The instinctive reaction to anyone who says computer games can be used to learn? I don’t think you really need me to state it out loud, but it isn’t usually an eruption of unfettered support.
Let’s consider, however, what may actually be shared by the traditional pursuit of the intellectual (reading) and the pursuit of the intellectuals cooler and more tech-savvy younger brother (gaming), shall we…
Both involve a story
As a part of English study, we choose to read books that tell stories that in some way reveal something about the time or subject on which they are written. We don’t use books based on historical matter or that instruct you on how to code – after all, there are lessons for that. Studies in English language and literature focus more on stories: the characters, the events, the plot twists and turns, and the things that are revealed along the way.
Games are much the same. Those who think Pacman or Space Invaders, Tetris or Pong still dominate the scene clearly haven’t picked up a controller in a few decades. There was once a time when games were not sophisticated enough to wield a storyline. Now? There are more writers being recruited by games studios than by TV Networks.
You don’t use them on the go
There is something to be said for sitting down and losing yourself in a good book. Unlike a smartphone that people use on the streets, walking up and down stairs, at pedestrian crossings and, sometimes, when driving, books don’t allow this. They require your complete attention if they are to be enjoyed.
It might not be so far fetched to see the same level of immersion sought from console or computer-based video games. Controls once held you to maximum distance of 5 feet, so sitting was the only option. Even with Bluetooth, you cannot take the thing out onto the street. And neither would you. They are very much alike: the words in the book are the actions on the screen; the turning of the page is the tapping of a button; the bookmark has become the save button.
You can go as fast or slow as you like
This idea of the save button links perfectly into this notion: you are not on the clock. Yes, kindle devices come with the ability to see how long you have left in a chapter, but this is more a courtesy than it is an imposition. Where movies or TV shows make you get what you can from what’s there in the time they so choose, novels and computer games let you enjoy things at your own pace.
There are those who prefer to get through things fast: speed-runners have completed games in times thought impossible by exploiting near invisible pixelated holes that, if hit, shave milliseconds of a player’s time. Skim reading has been a thing for years, for those who want the gist of a story without the emotional attachment. Yet for readers and gamers who want the full, messy experience, parts can be returned to or checked, with time taken to consider motivations and ramifications from the actions of certain characters. It really is down to you.
They aren’t the same for everyone
This final point is why the idea of overlapping the two genres works.
When a person reads a novel, the experience is all their own. The authors words may be reprinted identically in a hundred thousand books, but the individuals own experiences inform what the story, the characters, the themes, the very words themselves, actually mean. This is the same with computer games. Gamers will struggle at different points; be moved by different moments in the story; personalise the characters to imitate themselves or others.
Despite this, literature study shows that some stories are worth experiencing together, worth learning what it was that the writer or developer wanted us to understand. We can be completely enlightened by a great story told in the right way. When it comes to study, that way has largely been through books.
But if we were to marry it to videogames, it could be the best way of all.
—
Simon John
Cicero Group Limited
