Gaming has been around long before the digital era. The first electronic game was shown publicly in 1950 during the Canadian National Exhibition. It was a tic-tac-toe arcade game called Bertie-the-Brain. Unfortunately, the game was dismantled after the two-week exhibit and declared a novelty. Several interactive visual games were developed after that, but none were for commercial purposes.
It took two decades before an arcade game became commercially available—Computer Space. This was followed by Atari’s Pong and other interactive visual games. Fast forward to 1985, the Nintendo Entertainment System was released, and games now considered classics such as Super Mario Bros. came into the picture.
Technological advancements in gaming have since rocked the world. The more technology revolutionized gaming, the more popular it became, albeit it has become controversial. While many are upbeat about the development in this sector, naysayers see its rapid growth as a bane to society.
This aversion toward gaming sends us on a mission to dispel the myths about gaming and gamers, and we want to do it with other gaming enthusiasts. How do we expect to do that? By creating a community that would spread everything good and interesting about gaming.
Unlike other communities, we won’t promise to share cheat sheets on your favorite games. Instead, we will provide good reading stuff and information exchange about gaming. However, we will be honest with our content. We acknowledge that gaming is not perfect, so we promise not to sugarcoat the valid concerns against gaming nor sweep them under the rug.
Educating the Public
Perhaps, most of the negativity that hounds gaming and gamers stem from the public’s lack of understanding of gaming. We will feature blog articles that explain why gaming has become so popular and debunk myths about it.
Some people associate gaming with gambling. While it’s true that there are several online games on gambling, including bingo, casino games, lotteries, and sports betting, there is much more to gaming. Games such as Age of Empires and Total War develop focus, strategic thinking, and teamwork. Call of Duty helps improve problem-solving skills, while Minecraft encourages creativity.
Interactive games develop several skills, leading to organizations using gamification as a training method.
Critics say gaming can be addictive and violent, with some games having too much sexual content. That may be true. But aren’t the same issues true for TV, movies, and printed forms of entertainment? The point is: gaming should only be singled out for some of these concerns. They happen for many reasons, but we will not delve into those. We won’t pretend to be experts on the social effects of gaming. However, with the number of video games for the family, such as the Mario Party Superstars, Digital Scavenger Hunt, Family Bingo, and Family Feud, we’d like to focus on the awesome potential of gaming as a source of family bonding.
Encouraging a Healthy Exchange of Information on Gaming
Although we won’t be featuring cheat sheets here, there’s nothing and no one to stop community members from exchanging tips on winning games. Members may also share information on what’s new with gaming, which games are cool, what game console goes best with a specific game, etc.
Beyond that, we’d also like to hear from members about their positive gaming experiences. For example, we encourage those who have used gamification in their organizations to share how they effectively used a game to develop soft skills. Or if you know of anyone diagnosed with ADHD who benefitted from the therapeutic effects of gaming, that would be great!
We are optimistic about the future of gaming, and with responsible gamers joining us, the prospects look encouraging indeed.