essay writing on video game

Essays About Video Games: Top 12 Examples and Prompts

Video games have revolutionized the way we have fun today. If you are writing essays about video games, check out our guide to inspire your writing.  

Few can contest the fact that video games have taken over the world. From the basic, almost “primitive” games of the 1970s like Pong to the mind-bending virtual reality games of the 2020s, they have been a source of entertainment for all. Moreover, they have proven quite profitable; countries like Japan and the United States have made tens of billions of dollars solely from the video game market.

Despite their popularity, much has been debated over the potentially harmful side effects that video games may have, particularly on children. One side argues that playing certain video games can lead to people exhibiting violence in the future, while others believe that video games teach players essential life skills. Regardless, they will continue to be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future. 

For engaging essays about video games, read the essay examples featured below for inspiration.

1. What electronic games can teach us by Kendall Powell

2. designers are imagining video games without guns by keith stuart, 3. playing video games all summer won’t make you feel worse by nicole wetsman, 4.  violent video games bad by andrea newman.

• 5. ​​The health effects of too much gaming by Peter Grinspoon

Writing Prompts For Essays About Video Games

1. video games: good or bad, 2. the benefits of video games, 3. what is your favorite video game, 4. do video games cause people to become violent, 5. video games in your life, 6. video games vs. traditional games, 7. is the video game rating system enough.

“In other studies, researchers found that gamers who trained on Tetris were better at mentally rotating two-dimensional shapes than those who played a control game. Students who played two hours of All You Can E.T., an educational game designed to enhance the executive function of switching between tasks, improved their focus-shifting skills compared with students who played a word search game.”

Powell explains a few possibilities of applying video games to education. As it turns out, certain video games can improve players’ skills, depending on the mechanics. Researchers are inspired by this and hope to take advantage of the competitive, motivational nature of gaming to encourage children to learn. New games are designed to help kids improve their focus, coordination, and resilience, and game designers hope they will succeed. 

“Imagine a game where you’re a war reporter seeking to capture the most iconic, representative images in a battle environment: You’d still get the sense of peril that audiences expect from action adventures, but your relationship with the environment would be more profound. It would be Call of Duty from the perspective of a creative participant rather than a violent interloper.”

The graphic nature of some video games is said to make kids violent, so it is only natural that some creators try to change this. Stuart writes that it is possible to maintain the fun that shooter-type games induce without using guns. He gives examples of games where you do not kill your enemy, simply stunning or capturing them instead. He also suggests photography as an alternative to killing in a “shooting” game. Finally, he suggests basing video games around helping others, making friends, and doing more peaceful, creative tasks.

“Any role video games play in skewing well-being that did pop up in the study was too small to have a real-world impact on how people feel, the authors said. People would have to play games for 10 more hours per day than their baseline to notice changes in their well-being, the study found.”

Wetsman counters the widespread belief that video games “destroy your brain.” Research done with a sample of 39,000 players over six weeks has shown that whether one plays video games for long or short periods, their mental health is not impacted much. There are some exceptions; however, there are not enough to conclude that video games are, in fact, harmful.

“Some people believe that the connection between violent games, and real violence is also fairly intuitive. In playing the games kids are likely to become desensitized to gory images;which could make them less disturbing, and perhaps easier to deal with in real life. While video games aren’t about violence their capacity to teach can be a good thing.”

In her essay, Newman writes about the supposed promotion of violence in some video games. However, she believes this violence does not cause people to be more aggressive later. Instead, she believes these games expose children to certain atrocities so they will not be traumatized if they see them in real life. In addition, these games supposedly promote connections and friendships. Finally, Newman believes that these “harmful” can make you a better person.

5. ​​ The health effects of too much gaming by Peter Grinspoon

“Gamers need to be educated on how to protect their thumbs, wrists, and elbows, their waistlines, their emotional state, their sleep, and their eyes. Simple education around taking breaks, stretching, eating healthy snacks, and resting and icing your thumb, wrist, or elbow when it starts hurting can address injuries early, before they become significant. For the eyes, gamers can try the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, try to look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.”

Grinspoon discusses both the benefits and the health risks of gaming. Video games allow people to interact with each other remotely and bond over specific missions or tasks, and some research shows that they have cognitive benefits. However, some gamers may develop vision problems and hand and wrist injuries. Gaming and “staring in front of a screen the whole day” is also associated with obesity. Overall, Grinspoon believes that gaming is best done in moderation.

Looking for more? Check out these essays about hobbies .

Many parents believe that their children’s “bad behavior” is because of video games. Based on your experience and others, decide: are video games good or bad for you? Make sure to read viewpoints from both sides and write an essay based on your position. Would you encourage others to play video games? Discuss these pros and cons for an interesting argumentative essay.

Like anything else, video games have both positive and negative aspects. Explain the good that video games can do for you: the skills they can equip you with, the lessons they can teach, and anything else. Also, include whether you believe their benefits outweigh the disadvantages they may pose. 

For your essay, write about your favorite video game and why you chose it. What is its meaning to you, and how has it affected your life? Describe the gameplay mechanics, characters, storyline, and general impact on the gaming community or society. You can write about any game you want, even if you have not played it; just ensure the content is sufficient.

Many claim that playing violent video games can make you violent in the future. Research this phenomenon and conclude whether it is true or not. Is the evidence sufficient? There are many resources on this topic; support your argument by citing credible sources, such as news articles, statistics, and scientific research.

Video games have been a part of almost all our lives. Recall a treasured experience with video games and explain why it is significant. How old were you? Why do you remember it fondly? How did this experience make you feel? Answer these questions in your own words for an exciting essay.

There are stark differences between video and traditional games, such as board games and card games. For an engaging essay, compare and contrast them and write about which is more entertaining, in your opinion. Be creative; this should be based on your own opinions and ideas.

The video game content rating system is used to classify video games based on their appropriateness for specific ages. However, parents complain that they are not strict enough and allow the display of violent content to children. Explore the criteria behind the rating system, decide whether it needs to be changed or not, and give examples to support your argument.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips !

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

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The Field of Dreams Approach: On Writing About Video Games

Tony Tulathimutte on the future of video game criticism

Every year, more and more great essays are published on literary sites concerning video games. In the past year I’ve especially loved entries like Janet Frishberg’s “On Playing Games, Productivity, and Right Livelihood,” Joseph Spece’s “A Harvest of Ice,” and Adam Fleming Petty’s “The Spatial Poetics of Nintendo: Architecture, Dennis Cooper, and Video Games.” But for each great essay there are a handful of others written like apologies, seemingly perennial pleas to take video games seriously as a form of meaningful narrative.

I hoped to have a conversation with a writer about games that went a little deeper. There were two main reasons I turned to the Whiting Award-winning writer Tony Tulathimutte. The first was because of his response in an interview with Playboy , in which he said that his interest in gaming probably “had something to do with my desire to bend or break formal conventions in fiction.” The second was his three thousand word essay about Clash of Clans , “Clash Rules Everything Around Me,” which was exactly the type of essay about gaming I wanted to see more of. Tulathimutte is the author of Private Citizens , which we listed as one of the 25 best novels of 2016 .

What I want is long-form literary criticism. But writers should just write what they want to read. The body of work will be there and the audience will follow it. The ‘ Field of Dreams’ approach.

Graham Oliver: Can we have this conversation without getting stuck trying to legitimize video games as a medium?

Tony Tulathimutte: “Are video games art?” “Have we had the video game Citizen Kane  yet?”

GO: That’s such a boring and overdone conversation. I think it’s more interesting to look at the ways in which video games actually do interact with literature, and not to hold the conversation just as a demonstration of our respect.

TT: Take the respect for granted and go from there. I thought about starting a literary magazine about video games a while back, but the discourse had by then become so toxic that, even with the most anodyne academic essay you could write, the best you could hope for was that it would be ignored. There needs to be more space for this kind of writing, but I just didn’t want to wade into it then. I feel a little better about it now, which is why I did the Clash of Clans  essay.

GO: What is the difference between video game-related essays showing up on a literary site, versus a site where the primary purpose is the intersection of video games and literature? What could that site do that can’t be done (or isn’t being done) otherwise?

TT: Part of it is just volume. You can’t have a general interest magazine like the New Yorker covering video games to the same depth or degree as it does film or music or even theater. Every big magazine at this point covers video games occasionally — I know the New Yorker has written about Minecraft and No Man’s Sky , for instance. New York Magazine just did a big essay on gaming more broadly.

But for some reason, there’s no video game editor at the New Yorker , no dedicated departments or verticals, except at newer places like VICE, Vox , The Verge . Unlike music or movies, video games aren’t equally distributed through the culture; it’s more compartmentalized. This owes in part to a marketing apparatus around games that caters to and fosters a specific audience, and because the audience for certain genres — responding to these pressures — became self-selecting, especially with respect to gender. Video games may be art, but they are also a STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] industry, which makes them no different from any other STEM field in that regard.

GO: It’s a question of access. I was thinking about your Clash essay; you have this entire paragraph that has to explain this massively popular and mechanically fairly simple game. Does that automatically turn off an audience who are already proficient in those basics? In which case, are you only writing for people who don’t game? I suppose that’s another conundrum of coverage in a general interest publication…

TT: If you read an essay by Susan Sontag or Martin Amis about the great books, or by André Bazin about film, they can assume a certain level of knowledge about the text or film from their audience. I can write that way about games on my own time and my own dime, but there’s no presumed canon or general readership for games, because they’re not taught in schools and not regularly discussed in big publications. So you either write for the diehards — the equivalent of film buffs or bookworms — or for novices.

GO: Is that why we haven’t had novels which interact with video games the way David Foster Wallace did with tennis, or Ann Patchett with opera? Neither of their books included explanatory paragraphs; it’s so ingrained in our culture that it seems almost impossible to have grown up without some idea of what tennis or opera are.

TT: Most people have played a game, and the average gamer spends six hours a week playing them. I think it has less to do with the medium inherently than just the failure of writers who have approached the subject. I haven’t read everything on games, but so far, the fledgling efforts have been too literal or kind of corny. Some writers seem to think that you’re supposed to transpose the form of games into fiction — to provide this very lightly remediated experience of reading a book so that it feels like you’re playing a game.

The last thing you want to do is create a watered-down experience of gaming in a text. A book should still work as a book. It’s the usual difficulty of writing about other mediums; there’s that old chestnut that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. But there are special considerations for how to write about any form in a way that conveys deep presence and vividness comparable to the experience itself.

GO: When you’re writing about games in one form or another, do you find you prefer to write for someone who is like you — very interested in both writing and video games — or is your preference for someone in that liminal space somewhere between them?

TT: I approach it as I do with all my creative writing, which is to write for the audience of Tony. That frees to me to write things irrespective of their publishability. Right now I’m working on a long essay about Metal Gear Solid  — the whole series. That’s between ten and twenty games, depending on which ones you call canon. The dialogue alone stacks up to something like sixty thousand words each. And the companion synopsis is almost three thousand words. I’m just trying to make points about the series that haven’t been made before. Would Kill Screen or The New York Review of Books ever run that? Hell to the fuck no.

If writers keep doing this, eventually there will be a readership equipped to deal with it. For the longest time there have been really smart people playing video games and wondering where all the good criticism was. It’s a discoverability issue, to a certain extent. There’s so much good writing out there about games, but most games-writing outlets cater to fairly niche perspectives. Action Button is extremely good, irreverent creative criticism, probably my favorite. Five Out of Ten is academically oriented, Kill Screen is mainstream journalism. What I want is long-form literary criticism. But writers should just write what they want to read. The body of work will be there and the audience will follow it. The Field of Dreams approach.

GO: You said earlier (and you’ve also mentioned it in your Playboy interview) that the discourse around games is toxic and partisan. Are you talking about within or outside of the gaming community?

TT: All of it. Partisan lines have been drawn within it for purposes far beyond aesthetic disagreement. In part because so much of this discourse occurs in a medium where people are not held accountable for their words, i.e. on the internet.

GO: How does that compare to conversations within the literary community? You’ve written before, for instance, about the MFA vs. NYC debate .

TT: I want to do my part to de-estrange gaming discourse. Not de-stigmatize or demystify, but de-estrange. This cancerous shit happens everywhere — it just happens in a spectacularly aggressive and organized way in gaming.

GO: When you’re not actually writing about video games, what place do they hold in your life? Are they the stress relief at the end of the day, the reward after two hours of writing? Or something you try to avoid when you’re in the middle of a big project?

TT: I’ve played video games since I was three years old. I have loved video games a lot longer than I’ve loved literature — which is not to say more. Actually… yeah, probably more. It just so happens that I’m a writer. I don’t feel the guilt that some people do who, even if they enjoy gaming, approach it feeling as if it’s a waste of time, or a form of entertainment which takes them away from their “real life.” You wouldn’t condemn a cineaste or a lover of literature. But a fug of non-respectability still attends video games.

That said, the reward mechanisms in most games are designed to get you hooked in cognitive motivational ways that don’t apply to most literature. So it’s absolutely possible for games to displace other things that you would want to do just as much. I don’t struggle to fit them into my life, but I probably would, if my life consisted of much more than just teaching and writing.

GO: I suppose I was thinking more about the effect on your mental state. For instance, I have to save video games for the end of the day, because I have a hard time going from the almost meditative state of game-playing into writing. How does it fit in, not in the sense of time but in how it interacts with your ability to produce writing afterwards?

TT: If a visual narrative enters my head before I start writing, it’s enormously difficult to pull myself back into writing. A huge amount of psychic inertia has to be overcome to transition from consuming a narrative to assembling one. I have a lot of wacko bird theories as to why. Perhaps language is such an information-poor medium that it demands a sparseness of input, so that you can have room to envision or create new stuff in your head. Maybe the act of viewing, which puts you in the posture of evaluation and judgment, beefs up the inner critic that makes it hard to write. That’s all pure superstition, I have nothing to base that on.

GO: What about when it comes to the type of video game? You’ve mentioned playing DotA 2 in other interviews, which is very different from more narrative-heavy single player games. In the middle of a big writing project, do you find yourself drawn more to one type of game over another?

TT: With the caveat that writers are the worst self-appraisers, I’ll say that I have not noticed any influence from the type of games I’m playing on what I write. I think games engage an entirely different part of my brain, which might also account for the difficulty I have toggling between those two modes. That said, I think longer games can work like long books — immersively — where you have to pinch your nose and take a deep breath before plunging into the Neapolitan books and it just becomes the medium you swim in for months. Some games demand a higher or more frequent degree of engagement to get any kind of nuance at all. You can play a thousand hours of DotA 2 , without coming anywhere near understanding it.

