As we’re in the holiday season, and a lot of us spend more time together than usual, I’ve been thinking about how family time is being redefined by gaming. Long ago, families used to sit around the coffee table and play a variety of board games like Monopoly or Life.
That trend gave way to a lot of tube time with a mix of holiday TV specials and family-themed annual shows and movies like The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Elf. However, in the last couple of years we’ve seen this turn to games in the living room, mainly thanks to Nintendo’s Wii, and it’s looking like this year will be no exception with Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox and Sony’s Move for the PlayStation 3.
I see this trend continuing on “gaming” platforms given the growing popularity of mobile devices, especially the iPad. My company Gogogic has launched an iPad and iPhone game today, Symbol6 Redux, with this trend in mind. The game is a match puzzle game which is designed for both kids and parents to enjoy together, with all spending more time in the company of interactive than passive pursuits in this day and age.
It is worth pointing out that this trend of parents and children playing together and communicating around games is an important one. As playing games moves ever closer to becoming a mainstream activity – fueled by the rapid onslaught of social gaming – the importance of games will grow. Their benefits and positive qualities will start to matter more and in time people will come to understand that these hugely outweigh any negative effects that games might have.
A very simple metaphor can be used to describe what engaging games can do. Just as exercising the body will affect physical health and fitness, playing games might help with keeping the brain active and healthy. In fact, there is a lot of evidence to support this, along with claims that games can help with learning, rehabilitation, memory and hand-eye coordination. Google it – you will see!
But the reality is that games can have an even more profound effect, as they are quickly turning into the focus point for a lot of social activities (again, just as computer games were social in the very beginning and the single-player mode only entered the picture later, as a way to allow people to enjoy games on their own). Knowing this, games have a role to play when it comes to reestablishing playfulness and creativity in today’s world. Many countries are seeing a rapid decrease in free play time for children. At the same time, some evidence suggests that creativity is declining, at least in the United States and probably around the world. It is not hard to imagine that these two trends are correlated, although direct evidence is lacking to support any claim of a direct link.
World-renowned game designer Jane McGonigal has described how making games and playing games can change the world. She has pointed out how highly social play can generate collective intelligence and how game players, in general, are optimistic problem solvers with an innate ability to quickly build social ties in order to overcome bigger problems.
And that is where this all comes together. This is why I feel that the space between parents and children is so very interesting. If playfulness and new social experiences can be introduced and built in a way that matches both groups, then we have enabled a new way of communication. And, more importantly, one where parents and children have regained their platform to unite, play, learn and grow together.
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Scott Steinberg is the CEO of video game consulting firm TechSavvy Global, and founder of GameExec magazine and Game Industry TV. Hailed as a top technology and video game expert by dozens of publications from USA Today to Forbes and NPR, he’s covered the field for 400+ outlets from Playboy to Rolling Stone. A frequent on-air analyst for networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, he’s also the author of Video Game Marketing and PR.