The Benefits of MMO games

28. December, 2011Tags: MMO Blog

Benefits of MMO

So it's officially official, playing video games can help you physically, mentally and socially. What a way to go into the New Year. In case you missed our report of Scott Steinburg's new book, “The Modern Parent's Guide to Kids and Video Games,” the idea behind it is that a parent should know about the positive side of playing video games, not just the negatives they read about in the daily newspapers. Sure, the tabloids are unlikely to report on something positive, relying instead on doom and gloom, but....

.... knowing that somebody like Steinburg is defending this form of entertainment feels like a step in the right direction.

I mean, take for instance, the constant reports that Grand Theft Auto rewards you points for killing civilians. It's a ridiculous thought to anybody who has ever played the game, but it's something that gets bandied about quite readily in the tabloids. It's playing on parents fear's, the fear that evil developers want nothing better than to pull your eight year old into a world filled with drugs, sex and violence.
I'm sure privately the developer's attitude would be something along the lines of “if you're stupid enough to buy your eight year old an adult game without prior research, you deserve everything you get,” but publically their PR company say that the game was never intended for a young audience and any distress caused to a young mind was wholly unintentional. The important thing though is that parents can be incredibly stupid when it comes to age ratings and, unlike film and television – which perhaps they know a little more about – they buy without thinking.

Where do you keep your R4 cartridges?

And the thinking is important; knowing your child and knowing what they are capable of handling, of understanding is the key. For instance, not long ago I saw a six year old playing Chinatown Wars on his DS. The family were middle class, dressed well, the kids were obviously well brought up, but the parents had obviously not thought when they bought that game. They were the sort of people who walk into a game store and ask in a loud, clear voice “where do you keep your R4 cartridges?” When the person behind the counter explains that they are illegal and are unavailable for purchase in this country the parent stands for a second, confused, and then says in a louder, clearer voice “no, an R4 cartridge.”
On the otherhand, my little brother has a copy of Modern Warfare 3, a game that I am amazed has an 18 rating in this country. Nevertheless, he plays it online and has so far not murdered anybody, even people that really annoy him. So the key is to know what is in the game and whether your child can handle it.

Benefits that can be gained from the MMO genre

And that goes hand in hand with the benefits that can be gained from the MMO genre and from gaming as a whole. We've all heard the stories about kids so annoyed by a parent's attitude to their gaming habits that the kid has taken his own life or seriously hurt one of the parents. These are stories that happen rarely and get repeated often and they tend to be moving into the urban legend category. But what about the good things, what about the kids that play World of Warcraft to learn about other cultures, to meet new people they would otherwise never meet.

Those are the stories I'd like to hear, even if only once in a while. For instance, I know a little boy with special needs, he finds it difficult to socialize with people and takes things literally and personally. If you use the slightest exaggeration or metaphor around him, he will believe exactly what you say. I'm sure you can appreciate the power other kids soon realize they have over him and I'm sorry to say it has been used by serveral teachers as well. As a result, since leaving the junior school a couple of years ago he has been to no less than 4 different schools since then.

So imagine my surprise when I'm talking to him and he starts telling me that he's a keen World of Warcraft player. Using his natural intelligence and curiosity to learn the world and its lore, he has made many friends who are not only impressed with his knowledge in game but with his personality as well. Taking the pressure of immediate social interaction away from him has helped him to learn that these people don't want to be judgemental towards him and, last I'd heard, he'd joined several out-of-school sports clubs and was slowly integrating himself into those as well.

Now I don't know his medical history, I can't say with any certainty that there aren't other medical reasons why he has started to come out of his shell somewhat – although he is still prone to the occasional bout of emotion. But the first step in his progression was definitely helped by his jaunts into Azeroth.

Plenty of stories from people who feel their life is enriched by video games

I'd like to say that this is the sort of story I hear a lot of but, unfortunately, it's not. If not for the fact that I know this child firsthand I wouldn't know about him, his problem or the online interactions that have helped him. I know that it can't be a unique story, just a brief look on Google pops up plenty of stories from people who feel their life is enriched by video games but most aren't people who would otherwise not be able to cope.

And that's something that I'd love to see changed. You often hear about songs that got people through hard times, films that meant a lot, but outside of the gaming community online you don't often hear about games that kept people going. This is probably partly to do with the age of the medium but it's also part of a wider social stigma, the thought that a game is nothing but a toy made virtual. As I've said before, the fact that a game is more than that, that it is an experience, is often lost on the majority of people.

But the benefits, the strategic thinking and the team building exercises that are key to this genre of gaming offer obvious advantages to those willing to take the time to learn about them. Don't treat it as a babysitter, don't let your child play anything you don't know about and be aware that there are games out there that just aren't at all appropriate for them, but don't completely dismiss video games either.