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 Originally Posted by kingnat
Thinking about this, if my kids played these games the way I played them... that is, playing for hours and hours, and rage-restarting if I happened to die within the first 10-15 minutes. I'm not sure how i'd react. I think I'd discourage their behavior, but is it desirable for kids to be persistent at something even if it's just a video game? Is it reasonable that experience might transfer over to meaningful learning in a different context when they are trying to learn how to do challenging mathematics, for instance?
So, this is actually something I think about quite often. I think that some video games absolutely have an "educational" value, particularly RPGs which are all about strategy rather than motor control. Another thing about RPGs is that they sort of teach you how to properly investigate a world with different personalities and dynamics. I know that the emphasis on character and story in retro RPGs have shaped the minds of those young gamers based on how they reminisce on them now (myself included).
Even platformers and action games... I mean, it is a skill, for sure. You practice and you get better. You develop hand-eye coordination, learn to think quickly on the spot, etc. I don't think it's that unlike learning a musical instrument, at least in the technical aspects.
Obviously moderation is key and all that.
Do you play games with your kids? You might feel better about it if you share the experience with them. I wish I had that with my parents. My boyfriend grew up playing games with his father and he cherishes those memories.
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