Soon after wrestling with issues like the existence of God, family or vocational struggles, and the basic nature of humanity, questions arise concerning popular culture's redeeming value. And of all the tools of our culture, television has the most effect, especially on children.
To approach children's TV viewing without much reflection is to lay their mental and social development to waste. Allowing for disagreement over specifics, each person in our society must consciously consider the pervasive presence and profound effects of television.
In the age of Nintendo, the same thoughtfulness must increasingly be paid to the new entertainment industry: computer games. As the parent of three boys--ages 5, 8, and 11--I would urge anyone who has occasion to spend time with children to give the same consideration to the choice of computer games that you would give to choosing between Sesame Street or GI Joe cartoons. Like television, they can be turned off, but they can no longer be ignored.
Just as television is dominated by mindless or violent entertainment (and so can waste the time and mind of a growing child), most of today's computer games have a redeeming value comparable to Saturday morning cartoons. Many games involve spending hours racking up points simply to beat the last score, or are hopelessly militaristic.
Software stores are full of hundreds of shoot 'em up games (read "violent"), oodles of flying or driving games (read "addictive"), and dozens upon dozens of dragon-type fantasy games where you need to rescue the maiden or find the treasure (read "violent" and "addictive," as well as "demeaning to women").
Tucked in a back corner will be a few counting, spelling, and coloring games for the very young. But what about my 8- and 11-year-olds??!!
Good computer games exist, offering complexity and/or subtlety, but they must be searched out. For those who have either given up or not thought about it, this practical guide may help. The following are some interesting games that children will like playing and progressive adults may find acceptable.
MAXIS HAS DEVELOPED a number of games that are fun and so incredibly complex that they are broadly educational. In SimAnt (a simulated ant colony), the player manages dozens of activities and decisions at the same time. Younger players can look for food, avoid spiders and competing ant colonies, and hope that the occasional lawn mower doesn't catch them unawares. More advanced players try to balance the number of breeders, workers, and defenders of the queen in the colony.
If that isn't enough, the player also decides whether the workers primarily will dig the nest, nurse the eggs, or forage for food. Any radical, single focus may be good in the immediate term but will be a disaster eventually. All the while the ants must avoid rain and predators, while the player scans various windows.
The humorous, 170-page manual describes real world leafcutters and parasitic ants as much as it does the game. My 11-year-old enjoys the book as much as I do.
But SimAnt is no "educational game." This Maxis offering is compellingly wild. Just when you think your nest is healthy, you realize that you must send queens out to populate the entire yard, taking over the humans' kitchen and bathroom and driving them out of their house. Get the idea? SimAnt has the same appeal to the young at heart as world conquest games, but without the "kill-the-enemies" attitude.
Maxis makes SimLife, SimCity, and SimEarth as well. SimEarth has even more details to control, but lacks some of the "game" feel. It is clearly more for an older player. The manual, as broadly constructed as SimAnt's, encourages players to see the Earth as an intricate, living planet.
A mouse is extremely helpful with all of these games. Each game costs about $30.
Sierra On-Line also offers a positive video game. While Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood includes "bad guys" and death, it is entirely open-ended and waits for you to decide what to do.
The player must use her or his head to figure out puzzles along the way, while not jumping to the conclusion that odd-looking characters necessarily mean harm. Some of the logic is intended to be difficult for children, so some adult involvement may be required. But this game can be played, saved, and continued later. This one is best with a mouse and also costs about $30.
Jigsaw!, by Britannica Software and especially good for young kids, is a cheaper game ($15). It begins with wonderful pictures, breaking them into rectangles of either 8, 15, 40, or 60 pieces. Although other similar games can be found, their quality differs from company to company.
Welltris is an example of a potentially addictive game that nonetheless can teach about perception, thinking, planning, and imaging a three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional screen. While I wouldn't let my kids play this for an hour every day, it is a game that's OK once in a while.
Computer versions of board games from chess to backgammon to checkers are quite popular. These can be challenging since the computer can figure out so many variations, but they are basically a replacement for playing against another person. Why not sit down with a real backgammon board and a child or friend instead?
Other quality games exist, too. If you have access to a computer, you can find games that expand kids' minds and are a gas to play. You may prefer that they read a book, or play a game of basketball, but a well-chosen computer game beats the heck out of watching a re-run of Wheel of Fortune or playing Nintendo.
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