It’s hard to ignore the persisting increase of gaming in our lives, especially with the release of the new xBox One right around the corner. That’s why I believe that instead of bashing the world of video games, we should be focus- ing on the positives of them instead.

During game play, especially in games such as “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft”, the player is able to take on the persona of virtual being. This experience is a chance for the gamer to release the stress of everyday life into a controlled environment without consequences. 

This “stress relief ” was used in a recent study by Jane McGonigal, a game designer at the Institute for the Future. Her experiment “Superbetter” used the traditional tactics of video games to help patients through the emotional and physical steps of different health problems, such as depression and brain injuries. While playing this game, patients experienced improvements in three main areas, physical, emotional, and social resilience. “Superbetter” improved their mental self worth and even increased their lifespan by seven and a half minutes.

Another positive thing about video games is their ability to bring people together. Games such as “Super Mario Party” give families an alternative to board games on family fun nights. Games such as multiplayer “Halo Reach” allow players to interact with others from across the world. This allows gamers to connect and work together toward a common goal.

Adventure games such as “Legend of Zelda” and “Pokemon” give gamers a sense of drive as they work to complete mission af- ter mission. This desire to continue leveling up can be transport- ed into everyday life as students work towards different goals: completing homework, obtaining higher grades, or becoming a leader of a certain activity.

Nintendo’s “Animal Crossing” and Mojang’s “Minecraft” pro- vide players with a creative outlet. Sparks of inspiration can come from being able to build your own virtual worlds or being able to customize your own character. This can also transfer over to life outside the electronic screen through things such as art, creative writing, and even video game designing.

Although video games have a bad reputation for being too violent or melting teenage brains everywhere, I believe that we should focus on the lessons that gamers learn, such as hand-eye coordination, multitasking, and problem solving. These skills can be incorporated into everyday life, not to mention the potential to use them in schools as a revolutionary learning tool. So gamers, raise your controls proudly and play on.