PARENTS WHO GAME HAVE CHILDREN WHO GAME

All of the ADW offspring were exposed to video games at an early age. The PS2 is older than Meg and the idea for a video game themed issue is older than Betty. Some of the content included in this issue is slightly younger than her, like 2016. This year hasn’t been good for much, but it has been good for fi nishing video games. Let us tell you all about it...

VIDEO GAMES IN CASA VEGA: A BRIEF HISTORY

Madeline wanted to write about how much she hates video games because all anyone ever talks about around here is what they plan to do next in a video game. Literally every conversation. School is just something to be done in order to get back to gaming. Books are based on games. Toys are based on games. Whatever is happening in real life sports will affect what happens in the video game version. Even politicians are showing up on Twitch. Video games are life.

A Hollow Knight teacher trophy was unlocked the same day Boom taught Betty how to play.

WHAT’S GAMING GIVEN US?

A page from the first try at a gaming issue

OLIVIA MUNN

Without entire channels devoted to gaming, there would be no place for Lisa Olivia Munn to get her start as a host of Attack of the Show! on G4. And then how would she ever make her way to The Newsroom so Aaron Sorken can create all these opportunities for her to stare down people who are not intelligent enough to be in the conversation with her character?

RESILIENCE IN THE FACE OF FAILURE

From Flappy Bird to Call of Duty, we will always have a reason to give it one more try. And when you don’t have time to play again, that burning annoyance with yourself for scoring so terribly is an amazing life skill. By learning to cope with ongoing failures in videogames, we all become better people emotionally.

A MULTI-GENERATIONAL GATHERING POINT

My mom is here, waiting to be my helper after I give birth to her fourth grandchild. She has intensely watched my 3-year-old play Plants Vs. Zombies on the iPad while the 5-year-old tried to show her how to play it on the PS3. She was so wrapped up in bemoaning how unfair the iPad version was, she mostly missed what was on TV (and the fact I’m in labor). Now she is trying to follow that Little Big Planet Karting is not the same at all as the LBP Minecraft mash-up. Can you imagine if I just said, “Here are some blocks” or “Here’s some paint”?

ALL THESE WEIRD MOVIES

I’m sure the world could have done without the Super Mario Bros. movie, but studios just keep optioning them. Sometimes they are good enough, like Resident Evil, which, with all its sequels, has probably grossed a billion dollars in box office and DVD sales. Sometimes there’s no explanation for how bad it might be, like The Sims, which is “in development.” Update: Announced on May 25, 2007, it was officially cancelled by Disney after their acquisition of 20th Century Fox, on August 10, 2019. Meanwhile, two Angry Birds movies were released that we have watched multiple times.

MORE WAYS GAMING BENEFITS EVERYONE

from Expect to Unexpected

VIDEO GAMES MAKE US HAPPY There’s a reason we reach for our phones or tablets and open up Angry Birds and Candy Crush—they obviously improve players’ moods, promote relaxation, and ward off anxiety.

WII BOWLING AT THE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY While some octogenerians will always be wedded to their 500-piece puzzles, morning TV shows are happy to remind viewers on a regular basis that octogenerians also love Wii— that it will improve cognitive and motor skills on top of the social aspects.

VIDEO GAMES ARE NOT REALLY ISOLATING (UNLESS YOU ARE CYBER-BULLIED) The stereotype of a gamer is someone sitting alone in a dark room, but Farmville and Words with Friends require multiple players. While some might argue that these massive virtual communities teach us all to make quick decisions about who to trust, there are other people who will never game online after hearing some of the commentary exchanged between strangers.

VIOLENT GAMES BOOST LEARNING According to an American Psychology review in 2014, playing video games, including violent shooter games, may boost children’s learning, health and social skills. While one widely held view maintains that playing video games is intellectually lazy, such play actually may strengthen a range of cognitive skills such as spatial navigation, reasoning, memory and perception. This enhanced thinking needed for STEM subjects was not found when playing other types of video games, such as puzzles or role-playing games.