Church of England: Games are a force for good

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 13th October 2008
Comments (6) Stumble
Church of England: Games are a force for good

In a recent discussion the Church of England came to the conclusion that some games can be a force for good.

In a recent round table discussion between the Church of England and a collection of some of the leading charity groups in the UK, the Church of England came to the surprising conclusion that games can be a force for good in the modern world.

The discussion, which was organised by Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA), included the experts from the computer and video games industry as well as those from the Church of England. ELSPA organised the talk to investigate why some groups fear that children can be negatively affected by videogames and to try and dispel the myths that all violent video games are bad.

As it turned out though, many of those involved in the talk were already well aware of how computer and videogames can be beneficial to children, helping them learn about the function of rules and boundaries as well as giving them shared, meaningful experiences to discuss in larger groups.

Among the speakers at the discussion was Mike Royal, national director of the Lighthouse Group, a charity which educates children who have been expelled from schools. Royal in particular was vocal about what role computer games can have in child development, mentioning how important they can be in helping a child learn what is and is not considered to be ethical.

A lot of discussion was focused too on increasing the dialogue between parents and children, trying to make parents understand which games are suitable for their kids and educating the public on the PEGI age-rating system and how to use it.

ELSPA currently has a full recording of the discussion available, which you can download here. Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the forums and tell us what important life-lessons you've learned from computer games.
Quote liratheal 13th October 2008, 11:09
I agree, in a way.

I get to rage dump in games, and I'm a much calmer person in the real world. Force for good in my world, kthnx.
Quote Juppun 13th October 2008, 12:04
Quote:
what important life-lessons you've learned from computer games.

Soldier of Fortune taught me that it is possible to blow off both legs with a shotgun before the torso hits the floor... :p

Agree with lira's point on rage dumping... headshots in TF2 always do the trick :)
Quote proxess 13th October 2008, 12:56
In my life I'm a very violent person... but AFK I'm a Zennist, completely Zen and peaceful.
Quote Ninja_182 13th October 2008, 15:55
Wow there's actually a non gaming institution thats not against us!

I found some games, particularly those with morality decisions (mass effect in particular) made me feel good about choosing the nicer solution to the problem.

Personally i prefer a Demo grenade to the face :D
Quote metarinka 13th October 2008, 16:32
back in the NES days they actually had some religous games, I recall a Moses action adventure game as well as a noah sidescroller (had to collect 2 of every animal) I'm surprised there hasn't been an indy religous game since, save for maybe left behind but I heard that was terrible.

I think games are like any other form of media or entertainment in which they can be used for good or bad and can influence or teach powerful messages. Similar to films games have ratings and young children probably shoudln't be playing GTA just as they shouldn't be watching fight club.

I totally agree that games can teach many positive things like teamwork, problem solving, rules etc
Quote dr-strangelove 13th October 2008, 17:19
Hmm did any of the Jedi Knights games come up in this discussion? I know you could choose to be good but personally I thought it was much more fun to choke the life out of stormtroopers and anyone else who got in my way :)
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