GO: How does that compare to the relationship between reading and your own work? Do you avoid other people’s writing when working, or do you keep books on your desk for the sake of referencing them?

TT: I do. I try to keep a messy puddle of books around my work area, in case I want to steal something from somebody else. But I Google as much as I refer to other books. I don’t disconnect from the internet when I’m writing, like some writers who have this almost mystical anathema against technology. I generally find I benefit from my procrastination.

You can have a rom-com game, a campus game, an adultery game, or a boring-but-important game that will get taught in high schools circa 2110.

GO: You referred to language as being information-poor a minute ago, which reminds me of the AGNI essay you wrote on boredom. The thesis of that essay was basically that boredom in literature is okay. Can you also apply that idea to video games? Can there be meaningful or productive boredom while playing, through the act of repetition, for instance? I just played Her Story, which I know you enjoyed, and while it has a super interesting story you have to slog through a certain amount of repetition to get to it.

TT: The democratization of game creation is producing a wider range of games, like the Super 8 camera did with film. You can have vignette-style games like Nina Freeman’s —  Cibele , how do you Do It? , Freshman Year , etc. You can have “walking simulators” that are almost purely meditative, like Gone Home , Firewatch , or Dear Esther . I just saw a piece on a game based on Thoreau’s Walden .

The impulses and tendencies that make people want to create literature are present. It will happen more as people are able to do what they want to do, without enormous corporate financial support or even crowdfunding, which, to an extent, just moves the bottom line to having to be crowd-pleasing. Games can be plenty boring in spite of themselves, even if that’s not what they’re trying to do. It’s a cliché by now to point out that the most time investment-heavy games like World of Warcraft consist largely of “grinding.” Or, if you play something like DotA 2 , queuing for a game.

GO: For DotA 2 you also have to spend a lot of time reading up on viable builds. Work that’s not in actually playing the game.

TT: Yes, although I will say that that intellectual work doesn’t feel like tedious labor to me. I have fun looking up builds. The deep strategy and understanding are coextensive with the pleasure of playing the game.

Moments of boredom are built into games for reasons that range from comedy to suspense. I think a lot about the moment in Final Fantasy VI where you’re directed to just wait at the edge of a floating continent for a character to come along. On the one hand you’re sitting watching a clock tick down. On the other hand, it’s extremely tense.

Contrasting aesthetic effects in games to those in other media is not always productive, because it’s like playing Twenty Questions. Can games do X like books? Can games do Y like films? In the same way we should assume games are art, and that there’s an audience out there hungry to make something of them, we should assume that games can do anything. You can have a rom-com game, a campus game, an adultery game, or a boring-but-important game that will get taught in high schools circa 2110.

GO: I go to these academic conferences where a similar conversation is happening among professors who write in the field of gaming studies. Some bring in literary and film theory, and try to lay that on top of video games, while others reject that. The tools and the language are already there from other fields, so it seems easy. On the other hand, it can be kind of reductive, and perhaps prevents you from having the more meaningful conversation.

TT: Right, or even just the conversation you’re trying to have. There are also those efforts to create a language around game studies, partly I think try to legitimatize it in the eyes of the academy. You get people going on about the Ludologists versus the Narratologists, about ludonarrative dissonance, copping these quasi-academic terms. I can see the point of systematizing things, but my favorite criticism helps you not to just describe and understand, but to enjoy stuff more.

GO: How much do you worry about the effect that being an “out” gamer will have on your literary career?

TT: If I were bashful or coy about my love of video games I wouldn’t do this interview. The same goes for pornography or television. Even the language of being “out” implies a political and social pressure or an importance that just doesn’t exist. I’d hate to believe that being a writer means living in a constant state of deposition, publicizing everything you do, think, or feel. The fact that I like video games isn’t interesting. Video games are interesting. I love talking about them with smart people, both within and outside of gaming culture. But I’m also perfectly happy to be left alone with them.

GO: Do you hope there’s a day around the corner where a game developer decides to make a narrative-heavy game like Life is Strange , Her Story , or Kentucky Route Zero , and they look at a list of literary authors to figure out who should write it?

TT: Not at all. I believe that I can do a lot of things in writing, but I haven’t felt an urge to create a video game since the third grade. It’s always good to have some kind of interest that is totally pure, where you’re going to be an eternal fan, because sausage-making can disillusion you fast. If part of the charge of art comes from mystique or sheer baffled admiration, that’s something I want to preserve in at least a few departments of my life.

GO: As a writer, you’re expected to be both a creator and a thoughtful critic as well. It seems like once you publish a book, there is an expectation that you’ll be reviewing or blurbing for other books for the rest of your life. How does your approach to writing about literature differ from your essays on games?

TT: I review books as a practitioner; I know what goes into putting one together, so I can pan one that isn’t well-made. I write about games as an appreciator, in that I want to take something I like and enlarge people’s sense of pleasure or wonder at it. This doesn’t mean that I can’t be critical of a game. I have negative things to say about everything. But because I’m not highly qualified to trivialize or disparage a game on the level of craft — for instance, a sunbeam in a video game might look shitty and aliased because of technological or budgetary constraints that I’m not aware of — my main task is to study its narrative and to add value.

GO: You’ve been thinking about games critically for a long time. I read that you wrote your theses — both in undergrad and for your first master’s degree — on video game interaction. What were you looking at in those?

TT: I majored in something called Symbolic Systems, which would be called cognitive sciences anywhere else. They add linguistics and philosophy to the standard curriculum of formal logic, computer science, and cognitive psychology. I applied the extremely specific language of human-computer interaction studies to video games. So I wrote pretty dry literature surveys of game-writing and interaction theory, and how the latter could be applied to the former.

One was about game controller design, which ended up anticipating the Nintendo Wii controller by a couple of years. I talked about the potential for modular design and gestural input. The second thesis was about menus. They’re the basis of turn-based RPGs, and in games their definitional boundaries are weird. Take the Warp Zone Pipes in Super Mario Brothers . You go over a ceiling and drop into a room where you’re invited to select one of three pipes to go through. It is very clearly a menu, where you’re selecting one of three options, but it’s also a part of the action.

God, I sound so stoned when I talk about this.

GO: I hate to keep mentioning Her Story , but I just started it today. In that game, the user interface also has this blurry boundary. You read a ReadMe file to learn how to use the system, but that’s all part of the in-game computer you interact with as part of the story.

TT: Yeah, it’s brilliant. Any computer interaction can be extrapolated into a game premise. Here it’s basically Database Search: The Game, but it’s fun and well written. To analogize with literature, there are plenty of stories whose premise comes from its formal conceit. My favorite is “ Going for a Beer ” by Robert Coover. He takes a simple sentence gimmick — where two things that happen at different times are written as though they’re simultaneous — and it becomes the conceit of the story. The story is, “what if your life was composed of moments with endings and beginnings but no middles?”

GO: Form matching content. That happens in all types of art, right? There was a piece on Hamilton which pointed out that, as the first half progresses, the Marquis de Lafayette’s rhymes get denser and faster, coinciding with him being in America and increasingly speaking English. The music reflects the plot.

TT: Form generating content, I would say. It’s a classical idea. Sometimes it’s done very explicitly, like with Oulipo. It can be super corny, but it’s a dependable source of inspiration.

It’s Tristram Shandy-levels of batshit.

GO: Going back to your idea for a game-writing website, were you imagining a place that just collected the kind of long-form writing you want to see, or were you also imagining a community that would be built around it?

TT: I am not too concerned with building community. The idea was simply to get critical essays on games­ — not fiction, poetry, reviews, or personal essays, but literary analysis. Like the essay I’m working on about the Metal Gear Solid series… So many of the male characters lose their hands and are sterile and have daddy issues and misinterpret the will of one female character, The Boss. Aside from the glaring Freudian overtones, what’s that about? This is not stuff that figures into the plot as it plays out, but is something that I think screams out for conversation.

GO: I was a Nintendo kid and then jumped to PC gaming, so I never got into the Metal Gear  games.

TT: It’s like the Infinite Jest of games. As far as I know, it’s the longest continuous scripted narrative in games. You can make a strained case for things like Zelda or Metroid , but this is the most sustained vision from an auteurist figure, Hideo Kojima, and it’s just bonkers. It’s Tristram Shandy -levels of batshit.

GO: Well, that sells it. I now have to ask the big, speculative question, since you just called it the Infinite Jest of games. What do you think David Foster Wallace’s writing would have been like, had he been obsessed with video games rather than television?

TT: This question is so enormously counterfactual it might as well be a novel. The guy was hugely tech-avoidant. He typed with one finger on an old computer. But games seem very contiguous with his concerns in Infinite Jest . Though who’s to say Virginia Woolf wouldn’t have also gotten equally invested in games? Wallace is a gimme because of the technological overlap, but to me the more interesting speculative question is, What would a game written by P.G. Wodehouse be like? I want to see an essay on  that .

How to Have Fun Destroying Yourself: An Interview with Tony Tulathimutte, Author of Private Citizens

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How to Write an Essay about Video Games: Presenting Effective Arguments in Papers

Gaming on video consoles is becoming more and more common. In actuality, the typical gamer plays for roughly six hours each week. There are many who claim that video games are harmful to one’s health since they promote inactive lifestyles like prolonged sitting and isolation from the outside world. On the other hand, some people say that playing video games is a good way to unwind and relax, and they are not wrong. So, what is the real story of video games? Are they good or bad? The controversy of playing video games presents an opportunity for students to either be proponents or antagonists of the issue through essays. Accordingly, this article discusses how a learner can write an essay about video games.

It would be best to do thorough research before writing an essay about video games

Research is often the most challenging aspect of preparing an essay. While writing your video games essay, you’ll have to employ the information you get from research to define video games, describe different genres, and give relevant examples to support your claims. Students must recognize that the amount of research they conduct totally affects how good their essays turn out. Your video game essay will benefit greatly from your careful attention to detail and thorough investigation. Just keep in mind that you are trying to convince your audience to see things from your point of view. This is why having a great deal of background information is essential. Researching your favorite video game would give you an added advantage. Additionally, to support your claims, you must include relevant examples and research-based data.

You should develop an introduction that captures your reader’s interest

The whole point of the opening paragraph is to capture the interest of the audience. To achieve this, it should pose an intriguing topic or provide a contradiction or paradox. You ought to add a good hook to grab the reader’s attention so they can’t help but keep reading your paper. Given that there are numerous motivations for why individuals engage in video games, the introduction is where you have to specify the reasons. Moreover, it would be best to incorporate your thesis statement in the introduction. A thesis statement is basically the writer’s primary concept, summed up in one or a few sentences. A well-formulated thesis statement expresses the work’s central argument in a way that makes sense in light of the inquiry or issue at hand. It would be the correct response to the question, “What is the primary theme of this essay?” from the instructor. Nonetheless, you should perceive your thesis as an opinion that may be debated at any time, rather than an established fact or objective reality. In other words, now is the time to speak your mind regarding the impact of video games on today’s youth.

You must present your arguments in the body paragraphs

The arguments are what learners utilize to support their thesis. A single contention and one or two examples must each have their own paragraph. It would be best to provide your reasoning for your video game position and be sure to explain why you firmly disagree with the opposing viewpoint. Examples include your own experiences and, where appropriate, references to data from studies, forecasts, and statistics. Students should provide answers to contentious topics like “Do video games promote addiction and violence among players?” The arguments you employ ought to back your main point rather than contradict it.

You may offer vivid illustrations as you write an argumentative essay about video games

Learners should offer evocative examples of the genres and video games under consideration. Instead of stressing about whether the material you discover online or the game’s publishers are legit, dedicate yourself to writing a fun and vibrant paper for the person who reads it. This approach piques the audience’s attention and facilitates their comprehension of the argumentative essay about video games. Additionally, these vivid examples assist you in conveying your ideas in a manner that words can’t. Even if you aren’t convinced that your assignment requires an example, using one might perk up your reader and provide your arguments additional weight.

You should write a conclusion for your essay

The last section is meant to sum up the college essay. You may accomplish this by restating the thesis statement and briefly mentioning the arguments you presented in your body paragraphs. This approach will help the audience understand how you systematically addressed the issue and made conclusions. For instance, suppose you had to respond to the question, “Do games negatively affect us?” A topic like that can’t be satisfactorily answered by psychology, particularly when it involves something as novel as video games. Consequently, it is actually way easier to just pick a side and support your position with some research. In the end, your readers don’t expect the argument to be elaborated upon but rather summarized. No new material should be introduced in the last paragraph.

Identifying the sources you employed would be best

When you are writing an essay about video games, it is essential to cite your sources. That means you got to make a list of every resource you used in your paper. References to diverse books, scientific studies, statistical data, and remarks made by well-known experts are acceptable. It would help to make sure your research is from the past five years.

Proofreading is vital for developing a top-notch paper

Students must make sure that their essays about video games have been edited and proofread prior to submission. So basically, you are going to check your assignment for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes. Completing an essay that is free of errors increases a learner’s likelihood of academic success. Here are some tips to help you proofread your work:

• Read the text aloud. This will enable you to detect any mistakes.
• Take your time proofreading and revising your work. Spend sufficient time on it to ensure you catch any possible oversights.
• Concentrate on correcting a single mistake at a time. Avoid the hassle of searching for spelling and grammar mistakes at the same time. Prior to checking for punctuation and spelling problems, you may concentrate on grammatical issues.
• You may also create a list of the most typical errors that students make while writing essays, then review your work for each one.

Using these suggestions will guarantee that your essay is devoid of all types of mistakes that might undermine how persuasive your argument is. Alternatively, you can delegate your “ write my essay ” request to online essay writing services like CustomWritings which may allow you to complete a high-quality paper about video games.

Extra tips for presenting better arguments in essays about video games

Today’s youth often engage in video gaming, and this trend will only spread in the coming years. Composing a paper about video games can help you learn more about the subject while also providing readers with information they can utilize in their lives. Just consider the potential for them to be inspired by and gain new knowledge from your essay about video games. Following this article’s recommendations should take you a step closer to achieving your academic goals.

