How are video games better than reading? In many ways video games are really similar to reading books, except we are usually told to stop playing video games and go do something like homework, going outside, or reading a book. Why is reading a book something that is perceived as good for you when video gaming is perceived as bad for your brain and social behavior? Many studies and researches have already proven otherwise and many writers and video game developers are now fighting against that stereotype. Video games are actually proven to be much better for you as opposed to books or novels. Playing video games is better than reading books due to video games natural interactivity, their social aspect, and their cinematic experiences.
Video games, by their nature are interactive. Pretty much everything you can do in most games is controlled by your input. Video games, unlike books, give you freedom and let you explore more into the world in which you game in. Every world is beautiful and unique and in some games, fully explorable. Video games “require the user to make decisions, giving them the chance to influence the story and even in part design the world in which the game is played out” says Lucy Prebble (Collins). In Prebble’s interview, she argues that video games, as opposed to books, let you be more in control of the outcome of your adventure, therefore providing more fun and mental stimulation. In video games, you can control the protagonist and “by controlling the protagonist in a video game, we become an active participant in the story. We are no longer being passively taken for a ride [compared to a book], but have to process information actively, make decisions and respond to stimuli from the game. Thus videogames are the stronger medium playing to a broader register of the human mind.” says Hans Christian Arnseth (Stanely). Reading books is a more dull experience while video gaming is a really active one.
Another thing video games have going for them against books and novels is their social aspect. In many games you can play online with or against friends. There is nothing even similar to that in reading (not that I know of, at least). Reading is a very lonely experience compared to gaming. When you’re gaming you can audio chat in a party of friends and play similar games with them at the same time. If you’re playing a team based game, you and your friends can all work together to achieve a goal or win a match that takes teamwork to get. ”Team communication skills and leadership communication skills were significantly related to the degree of involvement in the gaming community” (Jagad). In her paper, Jagad wrote that researchers found that online gaming has a positive relation on teamwork and leadership skills. A multi-player game has this effect because over people because when you play with a team you often need to take a leader’s position or help out your teammates. Even in a single player game, people have always found how to make it fun for their friends to enjoy as well. By taking turns or even watch and help, people manage to have a lot of fun with single player games; sometimes even more than by playing by themselves. “In their first study, Ching and Wang observed children who chose to play a computer game during their free time. Though only one child could play at a time, the children negotiated turns and gave each other advice about how to play the game.” (Phys.org). In the study, the researchers found that kids took a solo experience and made it into a fun game for their friends to enjoy as well.
Video Games provide a really cinematic experience that books just can’t. With growing technological power, we are able to render video game images so beautiful that they might just make you think your character is a real actor that just follows your controller’s commands. For example, in a game that I play called Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, the main antagonist, Jonathan Irons, is voice acted by the world famous actor Kevin Spacey. But not only does Kevin Spacey voice Jonathan Irons, he always plays him. Yes, the main antagonist looks just like Kevin Spacey in real life. “The addition of Kevin Spacey lends the game even more cinematic muscle” (Kain). In books you can only imagine your characters which does contribute to your imagination but it is way cooler to see a fully developed character played by your favourite actor! Also, when you play a videogame you get the cinematic experience of a movie and the control of your imagination. For example, The video game series Tomb Raider was so successful and so movie-like that it eventually turned into, well, a movie! The movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is based on Naughty Dog’s best selling video game series. The movie also stars Angelina Jolie, an extremely famous actor that is known for many blockbuster movies. “A popular video game comes to the screen with this big-budget adventure starring Angelina Jolie as a buxom heroine recalling equal parts Indiana Jones and James Bond” (Movies.com). Video games are becoming more like movies all the time but they have an edge over both movies and books; they are interactive.
All in all, video games are always considered a bad thing for you but it has been proven that videogames are better for you and they are more social and exciting than reading books. Natural interactivity, social aspects, and cinematic experiences are the reasons playing video games is better than reading books. I would like to end this post by saying that I’m not against reading books. If anything, I’m a book lover, but I truly think that video games are much more fun and stimulating than books. Thanks Gamers, and see you next month on my upcoming post. 🙂
Works Cited
Collins, Nick. “Video Games ‘More Creative than Reading’”. telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph, 12 Feb. 2012. Web. 2014.
Jagad, Lakshmi. “Online Gaming and Teamwork”. scholarworks.gsu.edu. Scholarworks, 1 Dec. 2011. Web. 2011.
Kain, Eric. “’Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare’ Trailer Reveals Story Details, Awesome Kevin Spacey Animations.” Forbes.com. Forbes, 29 Jul. 2014. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.
Movies.Com. “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”. movies.com. Movies.Com, 15 Jun. 2001. Web. 2014.
Phys.org. “Computer Games Can Make Kids More Social, Not Less”.phys.org. Phys.org, 25 Mar. 2008. Web. 2014.
Stanley, Graham. “Why Playing Video Games Better than Reading Books”. digitalplay.info. DigitalPlay, 6 Nov. 2009. Web. 2014.
Gaming Daily 
Sure there are points in this blog post they make sense and are agreeable, but can a video game increase your literature skills which is used in jobs all across the world?
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Sure they can. As a foreigner, I learned many forms of speech and high literary words just from video games alone. Like I wrote on my post, I’m not against reading. I love reading as I learned most of my English just from reading books but I think as a form of entertainment gaming is better for you. Thanks for commenting on my blog. 🙂
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