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Video Games – How Parents can make it work!
Contributed by Charlie Cheong, former game researcher
Are you a parent who is concerned that your child is more interested in playing video games or computer
games (for simplicity, we’ll call them video games) than showing similar level of enthusiasm for their
studies? If you are, the first question that probably came to your mind was, “What makes these video
games so irresistible?” To add to other questions about video games, parents often feel helpless when
faced with their child’s videogame habits.
So what can you do to understand the impact of video games on your child and how might you bridge the
gap of how you and your child perceive video game playing?
Is my child the only one playing video games?
Globally, video games are already becoming a form of mainstream entertainment that has seen
phenomenon growth since its birth. Likewise in Singapore, in a study conducted between 2008 and 2010,
9 in 10 children and youths reported that they played at least an hour of video games per week. Video
games present itself not as a new challenge but another form of entertainment that parents have to
adapt to and take into consideration.
What makes video games so “irresistible”?
To address parents’ concern over their child’s gaming habits, there is a need to understand how video
games entertain and draw the gamer into a make-believe world.
Immediate positive feedback
Every action that the gamer carries out results in an instant feedback. Pressing a button on the game
controller results in the character on the screen performing an action. Video games provide such
instantaneous feedback to the gamer through the depiction of vivid visuals and realistic sounds. More
often than not, mature video games tend to feature exaggerated blood sprays or dismemberments to
highlight the impact of the player’s action. Furthermore, each action taken by the player is awarded with
points or acknowledgement. These awards act as positive reinforcements, on top of the instant feedback,
telling the player that his or her action is a necessary one. Comparatively in the real-world, opportunities
for such immediate positive feedback to encourage a child may not be readily available. When the need
for acknowledgement is not satisfied in the real-world, the next best alternative in video games
naturally becomes an outlet for the child.
It’s a social thing
Many video games encourage social interactions between gamers, whether it’s competitively or
cooperatively. In competitive settings, gamers compete with one another for recognition. For example, in
the highly-acclaimed videogame ‘StarCraft 2’, players compete against each other for the top spots in
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public ranking boards. The top players of these ranking boards are often hailed as celebrities of the
gaming world.
In cooperative settings, gamers have to work with each other to overcome an overwhelming obstacle that
would normally be impossible for them to take on individually. For example, in the online game ‘World of
Warcraft’, gamers work together in small teams called a group to bring down massive enemies.
Video games, typically online games, encourage the formalisation of guilds; a semi-permanent group of
gamers who belong to the same organisation. Members of the same guild often help each other to
complete missions or simply to play together. Despite the fact that gamers in the same guild may never
meet each other face-to-face, they perceive their relationships with each other as real and meaningful.
Sense of Progression
When gamers spend time playing video games, their characters become more powerful than when they
first started. This progression is charted in the game, telling the gamer that the character has levelled up
and gained a certain number of skills. Once the character has advanced to a higher rank, gamers will be
able to equip the character with better weapons and armours, thereby reinforcing the gamer’s sense of
progression as they commit more time to play the game. It’s a lot more attractive compared to the realworld where any significant improvement in learning a new skill takes a much longer time.
Intellectually challenging
Most people think that playing video games is unproductive as it does not create any tangible endproducts. Contrary to this belief, playing a videogame can actually be intellectually stimulating, an
intangible end-product. A videogame often presents the player with a challenge that comes in the form
of a puzzle, a boss fight or the lack of resources, which they then overcome when playing the game.
What can parents do to manage their child’s gaming behaviour?
Playing with your child
Through active participation in a videogame session with your child, parents are actually engaging them in
a common activity. As mentioned previously, video games that contain cooperative elements can be
tapped on by parents as opportunities to reach out to their child. Parents can also set themselves as role
models by showing that they can stop playing the videogame when it comes time to do something else,
for example, to eat or do work. This will help the child learn about the appropriate amount of time they
should spend playing video games. Parents can also use the game’s content as a learning point. For
example, when the gamer is required to make a moral choice, parents can use it as an opportunity to
discuss the issue more broadly.
Learn the lingo and Use video games to establish a common topic of conversation
Parents are encouraged to reach out to their child instead of allowing them to use video games as a form
of distraction. For example, gamers use a specialised type of lingo to communicate with each other in the
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game. It is possible for parents to learn how to use this lingo and apply it in their daily conversation with
their child. At first glance, these words may sound strange and appear meaningless, but once a common
language is established, it becomes much easier for parents to communicate with their child. Parents
can also generate discussions with their child on how to overcome an obstacle in the game using
strategies that they have come across.
Bridge the technological gap and overcome the unfamiliarity of video games
Parents who are not familiar with video games may feel alienated from the cyberworld that their child is
immersed in. Through learning about video games, parents will be able to better manage their
expectations and the limits that they can place on their child. Turning off the power supply is as good as a
punishment, which could potentially lead to a greater divide between parent and child.
Conclusion
Video games are here to stay and will most likely gain similar stature as movies and television. As
technological advancement continues to creep ahead, it will not be a choice to stop our children from
playing. Rather, it is time for parents to start seeing video games as an opportunity to bond with their
child and to impart values.
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