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Josh Woods

Dr. Andrew Bahlmann

English 2010

December 13, 2016

Word Count: 2524

Video Games and Learning Essential Life Skills

The video game industry is worth billions in today’s global economy. This shows that

videos games are a huge part of modern day culture. The influence of video games spans the

entire globe, and across all ages. With the amount of exposure that the world has to video

games, it is important to understand the effects of video games on the people playing them.

There are many research studies that conclude that there are negative effects from playing

video games, such as including becoming lazy, increased procrastination, decreased brain

function, and increased aggression. (Knoeller 3) These studies should be noted, but there are

also many new research studies that suggest the opposite effect of playing video games. “Numerous experiments have been done in recent years, many of which draw conclusions that

gaming can increase brain function, problem solving skills, spatial reasoning, memory, attention

span, strategic planning, and even social skills among others” (Wignall 1). This new research

into the positive effects of playing video games is what will be discussed in this paper. Upon

reading this paper, there will be a better understanding of how video games can positively

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enhance someone’s life through the teaching of critical thinking, complex problem solving,

empathetical and sympathetic feeling, and visual spatial processing.

In order to fully understand the scope of the video game genre, it must be fully defined.

The general way to define a video game is, “an electronic game in which players control images

on a television or computer screen” (Merriam-Webster). This means that there is a physical

connection between the player using a controller and the images being moved on the screen.

This connection is essential in understanding that playing a video game is active learning. The

next thing that needs to be defined are the two-different type of video games. The first type is

called a recreational video game, which are created for the purpose of entertaining the player.

Bioshock, Uncharted, Fallout, The Witcher, and Shovel Knight are all considered recreational

video games. The next type of video game is called a serious video game. A serious video game

is better understood by the definition given by Clark C. Abt in his book, Serious Games, in which

he defines serious video games as, “simulations and games to improve education, both in and

outside of the classroom” (Abt 5). A flight simulator or a surgery simulator would fall into this

category. Both types of video games will be shown to be central in teaching player’s critical

thinking, complex problem solving, empathetical and sympathetic feeling and visual spatial

processing.

The first skill that can be taught by playing a video game is critical thinking. Critical

thinking is an extremely important skill that is needed in this modern-day world. The ability to

conceptualize ideas and then use those ideas in creative ways to accomplish a task is the core

of critical thinking. It is the very nature of video games to allow players to come up with

creative ways to accomplish a task. In a study by Logan Scott and Sue Gerber about the

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relationship between playing video games and critical thinking, they concluded that there was a

positive correlation between players playing strategy video games and critical thinking. “It was

found that strategy gamers have a greater propensity for actively open-minded thinking than

non-strategy gamers” (Scott and Gerber 847). This supports the claim that video games,

specifically strategy games, can help players learn to critically think.

One strategy-adventure video game that relies heavily on the concept of critical thinking

is Uncharted 4. In this game, you play as treasure hunter Nathan Drake. Nathan Drake is on a

quest to help his brother find the lost treasure of Henry Avery, worth four hundred million

dollars. During the course of the game, you must traverse many different terrains and

environments. One of the first things you are in charge of doing is stealing an idol from a highly-

secured auction. You must traverse the sides of the building in order to get inside. This requires

the use of critical thinking in order to understand what objects can be used to help Nathan

Drake climb the building. You begin learning that edges of window sills are often weak, and

cannot support the weight of Nathan. So, you try a different path and find that using the metal

grates over the windows is a much better option for holding Nathan’s weight. You begin getting

better at recognizing how Nathan interacts with the environment as the game progresses. Your

critical thinking is so good by the end of the game, that traversing the side of a mountain is

done quickly and with few mistakes. This video game helps to show the relationship that video

games can have on helping players learn how to critically think, which can then be transferred

into real-life situations.

The next skill that can be taught by video games is the ability to solve complex

problems. This skill is the implementation of critical thinking. Problem solving is crucial for every

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aspect of a person’s life. The ability to overcome problems is what has created the

sophisticated world we live in today. Once you have acquired the ability to critically think,

playing Uncharted 4, video games can help teach you to implement that skill into problem

solving. In a study about playing video games and complex problem solving skills, the study

concluded, “The findings of this study showed that, due to the challenges associated with

complex problem solving, student motivation and engagement have crucial impact on students’

development of complex problem-solving competencies in game-based learning” (Eseryel et al.

