Gaming has both negative and positive effects on the young. However, many parents mostly concentrate on the negatives of gaming, where they feel that it may have effects such as violent and unruly behaviors, or affect the scores of the child in school. However, there are many positive effects of gaming that could help a young person to grow more and become more active in other activities, mostly if undertaken with moderation (Lopez-Fernandez, 2019). Experts claim that the idea of gaming tends to make young people have higher IQs, perform better on a wide variety of cognitive tests of both mental and perceptual ability as compared to the non-gamers.
Background
Video games have been in existence since the 1970s, where the first commercial video game was launched in 1971. The games have continued to evolve, as a result of the constant innovation and creativity, by the designers and the developers (Lopez-Fernandez, Williams, Griffiths, & Kuss, 2019). The shift in paradigm with regards to top modern technology has been a huge factor that has resulted in the growth of this industry, where many online and virtual games are popular with the younger generations (Paaßen, Morgenroth, & Stratemeyer, 2017). Scholars and experts have divergent views on the effects of gaming, where there are both positive and negative impacts, a factor that tends to worry the parents. However, some games are very significant for the growth of a youth, where they enhance creativity and make one become a better critical thinker and also competitive.
Idea 1
A great game, that parents should recommend for the young one is the Scribblenauts game. This is a game that helps in boosting the morale of a person, make them think harder and also ensure that creativity is enhanced. Scribblenauts game allows one to create anything, where whatever is created can be used to solve puzzles within each stage. A person playing the game can create a crazed purple monkey, a psychedelic rabid tyrannosaurus or even a time machine. The game gives one the power to recreate the universe. The designers of this game anticipated almost everything a player would think of. The game gives one the ability to think of different creations that one would invent and expand the mindset, to come up with new and creative things that one would be happy to see in the world. This a game that encourages the player to think hard, think about the universe and also offer suggestions and ideas that would make the world a better place. A game like this would help a teenager, for example, carry out more research on what the world has to offer, analyze what ought to be changed to make the world a better place, and also open his mind to more creativity and innovation. Scribblenauts game is a game that has positive effects on the player, where instead of having negative impacts on his/her mental health it helps in thinking more critical and creative, which is a major positive effect on the player. The game offers better problem-solving techniques, since the player moves from point A to B, and has to be thorough in developing a solution to the problem. It also helps in resolving conflicts and overcoming obstacles, which is a necessary technique that will have sustainable positive effects in the future.
Idea 2
Scribblenauts game aids in the enhancement of hand-eye coordination and spatial skills, where the players will have to be keen with his hands and at the same time use of the eyes in the coordination of the game (Li, Lo, & Cheng, 2018). This means that the player will coordinate his brain’s interpretation and reaction with the movement in his hands and fingertips, which makes the players very skillful even in his real-life situations. Scribblenauts game helps to manage limited resources and deciding on the best use of resources, the same way in real life. It requires critical management, and could be very helpful in building on the skills of the young persons involved in the game, and will be very vital in his/her future encounters. Quick thinking, making fast analyses and decisions is another key value obtained by a person in the course of playing this game. This is since, in the course of playing, the brain is given a real work out, where it stimulates stressful events, which is necessary for real-world situations. Therefore, getting involved in this kind of gaming is a training tool for the real-world situation and primes the brain to make more correct decisions per unit time.
Transition
Based on the positive effects of gaming explained by experts, Scribblenauts is an example of a game that has positive impacts on the player. It can help in the mind growth of player and ensure that he is constantly involved in critical and creative thinking, which is important for mental health.
Goals of the game
A major goal of the game is to ensure that the children interact and getting social while having an enjoyable experience through gaming. The game seeks to provide the players with a sense of doing and engaging them with their network of friends during their free time. Another major goal of the game is to ensure that young person’s become critical thinkers, through using their thinking skills to try and win the competition (Lopez-Fernandez, Williams, Griffiths, & Kuss, 2019). A final goal of gaming is to make sure that the youths involved in the game are conversant with the essence of getting into the competition and accepting either positive or negative results, which will ultimately make them better competitors in the future.
Values promoted by the game
A major value promoted by the Scribblenauts game is competitiveness and sportsmanship, which is very critical for any young person. Getting competitive means that person confidence is boosted and that they can perform better in the future more so in competitive environments. By playing the Scribblenauts game, the players will get to train his /her brain on coming up with creative ways of solving puzzles and other problems in short bursts (Paaßen, Morgenroth, & Stratemeyer, 2017). This will be very critical for the hasher future since he will have developed the tendency of coming up with quick solutions to challenges encountered in the course of life.
Scribblenauts game can help in developing reading and math skills which are vital for a young gamer. The fame also offers the young gamers perseverance, where the players usually fail the first time around, but keeps on trying until he succeeds and moves on to the next level, which is a crucial skill in the real life (Paaßen, Morgenroth, & Stratemeyer, 2017). Pattern recognition is also a very valuable skill that can be acquired from the game, where the player figures the internal logics by recognizing the hidden patterns. Finally, the game has a vital value which involves inductive reasoning and hypothesis testing. The game is a reflection of solving science problems, where the gamer has to develop a hypothesis literally. If unable to win the challenge, then the gamer has to come up with another hypothesis until he achieves success.
Conclusion
As much as parents fear the adverse effects of gaming there are major benefits that a young person can gain when getting involved in a game. An example of one the best games for youth is Scribblenauts game which allows one to create anything, where whatever is created can be used to solve puzzles within each stage. The major aim of involving the young person to try this game is to develop his critical thinking abilities and be able to solve puzzles and challenges. As a result of engaging in such a game, the player can obtain numerous critical values that will help him/her in real-life situations in the future.
