There have been many articles out recently highlighting how playing video games makes you a better surgeon. I personally found this fascinating, but I wasn't really too surprised. For years the public felt that video games were a terrible waste of time, and much of the public still believes this now. I think that video games have many redeeming qualities. Many people think that TV and video games are both useless forms of entertainment; I think that video games can actually provide more than that.

Video games is a better form of entertainment then TV for many reasons. Television is known as passive entertainment. Passive entertainment has been shown to increase depression and decrease overall mood. This happens because people feel disconnected; they are not participating or really thinking. Playing video games, on the other hand, is active entertainment. You are involved and in control when you play video games. Every different type of video game can teach the player a different set of skills. First person shooter games (twitchy games) improve hand-eye coordination, reflexes and visual recognition. Real-Time Strategy games have a great deal to offer the player. A real-time strategy game can teach multitasking and team work. Role-Playing games give another whole set of skills. In a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game the user needs to have many skills in order to be successful. An MMORPG character takes planning, teamwork, communication, bargaining and much more. Many MMORPG can teach the value of money and how an economy works. Every type of video game teaches the user some sort of skill.

The video gaming community has known for years that video games can have value. However, they are entertainment first so not all games can be useful, some are mind numbing and worthless. Video games, like most things in life, are what you make of them.

-Seth (14-Apr-2004)

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