Gaining Power... To What End?

I am competitive person...always have been, always will be. Video games never appealed to me because there was never a definitive win/loss record involved. Sure you could get the top score, or in the case of Runescape, you could acquire the most power and wealth, but winning and losing were not intrinsically, at least to me, intertwined in the game. While I consider myself fairly athletic, manipulating a joy stick never constituted an athletic movement for me. Rather, video games, were a 'game of skill' akin to lawn darts. Do you I feel any differently after several hours playing Runescape? I am not really sure, to be honest. I have a basic understanding of the game: acquire survival skills, weaponry, magic, and most of all wealth. All of these attributes, acquired through the trial and error of play, allow me the opportunity to pursue more difficult quests and gain higher status. For instance, I now know how to chop down a tree, build a fire with flint and steel; and, subsequently cook raw shrimp to eat and, most importantly, gain strength for further quests. My knowledge of the game is so rudimentary at this point that my motivation to continue to play is still quite low. I have to invest a great deal more time in the game before I will feel a greater affinity for the game.

Skills I have acquired thus far:

Use of maps: manipulation of bird's eye view, different elevations, spatial relations
Barter: Free enterprise system. Goods for skills. (I have little to no skills at this point.)
Math: Need math skills to trade or purchasing expensive items
Social: Must be able to communicate with players both on and off-line. Acquiring knowledge from others is essential to the game.

This notion that one needs to play more, explore more, dovetails with the development of current pedagogy. Squire and Jenkins (2003) argue that a challenge for educators pursuing game-based learning pedagogies is that students' knowledge may not match with traditional school based practices. Instead, a student's ability to participate in complex social practices, learn new knowledge, and perform well in novel, changing situations needs to be considered valuable learning. Likewise, Simpson (2005) argued that children today spend more time outside the classroom - exploring, questioning and problem solving - than they do learning in school. This notion varies greatly from the views of Stuart Brown, president of the National Institute for Play. In a recent New York Times article, Brown called play part of the ‘‘developmental sequencing of becoming a human primate. If you look at what produces learning and memory and well-being, play is as fundamental as any other aspect of life, including sleep and dreams.’’ When questioned about play and video games Brown responded, " that while video games do have some play value, a true sense of ‘interpersonal nuance’ can be achieved only by a child who is engaging all five senses by playing in the three-dimensional world. " Tangentially, a study by a behavioral neuroscientist, Jaak Panksepp’s, believes ADHD is caused by an ‘‘overactivity of play urges in the nervous system.’’ Panksepp's belief is that "play therapy," extra opportunities for active play, negate the hyperactivity often associated with the disease. Similarly, a study (Loeppky 2006) about Runescape play and Asperger's disease, a mild form of autism, explored whether playing Runescape allowed Asperger's patients to exhibit stronger social and cognitive skills. The notion that video games, a solitary experience, might promote social and cognitive skills seems counter intuitive. Yet, recent study, Mangis (2003), stated that, “Gaming is becoming an increasingly social activity...nearly 60 percent of gamers playing with friends, 33 percent playing with siblings, and about 25 percent playing with spouses or parents. LAN parties and massive multiplayer online games are on the upswing.” This "gaming culture" becomes intriguing to those with Asperger's. The ability to interact with "fantasy" characters teaches appropriate social behavior.