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Video Games and Their Potential For Shaping the Future

Michael L. Emmitt

Jefferson Community College

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Video games have always been seen as a recreational activity for children

and teenagers alike, but is that the only use of such programs? Recent activity

has been taken with video games to promote higher brain activity and production

and to provide rehabilitation for physical and mental illnesses. The problem is

that when most people think of video games they think of it as a mindless tool

used solely for entertainment, but studies have shown that video games help

stimulate thinking and literacy in smaller children and also leads to problem

solving and real business skills. Video games are also currently being used to

treat sports injuries, brain injuries, and even mental illness such as autism. There

will always be people who look at video games in a negative light, but video

games are shining a new light into educational and rehabilitation purposes.

Video games were invented as a form of recreation, but today they are

branching much further. But how did the idea of video games begin? Video

games actually started in the late 1930's with the invention of a mechanical game

named pinball. The game used a plunger on a spring to propel a ball around to

hit pins and using paddles to keep the ball from falling. The first coin operated

machines were invented in 1931 by American Industries and they named the

game "Whiffle Board" (BMI, 2006). However the real breakthrough in video game

invention came in 1961 when a student at the Massachusetts Institute for

Technology (MIT) named Steve Russel created a program for a game that could
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be played on one of the school's computers. The game that Russel created

became so popular that the manufacturer of the computer, Digital Equipment

Corporation, started loading the program on the computer so that all computer-

science students could explore and play the game (Glazer, 2006). In the 1970's a

company named “Atari” brought the video games out of the bars and clubs and

into the home with a cheaper video game system that allowed players to change

the game simply by changing a cartridge rather than having to buy a brand new

system. The Atari console was widely popular and sold nearly 3 million systems a

year until the company collapsed under its own weight in the early 1980's

(Glazer, 2006). A turning point in video gaming came in the late 1980's with the

introduction of Nintendo. Nintendo took Atari's idea and ran with it by increasing

its marketing and appealing to kids. The games also became more colorful and

interactive as time progressed due to the increase in technology. Nintendo held

the corner stone for gaming for years until competitors emerged in Sony's

PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox platforms. As technology increases so do the

video games that come with it, but not only do the graphics and plot of such

games increase, but the interaction of the gamer to the game is also increasing.

With today’s technology people are able to play sports in their living rooms and

live out their fantasy’s of being rock stars and action heroes in their own homes.

Video games are becoming more and more interactive and enveloping the gamer
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so that gaming feels less like imagination and more like reality.

Video gaming is commonly seen as entertainment, but what about as a

learning experience for a child with a mental illness like autism? A study at the

University of Alabama at Birmingham has shown that a program called FaceSay

helps children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) learn to recognize emotions

(Science Daily, 2007). The program FaceSay was created by a company called

Symbiotica and uses a visual puppet also known as an avatar to display facial

expressions. The game displays emotions while teaching kids how to search for

facial cues and and expressions. The study has shown great improvement in kids

with Asperger Syndrome and some improvement in kids with autism. Facial

recognition was up across the boards with a nearly two point improvement in

both kids with autism and Asperger's (Science Daily 2007). Children with ASD

often have trouble making eye contact with people which makes it hard for them

to remember faces and interpret emotion. However the FaceSay program

teaches kids with ASD to interpret emotion in a non-threatening situation. The

study at UAB continues to test the long term effects of using the program and

hopes they can reach out to parents everywhere.

Using video games to help with a mental illness is proving to have results,

but what about for traumatic brain injury? A study has started in Tempe Arizona to

show the effects of video games on returning veterans with traumatic brain
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injuries (TBI) (Milliard, 2010). The company Kinetic Muscles, Inc. specializes in

neurorehabilitation for stroke patients and patients with cerebral palsy, but

recently have started venturing into TBI studies in military veterans returning

home. KMI has started using video games mixed with their neurorehabilitation

procedures to rehabilitate veterans with TBI. The funding for the project is coming

from the Department of Defense and has started doing clinical trials in VA

hospitals. "Treatment of TBI builds upon KMI’s neurotherapy technology

platform," said Ed Koeneman, chief operating officer at KMI and principal

investigator for the study. "Patients with stroke and TBI experience similar

cognitive and movement deficits. KMI technology addresses rehabilitation for

both groups through repetitive training of specific tasks” (Milliard, 2010). The

clinical trials have had positive results with veteran's cognitive thinking, dexterity,

reasoning, and memory due to their vigorous course in a virtual activity world

(Milliard, 2010). One reason that the program is succeeding as much as it is is

that the rehab is geared towards soldiers who grew up playing video games.

Playing video games as an adult brings up better memories of childhood days

and helps promote higher brain function.