Nick Sinclair

Nick Sinclair, a gaming aficionado since the Commodore 64 era, studied Creative Computer Games Design in university before founding his own gaming company. Discovering a passion for content creation, Nick now helps gamers squeeze every drop of fun out of their favorite gaming hardware

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Essay on Video Games

In the rapidly evolving digital age, video games have emerged as a dominant form of entertainment and a significant cultural phenomenon. Their influence extends beyond mere amusement, affecting cognitive development, social interactions, and even physical health. This essay aims to explore the multifaceted impact of video games, shedding light on their benefits and challenges while offering a balanced perspective for students participating in essay writing competitions.

Video Games

Video games have undergone a remarkable evolution since their inception in the 1950s. From simple pixelated games to immersive virtual realities, they have transformed into complex narratives that captivate players’ imaginations. This evolution reflects technological advancements and the growing sophistication of gamers’ tastes and demands.

Cognitive Benefits

Research has shown that video games can enhance various cognitive skills. They improve problem-solving abilities, spatial awareness, and multitasking skills. Games that require strategic thinking, such as puzzles or role-playing games, can significantly boost players’ decision-making processes and adaptability to changing situations.

Educational Potential

Educators have begun to recognize the potential of video games as learning tools. Educational games can make learning more engaging and interactive, providing a practical application of concepts in a controlled environment. This approach can cater to different learning styles and paces, potentially transforming traditional educational methodologies.

Social Interaction and Community Building

Online multiplayer games offer vast platforms for social interaction, allowing players to collaborate, compete, and communicate with others across the globe. This virtual socialization can foster teamwork, leadership skills, and a sense of community among players, challenging the stereotype of gaming as an isolating activity.

Physical and Mental Health Impacts

The impact of video games on physical and mental health is a subject of ongoing debate. While excessive gaming can lead to sedentary lifestyles and associated health issues, active games like those using motion sensors can promote physical activity. Moreover, video games can offer therapeutic benefits, such as stress relief and improved mood, and have been explored as treatment aids for anxiety and depression.

Positive Impacts

• Cognitive Skills: Certain video games, especially those involving strategy and problem-solving, can improve cognitive functions such as memory, attention, and spatial reasoning.
• Hand-Eye Coordination: Action and simulation games often require precise movements, enhancing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
• Social Interaction: Online multiplayer games can foster social connections and teamwork, providing opportunities for individuals to make friends and collaborate with others.
• Stress Relief: Engaging in video games can serve as a stress reliever and a way to unwind from daily pressures.
• Educational Value: Many educational games are designed to teach specific skills or subjects, making learning more engaging and interactive.
• Pain Distraction: Some video games have been used in healthcare settings to distract patients from pain or discomfort during medical procedures.

Negative Impacts

• Sedentary Lifestyle: Excessive gaming can lead to a sedentary lifestyle, contributing to physical health issues such as obesity, cardiovascular problems, and muscular weaknesses.
• Sleep Disturbances: Late-night gaming sessions can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to sleep deprivation, which can negatively affect mental and physical health.
• Addiction: Video game addiction can lead to social isolation, neglect of responsibilities, and adverse psychological effects, resembling addiction to substances.
• Violence and Aggression: Some studies suggest a correlation between violent video games and increased aggressive behavior, although the causation remains debated.
• Eye Strain and Physical Discomfort: Prolonged screen time can lead to eye strain, headaches, and physical discomfort, often referred to as “gamer’s thumb” or “text neck.”
• Social Isolation: While some video games promote social interaction, excessive gaming can lead to isolation from real-life social activities, potentially impacting mental health negatively.
• Escapism and Avoidance: Video games can become a form of escapism, allowing individuals to avoid dealing with real-life problems and responsibilities, which can lead to mental health issues.
• Reduced Academic or Work Performance: Excessive gaming can interfere with academic or work-related responsibilities, leading to decreased performance and productivity.
• Emotional Well-Being: While some games offer an enjoyable experience, others may be emotionally distressing or promote negative emotions, affecting mental health negatively.
• Financial Consequences: In-game purchases and microtransactions can lead to financial strain when not managed responsibly.

Economic Impact

The video game industry has become a significant economic force, with revenues surpassing those of the movie and music industries combined. It has created millions of jobs worldwide in various sectors, including development, marketing, and esports. The industry’s growth has spurred technological innovation, driving advancements in software development, graphics, and artificial intelligence.

Cultural Influence

Video games have transcended entertainment to become influential cultural artifacts. They influence fashion, music, and movies and are a driving force behind major technological and social trends. Games like “Minecraft” and “Fortnite” have become cultural phenomena, influencing everything from playground activities to online communities.

Ethical Considerations and Responsibility

As video games become more lifelike and immersive, ethical considerations come to the forefront. Issues such as the portrayal of gender, race, and violence in games have sparked discussions about the social responsibilities of game developers. Promoting diversity and avoiding stereotypes in games can contribute to broader cultural understanding and sensitivity.

The Future of Gaming

The future of video gaming promises even more immersive experiences with advancements in virtual and augmented reality. The integration of artificial intelligence can lead to more personalized and adaptive gaming experiences, potentially revolutionizing how we interact with digital environments. As technology progresses, the ethical, social, and health-related implications of gaming will continue to be critical areas of research and discussion.

In conclusion, Video games are a complex and dynamic form of entertainment with far-reaching impacts on individuals and society. While they offer numerous benefits in terms of education, cognitive development, and social interaction, they also pose challenges related to health, addiction, and ethical concerns. As the industry continues to evolve, it is imperative for players, developers, and policymakers to balance the positive aspects of gaming with its potential drawbacks. Engaging with video games critically and responsibly can maximize their benefits while mitigating adverse effects, ensuring that gaming remains a positive force in the digital age.

Essay Generator

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Generate an essay on the importance of extracurricular activities for student development

Write an essay discussing the role of technology in modern education.

Chapter 6: 21st-century media and issues

6.5.4 Video games in the world of education (research essay)

Anonymous English 102 Writer

The relationship between education and new technologies, more specifically video games, has long been debated about and judged without a full understanding of the actual potential of the combination of the two. New methods such as using video games as an education tool are almost always overlooked by educators even though they may be missing out on a niche form of education that can keep students far more engaged in the subject they are learning while also encouraging them to continue learning because they are also having fun. It is also often overlooked that playing video games can potentially in some way increase the players’ skills in communication through the usage and improvement of communication required in some games. I share the belief that video games have great potential to be used as a tool for education if more educators would give them a shot and test them out. I also believe that video games have very high potential to improve the communication skills of those who play them. There are also many researchers and educators who share these beliefs and would like to see the use of video games as an education tool more widespread in the future. Many of these researchers and educators that believe in the use of video games as an education tool are of this opinion because they have tested this on students and found results that sway them to see the potential of this form of teaching. Though obviously video games could never become a primary education tool or mainstream form of communication, I think that video games could be utilized well as a form of education and that they could be used by many as a way to improve their communication skills.

Personally, I think video games have a good positive effect on the communication skills of those who play them. I have been playing video games for a large portion of my life and I think the form of communication within some of the more competitive games can have an effect on my communication skills. I think they do this by forcing the player to communicate in the typical form of the game which then have an effect on real world communication skills. In my experience, this increase in communication skill comes from the specific form of communication that happens in competitive video games. This includes games such as one of my personal favorites, Call of Duty Warzone. In order to communicate effectively, the players must communicate through quick and effective bursts of information. In Warzone, my teammates and I must communicate quickly to tell each other important information such as the location of enemies, or where to find valuable resources such as weapons, ammunition and armor. I can do this by either talking to the teammates through a microphone, or using a system called pinging. Pinging is an in game system where you look at an item or location you want to show to your teammates, then hit a button to place a ping there that is displayed to the rest of your team. The most effective way to communicate in Warzone is a combination of both pinging and rapid verbal communication. This way a player can verbally tell their teammates exactly what they are talking about while simultaneously pinging it to show their teammates visually. With the visual indicator on the screen from the ping, and the verbal description from teammates, it should be the most efficient way to tell a teammates something quickly. While some other games also have a pinging system, most force the players to be most reliant on communicating verbally with quick and information packed sentences. This is because while playing these games, the players do not have time to communicate with each other in long detailed sentences. They need to cut down the time it takes to relay information to teammates or often it will be too late for that information to be important anymore. In the time I have played video games I find most of this to be accurate and I believe it has had at least some effect on my communication skills in high stress situations. I also have personal experience with the use of video games education. When I was in elementary school, I frequently used a computer game to help me practice my speed of completing math equations. Even though I was learning the same thing that the teacher was teaching at school, I was much more engaged and interested because a game was more fun that simply doing equations on a sheet of paper. I think that this kind of education can be used much more often to keep students engaged with the subject they are learning. Overall, I have a good connection to this subject and feel confident in the positive relationship between video games and education as well as communication skills.

First, I will explore the research on the topic of the relationship between playing video games and communication skills. A question that I think is important to answer about this topic is how does video game communication effect real world communication skills. Many researchers have studied this relationship to examine video games effects on communication. One such researcher is Kenneth Horowitz in his article “Video Games and English as a Second Language: The Effect of Massive Multiplayer Online Video Games on The Willingness to Communicate and Communicative Anxiety of College Students in Puerto Rico”. In this article Horowitz studies a group of students from Puerto Rico who are attempting to learn English while using video games as one of their forms of learning. As they play these games it works on their English communication skills furthering their knowledge of the language. Horowitz regards new technology and the internet as a whole as a fascinating new potential form of education and more specifically a form of improving the communication skills in those who are learning a new language (Horowitz 379). Because this study revolves around students who are learning English rather than improving on the English skills they already have it is a slightly different situation than the research question asks but still mostly related enough to be relevant. The research was gathered through two questionaries given through the internet to the research participants further relating the connection to the internet and technology to education (Horowitz 391). This means there was a variety of ways for the participants of the study to express the affect the study had on them to diversify the results. While the participants played a wide variety of video game titles and genres, the results and levels of communication between the players did not change but stayed at a similar level relative to each other (Horowitz 398). While the messages players communicate to each other in these different games titles and genres may be different it still requires the same kind of communicative skill to get the message across to teammates effectively. Overall, the relationship between the time of video games played and the skill in communication is a positive correlation (Horowitz 398). When applied to the research question about Video Games correlation to real world communication skills, Horowitz’s research would seem to suggest that Video games do in fact have a positive effect on a person’s real life communication skills in a significant way. Another article that deals with this research question is “Games at Work: Examining a Model of Team Effectiveness in an Interdependent Gaming Task” by Sylvia Luu and Anupama Narayan. This article is another one that deals with how video games and gamification can help people work better as a team in other aspects of life other than video games. The term gamification is used frequently throughout the article, and I think this term is a great term to relate to this essay and the research questions within it as a whole. As stated in the article, gamification could be described as a way of applying skills and aspects of video game behavior into real life situations and circumstances as a way to more efficiently handle them when the need arises (Luu and Narayan 110). The gamification of everyday tasks or especially tasks that have to do with communication and education relates directly to the research question of video games having an effect on real world communication skills. In this article’s experiment a wide range of students volunteered to take part by working together in a video game designed to specifically bring out the teamwork and communication skills of those who played it (Luu and Narayan 114). In contrast to Horowitz’s study, this experiment uses its own game in contrast with Horowitz allowing the participants in the study to play whatever game they chose by themselves. This provides a different point of view and wider range of research data to support this main concept of improvement in communication skill. In the end of the study, it was shown that more communication between the players in the game lead to better performance overall and satisfaction between teammates (Luu and Narayan 116). When the players who participated in the study communicated more it led to a higher rate of success and level of approving between teammates which could be translated to communication in real life scenarios and demonstrates how the communication in video games is not all that different from communication in real life. Yet another article that deals with the ways video games have an effect on a person’s communication skills is “Using video game to enhance English communication skills” by Alex Roach and Yeski Utami. Once again, this article similarly dives into the gamification of education and communication and how video games can incentivize and reward the improvement of communication skills. The article goes over several types of games that can benefit from good communication skills including co-operative games which are directly related to the players working together and communicating as well as they can in order to accomplish their tasks effectively (Roach and Utami 202). Multiple different genres and types of video games have varying degrees of connection to communication and how it can be improved. The research done in this article was based on two different games played by several groups of students in order to diversify and expand the range of results possible to be shown in the data of the experiment (Roach and Utami 203). With multiple different games to play it becomes easier to show and more apparent that the results of one game are not an outlier to the hypothesis. In the results of the experiment, it is believed that the communication between players had a very positive effect on the success in playing the games and that good communication was very important and incentivized for a good performance (Roach and Utami 204). When the students in the experiment communicated better, they performed better in the experiment which shows the strong connection between playing video games and communication skills. Another, more specific article on this topic is “Can game-based learning enhance engineering communication skills?” by Cheyrl Bondar and Renee Clark. Obviously, this article is of a similar topic as the last few but is more specifically relegated to the topic of engineering students using video games in a similar way as the others. This article is based on a study on several hundred engineering students who were asked to write and deliver a presentation on a subject while first using video games as a way to see how the effect the skill in communication among these engineering students (Bondar and Clark 25-26). Though the final presentation these students are composing is not about video games or communication skills, the way video games are implemented into the study still creates an effective situation for the research to show how video games can affect communication skills in these students. The way the video games were used in this study was the students developed their own games specifically designed around different types of communication such as verbal, nonverbal and written communication. These games were meant to test each student in how well they can properly use these different types of communication to complete their assigned final presentations (Bondar and Clark 35). As the students play these several different games with varying objectives, they are also working together closely much like how they will need to for their presentations at the end of the year. In the final results of this study, it was discovered that the positive correlation in communication skills was only found in the level of out loud verbal communication skills (Bondar and Clark 39). This finding shows how playing video games improves the communication each of the players have with and between each other. It seems to show that as the players proceed through the games, they mainly communicate out loud with each other even when playing the games designed around other forms of communication therefor having a much greater effect on their verbal communication skills rather than non-verbal communication skills. Overall, this article and its research show that even when working towards an unrelated goal, video game players who are effectively communicating with each other will see a great improvement in their level of skill in that same kind of verbal communication. My second to last piece of writing on this particular research question is a CNN article titled “Video Games Help Children Improve Literacy, Communication and Mental Well-Being, Survey Finds” by Alaa Elassar. This article and its message are based on a survey administered to several thousand teenagers in a small range of different ages on how they believe playing video games effects their lives. They are asked about how they think playing video games has an effect on multiple different aspects including their skill in reading as well as their writing ability (Elassar). Many people including those in the age range of this survey know that playing video games and reading and writing skills are much more closely related than most would think. These teenagers who participated in the survey also report that the video games they play are a major topic of discussion between them and their friends when they talk (Elassar). While this particular finding may not show direct increase in communication skill related to video games, it does show that playing video games can increase the amount of communicating a person does throughout their day both while playing and when they are not. Many of these teens think playing their video games are a fun and entertaining way for them to build connections and friendships both with people they know in real life and with new people they meet online through the games (Elassar). This shows that playing video games creates and strengthens connections between those who play them together. In a somewhat unrelated note, the participants of the survey also report that playing video games helps reduce their stress and other negative feelings (Elassar). Overall, the playing of video games has a positive effect on most children who play them both in their ability to communicate and on their mental well being. Finally, I have one more online article titled “Video Games Level up Life Skills” by Kathryn Hulick. This article is a simple online piece of writing that conveys the message of how video games can build their valuable life skills such as communication and improvisation or resourcefulness (Hulick). As players play video games, they work on these skills by stimulating their minds in a casual and entertaining way. The article references a study conducted in Scotland about students who played video games during their school week to see if it had any effect on their school performance (Hulick). In comparison to the control group that played no video games during the study did not show as big of an improvement in the traits they were asked to report on, resourcefulness, adaptability and communication skills, as the group of students who did play video games consistently throughout the two months the study was conducted over (Hulick). All of these articles display a very strong connection between communication skills and the amount of video games the players play.

