Author: Gaming Is Mature And Helps Us "Pursue Our Passions"

Heavy Rain

Most adult gamers view video games as a mature mass medium, one that can go toe-to-toe with other entertainment venues like movies, music, and books. And in fact, the benefits often go beyond mere entertainment.
However, we usually don't get a lot of support from the academic community, as we can all find countless studies concerning the negative effects of the hobby. It gets a little tiresome after awhile.
And so, in the spirit of feeling better about ourselves, we turn your attention to Ian Bogost, a "leading videogame scholar and award-winning game designer." He says games "are increasingly used for purposes other than entertainment, yet they often get entangled within debates about their benefits or dangers." ...yeah, so we've noticed.
Bogost has penned a book- "How To Do Things With Videogames," in which he cites the limitless possibilities offered by interactive simulated realities. Bogost is also a professor of digital media at Georgia Institute of Technology and a founding partner at Persuasive Games LLC, and his goals include:

• Documenting important historical and cultural events
• Educating both children and adults
• Promoting commercial products
• And serving as platforms for art, pornography, exercise, relaxation, pranks, and politics.

Interestingly enough, Bogost claims games can actually be motivational and inspirational. He says that a diverse array of titles can help people "pursue a variety of goals and passions." And the more we utilize games "in various aspects of human activity," the less ammunition the naysayers will have.
From our standpoint, we firmly believe that those who say gaming has no benefit haven't played a video game since 1976.