Mental rehabilitation with video games is one thing, but what about

physical rehabilitation? Video games are usually seen as an activity where you

sit on a couch and watch the game unfold with a controller in your hand, but with
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today’s motion sensitive controllers it causes people to get off the couch and into

the game. Nintendo's newest console the Wii has started being used not only as

an entertainment device, but also as a device used in physical rehabilitation. The

Wii's controller uses motion sensitive sensors to copy the movements that people

would use when playing sports or doing a physical activity (Coslett, 2010). The

Wii also has an accessory that functions as a balance board for performing yoga

and other movement oriented activities. The Wii has proven itself to be a good

rehabilitation tool because of the psychological benefit of no just going through a

set of planned stretches and movements and instead playing an interactive video

game that you can get into (Coslett, 2010). The use of the Wii has been used for

physical therapy and strengthening of limbs, but also has started being used as a

rehabilitation tool for stroke patients. "The beauty of virtual reality is that it applies

the concept of repetitive tasks, high-intensity tasks and task-specific activities,

that activates special neurons (called 'mirror neuron system') involved in

mechanisms of cortical reorganization (brain plasticity)," Saposnik said. "Effective

rehabilitation calls for applying these principles” (Science Daily, 2010). The Wii

has proved to more effective at rehabilitation than normal activities such as

stacking blocks and playing cards. "Basically, we found that patients in the Wii™

group achieved a better motor function, both fine and gross, manifested by

improvement in speed and grip strength," Saposnik said. "But it is too early to
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recommend this approach generally. A larger, randomized study is needed and is

underway” (Science Daily, 2010)

Rehabilitation is a very noble and amazing use of video game technology,

but does that mean that it is a waste of time for the rest of the population? On the

contrary video games are very useful in the education of children. Video games

has shown to improve the spatial thinking of children. Studies have shown that

lower income families that can not afford video games have children less likely to

be as good at spatial vision in comparison to middle class families children who

do have such toys (Bower, 2005). Spatial thinking is not the the only thing that

video games can teach children, but literacy can also be taught from video

games. While there is no solid research to prove that video games help literacy

many scientists have optimism about the studies. “Parents often despair because

their teen is “not sitting on a couch reading a storybook, which is what we think

literacy is,” says Gee. But “the kids' version of literacy is better for a modern-

world understanding of technical language,” Gee maintains, “but

In the best games, players must master a specialized game vocabulary,

consulting Web pages for hints on winning that probably use syntax far more

complex than their reading in school”, Gee argues. “I believe firmly the key to

school success is handling technical language,” he says (Glazer, 2006).

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Video games are showing improvements in reading and spatial vision, but

what about things that future employers will look for. According to some experts

playing video games will be something that future employers will look for. The

multiplayer game “World of Warcraft” could be a tool the will bridge the video

game job market gap in the future. “In “Warcraft,” players band together in guilds

to share knowledge and manpower in a “quest,” such as slaying monsters. To run

a large guild, a master must be able to recruit new members, create

apprenticeship programs, orchestrate group strategy and settle disputes. One

young engineer at Yahoo used to worry about whether he could do his job. “Now

I think of it like a quest,” he said. “By being willing to improvise, I can usually find

the people and resources I need to accomplish the task”” (Glazer, 2006). Modern

multiplayer games are using financial and leadership tactics in their game that

can easily apply to the real world. Video games are also teaching a level of

professional language that is taught easier during games than conventionally.

All the good things that video games promote are still falling short of the

assumption that video games lead to addiction and violent outbursts. Video

games have always had a bad rap about the amount of violence included in

them, but researchers have said that video games can not be solely to blame.

“Video games may have a contributory effect, but overall the evidence is quite

slim,” he says. “I think there's a predisposition of people who play violent video
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games to violence anyway. Youthful offenders play more violent video games

[than average]. My guess is these people already have problems to start with and

seek out that kind of game — not that they become more violent as a result of

playing those games” (Glazer, 2006). While violence in video games should be

reduced to show less graphic scenes of violence not all games should be

tarnished due to the fact that violent games seem to sell the best. However, the

selling of violent video games is not increasing the rate of violent crimes like

many would suspect; in fact they are having the exact opposite effect. “Just as

violent video games were pouring into American homes on the crest of the

personal-computer wave, juvenile violence began to plummet,” according to

University of Pennsylvania criminologist Lawrence Sherman. “Juvenile murder

charges dropped by about two-thirds from 1993 to the end of the decade and

show no signs of going back up. If video games are so deadly, why has their

widespread use been followed by reductions in murder” (Glazer, 2006)? Video

games may depict violent scenes, but so do many movies and television

programs yet no one is rallying to have those removed from the shelves.

The resourcefulness of video games is just starting to be explored. The

future of video games could take us to places we could only imagine in our

wildest dreams. With the modern use of motion sensitive controllers being used

as rehabilitation tools and computer gaming software being used to help autism
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patients; video games have come a long way from the pinball machines of the

1930's. While we are just beginning to scratch the surface of the potential of

video games the future looks bright. Video games will continue to evolve and

grow with new technology and continue to have a profound effect on our young

and old alike.

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American Heart Association (2010, February 26). Wii video games may help

stroke patients improve motor function. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from

http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2010/02/100225164849.htm

BMI Gaming,(2006, July 07). Retrieved from

http://www.bmigaming.com/pinballhistory.htm

Bower, B. (2005). Mental meeting of the sexes: boys' spatial advantage fades in

poor families. Science News, 168(21), 323.

Coslett, C. (2010, April 15). Retrieved from

http://www.ehow.com/about_6331525_wii-used-rehab.html

Glazer, S. (2006, November 10). Video games. CQ Researcher, 16, 937-960.

Retrieved from CQ Researcher Online,

http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2006111000.
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Miliard, M. (2010, August 05). Retrieved from

http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/va-hospitals-use-video-games-rehab-

vets-brain-injuries

University of Alabama at Birmingham (2007, June 23). Computer Game Helps

Autistic Children Recognize Emotions. ScienceDaily. Retrieved from

http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2007/06/070622183516.htm