The second part of this essay will be focused around a different connection to video games. The research question for this portion is can video games be used as an effective education tool. The first source I would like to use for this topic is “Video Games Can Develop Graduate Skills in Higher Education Students: A Randomized Trial” by Matthew Barr. This article is based on a trail to show how video games can be used as an education tool. The study is about a group of subjects who were asked to play video games and report how they were affected in a cognitive and social context (Barr 86). The participants play a wide variety of games that have the potential to have educational value to explore many different methods of teaching from a video game. By the end of the research, it was shown that the students involved in the study did show good results for a test administered by the researchers possibly indicating a link between video games and effective communication skills (Barr 90). This shows what my research question aims to ask that video games while not a main source of education can be used as a tool for educating in some instances where it applies and for specific skills. The next source for this research question is titled quite simply “Gaming as a Teaching Tool” written by Brandon Baker. This source is another website article that aims to point out a positive connection between video game playing and engaging education for students. The article discusses many ways video games are being used in various different environments including the military, fitness, and of course schools themselves (Baker). With such a diverse range of games and genres it is possible for video games to be used in hundreds of different contexts and environments as an educational tool in one way or another. Professor Yasmin Kafai certifies that video games have a long extensive history in education and that their modern surge in use is nothing new as Professor Kafai verifies with the course she created titled Video Games and the Virtual World which deals extensively with how video games can be used for educational purposes in many different scenarios (Baker). As Professor Kafai’s course most likely verifies, video games have had a long history of educational purposes even when it may not seem very obvious or apparent. There are many games that have very specific educational values and themes that were made exclusively for classroom education purposes rather than for entertainment purposes such as a game titled Math Blasters (Baker). Although there are some games that are made specifically for educational purposes and not for entertainment purposes, it is still possible and even likely that more entertainment focused video game titles are capable of having educational value whether it is intended or not. Recent events, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, have shown that video games and other technology based methods can be extremely effective and sometimes vital to a learning environments benefit (Baker). When the world of education suddenly became almost entirely reliant on technology to administer its lessons to students it is possible that many educators became at least somewhat aware that video games have a much higher potential of educational use than many would have previously thought. In summation, Baker’s article is very aware and expressive of how the world of education is already very much connected to video games and that they have a bright future in the educational field now that technology has taken on such a crucial role in the field. Another source that deals with this topic is “A New Venue for Video Games: K-12 Classrooms” written by Carolyn Jones. This article begins by describing a teacher who struggled to keep his students engaged and interested in the subject matter until he instituted video games as a way to make his class more engaging and fun for the students. He began to use Minecraft: Education Edition as a part of his history class and witnessed as it drastically increased his student’s engagement with the course material (Jones). When students are given a more entertaining way to learn the same material as a more traditional classroom experience can offer, the entertaining option will usually be much more appealing and effective at keeping the students interested in the material. Other educational games such as Dragon Box focus around other school subjects such as math to provide a wider range of teaching ability across multiple different possible forms of presentation (Jones). Many games have specialty areas of education just like different teachers are more informed on certain subjects. My last source for this question is “The Benefits of Gaming in Education: the Build A World Case” which has no listed author. The article states that gaming has numerous social and psychological benefits to its players and that these benefits have countless positive effects even in the area of education (The Benefits of Gaming). These benefits are often somewhat overlooked but have a very great impact on students and other young people who play video games. As students play video games they are idly and subconsciously improving their critical thinking and technical skills due to the quick snap decisions and puzzle solving that many games have included within them (The Benefits of Gaming). Video games are not often made purposfully with the goal of education in mind but they very often include puzzles and other stimulating challenges that require the player to think critically. Overall These sources all seem to indicate that there is a strong relationship between video games and the field of education.

Works Cited

Horowitz, Kenneth S. “Video Games and English as a Second Language: The Effect of Massive Multiplayer Online Video Games on The Willingness to Communicate and Communicative Anxiety of College Students in Puerto Rico.”  American Journal of Play , vol. 11, no. 3, Jan. 2019, pp. 379–410.  EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1220304&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Luu, Sylvia, and Anupama Narayan. “Games at Work: Examining a Model of Team Effectiveness in an Interdependent Gaming Task.”  Computers in Human Behavior , vol. 77, Dec. 2017, pp. 110–120.  EBSCOhost , doi:10.1016/j.chb.2017.08.025.

Barr, Matthew. “Video Games Can Develop Graduate Skills in Higher Education Students: A Randomized Trial.”  Online Submission , vol. 113, Jan. 2017, pp. 86–97.  EBSCOhost , search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED608315&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Roach, Alex, and Yeski Utami. “Using video game to enhance English communication skills.”  Proceedings of ISELT FBS Universitas Negeri Padang  5 (2017): 200-204.

Bodnar, Cheryl A., and Renee M. Clark. “Can game-based learning enhance engineering communication skills?.”  IEEE transactions on professional communication  60.1 (2017): 24-41.

Squire, Kurt. “Video games in education.”  Int. J. Intell. Games & Simulation  2.1 (2003): 49-62.

Baker, Brandon, “Gaming as a Teaching Tool.”  Penn Today , 6 May 2020, penntoday.upenn.edu/news/gaming-teaching-tool.

Jones, Carolyn. “A New Venue for Video Games: K-12 Classrooms  .”  EdSource , EdSource, 7 May 2018, edsource.org/2018/a-new-venue-for-video-games-k-12-classrooms/597100.

“The Benefits of Gaming in Education: the Build A World Case.”  Acer for Education , 27 Jan. 2017, acerforeducation.acer.com/education-trends/gamification/the-benefits-of-gaming-in-education-the-build-a-world-case/.

Elassar, Alaa. “Video Games Help Children Improve Literacy, Communication and Mental Well-Being, Survey Finds.”  CNN , Cable News Network, 5 Sept. 2020, www.cnn.com/2020/09/05/health/video-games-literacy-creativity-children-trnd/index.html.

Hulick, Kathryn. “Video Games Level up Life Skills.”  Science News for Students , 3 Dec. 2019, www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/video-games-level-life-skills.

Fishman, Andrew. “Video Games Are Social Spaces: How Video Games Help People Connect.”  Video Games Are Social Spaces: How Video Games Help People Connect | ResponseCenter , www.jcfs.org/response/blog/video-games-are-social-spaces-how-video-games-help-people-connect.

Understanding Literacy in Our Lives by Anonymous English 102 Writer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Essay on Video Games

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100 Words Essay on Video Games

Introduction.

Video games are interactive digital entertainment platforms. They are played on devices like computers, consoles, or mobiles.

Types of Video Games

There are many types of video games. Some are educational, others are adventure-based or sports-themed.

Benefits of Video Games

Video games can improve hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, and strategic thinking. They can also be a fun way to relax.

Drawbacks of Video Games

Excessive gaming can lead to health issues like eye strain and lack of physical activity. It can also impact social skills if not balanced with real-world interactions.

Video games can be both beneficial and harmful. It’s important to play responsibly and maintain a healthy balance.

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250 Words Essay on Video Games

Video games, a form of interactive entertainment, have evolved dramatically from their rudimentary origins in the 1970s. They have penetrated almost every aspect of modern society, becoming a significant part of our culture and a powerful force in the entertainment industry.

The Evolution of Video Games

In their inception, video games were straightforward, consisting of basic graphics and gameplay. However, as technology advanced, so did the complexity and visual appeal of these games. Today, video games are immersive experiences, boasting high-definition graphics, complex narratives, and intricate gameplay mechanics.

The Impact on Society

Video games have a profound impact on society. They have transformed how we spend our leisure time, and have even created new professions, such as professional e-sports players and game developers. In addition, video games have educational potential, as they can develop problem-solving and strategic thinking skills.

Controversies and Criticisms

Despite their popularity, video games have attracted controversy. Critics argue that they promote violence, addiction, and social isolation. However, research on these issues remains inconclusive, and many argue that the benefits of video games outweigh potential negatives.

In conclusion, video games are a multifaceted phenomenon that has significantly influenced our culture and society. Despite criticisms, their popularity continues to rise, indicating their enduring appeal and potential for future growth. As technology continues to evolve, so too will video games, promising exciting developments for this dynamic medium.

500 Words Essay on Video Games

Video games, a form of digital entertainment that has dramatically evolved over the past few decades, have become a significant part of contemporary culture. They offer a unique blend of interactive storytelling, art, and technology, engaging players in a way that no other medium can. Video games are more than just a pastime; they are a platform for expression, learning, and innovation.

The history of video games is a testament to the incredible technological advancements of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. From the rudimentary pixel graphics of the 1970s to today’s immersive virtual reality experiences, video games have continuously pushed the boundaries of what is technologically possible. They have transformed from simple, solitary experiences into complex, social phenomena, connecting people from all walks of life.

The Impact of Video Games

Video games have a significant impact on society, influencing various aspects of our lives. They have revolutionized the entertainment industry, becoming a multi-billion dollar sector that rivals and often surpasses traditional media like film and music. Beyond entertainment, video games have found applications in education, healthcare, and even military training, demonstrating their versatility and potential.

The Benefits and Concerns

Despite the criticisms often associated with video gaming, such as addiction and violence, numerous studies have highlighted the potential benefits. Video games can improve cognitive skills, such as problem-solving and spatial awareness, and can also foster social interaction and cooperation when played in groups. They can serve as therapeutic tools, helping to manage conditions like anxiety and depression. However, it is essential to maintain a balanced perspective, acknowledging the potential risks and promoting responsible gaming.

The Future of Video Games

The future of video games is as exciting as it is unpredictable. With emerging technologies like virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and cloud gaming, the possibilities for innovation are limitless. Video games are poised to become even more immersive, interactive, and personalized, offering experiences that were once the stuff of science fiction.

In conclusion, video games are a dynamic and influential part of modern society, reflecting our culture, advancing technology, and impacting various aspects of our lives. They are a testament to human creativity and innovation, offering unique experiences that entertain, educate, and inspire. As we move forward, it is crucial to continue exploring the potential of video games, addressing the challenges they present, and harnessing their power for positive change.

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• Entertainment

Persuasive Essay: Video Games Are Beneficial

According to research released by the Entertainment Software Association over fifty percent of parents believe video games are a positive part of their child’s life (ESA). Video games are beneficial, because they aid in childhood development, have the ability to relieve stress in people, and their aid in the reduction of cognitive decline in older aging adults.

Video games were first introduced in the 1970s in the form of arcade games but became more common during the 1980s with the introduction of the Atari 2600. During this time parents believed that video games would be atrocious for children’s minds. Their main concern was the violent influence of video games that more commonly appeared in the early-2000s with games such as Call of Duty. Video game systems became very prevalent inside the home during the mid-2000s with Nintendo’s introduction of the Wii. This system changed the view of gaming because the Wii was advertised as a whole family system. After all, the whole family could play together or each family member individually. This system also became the most popular gaming system since it sold many different accessories and games such as the Wii Fit with the Wii Balance Board, this was an exercise-based game that is now generally known as exergaming.       

Currently, we as a civilization are looking to research this topic every day.“Important research has already been conducted for decades on the negative effects of gaming, including addiction, depression and aggression, and we are certainly not suggesting that this should be ignored,” said lead author Isabela Granic, in The Netherlands. “However, to understand the impact of video games on children’s and adolescents’ development, a more balanced perspective is needed.” (American) We have had many debates on this topic and have concluded that video games are not bad for kids and they help them grow as an individual, video games despite good it’s not a one size fits all thing, some games are not appropriate for a certain demographic such as violent bloody games for example call of duty wouldn’t be given to a toddler. Currently, the views from parents and society are that games can help a person develop and it is a great pass time for kids. Video games have a lot more benefits than disadvantages when played safely and in moderation.” In the end, gaming doesn’t have a negative connotation, it is the society that gives it a negative vibe. It has been proven to help better surgeons and military soldiers on countless occasions" (Caviston).Video games are beneficial. because they aid in childhood development, ability to relieve stress in people, and their aid in the reduction of cognitive decline in older aging adults.

One reason why video games are beneficial is they aid in childhood development. Early childhood development is the foundation of whom a person will become and what skills they will possess in the future. According to a blog post from a group at Penn State, there are many skills children can acquire from gaming such as following instructions, problem-solving, resource management, multi-tasking, perseverance, and the introduction to technology (Caviston), which they will need in our ever-changing society.

The second reason why video games are beneficial is their ability to relieve stress in people of all ages. Stress is something everyone of all ages goes through, stress can be from many different things such as an assignment due date, test, the feeling you said something wrong, the worry of fitting in a group or place. Stress comes from many different things and people choose to relieve stress in various ways, some people like to go to a library and read a book, some people like to sleep, some people eat there stress away, and some people like to play video games. Video games have and continue to help people relieve stress and help people prevent stress.

The third reason video games are beneficial is the reduction of cognitive deterioration in older aging adults. As people age, along with the body, one’s mind becomes older too, they begin to be forgetful and may need longer to remember things such as names or information. There are many ways to help prevent cognitive decline and one of those is gaming. Gaming systems such as the Nintendo Wii, the Wii were used in rehabilitation programs to build cognitive skills including memory (Brain Games). According to a study held by the University of Santiago de Compostela, they found in there data “The meta-analyses indicated that the interventions were associated with significant improvements in speed of processing” (Casa). 

