Let The Games Begin

Video games play significant role in students' extracurricular activities

He's sat glaring at the television with his friends since noon. Now, at 4 p.m., his gaze remains fixed to the scene unfolding before him. Soldiers just entered the abandoned warehouse and were searching for enemies hidden behind cardboard boxes and piles of hay. Their machine guns were poised and ready for attack at a moment's notice. That’s when they spotted it — the strategically placed box in the middle of the room. Someone would have to open it …

The scenario isn’t real, though. The soldiers, the abandoned warehouse and the hidden enemies all are part of a game. They’re part of a video game — a trend increasing in popularity among students. _

"A lot of times I do it just to kill time," senior Chris Ashworth said. "Homework only takes so long."
Ashworth doesn’t think that playing has taken away from his schoolwork, either, even though he admits to playing games about ten hours a week. "I mean, you can get so much done in an hour or two of doing straight homework," he said.

Senior Kirby Kirkland doesn’t think her playing gets in the way of schoolwork either, although she only plays once a week when at work. "I think playing in college gets more frequent," Kirkland said. "In high school I was a lot more busy. My jobs are more slacker now."

It’s not surprising that video games have taken on popularity with students. Web sites such as www.gamefaqs.com and www.gamespy.com offer clues to advance in certain games.

"I have a lot of friends who go on eBay and would pay to learn ways to beat a game," Kirkland said.

Most students seem to think that playing video games with friends is a good way to spend time together. "It’s a good way to hang out with friends," Ashworth said. "It’s a good thing to do together if the guys are just sitting around."

If spending quality time together isn’t enough to gain interest in video games, researchers at the University of Rochester have found that people who play violent video games have a marked increase in their visual abilities. Students who play video games could focus on and process what is happening around them 30 to 50 percent better than those who don’t, the study revealed.

Some people don’t agree that playing video games will increase visual abilities or that they are a good way to spend time with friends — in fact, some think they’re a complete waste of time.

The video game industry doesn’t appear to be suffering from non-supporters. Last year, the games took in more money than the movie industry — $10.3 billion compared to $9.5 billion respectively, according to CNN.

Video game popularity has branched into other areas as well. The Video Music Awards had a "Best Soundtrack From A Video Game" category for the first time this year. The winner was Tony Hawk’s "Underground." MTV isn’t the only source of entertainment branching out. In October, "Playboy" will try its luck with naked video game characters, CNN reported.

For those who do play, The Entertainment Software Rating Board provides guidelines for game purchasers. "When I have kids, I definitely don’t want them to be able to buy games like ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ " junior Chris Zasada said. "It doesn’t matter to college students, but for adults they help prevent their kids from buying graphic games."

So while the controversy over whether games actually have positive effects on players continues to cause much discussion, players seem unaffected.

"For some people, it’s just easier to relax by playing games," Zasada said. "Everyone has their own ways of taking it easy, and as long as it’s not taking up all of my time, I don’t see anything wrong with it."

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