MOST of the debate over the video games is shrill.
"Video games are the blackest evil," goes one (typically, non-gamer) camp.
"No, they are the best thing since sliced bread," goes the other typically, the can't get enough games camp).
Well, the jury is still out.
Nonetheless, the impact of video games is undeniably growing, both here in Singapore and overseas. Many parents, especially those who don't play games themselves, remain unsure of how to deal with their kids' hobby.
National Institute of Education professor — and World of Warcraft (WoW) raider — Dr Angeline Khoo's new book, Welcome to Our World, is timely in that regard.
Co-authored with a friend she met via the game, Mr Matthew Hall, the book provides a quick primer into the world inhabited by the people behind the orcs and elves in the massively multiplayer online role playing games like Maple Story and WoW, which are played by hundreds of thousands of Singapore youth.
The 150-page volume jumps straight into the usual concerns parents have — addiction and violence — and answers them in a straightforward, easy-to-understand manner, sans the jargon that dot
academic journals on the topic.
Can slaying demons 24/7 turn my placid kid into a serial killer?
No way, not unless there are other aggravating factors.
It also helps modern parents, especially those who don't play video games, understand why their kids cannot get enough of games, no matter how many hours they spend on it daily.
It does come with its share of frightening, sordid tales of gamers so hooked they were no longer functioning people, and provides a helpful checklist of signs to watch out for.
The current research on this issue is also laid out for readers clearly, and more importantly, advice on how to handle this.
Tip: Contrary to what some other professionals, usually non-gamers, advise in situations like this, forcing a gaming addict to go cold turkey is the wrong approach to the problem, and could aggravate the situation
instead.
If nothing else, this is one key take-away from the book.
There is plenty of other valuable information and advice, like the link between games and violence, and how to adapt your parenting styles when your child starts gaming.
Beyond these push-button issues, the book also devotes a significant section to the good points of games – developing problem-solving skills, imagination, how to cooperate with others, delayed gratification, and
other important life skills.
A copy of Welcome to Our World, published by McGraw Hill, was given to The Straits Times for review purposes.
The Straits Times technology correspondent Chua Hian Hou has been playing online games since he discovered text-based multiuser dungeons, the predecessor of games like WoW, in the 90s. He greatly misses his alter-ego, a Dwarven Templar in the game EverQuest 2, after real-life got in the way of his online gaming.
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