The final benefit of video games is they help produce well-rounded individuals. “According to a review of research in American Psychologist, Playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children's learning, health, and social skills” (Bowen). In recent research in doctors, in most small surgeries they use robotic tools that have controllers similar to video game controllers and they found that doctors with more experience with video games have a decreased failure rate and faster completion times compared to surgeons without prior videogame experience (Can Video Games...).

Based on findings above, the majority of research concludes video games are beneficial. Their are always cavaouts with these claims, not every game is made the same and thus will not be beneficial for all people such as children and older adults. Video games will olny be effective when used in modoration and when used properly. Do you think video games are beneficial?

"ESA: Majority of Parents Say Video Games are a Positive Part of Kids' Lives." Entertainment Close-up, 30 Apr. 2014. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A366377832/GPS?u=nclivemdtcc&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=b78f669a. Accessed 8 Nov. 2021.

Caviston, Andrew Montgomery, et al. “SIOWFA15: Science in Our World: Certainty and Controversy.” SiOWfa15 Science in Our World Certainty and Controversy, 7 Oct. 2015, https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/10/07/why-gaming-is-beneficial-for-you/.

Casa, Antonio Garcia, and Fernando L Vázquez. “Efficacy of Video Games for Cognitive Decline Prevention: A Meta-Analysis.” ResearchGate, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329311318_EFFICACY_OF_VIDEO_GAMES_FOR_COGNITIVE_DECLINE_PREVENTION_A_META-ANALYSIS. 

American Psychological Association. Video games play may provide learning, health, social benefits. http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2013/11/video-games.

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How to write a video game story

I took a game writing course. Here’s what I learned

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My first attempt at writing a video game script begins with the socialist journalist and activist Marina Ginestà, a remarkable woman who died five years ago, at the age of 94.

Although she lived an eventful life, she’s most famous for a photograph taken of her when she was 17 years old, standing on the rooftop of a Barcelona hotel, a rifle slung over her shoulder. It’s one of the most arresting images of the Spanish Civil War, in which young, idealistic Europeans like Ginestà fought for democracy, against a coalition of fascists and aristocrats.

I’m going to use that photograph as the first building block of my game. You see, I’ve signed onto an online course called Story for Video Games , a six-session investigation of interactive narrative. By the end of the course, I hope to have created a fully fleshed story for a game. There’s no coding or art. I only have to write.

The course is run by John Yorke, the author of Into the Woods , a book on how stories work. He also runs courses on writing novels, plays, movie scripts, and TV dramas. He’s spent most of his career in British television, holding senior roles on the BBC’s most popular production, the rollicking soap opera EastEnders .

Yorke tells me that games pose a particular challenge because of their interactivity, and their reliance on spectacular visual effects.

“In games, the writing often takes second place to design and technology,” he says. “If developers invest more in the writing, in the very best screenwriters, that’s going to take them to the next level.”

Yorke says he plays “AAA, blockbuster games, when I can find the time.” He is assisted by experts in gaming, including Caroline Marchal, CEO of studio Interior Night, which is currently working on a narrative game for Sega. She formerly worked at Quantic Dream, where she was lead game designer for Beyond: Two Souls . Quantic Dream is arguably the world’s most ambitious studio when it comes to interactive narratives and character-driven gaming, seen in its most recent title, 2018’s Detroit: Become Human , which has sold 2 million copies.

“The big difference between movies or novels and video games is that, because they’re interactive, the audience is actually part of the experience in a way other media doesn’t offer,” she says. “So the journey they’re going through is the same as that of the protagonist. That creates challenges as well as opportunities.”

The session’s first exercise is to create a protagonist. Yorke asks that I mention the game’s genre in my written presentation, but he’s much more interested in the character at the center of my game than in the way the game plays. He says games are beginning to escape a long history of character cliches and stereotypes, and he’s looking for his students’ work to reflect that progress.

“I’ve seen a lot of really basic, James Bond-level characterizations in games,” he says. “It’s done out of a desire for safety. The games companies think that’s the easiest person for players to empathize with. But I think they’re wrong. That’s not how empathy really works. Empathy is about finding something inside a character that’s flawed and damaged; that you understand.”

Yorke and Marchal’s introduction to the course states their belief that today’s games should focus as much on stories as on activities. They point toward the recent success of narrative games in which protagonists (and antagonists) have displayed more depth and human resonance than in years gone by. Their gallery of examples includes The Last of Us , Her Story , Overwatch , and Reigns .

I want to find out if they’re right. Is character really as important in a game as it is in a novel or a play? So I’m going to write my story.

Creating stories

There’s one snag. I’ve been writing about games for decades. I’m deeply interested in how they work and how they affect me. But I have never in my life felt the least inclination to actually make one.

It’s not that I’m averse to telling stories. I’ve written two novels , so theoretically, I ought to at least be curious about writing a story-based game. But in the realms of fiction, I’ve always cared more about why people do the things that they do, than on what they actually do. My novels include few action sequences. The stories focus mainly on dialogue and relationships. This is how novels work. But it’s not how games work.

Most narrative-heavy games, like Telltale’s story adventures, are constantly introducing action elements that draw focus away from emotional problems and toward practical and physical puzzles. But we’re beginning to see exceptions, such as Florence and My Child Lebensborn — both of which were ranked in Polygon’s top 50 games of last year — which focus almost entirely on story and resonance.

Yorke’s course is attractive to me because it’s dedicated to the curious idea that novels and games are the same, at least insofar as how they allow us to inhabit other people.

”All stories are forged from the same template,” he says. “What that template is and why we need to follow it is the subject of this course.”

Traditionally, games have mostly been dedicated to inhabiting the physicality of their characters. Mario jumps. Solid Snake sneaks. Lara climbs. Their personalities and backstories are sideshows, or thin marketing exercises. The characters lack substance. Their motivations are arcane.

Marchal points toward woeful completion rates for many single-player campaigns. “If you look at the statistics for single-player games, the majority of players do not finish them. That’s a storytelling problem,” she says. Raptr estimated that only one in 10 players completed the final mission in the original Red Dead Redemption (which has, admittedly, a very long campaign).

She argues that, in many big-budget action-adventures, players lose interest in the mechanics, but a good story would pull them forward. Players want to care about the game’s characters and about the most important element of any story: What happens next?

“There’s a lot we can learn from the ways stories have been crafted for centuries, which can then be crafted to work with just about any kind of game, even if it doesn’t seem to fit any kind of traditional linear model,” she says.

To fix this problem, Marchal argues that game designers must rise to the challenge of increasing narrative complexity. Technology today — animation, artificial intelligence, dynamic narrative systems — allows for deeper characters than in the past. We can all agree that Lara Croft is a more complicated and interesting person than she was 25 years ago. Tomb Raider’s recent three-game reboot was built around the story of Croft’s growth as a character.

As players become more demanding and diverse, they desire more believable, flawed, identifiable characters. In his introduction to the course, Yorke points out that game stories and linear stories fit the same patterns, but that they are not the same thing. They require specific approaches. “Writing for a linear medium is difficult,” he says. “Writing for games is even harder. There are very specific challenges and pitfalls to overcome. The task gets even more complex when you consider that narrative needs vary greatly from one game genre to another.”

I’m interested in writing about people and emotions. So it feels like I ought to be able to explore my ideas through the medium of games. At least, I want to find out if it’s possible. I know my game is never going to get made. I just want to see how far I am able to run with Yorke’s ideas.

And so, my game character comes to life.

Murderous communist

Olivia Espinoza is a woman in her early 20s. She dresses in factory-issue clothing or in dark, bohemian garb. She lives in Paris, in 1942, under Nazi occupation. She is a communist, a political idealist who works for the French Resistance. She is also a cold-eyed assassin.

I am required to supply some sort of visual aid to my character. Although Olivia is older than Marina Ginestà is in her photograph, the image sums her up nicely.

My game could be a shooter, or action-adventure. I’m interested in a human adventure, like A Case of Distrust , a noirish game I admire greatly, in which dialogue trees and visual puzzles lead the player toward the resolution of a mystery.

I want to see Olivia move through wartime Paris, engaging in awesome conversations with Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, with collaborators and resistance fighters. I want to see her cope with encountering Jewish parents, hiding from the round-ups.

My desire to model Olivia’s story on a niche game turns out to be a mistake. When I present Olivia, my tutors say nice, encouraging things to me. But they’re confused about what she’ll actually be doing in the game, and they want to hear more about her motivations.

They’re not familiar with A Case of Distrust, so I take the easy option and add $100 million to my imaginary development budget. It’s going to be a AAA extravaganza, more like The Last of Us .

But it’s important to me that this isn’t another game about killing people. I want to place severe restrictions on Olivia, so she can’t just run around Paris shooting Nazis. In my game, it’s going to be just as difficult to kill Nazis as it would have been in wartime Paris.

Of course, the game is all in my head, so I have unlimited access to the best coders, animators, and financial backers in the universe. But I also have tutors, and they warn me that my game must be created within the realms of the practically possible and the commercially viable.

They are kind enough to leave me with just enough wiggle room to ignore their guidance. I figure, if I’ve been given this opportunity to write my game, I’m not going to fret about what some bean counter at EA or Activision might think about it.

I understand, of course, that in the real world, my idea would have zero chance of attracting funding. It’s fine. I’m here to find out how interactive stories work. I already know how the game industry works.

Narrative arcs

Story in games can sometimes create an inherent friction between the writer’s ambitions, the designer’s goals, and the player’s desires.

Doom co-creator John Carmack once said , “Story in a game is like story in a porn movie: it’s expected to be there, but it’s not that important.” Back in 1993 , Doom relied on its superb game design and graphical innovations to capture the imaginations of players.

But the world has moved on. Years later, the Doom of 2016 comes with a big narrative element that falls broadly into the same three-act pattern of a classic movie or play.

The unnamed playable character is faced with the challenge of closing a portal to hell. He resolves a series of crises, generally manifesting as hordes of monsters. He overcomes an antagonist and resolves the initial challenge. It’s true that he displays little in the way of personality — certainly, he’s no Hamlet — but he interacts with people who have motivations and flaws in a way that we do not see in the original game.

Overwatch is one of the most successful shooting games in the world, a modern successor of sorts to Doom . It is filled with characters like Tracer, D.Va, and Hanzo, whose backstories and personalities add significantly to the game’s appeal.

Like many creative writing tutors, Yorke argues that all great characters come with three things. They have to want something. They have to need something. And they have to demonstrate a flaw that the story addresses.

So I set to work on Olivia’s wants, needs, and flaws.

She is tasked by her resistance bosses with assassinating the Nazi chief of police in his fortified lair. What she wants is to complete her mission.

But she’s unhappy. She’s spent her life killing people, and yet finds no satisfaction, or reward, in her work. She needs to break free from her life of violence, while still staying true to her desire to defeat the Nazis and create a better world.

Olivia’s flaw is that she’s a dogmatic person who’s unable to understand her own despair. From a young age, she’s gained immense skills as a warrior, but in achieving excellence as an assassin, she’s denied herself basic humanity.

Inciting incidents

The course follows a pattern of investigation, followed by creativity, and then analysis. Each week, the students — there are about a dozen of us — watch YouTube clips, play games, and read story synopses from a variety of games. We offer perspectives on what we believe works well, and what doesn’t.

We look at motivations, antagonists, and inciting incidents, studying games as varied as Candy Crush , Ico , Evolve , The Crew , and Red Dead Redemption .

One element of game design that fascinates Yorke is the relationship between the player and the main character.

“There’s a contradiction between the agency a player has, and how that conflicts and contrasts with the desires of the game’s writer,” he says. “How you marry those two things together is difficult, but also an incredible opportunity, if you get it right.”

Some games, like multiplayer worlds, present “blank slate” characters that are built by the player, who fills in the blanks. But these stories cleave to narrative models based on heroes, villains, an inciting incident, crisis, and resolution. Resolution can come in the form of completing a mission or leveling up or acquiring a sword. These games are cast as “open-world” or as “sandboxes,” but they are essentially amalgamations of fairy tales, tied together with an overarching story.

I work my way through these examples, offering notes when required. My homework is evaluated by Yorke, Marchal, various tutors, and other students. Feedback is always delivered in a way that’s constructive and useful.

We move on to studying the classic three-act structure of stories, and how such a notion fits with games. I immerse myself in the detailed story arcs of Inside and Life is Strange .

The course addresses arguments about whether or not games, by being interactive, are fundamentally separate from linear forms. We look at mainstream literature and entertainment, from Macbeth to Jaws , drawing comparisons with games. We learn how linear structures work in the context of games, emphasizing how games bend and morph these structures in ways that are still being investigated by writers.

Redemption and rejection

I return to my project and try to apply what I’ve learned.

Yorke says it’s useful to be able to state a story’s theme in one word. My story about Olivia focuses on redemption. It’s about her relationship with deadly violence. The warrior-to-pacifist transformation has been told many times before, but rarely in the context of a video game.

Emerging pacifism throws up interesting challenges in the context of a game. I find myself struggling to find things for the player to do, while Olivia works through her journey. Again and again, my tutors try to correct my habit of longish dialogue tree sessions. I keep at it, honing my scenes to give the player as much agency and illusion of choice as possible.

Long story short, Olivia’s mission to take out the evil cop goes awry, and she accidentally kills the cop’s mistress. During her escape from the police station, Olivia kills two guards who get in her way. They are guarding a West African nun, who is being interrogated about the location of missing Jewish orphans. This is the inciting incident.

The nun knows an opportunity when she sees one. She wants Olivia to arrange for the escape of these orphans. The plan provides a short-term refuge for Olivia, so she agrees. But the nun has one stipulation. She asks that Olivia kill no more people during this mission. The nun sternly assures Olivia that while she is grateful to be free, the deaths of the soldiers are a stain on her own religious beliefs and eternal conscience.

This causes a friction between the two women, and within Olivia. Resolving this friction — the justification of violence as a means to an end — is where we encounter Olivia’s need. It also creates a challenge for the player throughout the game. Killing people will solve immediate problems, but will endanger the children. Stealth — which I have always loved playing — will be a core activity in my game.

As the game progresses, Olivia and the nun travel across Paris, evading patrols. They survive a series of dangerous encounters that allow us to explore cool Parisian locations, often converted for quasi-military purposes due to the war.

Missions often create practical problems that illustrate the pros and cons of the women’s competing ideologies. Pacifism is hard. It can also be dangerous and, in this setting, possibly self-defeating.

