Playing with rice bags, white cells or self-esteem

Submitted by tonyplant on December 31, 2005 - 17:04.

Amazon.com has just had its best ever season, but its biggest sellers were iPods and video games rather than books. Depending on whether or not you have ever stayed up all night to watch lemmings self-destruct or to attain a new level of gun-skill, games are to be decried as rotting the brains of The Young or promoted for developing problem-solving skills, particularly in the educational field.

 

What’s unusual about recent releases is the popularity of games with a social purpose or a personal-development slant. There are commercial offerings like The Journey to Wild Divine that use bio-feedback to help the player evolve through the levels until you attain the perfection of the Dalai Lama. However, there are some similarly aspirational free computer games on offer.

The United Nations World Food Program commissioned a game that was intended to teach children something about global hunger. Food Force had a low-key release at a children's book fair in Bologna. Food Force develops awareness that one person dies of hunger every five seconds. Despite this unpromising premise, Food Force has become a cult sensation, with so many download requests that the website kept collapsing under the volume of hits.

Unusally, despite being set on an island ravaged by the twin evils of drought and civil war, no-one blows anyone away in Food Force. Rebels are to be negotiated with, not used as target practice. Players participate in a number of missions, ranging from food drops to rebuilding a community.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation made it possible for a young boy with leukemia to team up with LucasArts to develop a game with the concept of kids v. cancer. The object of the game is to destroy mutant cells and to collect the seven shields that protect the player from the side effects of chemotherapy. Aummunition comes from several sources, including “the attitude you get from home”. Ben’s Game has been recognised as a message of hope and inspiration. Both Ben and the LucasArts designer who made the project possible were honoured as an “Unsung Hero of Compassion” by the Dalai Lama on November 6, 2005.

McGill University has high hopes for the value of self-esteem and offers free games to promote the practice of healthy habits of thoughts. These games are very simple and lack the superb graphics and immediacy of the others but where else do you get an opportunity to ‘grow your own chi’?

Video games have a rich appeal across cultures and generations. Famine relief, cancer and self-esteem are serious topics that have been addressed with varying degrees of success in the above games. Bibliotherapy and cinema therapy are recommended as novel techniques that can closely match individuals’ needs and preferences for dealing with mild to moderate depression and anxiety. Bibliotherapy is currently available on the NHS in some areas as part of a pilot project. It may not be that long before a GP is prescribing a video game to patients who want a non-drug approach to treating anxiety. Video games may even be used to help us improve our well-being and happiness. And to practice who we want to be. I feel that Aristotle would approve.

Copyright 2005, Tony Plant Happystance Project

self-esteem | happiness | cinema therapy | bio-feedback | bibliotherapy