Latent Intellectualism in Videogames

Latent Intellectualism in Videogames

I'm Leonardo Sanchez, father of 2 kids, a son and a daughter. Recently I read an article by Gerald Graff called "Hidden Intellectualism", on it, Gerald explains how the "non-intellectual" hobbies of students can be translated into intellectual interests. However, teachers and parents usually have problems identifying this opportunities, avoiding children from indulging in this pastimes, and therefore limiting their potential.

During all our kids' lifetimes videogames have been around, and during all the time videogames have been around, we haven't heard anything but horror stories about them. "Playing Games Will Make your Child More Unlikely to Read" or "Videogames Cause Mental Delay in Growing Kids" are headlines we have gotten used to. But how accurate is this perspective of the topic? What if, in fact, videogames can contribute more positively than we think?

Of course, videogames can lead to misuse and addiction, I won't try to deny that. However, with correct use and supervision they could lead to very positive long term outcomes.

Courtesy of TIME for kids.

In this blog, I will enumerate three reasons why videogames are in fact intellectual, and should be promoted in our children's routine as part of their growth process:

Roots of videogames in programing and math:

This reason lies in the principle of what a videogame is, a computer program. Computer applications are based in coding, and coding is based on math, being your kid's interest on videogames somewhat related with an interest on math.

And I know what you are thinking: "There's no way my child is developing any interest in math due to his addiction to games, he is failing algebra!". However, it is important to understand the greys of the matter before making a conclusion.

First of all, as parents we know that school is the main responsibility of our children (No discussion). And obviously, if your son or daughter are lowering their grades due to an unhealthy consumption, then it is our work to limit their use. But getting completely rid of them from our house may not be the best option.

As children develop hobbies, they develop passions that will stay by their side for the rest of their lives, and videogames may be a very productive one in the long-term. Being a kid is being a dreamer, and when contacted with digital forms of expressions, kids usually dream with being developers (I can talk from personal experience). 

When growing up with videogames on their side, kids will potentially develop an interest for programming and development, and eventually, math.

As Graff said: “The question is how teachers can tease out the critical theory latent in student street smarts (23).” And in this case, it is how parents and teachers can motivate their children to research on the deeper nature of videogames and raise intellectual interests that will last a lifetime.

Courtesy of Ars Technica

Roots of videogames in arts and music:

The different forms of art are usually qualified as: cinema, painting, architecture, sculpture, literature, theatre, and music. Videogames are clearly not depicted in the list, and as people from a couple generations ago, understanding them as art can be an idea hard to digest. However, we should always be open minded to assimilate new concepts and adapt to realities of the present.

Upon closer examination we realize that videogames are not only a piece of expression, and therefore a piece of art, but also a gate of introduction to other forms of art. The graphics and visuals, with different styles to better adapt to the gameplay. The music, which will be implemented in creative ways that are affected by the interaction of the player with the environment. And the storytelling, which will give your child the unique opportunity of embodying the main character. These are all forms of art which will be introduced to your kid trough gaming.

By developing an interest in videogames' forms of artistic expression, like music for example, your kid will eventually find themself investigating about the way classical music inspired Shadow of the Colossus's songs. Or instead he could be interested by the visuals, and start researching on the way the monster design of such game is inspired in Native American Mythology.

Whatever the case may be, the reality is that a gaming hobby will inspire kids into raising interest for other forms of artistic expression (More intellectual ones, if that's what we want to hear).

As Graff said "Presenting myself as a typical child of the anti-intellectual fifties, I contrasted my utter lack of interest in literature and history with my passionate absorption to sports (24)." Usually the intellectual forms of art are not associated with hobbies. But after understanding this point, we know that games can actually become an intellectual form of engagement with those arts.

Screenshot picturing Okami's art style. Inspired in Japanese traditional paintings.

Enhanced space perception and deeper reasoning:

There's a tremendous amount of videogames in the world, and within them, a tremendous amount of genres. From the shooting games that you don't like, to educational and puzzle games, there are tons of positive cognitive influences that your child can obtain from gaming.

Videogames like Portal will challenge your child with situations which demand them to use the most of their problem solving skills while processing loads of 3D Visuals (Which will eventually help them to be a safer driver). Meanwhile, others like The Legend of Zelda will make them think faster than ever before by presenting enemies that require them to deduce ways of beating them mid-combat.

There's no debate that videogames will help your children develop their brain in a more efficient way and later be more intelligent adults.

As Graff said “What looks like anti-intellectualism in student culture is often an alternative kind of intellectualism, which grows up alongside schooling and is usually seen as irrelevant to it (30).” We don't like associating games with mental development because it doesn't seem to be school related. But it is when you take closer inspection that you realize of the potential benefits and how these could help your kid as a student.

Screenshot of Portal 2. Showing a puzzle that requires logic and 3D visualization to be solved.

Videogames have been polemical during all their existence, and will continue to be during the next few decades. However, as adults we can analyze the phenomenon with an objective point of view and realize that there are not only dangers in what seems to be dangerous. It is important to understand that with correct use, they can become another educational tool for your children to be intellectuals of tomorrow.

Picture of me graduating Highschool with Honors Distinction. A point of my life when all I would do on my free time was playing videogames.

Graff, Gerald. “Hidden Intellectualism.” Pedagogy, vol. 1, no. 1, 2001, pp. 21–36.,                                             doi:10.1215/15314200-1-1-21.