Computer Games for a More Productive Tomorrow

As an extension to my previous post, I have some further thoughts on what it means to be productive in relationship to playing computer games.

Computer games are often considered to be a waste of time, an inactive time-sucking recreation that distracts one from their potentially productive life. I say potentially productive because there is a general idea that all of our waking time in a day can actually be productive.  There are many "highly effective people" that have devised ways to go about their days, organizing their lives to the last detail with lists, planners, palm pilots and 'Getting Things Done' types of philosophies.  While I agree that there are any number of bad habits that can interfere with an individual attaining particular goals, I think many of these approaches if taken too literally have the potential to leave out the important role that recreation plays in how we feel about our productive time.  I feel that the whole psychological function of play is based in the fact that we really can't be productive all waking moments of the day and maintain a healthy head space.

I approach my day by seeing it as full of potentially productive time, instead of thinking strictly in terms of fully productive time.  I allow for the fact that my mind has a tendency to rebel if not given regular license to relax.  I think of it as recess, and the more focused the work I am doing the more important it is to give my mind a chance to run around and scream on the playground.  I find computer games to be a perfect way to take a mental break, and the interactive quality of gaming is more refreshing for me than the relatively vegetative state of watching TV or a movie.

It is important that when I do allow myself these breaks that I don't feel guilty about it.  Thinking that gaming is a waste of time, especially if you love to play games, is a sure way of associating guilt with your pleasure.  A brain break that leaves you feeling guilty does not allow the psychological benefits of playing to achieve their full effect.

I found this from Psychology Today:

"We would all agree that play lifts stress from us. It refreshes us and recharges us. It restores our optimism. It changes our perspective, stimulating creativity. It renews our ability to accomplish the work of the world. By anyone's reckoning, those are remarkably worthy achievements.

But there is also new evidence that play does much more. It may in fact be the highest expression of our humanity, both imitating and advancing the evolutionary process. Play appears to allow our brains to exercise their very flexibility, to maintain and even perhaps renew the neural connections that embody our human potential to adapt, to meet any possible set of environmental conditions."

It would seem that if we can appreciate the psychological need for regular play, and if we understand that not all time in the day can actually be productive in an exaggerated sense, then guilt-free play time has the potential to be very important, and in turn can lead to more efficient productivity. There are many ways to find the benefits associated with playing, but for those of us who enjoy spending that time playing computer games, the reasons for doing so are looking better and better.

PS: I read a great post recently (in the past few weeks) on a gaming blog about the importance of play in the animal kingdom, but for the life of me I can't remember where I read it, nor can I find it again.  If anyone can point me in the right direction it would be appreciated.

Update: Thanks to Brinstar for finding the post by Matt Sakey HERE.  You can read more details in the comments below.

Comments

[roger]

hi
congrats for your post. i will make an appointment for it in my brazilian blog Gamecultura [www.blog.gamecultura.com.br].

about your post scriptum, i dont know the post you recall, but i would like too. but maybe the book of huizinga, homo ludens, can be helpfull for the play importance in animal nature subject you are looking for.

regards
roger

[Guilded Lily]

Roger -

Greetings to you in Brazil, and thanks for the mention on Gamecultura blog. I will try to find out more about the blog post I mention, and look for the book by Huizinga you recommend. I also recall that many years ago there was an article in National Geographic magazine, so maybe it's time to try to dig that up. Thanks! - Guilded Lily

[Brinstar]

Could it be this:

http://www.igda.org/columns/clash/clash_Feb06.php

?

[Guilded Lily]

Brinstar-

Yes! That's it! I read this paragraph excerpted on a blog somewhere:

"Despite reams of animal kingdom proof to the contrary, “play” is seen in western culture as childish and pointless. Zoologists and gamers both know that's not the case, but to everyone else a game is empty entertainment: insignificant, worthless, something to be set aside in adulthood in favor of drearier and more mature pursuits like paying the bills and regretting things. There is a Puritanical view that games are something bad, or at least something meaningless, and that grown ups should know better than to play or (God forbid) make them. This philosophy is strongest in North America, which after all is where the Puritans put down roots. Their “be ashamed of everything” mantra implies that while children can maintain visions of sugarplums, adults should frankly know better."

Which is what got me thinking along the lines of my post above. Thanks very much for finding that for me, I'm very happy to be able to read the whole essay! - Guilded Lily

[tekanji]

Great post! We need more people like you pointing out the obvious: recreation IS part of a productive day.

Another aspect of this, I think, is also in "traditional" culture versus "popular" culture. If you, say, play a sport for your recreation, you're less likely to be told that you're wasting your time than if you say you play video games. As video games age, they're beginning to become more accepted into traditional thought, but there is still an overwhelming consensus that video games are "childish" or a "waste of time" or whatever.

Of course, way back in the day Kabuki was considered popular culture in Japan and now it's one of the markings of high art, so it just goes to show how time makes everything into a tradition.

[Guilded Lily]

Tekanji -

It does seem very obvious when you think about it, but it is something so easily overlooked in general. It seems like society sees only the extremes; the over-achiever or the slacker; missing the importance of balance.

You make a great point about the contrast between the social acceptability of 'traditional' vs. 'popular' culture. Do you think this even carries over to gaming culture? - i.e., if you play Madden you are a jock (more traditional and therefore more acceptable) and if you play RPGs it just means you are a geek?

Thanks for your comment - Guiled Lily

[tekanji]

Guilded Lily said: "Do you think this even carries over to gaming culture? - i.e., if you play Madden you are a jock (more traditional and therefore more acceptable) and if you play RPGs it just means you are a geek?"

I never thought about it that way, but now that you mention it, I do believe it does. I know a lot of "normal" people (guys mostly) who are into sports games and FPS's, whereas those of us who tend to gravitate more towards RPGs, strategy, puzzle games, etc tend to be more firmly in the "geek" category. That's just my anecdotal experience, but I wouldn't be surprised to see it holding up to a large extent in a greater context.

[Guilded Lily]

Tekanji -

It is just a guess on my part, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was the case on a larger scale. Maybe I am just projecting my Jr. High socialization anxiety here, but I do think we RPG fans get the geeky end of the stick. I'm happy to have it though - bring on the skill trees! - Guilded Lily