Gaming and libraries

I have just finished reading the gaming lecture. It certainly hit close to home since I have two boys aged 11 and 14. They, and my husband are avid gamers. We own two computers, a WII and an X-Box 360.

My older son Dylan, has been critically thinking about video games for years. "A good game needs to be first and formost fun and as well as visualy stimulating. For a game to be truly great it must strike a balance between creating an atmosphere through a compelling narative, well produced effects and graphics, and a control scheme that is relatively easy to get a hang of but hard to master."

My younger son Eric, does not read novels. He reads graphic novels. However, most of his reading comes through gaming. There are menus of different attributes, battle locations, and strengths and weaknesses. Eric plays one game that has an on-line component to it. He chats with one friend in Spain, another in the U.S. and a third in France. Chatting with the friend in France means he is pulling out his English/French dictionary to translate.

My husband has been playing games since the early 1980's. In the past 18 years the only time we didn't have a computer with games, he played a game of baseball with playing cards. The need to stretch his mind with strategy and luck is there.

One thing I find about video games. There are no small pieces to get lost. Each game is one disk.

In playing these games, a lot goes on: role playing, problem solving, being rewarded for each achievement, the chance to retry a situation, the chance to be different characters,the chance play a sitation from both sides, consequences for making poor choices or not having the best skill, working co-operatively with others. These are classic game playing and role playing activities from any era. Gaming is a different venue for it, one that isn't limited by pieces that will fit in a box.

As for me, I also play games. I'm very selective about which ones I play, but the ones I like can absorb me for hours too.

As library staff, we need to know that this world is out there. It is a different kind of literacy, but then again, novels were once dismissed as being newfangled fluff.

Cheers!

Janer