The Positive Effects of Gaming

Not many news articles focus on the positive aspects video games can have on society.
It is my belief that Video Games can be used to help society by using powerful messages and mechanics that challenge the way we think and act within the world.

This has already begun to happen in various aspects, more so on the physical side of things.
An American games company named Blue Marble have dedicated their time to using Kinect to make games that help in the physical rehabilitation of paraplegics. Their focus group and testing showed that the players felt that playing the games gave them more control over their bodies and they felt confident that in time they would regain some physical ability as a result of the game. One of the participants also said that playing the game as a group encouraged competition, making the players push themselves further to better the other players.


Another example of this is the work of J W Burke and the University of Ulster and their study of how a video game can affect the rehabilitation of stroke victims. Their results show that at the very least the games encouraged the users to interact with their arms in ways that they would usually be discouraged from, they also allowed them to know their body’s limitations. This meant that the players could understand what they could and could not do in real life, empowering them in certain ways.


Clearly video games can have positive effects on society in a physical sense and with video games developing into more sophisticated areas this means that the physical rehabilitation side of gaming can only develop alongside it, helping various other ailments.