Video Games Get A  Bad Rep

It seems that today, children and youngsters are being discouraged from playing video games. If they are not being blamed for obesity epidemics; they are being the scapegoats for anti social behavioral influences. Try opening your eyes, and seeing that a wealth of creativity awaits those who look beyond the TV screen!

What I’m saying is if you have a child who is passionate about video games, encourage them. Encourge them to explore their creativity and develop their artistic capabilities. Urge them to want to know more about what goes into a game. The coding and programming, the level design, landscape artists, character development and animation. Fundamentally, if your child is encouraged to pursue any of these areas, then they will be set for life. Technology and video games will never become out of date. They will only improve, and what better to inspire this evolution than the younger generation.

They will be at the forefront to embrace these developments and advances!

In these areas and fields of expertise, passionate and talented individuals can forge entire careers for themselves. By applying their skills and exploiting areas that almost go overlooked – like games development. Look at Xbox Kinect for example. In my mind, only a child would have the audacity to suggest that the player is the controller. Instead of using a controller, and look at where that is. By far, in my opinion, the best games development (since the Wii’s motion sensor and PlayStation Move). The imagination of a child can only aid advances in games development. Obviously there is more to creating a video game than imagination alone.

That is why children should be encouraged, and want to become games programmers. Even I, as a web developer, often feel a warm glow inside when you stumble across some code which blows even yourself away. The sense of accomplishment is second to none!

This sense of achievement and strive to better yourself can only be a good thing when applied to children, as they are our future!

It’s about time that somebody, somewhere, started to promote video games. Shout about the gamers who play them. Rather then blame them for any bad thing that one person feels the need to do to spoil it all for others. It doesn’t matter about your personal perception of games developers. Or the people who play them for that matter. Pigeon hole them as geeks, or you may be more open minded. To me, these people are on another level to everyone. I have nothing but respect. I know for a fact that these people have worked damn hard to get where they are. Where they are is where most youngsters want to be.

So to help them get there. Let’s start encouraging our children and the younger generation to see the other side of the coin. Don’t pressure them, but show them what’s involved. It may spark them into really applying themselves into subjects that may not have interested them before.

Experimenting is the key, everyone has a talent, it just has to be found! Turn passion into a career……that’s what we did!