Synopses & Reviews
Video games can actually be good for you?and Rusel DeMaria (whose books on video games have sold 2 million copies) proves it. In this insider's analysis of the increasingly violent and uncreative video gaming industry, he offers a roadmap for parents, educators, gamers, and industry insiders to leverage the inherent potential of games to promote positive personal and social change.
Synopsis
Do video games promote violent behavior and slothful addiction... are they a complete waste of time? Or are video games among the most powerful learning tools known to man, with the potential to teach and inspire millions of game players? In ""Reset: Changing the Way We Look at Video Games,"" gaming journalist, bestselling author, and concerned parent Rusel DeMaria examines the pervasive myths and stereotypes about video games, turns them around and reveals another face: their potential to promote positive personal and social change. DeMaria delves deeply into the realities of the gaming world, analyzing both the business forces driving game development and the unique qualities that distinguish video games from any other form of popular media. Drawing on the latest learning research on play and learning, he explains that it is precisely these qualities -- a combination DeMaria calls video games' ""magic edge"" -- that make them such potentially powerful tools. Video games can teach and engage at the same time -- while not seeming to teach at all. He even offers a primer to help curious non-gamers begin to explore the gaming world and discover the hidden positive potential of video games for themselves.
Synopsis
Video games have been a source of controversy in the media almost since their invention. At best, these digital diversions are thought of as trivial, childish obsessions. At worst, they are attacked as violent, antisocial, corrupting, and dangerous to our youth. But as Rusel DeMaria shows, video games may represent one of the most powerful learning technologies ever invented. He turns the controversy on its head and shows the positive potential of the much-maligned video game to inspire, motivate, and teach.
DeMaria delves deeply into the realities of the gaming world, analyzing both the business forces driving game development and the unique qualities that distinguish video games from all other popular media. Drawing on the latest research on play and learning, he explains that it is precisely these qualities--a combination DeMaria calls the "magic edge"--that make video games such potentially powerful tools. He shows how games can be designed to integrate content that educates, inspires, motivates, and empowers players--even as they lure them in with their drama and thrill them with special effects--and offers numerous examples of popular games that do just that. He even offers a primer to help curious non-gamers begin to explore the gaming world and discover the positive potential of games for themselves.
DeMaria presents video games in a new light and details many of the ways they can facilitate learning. Because millions of people are playing games all around the world, we owe it to ourselves to utilize their positive power to spark imaginations and make learning fun for our own kids and for gamers around the world.