On Games

Just about every Sunday at 6pm I sit at my computer for 2 hours and play Dungeons & Dragons online with a group of friends. This is a group of friends that I know IRL (in real life), but because of geography and time constraints meeting in person with any frequency beyond sporadic is impossible. Instead, online tools like Discord (which supports voice chat) and Roll20 (which provides a virtual tabletop) have allowed us to meet weekly to engage in some imaginative storytelling for going on 9 years now. Well, at least when the obligations of adult life haven’t gotten in the way of our fun.

Games are very much a central part of the human experience. Games can be found in just about every human culture dating back thousands of years. Dice, card, and board games (among other forms of games) have been key features of leisure time for generations. They have served as a way to keep minds active and facilitate social interaction.

Videogames, a technological evolution of gaming that came about with the computer, are another popular form of games. The first videogames were created in the 1950s and 1960s but became more widely accessible with the creation of arcade games in the 1970s closely followed by videogame consoles (such as those by Magnavox and Atari).

As long as games have been prevalent, they have also been the subject of moral panic. Card games were often targeted by religious movements, such as when they were banned in 1382 in Barcelona, and in 1750 by Pope Benedict XIV. This was largely due to playing cards’ association with gambling, an activity frowned upon by the church. It was thought that those who played cards would fall into the clutches of gambling and become destitute.

Likewise, videogames have had their own brushes with moral panic. The visual and interactive components of videogames, along with the subject matter of certain game genres such as first-person shooters, have led to fears of videogames causing violent behaviour. However, much like card playing and gambling, the association between videogames and violence is far from inevitable.

The American Psychological Association (APA) stated in a 2020 resolution that: “Attributing violence to violent video gaming is not scientifically sound and draws attention away from other factors.” However, they acknowledged that in certain circumstances violent videogames may increase aggressive behaviour. To give some perspective, the APA also released a literature review showing that in certain contexts, youth involvement in sports was also associated with increased aggressive behaviour. In both cases, the APA recommendation included further study and examining mechanisms to decrease the effect of the activity on the behaviour – not an outright ban on these activities.

In a study led by neuroscientist Adrian Owen (Western University), in a sample of 1,000 people, it was found that, “Playing video games was associated with improved cognitive abilities but not better or worse mental health, whereas more physical activity was associated with improved mental health but not better or worse cognitive health.” The study’s purpose was to examine the effect of lifestyle on the long-term health of our brains. In this case, the results indicate that gaming and physical activity can have beneficial effects on our wellbeing in different ways. The lesson here, I think, is not that gaming is uniquely bad or good, but – like any activity – can be beneficial when practiced in moderation and not to the exclusion of other beneficial behaviours.

Videogames can also be art forms in their own right. They can engage the player in an interactive story that can be emotionally impactful, showcase the work of skillful artists and animators, and challenge the mind through the puzzles and riddles. There are also many videogames that have minimal or no violence at all. In What Remains of Edith Finch you explore an old home and try to solve the mysteries around the tragedy that befell the family that lived there, slowly unraveling the story of their fate. In Oxenfree a group of friends visit a rocky forested island where they wind up unleashing a supernatural force and through dialog and puzzles you have to figure out how to stop it. I enjoyed playing both of these games, among many others that lean heavily into storytelling.

Games, including videogames, can be an enriching part of life. The effective but boring advice (that doesn’t sell books or get on the network television infotainment circuit) is that moderation is what’s important. It’s possible to become too engrossed in just about any activity to such an extent that it causes harm. Blaming videogames, or any technology, for our society’s ills doesn’t solve any problems – it just creates a convenient scapegoat. Scapegoats steal our focus away from real solutions while the circumstances still creating the problems remain.

Learn more

Training your brain may improve focus and attention 2025. Sandee LaMotte (CNN) Last accessed 2025/11/25

Western-led study shows playing video games may improve cognitive performance 2024. Jeff Renaud (Western University) Last accessed 2025/11/25

APA RESOLUTION on Violent Video Games 2020. American Psychological Association Last accessed 2025/11/25

The relationship between youth sport participation and aggressive and violent behaviors: A scoping review of the literature. 2021. Newman, T. J., Magier, E., Kimiecik, C., & Burns, M. (Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 12(2), 371–389.) Last accessed 2025/11/25

Lavishly Illustrated Medieval Playing Cards Flouted the Church and Law 2016. Maris Fessenden (Smithsonian Magazine) Last accessed 2025/11/25

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