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11-year-old Moshe Kai Cavalin recently made headlines as one of the region’s youngest college graduates.

This kid is pretty accomplished. I assume he received an Associate’s degree in Astrophysics from East Los Angeles College, an area community college. And he’s well-rounded! He excels in martial arts and idolizes Bruce Lee (like most of us Asian and non-Asian kids).

But accomplishments and endearing qualities aside, the darn kid had to say something at the last minute that really killed it for me.

“I feel it’s a waste of time playing video games because it’s not helping humanity in any way,” says Moshe, who wants to use his knowledge to change the world.

Oh, COME ON! This kid sounds like my mother. But even she enjoys playing Guitar Hero.

Alright, kid, you’re smart, well-balanced, and horribly cute. Most college-grads are/consider themselves to be (maybe not the cute part). But really? Generalizing an entire industry and culture of video gaming, and then discounting it?

Ho ho, dare you, eh?  Okay, okay, this probably makes me an even bigger loser-geek for making such a huge deal over the misinformed comment of an 11-year-old. But I don’t care. No geek would stand such an insinuation from a nerd, even if he’s only 11 years old, or your mom.

IGN wrote a little response that summed up most of my thoughts pretty well: http://games.ign.com/articles/992/992542p1.html

I, as well as the article, admit that the laudability of video gaming is certainly not comparable to say, finding the cure for cancer.

Perhaps I’m just simple-minded and because I am equally misinformed and admittedly ignorant of the possibilities of astrophysics, I can’t see how pointless and stupid my fascination of video games is and that I’ve wasted my time looking at words in old British books instead of testing the limits of science and math. Maybe video games can’t “help humanity” in the same way that idealistic 11-year-old (I’m mean, but what 11-year-old isn’t) astrophysicists might one day be able to.

However, I come from the new school of thought that declares that video games, play an important, though not central, role in humanity, whether as an industry, as entertainment, or as art. I think this concept is pretty well-accepted among gamers (we grumble when told we’re wasting our time) and the gaming generation (typically anyone who is old enough to have grown up with games; usually those 30-something, heck, maybe 40 and younger. We’re aging every day!).  However, those who were “adults” during the time some 20 or so years ago when video games were still considered a kid’s toy, and those who lack interest (who were deprived of the enjoyments) in video games, often assume that gaming is largely a worthless pursuit.

Ouch.

Granted, I think many of us can also attest to how video games DO NOT help humanity. I admit that I was once a video game addict, and I am guilty of shutting my family out of my life when they needed me the most; when my sister discovered she had cancer, my inability to deal with family’s and my own emotions resulted in my foolish refuge in Final Fantasy, of all things. My relationships were strained. I gained a few extra pounds (that I could afford) in my vegetative, snack-friendly state in front of the television.

But my gaming addiction (and some wise guidance from my mom) taught me a few valuable life lessons. Cheesy, yes, but this was a pivotal moment in my life. Video games served as a bit of an object lesson for me when I was about 13; most of us live our childhood and early adolescence in a bit of a self-centered bubble, the center of a world, or in a world separate and disassociated from those around us. For me, that world was embodied by video games. It was much easier for me to withdraw into a place where conflict was much more clear-cut, far less emotional, and death could be reversed with the administration of an inexpensive, 500 gil Phoenix Down, or the “Continue” option. The appeal of existing in such a world had its appeal, even my mom could see this. But what my mom needed to coach me to realize was that real, responsible, mature people can’t live in a self-centered world, or a silly fantasy world, no matter how awesome it is. Voila, my coming-of-age.

To obsess, or build my life around video games would be foolish, but at the same time, as equally foolish as it seems, I can’t deny that video games play a considerable role in my life.

Along the same strain of thought, to assume that video games only serve up societal detriment or has no redeeming value for humanity as a whole would be severely fallacious.

The video game industry functions as a sort of hybrid of the film industry (marketing and creative production) and the tech industry (marketing and development). Even the most utilitarian informed mind cannot deny the role of the video game industry as a employing, profitable industry that has broken so much ground in graphic design, interactive entertainment, and even the very medium through which we watch our movies: Blu-Ray or HD. Sure, it’s not the greatest advancement mankind has ever made, but it’s certainly noteworthy.

Entertainment might be one of those more frivolous pursuits that humanity takes on. It is, however, a sign of societal and cultural affluence if we can afford to invest so much in these diversions. And as trivial as it seems, entertainment plays an important role in the psychological well-being of humanity–or at least for me. Heck, if everyone set aside time to enjoy themselves, relax, and bask in the glory of small video game victories, we’d probably have fewer stress-related mental and physical health problems, if only by a few cases; I’m in no way advocating that video games will solve all of our problems. Excess video gaming– heck, excess anything–can be even more detrimental, as I know very well. But reasonably enjoyed, video games are active, interactive, and REALLY FUN! Is fun useless to society? If so, …

Some might not consider video games pure art, as per last month’s PCGamer article, but in any case, great author Oscar Wilde points out that “All art is quite useless” (Heh, this includes martial ARTS). Yet we make a special place for it in our societies and in our minds. Broadly defined, art is a source of expression both for the artist and the observer, subject to academic and social interpretation, and certainly weilds the power to expose, mock, and question society, authority, and well, humanity. Art and video games can cause us to examine ourselves, to question the notion of an impersonal and terrifying face of war in Metal Gear Solid 4, to be forewarned of the pitfalls of engineered self-improvement in Bioshock, or even to just have fun making our own art, landscapes, and physics-based gameplay in Little Big Planet. Games make us think, strategize, dream, imagine, and process the relationship between video games and society.

When you’re my age, maybe you’ll understand.

Read here.