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Escape from
reality By Ruwanthi
Herat Gunaratne and Vidushi Seneviratne Computer
games have become an integral part of many lives. It's a case of
running to school, gulping down a hurried lunch and slinking into
the computer room to enter a world of make-believe. Rushing out
only when a familiar car horn informs you that your parents are
now within the precincts.
"Yes,
it is addictive," smiles Yohan, a 17-year-old self-proclaimed
computer game addict. "It's a means of escape from reality.
It's better than watching a movie as it is interactive. You can
be an active participant in the game." But is it not a waste
of time? "That depends on the person and the game. Some games
are not that interesting and you cannot play it for a long time,
whilst some demand your attention with no concern for the time factor.
If you are a parent, you must know when to say enough is enough." But how easy
is that? Mrs. E. Fernando, a working mother of an eight-year-old
has a problem. "I tell my son that he may play for an hour
after lunch. Once the hour's up I inform him that he must stop now.
Then the pleading starts, "But Mummy, I have to save the game.
If I don't, I'll have to start all over again." And so it goes
on and on. It's a vicious cycle. Some parents
try using strategic tactics in restricting their kids. "My
sons are allowed to play computer games only three days a week,
for two hours," says Mrs. E. Karunaratne, a mother of two boys,
aged six and eight. "We got them bicycles and a climbing frame,
as other playing options, and they have to go and play outside,
once time is up." According to her, they prefer the games that
are fast moving and as a result she has noticed that the kids have
grown impatient and cranky at times. Peer pressure also plays an
important role. "I've found that the kids are interested mainly
in the games that their classmates speak of. They want to compare
the levels that they are currently in. The highest scores they've
achieved. They love exchanging shortcuts and cheat modes. It's a
growing fascination." An interesting
factor is that it's not just children who opt to escape into this
imaginary world. Many adults too are addicted. Nishajith (17), says
that it was thanks to his 25-year-old brother who was and still
is an active participant in this wonderful world of Chandana Bandara
of Global Vision Technologies, a shop specialising in computer games
and other software says that there is no specific age limit when
it comes to computer games. "Even middle aged men rush to the
games section of the shop. Young girls too show an interest but
it's more on the lines of the strategy games." Computer games
can be addictive and time wasting but there seem to be some positive
points as well. In a study conducted in the United Kingdom, parents
and teachers say that they have noticed an improvement in mathematics,
reading skills and spellings amongst younger children. They also
help stimulate thinking and planning skills. Chandana agrees. "One
game in particular springs to mind. In this game, the player has
to first feed, train and prepare an army for war. There is a lot
of strategic planning involved. Players tend to think before they
act. And that is a quality that can be applied even in everyday
life." But don't action games encourage violence amongst the
children? "The variety of games helps to reduce that."
Sports games, sports planning games, town-planning games - the assortment
is endless. True. We too
are now officially hooked. We've already "died" twice
but there remains hope. The enemy is now backing up. We've won.
No, we've lost. It's hours since we sat down in front of "that
box" and time to quit. Click. We are done. Calming
people (This report
is available on the Internet at the BBC news website.) A
tragedy Latest
computer games |
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Copyright © 2001 Wijeya Newspapers
Ltd. All rights reserved. |
Though
apprehensive at first, we enter Play. Named "Commandos",
this action-packed strategy game looks quite terrifying. The enemy
is closing in; our chairs are slowly gliding backwards. The atmosphere
is so realistic that our pulses have now hit maximum speed. Unbelievable
as it may seem, people actually enjoy this.
"make
believe" that he went into the gaming process. "You enter
a world that is so unreal and so unlike your own. That is the fascination
the computer games hold." But would it not be nicer to actually
play that same game with a bunch of your friends? "It would,
but imagine the hassle of collecting your friends on a specific
day. They've all got their own programmes." Transport is a
problem. 
