E.persuasive+research+Essay

Video games are part of our lives. They entertain and engage children, teens and adults. “ Americans named videogames as their favorite form of home entertainment for the third year in a row in 1999. Twice as many people nominated videogames as chose watching TV, three times as many preferred videogames to going out to the movies or reading books, and six times as many preferred videogames to renting movies. Total videogame software and hardware sales in the United States reached $8.9 billion, versus $7.3 billion for movie box-office receipts.” (Poole, pp. 21-22) Video games are educational for children and teenagers. Complex video games, such as Call of Duty, require a player to use problem solving skills, observe characters in the game and play by a set of game rules. Playing video games prepares younger and older students for success in the world. Problem solving is important in video game play. Players have to examine the environment to see how to solve the problem or complete an objective. Players usually have a task at hand to complete in the game. Sometimes an objective involves many small tasks or the task is very strenuous. Players have a higher status when they complete objectives. In multiplayer games, teammates use strategy and work together to solve problems. Teammates who are weak or strong determine your success. A weak teammate needs a strong teammate to balance out the team. A team with strong players will overpower their opponents. In failing the player finds different ways to solve the problem he is facing. Problem solving is an important life skill that players use in video game Studying the character helps the player find a weakness to defeat it. Sometimes players follow a character in Call of Duty Black Ops. Players learn by watching. For example following the character through the campaign helps the player complete the campaign. Experience makes characters strong. The stronger characters can upgrade weapons after they have experience. As their experience grows, the character grows even stronger. Then the player gets new tools to upgrade their character’s skill and strength. Studying the characters help players learn from their mistakes. Video games have many rules that challenge players. Playing by the rules is very important. Real world games, like football, have rules too. Penalties, like off sides, hurt a team. When a team member in a video game breaks rules they hurt their team too. Playing by the rules helps your character grow better and stronger. Breaking the rules sets your character up to fail. Not everyone agrees that playing video games are a learning activity. Kelly Pfeiffer, parent educator and blogger, “Common teen activities such as TV watching and playing video games could be the worst activities for the prefrontal region of the teen brain, warn some neural scientists. Video games are fun, but they do not stimulate the brain.” ( [|www.suite101.com] ) Our school should be using video games because they are a valuable learning tool. Complex video games require a player to use problem solving skills, observe characters and what’s happening around them and play by the rules. Playing video games prepares younger and older students for success in our world. School should invest their taxpayers money in using this technology to engage the youth of our nation. Video games are part of our lives. They entertain and engage children, teens and adults. Having fun and learning can go together.

Works Cited Pfeiffer, Kelly. __ Brain Research Sheds Light on Teen Activities: Video Games and __ __Watching TV Unhealthy for the Prefrontal Cortex__ , www.suite101.com. Poole, Steven. __Trigger Happy__, Arcade Publishing. New, Arcade Publishing. New York 2000.