50). This study helps support that educational (serious) video games can help the player learn

to solve complex problems by helping with motivation and engagement.

Top Gun is a serious video game that is designed to teach 21st century surgeons how to

perform laparoscopic surgical and suturing skills. These skills are crucial for any surgeon to be

able to perform the duties of a surgeon. Top Gun was proven to be able to be beneficial in

helping surgeons learn these complex problem solving skills. In one study, it was concluded

that, “Video game skill correlates with laparoscopic surgical skills. Training curricula that include

video games may help thin the technical interface between surgeons and screen-mediated

applications, such as laparoscopic surgery. Video games may be a practical teaching tool to help

train surgeons” (Rosser et al. 1). This study also showed that the surgeons using Top Gun

performed better and with fewer errors than those using traditional teaching methods. This

study goes to show that serious video games have the ability to teach complex problem solving

skills by helping the player be motivated and engaged in learning.

The ability to feel empathy and sympathy is an essential life skill that allows you to see

other people’s feelings and points of views. This skill is very important, especially if you are

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working inside a group or team. In an article analysis of studies on playing prosocial video

games, in was found that, “the present research filled this gap by showing that playing prosocial

video games increases empathy and decreases schadenfreude” (Greitemeyer et al. 800). This

analysis really supports the idea that video games can help the player learn to feel empathy and

sympathy towards others. Prosocial video games, video games that allow for social interaction

between other players or AI, are huge for allowing players to learn empathy and sympathy,

because they help the player learn to think about how other people are feeling about a

situation. They also help the player learn to feel sympathy for someone in a hard situation.

Metal Gear Solid V is an excellent recreational video game with prosocial elements to it.

During the game, you play as Big Boss, the leader of Diamond Dogs. During the course of the

game, you are in charge of building up your Diamond Dogs team. You do this by capturing

enemies or rescuing prisoners. You then have the option to try and recruit these people to your

team. You learn to think about the strengths and concerns of each captured enemy and

prisoner in order to fit them into the right position. You then go on missions with your new

team members, and learn to trust them with your life. This bond between your teammates

becomes stronger the longer you are with them. You learn your teammates by name, and learn

to do whatever you can to help them out. It is during a central point in the game that you really

feel true empathy and sympathy for your teammates. Some of your best men become infected

with a deadly parasite, and it is your job to go exterminate them at the quarantine site. Once

you arrive, you recognize each and every one of your men. It is during this time that you feel

deeply for the impending fate of these men you have come to love. Your men salute and

commemorate you as you are forced to gun them down. The game then rolls into a clip where

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you say you will never forget about these incredible men and what they did for you. This game

is excellent in teaching you how you should act and feel towards people in real life.

Visual spatial processing is, “the ability to imagine what an irregular figure would look

like if it were rotated in space, or the ability to discern the relationship between shapes and

objects” (Hirvasoja 6). This skill is crucial for helping with reading, math and workplace skills.

This skill allows people to visually understand that the different interactions of objects creates

different outcomes. Such as, the arrangement of letters creates different words, and the

different arrangement of numbers creates different solutions to problems. This skill is very

important for any job because it allows the person to be able to understand the relationship

between different objects. Whether it be numbers in solving a complex engineering project,

letters to create a business proposal, or the interaction of chemicals in the bloodstream of

someone with cancer.

This skill can be seen to be developed by playing video games. One article analysis of

gaming and visual spatial processing concluded, “All studies reviewed in this paper reported

improved spatial performance (of varying levels) through gaming” (Hirvasoja 18). This article

analyzes five different studies, and all of them point to an increase in visual spatial processing

through playing video games. One of the studies analyzed was, “Green & Bavelier (2003)

carried out a set of five experiments, with subjects aged 18-23 years, exploring whether visual

skills can be altered by video-game playing. Four experiments establish changes in different

aspects of visual attention in habitual video-gamers as compared with non-video-game players.

