They might publish a hundred stories of Doberman attacks, but only a couple about the thousands of Dobermans who don’t attack anyone.

The same thing is true of video games.  They are just the latest “bad” thing.  The list has included, violence in Bugs Bunny cartoons, TV watching in general, cartoon watching in particular, horror movies, war movies, organized sports, lack of organized sports, reading any book except the Bible etc.  It depends who you talk to and when as to what answer you’ll get.  The simple truth is that there is no “bad” thing on that list.

Video games aren’t “bad”.  It’s how people interact with them and what they choose to invest them with that can lead to problems.  The media happily jump on a story about about an unfortunate young man who became so immersed in a game that he starved to death, or another who spent so much time gaming that his circulation failed and he ultimately died.  Whenever a gamer does something “bad”, it’s the fault of the games and not the person.

For me, video games are an entertainment.  They can provide an emotional outlet.  Like any well executed entertainment, they allow me a brief respite from the everyday.  Not to the exclusion of reality, but as a means to defocus.  Let me clarify.

In an episode of the show “Corner Gas”, the main character announces he is going to take a vacation.  He then takes his lawn chair, suntan oil, cooler etc and sets up on a nearby patch of grass.  When questioned, he refers to it as a “Staycation”.  That’s what video games are for me.  A restful opportunity to recharge my mental and emotional batteries to better deal with the real world.

Sure, I play games where I drive 180 mph, or get trophies for set numbers of head shots, or chuck someone out a window just because I can.  I also play games which involve building cities or civilizations, or solving puzzles or doing other non-violent things.  Each game is enjoyed for it’s own merits.  None of them carry over into the real world except in terms of slightly improved hand/eye coordination or logic processing skills.  Both of which are proven benefits of regular video game playing.

In the real world, I don’t do any of those things.  I don’t even drive, never mind at 180 mph.  I’ve never shot anyone, or anything, or thrown anyone out a window.  I’ve also never piloted a starship between systems, built a pyramid in Thebes, re-fought the Battle of Antietam, or flown a JN-4 Jenny along a mail route through the Appalacian mountains.  I’ve done all of those things in video games.  I’ve enjoyed them immensely.

It’s that ability to step beyond the real that is for me, the true appeal of video games.  As it is for a well written novel, a good movie, or anything else that so fully engages me that it takes me out of the world.  It refreshes my palate for the next serving of life.

Cheers, Winston