Mind games

I've always been pretty hostile toward video games. As a child, they robbed me of my otherwise captive audience. Despite my many valiant attempts to divert their attention from the television screen, my older brother and cousins remained locked-away in the brotherhood of gaming, a secret covenant of which I could never be a part.

"I want to play too, Ade!" I whined. "Why can't I play?"

In a desperate attempt to silence my pleas, my brother resorted to deception.

"Fine!" he said. "Here's a controller."

It took me about a week to realize that my controller was never actually connected to the gaming console. So wrong.

Years later, my attitude toward video games retained the bitterness I felt at that moment. How could young adults, even those deep into their 20s, engage in such idle silliness? What was the point? I just didn't get it -- otherwise intelligent young men, and yes, women too, spending so much of their time manipulating imaginary characters in an imaginary world? It just didn't make sense.

Then I encountered cultural critic Steven Johnson's Everything Bad is Good For You. In the book, Johnson presents a theory he calls the Sleeper Curve. According to this theory, "the most debased forms of mass diversion -- video games and violent television dramas and juvenile sitcoms -- turn out to be nutritional after all."

I thought back to the hours upon hours of game-playing that were invested every time a new version of The Legend of Zelda came out. The intensity in Ade's face was more like that of someone deciphering complex mathematical equations than of someone trying to save a fictional princess in distress.

Johnson postulates that figuring out how to solve such a complex game utilizes more analytical ability than non-gamers may assume. In order to be successful, a player must actively navigate the virtual world in a system similar to the scientific method by "probing, hypothesizing, reprobing and rethinking."

At the same time, a player must engage in what Johnson defines as telescoping or "constructing the proper hierarchy of tasks and moving through the tasks in the correct sequence-perceiving relationships and determining priorities."

As it turns out, there is more to gaming than pressing buttons.

But what about games that don't involve such complex puzzles? Games like the ever-popular Madden 2006? Penn has a vibrant community of Madden junkies in its midst. I asked a card-carrying member, senior Nick Okoro, to share his feelings about the game.

"It's almost reached a point where it's like an addiction. Every couple of days when I don't play, I have to just drop what I'm doing and get my quick fix. Madden is like a religion because it's that serious, it's that fun. The most realistic sporting game ever conceived, Madden brings 45 minutes of pure excitement, drama and strategy with every game. There's nothing like the jubilation you feel when you win. Conversely, there are very few things as gut-wrenching and frustrating as losing."

Though Madden is not an adventure game per say, the same elements of probing and telescoping come into play. It takes a certain level of expertise that can only be gained by continuous exploration to become a master at the game. Nick's love for the game also touches upon the reward mechanism that is an intrinsic part of most leisure activities.

Johnson explains that "games offer a fictional world where rewards are larger, and more vivid, and more clearly defined, than life." That's what keeps game players coming back for more. Climbing levels and ultimately conquering a video game triggers an increase in dopamine levels. For the non-scientifically inclined, dopamine is a feel-good chemical. The more your body releases, the better you feel. That's how people get addicted to opiates like cocaine and heroin.

So what's a little gaming addiction going to hurt? If you agree with Johnson, it won't hurt at all, and it may actually make you smarter. Who knows, the next generation might be listing video-game conquests on their resumes as analytical experience.

Maybe we should all do a little experiment. Make it a point to do a little video-game playing this finals period. Just make sure your controller is plugged-in!

Titilola Bakare is a senior English major from Harrisburg, Pa. Notes from the Underground appears on Thursdays.

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