The gameplay structure is a little like that of A Way Out , which makes use of a variety of devices to tell a story about a prison break, and to explore the relationship between two very different convicts.

My dialogue tasks are heavily influenced by Mike Bithell’s superb work in Subsurface Circular , in which characters are revealed through conversations that also progress the plot. Olivia and the nun argue with one another while the story moves forward. In turn, the player is presented with provocative arguments, and a little levity, as the two women buddy up.

Olivia is forged by violence. The nun is heavily influenced by origin Christianity, and by the ancient traditions of her upbringing. In time, they will both be forced to confront their own inconsistencies because (of course) nothing is as simple as it seems, most especially to ideologues.

When he reviews my story, Yorke suggests that I find a way to physically manifest this exchange of ideas. So I have the nun present Olivia with a necklace: an enamel tortoise charm. In her home country, the tortoise represents peace.

This reminds me of a lesson about writing, one that I’ve always struggled with. Physically, writing is the act of stringing words together. The production is text. But weaving words is barely the point. Writers must think in terms of images, because that’s what the reader “sees” when they’re reading.

I’m a person who thinks in the language of words. It’s difficult for me to construct images and then write about them. I do it the other way around. This is a problem.

But if I want to write a game, even this leap, from words to images, is not enough. Game writers have to go farther.

Stories and history

A few weeks into the course and it’s impossible for me to play games without thinking about story. I play Red Dead Redemption 2 and Tetris Effect . The first is chock-full of characters and stories. The second has almost no story at all, but incorporates imagery that suggests narrative forms, such as discovery and redemption.

The dichotomy of story and not-story is at the center of gaming history. In the early days of games, those beeping, menacing Space Invaders arrived without any apparent motivation, inner conflict, or backup plan. We just shot them, and they shot us, and everyone was happy. The action game was born.

At the same time, text adventures appeared — Zork , The Hobbit , A Mind Forever Voyaging — that were wholly stories, with characters, motivation, flaws, and plot twists. They were smart, provocative, and commercially marginal.

Over the next three decades, these entirely different forms came together, and action games began to include narrative elements. Role-playing adventures, the descendants of those text adventures, became action-oriented exercises, interspersing killing and fighting with cutscenes or walking conversations between characters.

Commercial considerations and marketing drove the embrace of narrative and character. Sonic the Hedgehog was born from Sega’s desire to show off the Genesis’ ability to render fast-moving action. The company wanted a mascot who could compete and contrast with Nintendo’s Mario. Sonic’s main attributes were speed and a cocky, anti-establishment attitude.

This naked branding fed into comics and cartoons, as the character’s popularity exploded. But Sonic has always been trapped inside the mundane ambitions of his creators, and has never evolved into anything more than a funny mascot. (I accept that not everyone will agree with this view.)

Throughout the ’90s, stories became a creative consideration. Like all human beings, game developers had been brought up enjoying stories, and wanted to add gravitas and drama to their work.

But game developers were often better at coding than they were at telling stories. They made their games, and then they grafted on some hackneyed version of Lord of the Rings or Star Trek. A few games managed to stand out because of their devotion to story and to mythology, such as the Final Fantasy series.

Game publishers took note. Companies hired writers, usually to package up gameplay and art assets. Spinoff novels pulled convoluted series like Halo and Assassin’s Creed into some semblance of narrative form. Missions were cast as mini-stories, adding up to a baffling whole in which a princess was saved, a bomb deactivated, a tyrant deposed.

Critics began to write about games as stories, lambasting certain games for their ludonarrative dissonance in which the player’s actions are at odds with the personality or the aspirations of the on-screen character.

Big-budget games began to appear with more believable and compelling stories. BioShock, Mass Effect and Dragon Age explored the meaning of interactive stories, layering their narratives with provocative ideas about agency and heroism. They helped to establish games as fully rounded narrative experiences. Games now compete directly with the rest of the entertainment business, and must present themselves as coherent tales, in the same way as blockbuster movies. Many of the most highly prized games are seen as writerly endeavors.

The Witcher series is literally based on fantasy novels. The big games of 2018, like Red Dead Redemption 2 , Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Shadow of the Tomb Raider , all began life as stories about characters, not as tech demos in search of drama.

These days, game producers are more likely to view writers as central to big game projects. In press interviews, development team leaders like The Last of Us’ Neil Druckmann and Red Dead Redemption’s Dan Houser speak about themselves primarily as writers, and secondarily as producers or directors. When Square Enix rebooted Tomb Raider, it sent out its writer Rhianna Pratchett as a prime spokesperson. In interviews, she talked about Lara as a person, not as an amalgamation of polygons designed to deliver kicks to the player.

Diverse bunch

My tutors press me to tighten my story. They send me notes asking for more clarity, more interactivity, more drama, and more fun. What they really want, I divine, is more action. They poke at each scene. I rewrite. My game improves.

My fellow students are facing the same process. We chat with one another via forums. They are a diverse bunch of men and women from various countries, a mixture of mainstream writers who want to learn about games and game developers who want to learn about writing. The course costs around $1,600, and takes up maybe half a day per week for seven weeks.

Most of us have full-time jobs. So the only mandatory exercise is the writing of the game story; all the others are optional. It’s easygoing and good fun.

I’m fascinated by the diversity of the other students’ games and stories. One action-RPG tells the tale of a soldier’s lost pet. Another is a racing game about a group of cartoon couriers. One game follows the romantic adventures of a woman who does not conform to standard beauty ideals. Another takes on the god game genre, and delves into the Almighty’s personal relationship with life creation.

These writers are looking at ways to polish up their resumes or even to launch their own indie projects.

In the last 10 years, we’ve seen a remarkable growth of indie games with powerful stories and memorable characters. Among them are some of my favorite games ever, including Tacoma , Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture , Rakuen , Blackwood Crossing , Orwell , and Virginia .

Action games are wonderful, but we all occasionally (or often) want something else. We want games to make us feel the way the best movies and books make us feel. And games are now providing that. It’s amazing that, only a decade ago, “ can games make you cry? ” was a genuinely interesting question. Now, who among us has not shed a tear at a game story?

Final exercise

For the final exercise, we must present our game stories, complete with descriptions of fully interactive elements. In my story, Olivia and the nun both make accommodations with one another’s beliefs, in order to save each other and to rescue the children. Olivia encounters the chief of police. The player decides if he lives or dies.

The nun falls into the hands of the Nazis. Olivia breaks into the Nazi compound, but when she finds the nun, Olivia discovers that she has been tortured beyond any possibility of escape. The nun begs to be spared further torture and her inevitable confession. She must die in order for the children to live. The nun sacrifices her own beliefs in the sanctity of life, while Olivia sacrifices her warrior self. The last person Olivia will ever kill is the nun (again, this is a player choice).

The tortoise “peace” necklace makes its reappearance in the final scene, offering Olivia a practical strategy for shepherding the children past Nazi guards, and onto a waiting boat bound for Britain.

In the final scene, we see her on a Normandy beach, gazing out across the English Channel. She will win the war, but she will kill no more. Her want, need, and flaw have been resolved.

Useful lessons

I’ve learned a ton of storytelling tips and techniques that shape the story, that add to its most intense beats, and that create an ending that feels satisfying and whole, at least to me. I feel the class has made me a better writer, and it’s made me understand game design more fully.

I’ve also learned to further appreciate how games are taking basic theories about story and subverting them in the name of fun and interactivity. When I play Reigns: Game of Thrones , I’m struck by how cleverly each character, each quest, and each decision follows a pattern of inciting incident, crisis, and resolution (though not always in that order).

Few games can (or should) blindly follow a three-act shape. But understanding form is how artists learn to subvert and surprise. This is the value of the course.

The biggest lesson is that writers of games aren’t merely storytellers; they are kinetic designers. Like all writers, they must create words by conjuring imagery. But they must also operate in the realm of action. The story is about the characters, of course. It’s also about what the player sees. But, most importantly, it’s about what the player does in the context of the narrative. Marrying character, action, and player together is the trick. This requires three-dimensional thinking that I now know for certain is a tough skill to master. My admiration for good game writers increases.

I still have no plans to make a game, but I’ll write up Olivia as a short story for my weekly fiction writers group. She exists in the world now. She and the nun have taught me something about what it means to be a person.

I hope my fellow students will find jobs, or project backers, and will bring their ideas into the world. That would make for the sort of narrative resolution Yorke would enjoy.

[Feature] What is the proper way of writing an essay on video games?

By Mike Scorpio

Essays on video games, what’s so special about it? Who writes them, and, most importantly, why do instructors assign students to compose papers on games? These questions arise often. Although many people consider games harmful, video games have proved to be helpful in academia. 

We have an article that shows the benefits of playing games and studying. Now it’s time to learn how to write papers on video games. Why? Because it develops your analytical, writing, and critical thinking skills. Also, writing about games is so fun! But don’t think it’s a piece of cake. 

Even though you might be an enthusiastic player, it will take you some time to compose a top-notch paper. “I want to do that quickly because many tasks await me!” you may say. Worry not, as you can delegate your tasks and get college essays for sale . The company–check the review –has been working with students for years, providing peerless essays on various topics. 

So, let’s get into it or what?

What To Write About?

Writing about games is very general. That is why you have to narrow down your topic and determine what you are going to write about. Ask yourself, am I going to write about games as a whole? Or maybe I want to write about the influence that games have?

It is also crucial to let your teacher know what your subject matter is beforehand. You never know what an instructor might say, so better stay on the safe side and communicate with the educator. But let’s assume you want to write about one particular game. The first step will be deciding on a genre.

Decide On a Genre

Numerous genres exist these days. People play role-playing games, actions, horrors, first-person shooters, MMORPG, and many more . If you have some game on your mind, you have already lifted some burden off your shoulders. 

In case you have nothing in particular, read about genres and identify which one is the most appealing to you. Writing about exciting things will not only make the process more fun, but it will also stimulate your brain, making the entire writing session productive and quick.

Go Through The History

Learning some history will help you write the essay. There were several eras in the gaming industry. Depending on your game, you might include some information about the Arcade era (the 1980s), Console era (the 1990s), Console wars (the 2000s), Network Game era (the 2010s), E-sports (the 2010s), and VR/AR games.

Look at historical facts, the prerequisites that led to the emergence of the genre, etc. By adding several sentences about history to your essay, you will help the reader learn more about it, no matter whether they have heard of it or not.

Research the Game

Researching the game is another critical step in writing an essay on video games. Whatever game and genre you choose, make sure to carry out research . Games are complicated projects that require having plenty of staff. Many teams work on a game from scratch, starting from designers, writers, and programmers and ending with PR, marketing, and voice acting. Look for articles, videos, and interviews to find some facts about the game and its development stages. Also, you can search reviews from credible sources and compare them with your opinion.

Mind the Correct Structure

Like any other paper, an essay on video games must follow a specific structure . A block of written text will do you no good. Thus, ensure writing an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. They are the three fundamental elements of every writing assignment. Let’s take a closer look at them:

Introduction

The introduction begins the paper and carries the three essential goals: to catch the readers’ attention, to provide background information, and to point out principal components that the essay will focus on. 

The body also serves a critical objective, which is to develop components from a thesis statement. Typically, an essay has three to four body paragraphs. Every section focuses on a separate point from a thesis statement, develops it, and provides credible data to back up the arguments. 

The conclusion is the paper’s last paragraph. It aims to restate the thesis, wrap up the content, remind the reader of the most significant points, and, above all, finish the paper with a CTA sentence. Call to Action motivates the audience to kick off a discussion and/or continue to research the topic.

Enlist Strengths and Weaknesses

Always consider two sides of the coin. Writing about strengths solely will make your document biased and subjective. Although the game might be among the best the era has had, including counterarguments will give you additional credit. By doing that, you will prove your competence. 

The simplest way to do that is to write three body paragraphs about strengths and leave one section for weaknesses and other thoughts that cast doubt on the game’s success and prevalence.And here you go. As you can see, writing about video games doesn’t differ much from working on other papers. Indeed, you may have to spend more time researching the topic and finding the necessary background information about it. However, if you like playing games and learn more about them, diving deep into the gaming industry will only be of great pleasure for you. 

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ESL Writing Worksheet: Opinion Essay About Video Games (Intermediate)

In this writing worksheet, you are going to find exercises that will help students elevate their writing skills and practice the structure of an opinion essay on the topic “Are Video Games Good for Youngsters?”. 

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There is an example of a short opinion essay on this topic, plus a multiple section where students can check their understanding of this type of writing, a section for practicing useful words and phrases for opinion essays plus practical tips for writing an opinion essay. The exercises are tailored to intermediate (B1) students.

Preparation Notes for the Teachers

Required time: 45 – 60 min

To prepare:

Prepare a discussion that covers the topic of the pros of video games. 

As a warm-up, tell students that you all know that playing too many video games for too long can be harmful for the mental and physical being of a person. However, this activity is also fun and some games are really engaging and intelligently made, so players see many good reasons about why they should play them. 

Ask students: How many hours per day do they play video games? What is their favorite video game and why? Are video games a good way to socialize? Are video games a good way to learn new English words? Are there any other benefits?

An Opinion Essay: Are Video Games Good for Youngsters?

In this worksheet, you will find exercises that will help you strengthen your writing skills and learn how to write an opinion essay on the topic “Are Video Games Good for Youngsters?”.

You will also learn some useful words and phrases for opinion essays, plus practical tips for writing an opinion essay. 

What is your favorite video game and why? Are video games a good way to socialize? Are video games a good way to learn new English words? Are there any other benefits?

Discuss briefly with your teacher and the class, then answer the questions in Exercise A, B, C, D, and E.

Read the questions before answering to make sure you understand them.

Are Video Games Good for Youngsters?

Today, many young people play video games on their electronic devices, at home, at their friends’ houses and many of them say that playing video games is their favorite activity.  These games are good for young people because of several reasons.

First of all, I think that video games are a good way to train your brain. There are many popular games in which players need to have high levels of thinking, follow instructions, solve complex problems and use logic. In my opinion , these games are fun, and you can learn many things from them. Moreover , you can play them with friends online, so you can hang out and socialize even if you have long-distance friendships.

In addition , you can learn a lot of new English words if you play video games. Some people think that you learn best in classes and while listening to music or watching films. Although this is true, there are many excellent students who learn English from video games because they spend most of their free time playing.

Finally, I believe that video games are good because they are fun and intelligent. I think that they are a good alternative to communicate with friends when you can’t see them in person and learn many new things together.

