Your Intellect Depends on Your TV

Your Intellect Depends on Your TV

Knowledge is power…

Continued…

Channels 4 have recently released the game Privates – from developers Zombie Cow – a free game to teach teenagers about sexual health. It’s a good game which also successfully delivers an educational message. Obviously Privates is specific to teenagers – with it teaching people what not to rub their junk on to – but its existence proves that it’s completely possible to create entertaining educational titles for different audiences, so reading aids for young children is a possibility.

Knowledge for everyone

However, as I touched on with grand strategy titles, games don’t just educate the young; everyone can learn things from games. I was a bit late to the PC market and so when I finally got there my typing skills were pretty bad. What helped me improve them was Typing of The Dead. Typing of The Dead is a great example of adapting a game to be an educational tool. Adapted from the rail gun shooter House of The Dead 2, Typing of The Dead replaced gun control with the need to type words or phrases to kill the many on screen enemies. The most remarkable thing about this title is how it retained the same sense of enjoyment the original one held, proving that games can be adapted for education use without compromising enjoyment.

Pretty much every game can teach you something. Having received a dash of military training myself, Metal Gear Solid 2 blew my mind when I played it, because when I saw the enemy soldiers perform military manoeuvres I thought to myself “well I’ll be a pig’s orthodontist. That’s exactly how soldiers are supposed to move in such situations”. With further research I found out about the military advisors Konami worked with to help portray a sense of realism with the enemies, and it worked wonderfully. And because of the use of real manoeuvres, it teaches people about military tactics, consciously for those who recognise it, and subconsciously for everyone else.

Games are an educational tool, it’s a natural part of their message, a bi-product of the entertainment them provide. With a little more intension this could be turned into an exciting and efficient way of educating and entertaining children. So next time you play a game, take notice for what it teaches you. Perhaps the loading screens will teach you patience – ba dum tish – or perhaps Left4dead taught you the importance of having a zombie plan for when the inevitable outbreak occurs…sorry I lost my train of thought again. Whatever the game, there is a lesson within its entertainment, and you should be proud to say “your intellect depends on your entertainment”.

Pages: 1 2 3