Most violent video games are rated M, which means suitable for people seventeen years of age or older. My research is based for this age group and not for younger teenagers who might be tempted to play these popular games as the appeal of war themed video games entices players of all ages.
Teenagers
who engage in playing violent video games develop a strong sense of identity,
learn design concepts, participate in active and critical learning and increase
their attention spans by playing games for a lengthy time period. Teenagers
learn to take on an identity to define themselves, whether it is an assassin or
another type of warrior. As a gamer takes upon this identity, he becomes a
problem solver and learns how to use strategic thinking and planning in
designing maps which allows the creation of new battlefields and routes to find
the enemies and attain achievements that earn him points in a game. Active
learning takes place as a player is able to make and see the connections
necessary to achieve their goals. While the gamer is engaged in battle, success
is built into the game so that the player achieves points for accomplishing
mastery of a task. The greater
amount of time spent on playing a game allows the gamer to practice his skills
that eventually lead to winning a game by defeating the enemies. The length of time a player spends on
achieving his goals is often long, but when gamers are practicing their skill,
it is exciting and thrilling. This tends to strengthen their attention spans
and develop strong associations between hand -eye coordination and challenge
themselves as they take an active role in exploring a new game.
In
order for learning to occur, one needs to grasp the meaning of a concept and
apply the concept to fully engage their brain in learning. Watching a television
show is a passive experience and usually does not involve interaction between
the viewer and the program.
However, many video war games involve interaction, physical activity and
learning to interpret and follow orders. Studies show that using multi-sensorial
approaches to learning new material results in a strong understanding of new
material and allows creative thinking to develop by engaging one’s mind through
using the multi-sensory approach. By playing a war video game, one can see the
game(sight), hear the voices of the players and the background commands of the soldiers(auditory)
and can feel and manipulate the controller (kinesthetic) in order to actively
participate in the game. The challenges that occur during the game allows the
opportunity for practice which in time will develop into a successful victory
for the player through trial and error. This is all a part of active learning.