A. Understanding the Opinion Essay

1. Read the above essay, then choose and circle the 6 ideas that are mentioned in the essay.

a) Video games can increase your intelligence and ability to think.

b) Too many young people are obsessed with video games.

c) Playing video games online is good for socializing.

d) You can play video games even when you are not at home.

e) It is better to learn English in person than online.

f) Many students do well in English because they play video games.

g) There more reasons why playing video games is good for young people.

h) Many video games may help young people with problem-solving.

B. Expressing Opinion

2. Match the words and phrases that have a similar meaning. *Reminder: some of these words and phrases are underlined in the opinion essay in Exercise A.

a) I disagree that… ____________________________________

b) Finally…____________________________________

c) Nowadays…____________________________________

d) In addition…____________________________________

e) In fact…____________________________________

f) First of all…___________________________________

g) I believe that…____________________________________

Tips for Writing an Opinion Essay

• Write your essay in 3-4 paragraphs. Start each paragraph with phrases like First, Moreover, To conclude.
• Express your opinion using phrases like In my opinion, I believe, I think that. Always support your opinion with 1-2 arguments, i.e., why you think so.
• Mention opinions that are different from yours. Use phrases like “Some people think/believe“ and then explain why you don’t agree with them. Always explain why you disagree with 1-2 arguments.

C. Write an Opinion Essay

3. Write an opinion essay with the title ‘Are video games good for youngsters?’ Write the essay below and give your opinion.

Download this worksheet (including key) in Word and PDF doc format (zipped)

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Video Games and Violent Behavior Essay (Critical Writing)

Researchers have been conducting research since 1950s to find out if exposing children to media violence leads to subsequent violence as they grow up. Out of 3500 studies, only 18 studies have shown a negative correlation (Cook, 2000). Since children learn about different things in their environment by imitation and observation, it is not easy to keep them away from the influence of the media.

When they watch violence on the media especially where dramatic heroes are involved, they accept that violence is a good way of resolving conflict. Some of the media outlets pass the message that the world is full of violence and justify why individuals should carry weapons to protect themselves and be more aggressive. Media violence insidiously causes the viewers to become insensitive to violence occurring in real life. Frequent playing of video games among children increases their chances of developing violent behavior (Cook, 2000).

Video games use graphic capabilities to show damaged body parts. They personalize the games by using digital images of recognizable personalities depicted as victims in the scenes. Research has shown that there is a high correlation between media violence and violence exhibited by young people.

Below the age of eight years, children are unable to make a distinction between fantasy and reality. To them, the violence they watch on screen is as real as what they witness in their homes and the larger communities. Adolescents are expected to develop abstract thought and social controls from their magical thinking as children. If this important developmental stage of children takes place in an environment that is violent, their minds become distorted .

Since the time video games came into existence, they have been replete with violence intended to inflict pain or cause death on other human beings. From the games that were developed some years ago to the ones that have just been developed, violence is treated as a central component in the games.

The process of determining if a certain video game contains violence is therefore an easy one. Some of the video games that were developed earlier and contained violence include Space Invaders and Wonder Boy. In space Invaders, the player shoots and kills many aliens in successive attacks while in Wonder Boy, violence is depicted when the hero kills monsters that disappear after their death. The hero is subjected to violence when the enemies shoot and throw stones at him.

When he dies, he falls while the enemies or the attackers disappear in a smoke explosion. This is one of the oldest video games that depict a lot of violence. When young people involve themselves in playing such video games, they eventually develop violence as they grow up. They are unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy and to them what happens in the video games should happen in real life (Cook, 2000).

Apart from the early video games that depicted violence, there are also modern video games that are full of violence. The video game Goldeneye 007 is one of the current video games depicting violence. In the game, the bad characters who are killed do not disappear but rather conduct some maneuvers after their death. It is a shooting video game and involves performing different maneuvers depending on where the character has been shot.

Characters shot on their feet move around clutching to their feet while those who are shot around the neck region go down on their knees holding the neck. In these games, there is splashing of blood when a character is shot. When explosives are used in the games, the characters burst into small pieces which are easily recognized. This makes the video games so real to young people who play them.

Kentucky, Paducah, Colorado and Jonesboro are some of the towns which experienced a spate of school shootings. It was discovered that the shooters were students who had developed the habit of playing video games. Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris were two students from Columbine High School who killed 13 people and wounded 23 others before they killed themselves. It was discovered that the two found great enjoyment in playing a bloody video game. Harris developed a customized form of the video with more weapons, two shooters and victims who had no ways of fighting back, features that were characteristic of real shootings .

The other way through which video games encourage violent behavior is the fact that the games contain passive gaming. To play and become the winner requires the player to take the role of the aggressor. As opposed to watching the violence on TV, in these video games the player is the one who commits the acts of violence.

This active involvement in the games has been described as a major way through which the thoughts of the players are altered hence increasing their chances of developing violent behavior. Secondly, instead of punishing violence in the video games, rewards are given to the winners. Some games like sniper and army games increase the level of the players according to the number of people he kills. Frequent watching of these games by young people distorts their thinking by convincing them that engaging in violence is a rewarding affair.

To understand the complex relationship between video games and violence, the General Aggression Model (GAM) was developed. It employs physiological responses, thoughts and feelings to determine how individuals respond to video games depicting aggression. It was identified that violent video games have an impact on the response exhibited by gamers. For instance, individuals who are not naturally violent respond with increased hostility and aggression after they watch violent video games.

The games turn into situational variables responsible for changing the perception of players towards acts of aggression. Apart from the short term effects associated with video games, the games may also contribute towards the development of long-term effects. For instance, watching violent video games may cause the development of aggressive attitudes and beliefs. In addition, players of violent video games may be eventually desensitized to aggressive behaviors .

To find out the relationship between video games and violent behavior, a survey was conducted during this study. In the survey, a group of 10 young men were allowed to play violent video games. They were compared with another group that did not play the video games. The results indicated that the group of young men that played violent video games exhibited high physical and verbal aggression towards their peers and even inanimate things when allowed to interact freely.

On the other hand, the group that did not play the video games did not exhibit such aggression. In addition, when the two groups were asked questions based on hypothetical stories, the answers were different. The answers given by the group that played the video games were in favor of violence while answers from the group that did not play the video games did not favor violence.

Such results are an indication that violent video games encourage young people to become violent. The results of this survey can be interpreted to mean that playing video games actually leads to violent behavior.

Cook, D. (2000). Testimony of the American Academy of Pediatrics on Media Violence. Web.

Kalning, K. (2011). Does Video Violence Make Teens Violent. Web.

Kirby, G., & Goodpaster, J. (2006). Thinking:an interdisciplinary approach to critical and creative thought. New York: Prentice Hall.

Pamf. (2011). The Impact of Video Games on Children. Web.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2019, August 1). Video Games and Violent Behavior. https://ivypanda.com/essays/video-games-and-violent-behavior-critical-writing/

"Video Games and Violent Behavior." IvyPanda , 1 Aug. 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/video-games-and-violent-behavior-critical-writing/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'Video Games and Violent Behavior'. 1 August.

IvyPanda . 2019. "Video Games and Violent Behavior." August 1, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/video-games-and-violent-behavior-critical-writing/.

1. IvyPanda . "Video Games and Violent Behavior." August 1, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/video-games-and-violent-behavior-critical-writing/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Video Games and Violent Behavior." August 1, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/video-games-and-violent-behavior-critical-writing/.

• The Relationship between playing Violent Video Games and Children’s Aggressive Behavior - What do the Evidences Show?
• Do Violent Video Games Lead to Aggressive Behavior?
• Violent Video Games and How They Affect Youth Violence
• Do Violent Video Games make People Violent?
• Does Violence in Video Games Affect Youth?
• Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?
• Aliza Razell's "Disappear": Looking Through Gaze and Gender
• Aggression, Violence and Deviance
• Psychology of Aggression and Violence
• Research of Violence in the Media
• Understanding the Social Costs of Narcissism
• The Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
• Personalistic and Naturalistic Approach in the History of Psychology
• The Personal Conflict Resolution
• Two Stages of Life Development

Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Video Games — Video Games: A Sport or Not

Video Games: a Sport Or not

• Categories: Video Games

About this sample

Words: 689 |

Published: Jan 31, 2024

Words: 689 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, definition and criteria for a sport, video games and their competitive elements, factors that distinguish video games from traditional sports, arguments against video games being considered a sport, counterarguments and rebuttals.

• Physical exertion
• Competitive nature
• Organized structure and rules
• Skill requirement
• Blomberg, R. (2019). Video Games Can Never Be Sport. Huffpost. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/video-games-sport-no_n_5bec5f35e4b0a043787eceeb
• Bromberg, M. (2020). What IS a Sport? And Why Does It Matter? ABC News. Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/sport-matter/story?id=67409964
• WHO (2019). WHO | Physical Activity. WHO. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity
• Norris, E. (2021). Esports’ global revenue will break $1 billion in 2020. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@blakepanzinoesports/esports-global-revenue-will-break-1-billion-in-2020-c8c2f608b368

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Student Opinion

310 Prompts for Argumentative Writing

Questions on everything from mental health and sports to video games and dating. Which ones inspire you to take a stand?

By Natalie Proulx

Does social media harm young people’s mental health? Do video games deserve the bad rap they often get? Should parents track their children? Who is the greatest athlete of all time?

Every school day, we publish new questions for students based on the news of the day, including prompts, like these, that inspire persuasive writing.

Below, we’ve rounded up over 300 of those argumentative prompts, organized by topic, all in one place. They cover everything from parenting and schools to music and social media. Each one, drawn from our Student Opinion column , links to a free New York Times article as well as additional subquestions that can help you think more deeply about it.

You can use these prompts however you like, whether to inspire an entry for our new Open Letter Contest , to hone your persuasive writing skills or simply to share your opinions on the issues of today. So scroll through the list below and see which ones inspire you to take a stand.

If you enjoy these questions, know that you can find all of our argumentative writing prompts, as they publish, here . Students 13 and up from anywhere in the world are invited to comment.

Argumentative Prompt Topics

Technology and social media, college, work and money, health and relationships, gender and race, arts and entertainment, parenting and childhood, government and politics, animals, science and time.

Social Media

1. Does Social Media Harm Young People’s Mental Health? 2. How Much Should Speech Be Moderated on Social Media? 3. Should the United States Ban TikTok? 4. How Young Is Too Young to Use Social Media? 5. Should Kids Be Social Media Influencers? 6. What Should Be Done to Protect Children Online? 7. Should There Be Separate Social Media Apps for Children? 8. Are You a Fan of ‘School Accounts’ on Social Media? 9. Will Social Media Help or Hurt Your College and Career Goals? 10. Is It Ever OK to Use Strangers as Content for Social Media?

Phones and Devices

11. Should More Teenagers Ditch Their Smartphones? 12. Should the Adults in Your Life Be Worried by How Much You Use Your Phone? 13. Should Phones Ever Be a Part of Family or Holiday Gatherings? 14. What Are Your Texting Dos and Don’ts? 15. Does Grammar Still Matter in the Age of Twitter? 16. Is Your Phone Love Hurting Your Relationships? 17. Should Texting While Driving Be Treated Like Drunken Driving? 18. How Young Is Too Young for an Apple Watch?

The Internet

19. Do Memes Make the Internet a Better Place? 20. How Excited Are You About the Metaverse? 21. Should Websites Force Users to Prove How Old They Are? 22. What Is the Best Way to Stop Abusive Language Online? 23. How Do You Feel About Cancel Culture? 24. Does Online Public Shaming Prevent Us From Being Able to Grow and Change? 25. Do You Think Online Conspiracy Theories Can Be Dangerous? 26. Does Technology Make Us More Alone?

School Discipline and Attendance

27. Should Schools Ban Cellphones? 28. How Should Schools Hold Students Accountable for Hurting Others? 29. What Are Your Thoughts on Uniforms and Strict Dress Codes? 30. Should Schools Test Their Students for Nicotine and Drug Use? 31. How Can Schools Engage Students Who Are at Risk of Dropping Out? 32. Should Students Be Allowed to Miss School for Mental Health Reasons? 33. Should Your School Day Start Later? 34. Should There Still Be Snow Days? 35. Do Kids Need Recess? 36. Should Students Be Punished for Not Having Lunch Money?

School Quality and Effectiveness

37. How Do You Think American Education Could Be Improved? 38. Do Schools Need to Do More to Hold Students Accountable? 39. Are Straight A’s Always a Good Thing? 40. Should Students Have the Same Teachers Year After Year? 41. Do Teachers Assign Too Much Homework? 42. Should We Get Rid of Homework? 43. Should We Eliminate Gifted and Talented Programs? 44. Is It Time to Get Rid of Timed Tests? 45. What Role Should Textbooks Play in Education? 46. How Should Senior Year in High School Be Spent? 47. Does Your School Need More Money? 48. Do School Employees Deserve More Respect — and Pay? 49. Should Public Preschool Be a Right for All Children?

Teaching and Learning

50. Do You Think We Need to Change the Way Math Is Taught? 51. Should Financial Literacy Be a Required Course in School? 52. Should Schools Teach Students Kitchen and Household Skills? 53. Do We Need Better Music Education? 54. What Are the Most Important Things Students Should Learn in School? 55. What Is the Purpose of Teaching U.S. History? 56. Do Schools Need to Do More to Support Visual Thinkers? 57. Is School a Place for Self-Expression? 58. Should Media Literacy Be a Required Course in School? 59. Can Empathy Be Taught? Should Schools Try to Help Us Feel One Another’s Pain? 60. Should Schools Teach You How to Be Happy? 61. Should All Schools Teach Cursive? 62. Should Kids Still Learn to Tell Time? 63. How Important Is Knowing a Foreign Language

Technology in School

64. How Should Schools Respond to ChatGPT? 65. Does Learning to Be a Good Writer Still Matter in the Age of A.I.? 66. Is Online Learning Effective? 67. Should Students Be Monitored When Taking Online Tests? 68. Should Schools Be Able to Discipline Students for What They Say on Social Media? 69. Can Social Media Be a Tool for Learning and Growth in Schools? 70. Should Facial Recognition Technology Be Used in Schools? 71. Is Live-Streaming Classrooms a Good Idea? 72. Should Teachers and Professors Ban Student Use of Laptops in Class? 73. Are the Web Filters at Your School Too Restrictive?