Video-gamers, who had played action video games, such as Grand Theft Auto III (Figures 7 & 8),

Half-Life, Counter-Strike, Crazy Taxi, Team Fortress Classic, 007, Spider-Man, Halo, Marvel vs

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Capcom, Roguespeare and Super Mario Cart on at least 4 days per week for a minimum of 1

hour per day for the previous 6 months, had significantly increased attentional and visual skills”

(Hirvasoja 16). This article analysis really helps back up the development of visual spatial

processing in video games.

A separate study concluded, “playing the first-person perspective puzzle game Portal for

an hour resulted in higher performance on an important spatial cognition skill” (Adams and

Mayer 5). In this game, you assume the role of a test subject trying to escape the testing facility.

The only way to escape is to use the portal gun you acquire at the beginning. This gun allows

you to create portals that you can manipulate where you will enter and exit from. This is where

the visual spatial reasoning is developed in this game. You must find creative uses of your

portals in order to reach switches, open doors, and ultimately escape. As you progress in the

game, the rooms become exceedingly more difficult. You must constantly evolve how you think

about the relationships of objects and environments in order to complete each room. This

evolution of your thought process about the relationship of different objects and environments

is what helps build the essential life skill of visual spatial reasoning.

In conclusion, it is important to understand that more research must be done in order to

conclude that every video game can teach players essential life skills. Although, this paper does

show evidence of videos game in helping players learn critical thinking, complex problem

solving, empathetical and sympathetic feeling, and visual spatial processing. This is important to

help justify the need for more research into such a potentially positive field of entertainment.

As was stated earlier, the negative effects of video games should not be overlooked, but neither

should the positive effects shown in this paper. With the research done in this paper backed

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with even more research into the ability of video games in teaching player’s essential life skills,

there could be a widespread use of video games for skill teaching and not just for

entertainment. This was shown with serious video games as they are created specifically for

helping build knowledge in a certain field. It was also shown in this paper that recreational

video games can have the same effect of teaching essential life skills. This is why more research

into both serious and recreational video games can help back up what was discovered in this

paper. As seen in this paper, video games, both serious and recreational, have the potential to

teach essential life skills, such as critical thinking, complex problem solving, empathetical and

sympathetic feeling, and visual spatial processing.

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Works Cited

Abt, Clark C. Serious Games. New York: Viking, 1970. Print.

Adams, Deanne M., and R. Mayer. “Can Playing Portal Affect Spatial Thinking and Increase

Learning in a STEM Area?” University of California. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016

Eseryel, Deniz, V. Law, D. Ifenthaler, X. Ge, and R. Miller. "An Investigation Of The

Interrelationships Between Motivation, Engagement, And Complex Problem Solving In

Game-Based Learning." Educational Technology & Society 17.1 (2014): 42-53. ERIC. Web.

21 Nov. 2016.

Gerber, Sue, and L. Scott. "Gamers and Gaming Context: Relationships to Critical Thinking."

British Journal of Educational Technology 42.5 (2010): 842-49. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

Greitemeyer, Tobias, S. Osswald, and M. Brauer. "Playing Prosocial Video Games Increases

Empathy and Decreases Schadenfreude." Emotion 10.6 (2010): 796-802. Web. 1 Dec.

2016.

Hirvasoja, Mika. “IMPROVING SPATIAL SKILLS THROUGH COMPUTER GAMES.” University of

Jyväskylä (2004). Web. Dec. 5 2016

Knoeller, Rebecca, S. Staub, C.Stubbs, and B. West. "Negative Effects." Video Games. N.p., n.d.

Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster. http://www.merriam

webster.com/dictionary/video%20game. n.d. Web. October 31, 2016.

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Rosser, James C., P. Lynch, L. Cuddity, D. Gentile, J. Klonsky, and R. Merrell. "The Impact of

Video Games on Training Surgeons in the 21st Century." Archives of Surgery 142.2

(2007): 181. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.

Wignall, Allison. "Science Says Playing Video Games Can Make You Smarter - College Raptor

Blog." College Raptor Blog. College Raptor Inc. (2016). Web. 10 Dec. 2016.