Education Politics

74. Do You Feel Your School and Teachers Welcome Both Conservative and Liberal Points of View? 75. Should Students Learn About Climate Change in School? 76. Should Teachers Provide Trigger Warnings for ‘Traumatic Content’? 77. Should Teachers Be Allowed to Wear Political Symbols? 78. What Do You Think About Efforts to Ban Books From School Libraries? 79. What Is Your Reaction to the Growing Fight Over What Young People Can Read? 80. What Do You Think About the Controversy Surrounding the New A.P. Course on African American Studies? 81. Should Schools or Employers Be Allowed to Tell People How They Should Wear Their Hair? 82. Does Prayer Have Any Place in Public Schools? 83. Should Schools Be Allowed to Censor Student Newspapers?

College Admissions

84. Should Colleges Consider Standardized Tests in Admissions? 85. Should Students Let ChatGPT Help Them Write Their College Essays? 86. What Is Your Reaction to the End of Race-Based Affirmative Action in College Admissions? 87. Are Early-Decision Programs Unfair? Should Colleges Do Away With Them? 88. Is the College Admissions Process Fair? 89. How Much Do You Think It Matters Where You Go to College? 90. Should Everyone Go to College? 91. Should College Be Free? 92. Is Student Debt Worth It? 93. Should High Schools Post Their Annual College Lists?

Campus Life

94. What Should Free Speech Look Like on Campus? 95. Should Greek Life on College Campuses Come to an End? 96. Should Universities Work to Curtail Student Drinking? 97. How Should the Problem of Sexual Assault on Campuses Be Addressed? 98. Are Lavish Amenities on College Campuses Useful or Frivolous? 99. Should ‘Despised Dissenters’ Be Allowed to Speak on College Campuses? 100. Should Emotional Support Animals Be Allowed on College Campuses?

Jobs and Careers

101. Is High School a Good Time to Train for a Career? 102. Is There Such a Thing as a ‘Useless’ College Major? 103. Should All High School Students Have Part-Time Jobs? 104. Should National Service Be Required for All Young Americans? 105. Is It OK to Use Family Connections to Get a Job?

Money and Business

106. Do You Think the American Dream Is Real? 107. Should All Young People Learn How to Invest in the Stock Market? 108. Should We All Go Cashless? 109. When Should You Tip? 110. Should We End the Practice of Tipping? 111. Are You a Crypto Optimist or Skeptic? 112. Do Celebrities and Influencers Make You Want to Buy What They’re Selling? 113. Is $1 Billion Too Much Money for Any One Person to Have? 114. Are C.E.O.s Paid Too Much? 115. Is It Immoral to Increase the Price of Goods During a Crisis? 116. What Should Stores Do With Unsold Goods? 117. Is There a ‘Right Way’ to Be a Tourist? 118. Who Should We Honor on Our Money?

Mental Health

119. Is Teen Mental Health in a State of Crisis? 120. ‘Love-Bombing.’ ‘Gaslighting.’ ‘Victim.’ Is ‘Trauma Talk’ Overused? 121. Does Achieving Success Always Include Being Happy? 122. Is Struggle Essential to Happiness? 123. Should Schools Teach Mindfulness? 124. How Can We Bring an End to the ‘Epidemic of Loneliness’? 125. Does Every Country Need a ‘Loneliness Minister’? 126. What Ideas Do You Have to Bring Your Community Closer Together? 127. Are Emotional-Support Animals a Scam? 128. Is It OK to Laugh During Dark Times?

Dating and Relationships

129. Who Should Pay for Dates? 130. Do Marriage Proposals Still Have a Place in Today’s Society? 131. Should Your Significant Other Be Your Best Friend? 132. How Do You Think Technology Affects Dating?

Physical Health

133. Should Governments Do More to Discourage People From Smoking and Vaping? 134. How Should Adults Talk to Kids About Drugs? 135. Can Laziness Be a Good Thing? 136. Should There Be Requirements for Teens Who Want to Ride E-Bikes? 137. What Advice Should Parents and Counselors Give Teenagers About Sexting? 138. Should All Children Be Vaccinated? 139. Do We Worry Too Much About Germs?

140. Is It Becoming More Acceptable for Men and Boys to Cry? 141. Is It Harder for Men and Boys to Make and Keep Friends? 142. Should Award Shows Eliminate Gendered Categories? 143. Should There Be More Gender Options on Identification Documents? 144. Justice Ginsburg Fought for Gender Equality. How Close Are We to Achieving That Goal? 145. What Should #MeToo Mean for Teenage Boys? 146. What Is Hard About Being a Boy? 147. Should There Be More Boy Dolls? 148. Is Single-Sex Education Still Useful? 149. Are Beauty Pageants Still Relevant? 150. Should Period Products Be Free? 151. What Are Your Thoughts on Last Names? 152. What Rules Should Apply to Transgender Athletes When They Compete? 153. What Is Your Reaction to the Recent Wave of Legislation That Seeks to Regulate the Lives of Transgender Youths? 154. What Do You Wish Lawmakers Knew About How Anti-L.G.B.T.Q. Legislation Affects Teenagers?

Identity, Race and Ethnicity

155. How Should Schools Respond to Racist Jokes? 156. How Should Parents Teach Their Children About Race and Racism? 157. What Is Your Reaction to Efforts to Limit Teaching on Race in Schools? 158. How Should Racial Slurs in Literature Be Handled in the Classroom? 159. Should Confederate Statues Be Removed or Remain in Place? 160. Should We Rename Schools Named for Historical Figures With Ties to Racism, Sexism or Slavery? 161. How Should We Remember the Problematic Actions of the Nation’s Founders? 162. Does the United States Owe Reparations to the Descendants of Enslaved People? 163. What Can History Teach Us About Resilience? 164. Should All Americans Receive Anti-Bias Education? 165. Is Fear of ‘The Other’ Poisoning Public Life? 166. What Stereotypical Characters Make You Cringe? 167. When Talking About Identity, How Much Do Words Matter? 168. How Useful Is It to Be Multilingual?

TV and Movies

169. Is True Crime As a Form of Entertainment Ethical? 170. Should Old TV Shows Be Brought Back? 171. Does Reality TV Deserve Its Bad Rap? 172. How Closely Should Actors’ Identities Reflect the Roles They Play? 173. In the Age of Digital Streaming, Are Movie Theaters Still Relevant? 174. Do We Need More Female Superheroes? 175. Is Hollywood Becoming More Diverse? 176. When Does Lying in Comedy Cross a Line? 177. How Do You Feel About ‘Nepotism Babies’?

Music and Video Games

178. Will A.I. Replace Pop Stars? 179. If Two Songs Sound Alike, Is It Stealing? 180. Should Musicians Be Allowed to Copy or Borrow From Other Artists? 181. How Do You Feel About Censored Music? 182. What Are the Greatest Songs of All Time? 183. Do Video Games Deserve the Bad Rap They Often Get? 184. Should There Be Limits on How Much Time Young People Spend Playing Video Games? 185. Should More Parents Play Video Games With Their Kids?

186. Are A.I.-Generated Pictures Art? 187. What Work of Art Should Your Friends Fall in Love With? 188. If Artwork Offends People, Should It Be Removed? 189. Should Museums Return Looted Artifacts to Their Countries of Origin? 190. Should Art Come With Trigger Warnings? 191. Is the Digital Era Improving or Ruining the Experience of Art? 192. Are Museums Still Important in the Digital Age? 193. Can You Separate Art From the Artist? 194. Are There Subjects That Should Be Off-Limits to Artists, or to Certain Artists in Particular? 195. Should Graffiti Be Protected?

Books and Literature

196. Is Listening to a Book Just as Good as Reading It? 197. Should Classic Children’s Books Be Updated for Today’s Young Readers? 198. Should White Writers Translate a Black Author’s Work? 199. Is There Any Benefit to Reading Books You Hate? 200. Should Libraries Get Rid of Late Fees?

201. What’s the Best — and Worst — Part of Being a Sports Fan? 202. Who Is the GOAT? 203. Do Women’s Sports Deserve More Attention? 204. What Should Be Done About the Gender Pay Gap in Sports? 205. Should Girls and Boys Sports Teams Compete in the Same League? 206. Should More Sports Be Coed? 207. College Athletes Can Now Be Paid. But Not All of Them Are Seeing Money. Is That Fair? 208. Should High School-Age Basketball Players Be Able to Get Paid? 209. Are Some Youth Sports Too Intense? 210. Are Youth Sports Too Competitive? 211. Is It Bad Sportsmanship to Run Up the Score in Youth Sports? 212. Is It Ethical to Be a Football Fan? 213. Does the N.F.L. Have a Race Problem? 214. What New Rules Would Improve Your Favorite Sport? 215. What Sports Deserve More Hype? 216. How Should We Punish Sports Cheaters? 217. Should Technology in Sports Be Limited? 218. Does Better Sports Equipment Unfairly Improve Athletic Ability? 219. Is It Offensive for Sports Teams and Their Fans to Use Native American Names, Imagery and Gestures? 220. Is It Selfish to Pursue Risky Sports Like Extreme Mountain Climbing? 221. Should Cheerleading Be an Olympic Sport?

Related Writing Prompt

222. Should Parents Ever Be Held Responsible for the Harmful Actions of Their Children? 223. Where Is the Line Between Helping a Child Become More Resilient and Pushing Them Too Hard? 224. Should Parents Give Children More Responsibility at Younger Ages? 225. Should Parents Tell Children the Truth About Santa? 226. Should Parents Weigh in on Their Kids’ Dating Lives? 227. Should Parents Track Their Children? 228. How Should Parents Support a Student Who Has Fallen Behind in School? 229. Do Parents Ever Cross a Line by Helping Too Much With Schoolwork? 230. What’s the Best Way to Discipline Children? 231. What Are Your Thoughts on ‘Snowplow Parents’? 232. Should Stay-at-Home Parents Be Paid? 233. Should Parents Bribe Their Children?

Childhood and Growing Up

234. Is It Harder to Grow Up in the 21st Century Than It Was in the Past? 235. Is Childhood Today Over-Supervised? 236. When Do You Become an Adult? 237. Who Should Decide Whether a Teenager Can Get a Tattoo or Piercing? 238. Do We Give Children Too Many Trophies? 239. What Can Older Generations Learn From Gen Z? 240. What Is the Worst Toy Ever?

Legislation and Policy

241. Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished? 242. Should Marijuana Be Legal? 243. Should the United States Decriminalize the Possession of Drugs? 244. What Is Your Reaction to the State of Abortion Rights? 245. Should the Government Cancel Student Debt? 246. Should Public Transit Be Free? 247. Should There Be More Public Restrooms? 248. Should the U.S. Be Doing More to Prevent Child Poverty? 249. Should the Government Provide a Guaranteed Income for Families With Children? 250. Should Law Enforcement Be Able to Use DNA Data From Genealogy Websites for Criminal Investigations?

Gun Violence

251. Are You Concerned About Violence in America? 252. How Should Americans Deal With the Problem of Gun Violence? 253. What Should Lawmakers Do About Guns and Gun Violence? 254. Should the U.S. Ban Military-Style Semiautomatic Weapons? 255. Should Teachers Be Armed With Guns?

Voting and Elections

256. How Much Faith Do You Have in the U.S. Political System? 257. Is the Electoral College a Problem? Does It Need to Be Fixed? 258. Does Everyone Have a Responsibility to Vote? 259. Should We All Be Able to Vote by Mail? 260. Should There Be a Minimum Voting Age? 261. Should the Voting Age Be Lowered to 16? 262. Should Ex-Felons Have the Right to Vote? 263. Are Presidential Debates Helpful to Voters? Or Should They Be Scrapped?

Freedoms and Rights

264. How Important Is Freedom of the Press? 265. Why Does the Right to Protest Matter? 266. Does the U.S. Constitution Need an Equal Rights Amendment? 267. Do You Care Who Sits on the Supreme Court? Should We Care? 268. Should You Have a Right to Be Rude? 269. Should Prisons Offer Incarcerated People Education Opportunities?

Civic Participation

270. Are You Optimistic About the State of the World? 271. If You Could Take On One Problem Facing Our World, What Would It Be? 272. If You Were Mayor, What Problems Facing Your Community Would You Tackle? 273. Do You Think Teenagers Can Make a Difference in the World? 274. Do You Think It Is Important for Teenagers to Participate in Political Activism? 275. Is Your Generation Doing Its Part to Strengthen Our Democracy? 276. How Is Your Generation Changing Politics? 277. Why Is It Important for People With Different Political Beliefs to Talk to Each Other? 278. Are We Being Bad Citizens If We Don’t Keep Up With the News? 279. Why Do Bystanders Sometimes Fail to Help When They See Someone in Danger? 280. When Is It OK to Be a Snitch? 281. Should Reporters Ever Help the People They Are Covering? 282. Should Celebrities Weigh In on Politics? 283. Should Athletes Speak Out On Social and Political Issues? 284. Should Corporations Take Political Stands? 285. What Do You Think the Role of the First Lady — or First Spouse — Should Be Today?

286. Is Animal Testing Ever Justified? 287. What Is Our Responsibility to Lab Animals? 288. What Are Your Thoughts About Hunting Animals? 289. Should We Be Concerned With Where We Get Our Pets? 290. What Do You Think of Pet Weddings? 291. Is It Wrong to Focus on Animal Welfare When Humans Are Suffering? 292. Should We Bring Back Animals From Extinction? 293. Are Zoos Immoral? 294. Do Bugs Deserve More Respect?

Environment and Science

295. What Role Should Young People Play in the Fight Against Climate Change? 296. Should We Be More Optimistic About Efforts to Combat Climate Change? 297. How Far Is Too Far in the Fight Against Climate Change? 298. Should Plastic Bags Be Banned Everywhere? 299. Is It Ethical to Create Genetically Edited Humans? 300. Should We Still Be Sending Astronauts to Space? 301. Do You Think Pluto Should Be a Planet? 302. Should We Treat Robots Like People?

Time and Seasons

303. What Is the Best Month of the Year? What Is the Worst? 304. Would Life Be Better Without Time Zones? 305. Do You Think It Is Time to Get Rid of Daylight Saving Time? 306. When Do Holiday Decorations Go From Festive to Excessive? 307. Should We Rethink Thanksgiving? 308. When Does a Halloween Costume Cross the Line? 309. Should School Be a Place to Celebrate Halloween? 310. Should the Week Be Four Days Instead of Five?

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.

Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.

Natalie Proulx joined The Learning Network as a staff editor in 2017 after working as an English language arts teacher and curriculum writer. More about Natalie Proulx