How Video Games Have Improved My Life

    I have gone over several reasons why I feel that video games can be good, positive and inspirational things in our lives. Now I feel that it might be beneficial to talk a little bit about how I formed some of these views. I think it would be good to show how video games have improved my life, and how they have been a truly great inspiration.

    Video games have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I think the first video game I ever played was Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Back then I could not really understand the point of the game, and instead spent my time running, jumping around and just having fun. There were other games as well, and I enjoyed playing them with my father, or so I am told. So even from an extremely early age video games were a great part of my life. They were a fun part. Then, when I was four or five years old I received a game which changed my life. For Christmas I received a Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and with it, three games. Two of them, The Lion King and The Pagemaster, I had great fun with. But it was the third game that I fell in love with. That game was The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It was this game that really opened my eyes to the wonders of video games. It did this in three ways. First, there was an amazing story. I have always loved stories, and I would read with my parents a lot. This game offered to me an amazing story. This was a game was about heroes. A game about magic. A game about the struggle between good an evil. Everything that I loved. The story is about a boy named Link, who sets off on a quest to save the Princess Zelda from an evil wizard. This wizard, as you find out, is working for the villain Ganon. This was the first time I had seen a game with such an in depth story. Even though I was so young this had a deep impact on me. This game instilled within me a love of fantasy, adventure, and stories about good vs. evil. This game was amazing to me. I was playing as a hero fighting to stop a great evil. I was trying to save the world. This brings me to the second thing that amazed me about this game. It was the world itself. In this game I wasn’t just trying to get from point A to B. I wasn’t just trying to stay alive and fight off the bad guys. This world was expansive. Not only were there mountains to explore, rivers to follow, and a desert to wonder through, but there were also hidden things to find. You could play this game several times and find something new in it each time you played. You also needed to journey through various dungeons, exploring and solving puzzles, in order to beat the game. This brings me to the third reason why this game has such an impact on me. It made me think. In order to beat the game you need to solve puzzles, figure out the right paths, and use strategy to beat very powerful enemies. This game required me to use my mind. This game inspired me to want to use my mind even more. It gave me a deep love for puzzles, logic, and strategy. For using my mind to figure things out. Because I was so young it took me a while to beat this game, but ever since I first played it this game has held a special place in my heart. Because of this game I became even more involved with looking for things which inspire me and make me think. I loved how this game helped me in these areas, and because I played it I started looking for other things like it.

    It was not hard to find them. I found several books I loved. Mythology and fantasy became two of my favorite subjects. I had a great love for epic stories, and found many books that had them. I had become, to be more blunt, an avid reader and thinker. It did not take long before my studies in mythology spun off into reading great works of literature like The Iliad and The Odyssey. Then those spun off into studying history (a subject which quickly grew to become a favorite of mine). This spun off into other subjects like politics. In short, I had become a very serious student. I will not say that video games are the only things responsible for this inspiration (my parents, friends, and a deep love of study are other things which have inspired this), but video games were a huge part. Because I played that one game, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, I was filled with such an inspiration that it helped set me on the path to becoming the student and scholar that I am today.

    There are other ways video games have done this. When I was younger I became very inspired to start teaching myself how to play the piano. I did this not because I was required to take lessons, or even because anyone else in my family played (they did not). I started teaching myself so that I could learn how to play video game music. The music in these games was so beautiful to me that I wanted to learn to play it myself. So I taught myself the keys on our piano, figured out what sounds they made, and began learning how to play Legend of Zelda songs on piano. This spun of to music from other games, and then spun off to learning how to play songs by Mozart, Bach, and other great composers. I began playing an instrument a little every day because of my deep love for video game music. This is another blessing that video games have been in my life.

    There are, of course, other ways they have improved my life. In our house video game time was always pretty restricted. There was not a lot of time I was allowed to sit down and enjoy my game. This became frustrating to me especially when I started playing The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I loved that game. The story was fascinating. But it was taking me an incredibly long time to get to the end because of our restrictions. I felt that the reason playing these games was restricted was because my parents considered video games bad for you. I later found out that this was not true, that there were other reasons, but at the time that was what I believed. So I started thinking about this subject deeply. I came up with reasons why I felt video games were good, and I talked to my parents about them. Even if one of my points was countered, I did my best to make my case. I stood up for what I believed in. In the end we were allowed more video game time, and I still feel that I made very good arguments. It was because of this that I am able to write this blog today. I formed thoughts, used logic, and made my case. Later on I would have debates with some friends who considered video games to be bad. And I would also have discussions with friends who thought video games were good. Because of video games I became a much better thinker. I started learning how to debate. I started making my points and standing for what I believed in. I started gaining some very important life skills.

    In addition to these there are more important inspirations I have gained from video games. Final Fantasy teaches strategy and thinking. Fire Emblem also teaches strategy, but in a different way. The Metal Gear series is about a man who sacrifices everything to fight for freedom. The Kingdom Hearts series is about standing for good and fighting against evil, especially the darkness within yourself. It is also about friendship, courage, and sacrifice. The Halo series is about a soldier who is willing to give his own life to save humanity. The World Ends With You inspired me to stay strong, even in the face of adversity. These games and many other teach many subjects and truths, whether they are about politics, history, human nature, religion, philosophy, leadership and many others. These games have many of the same principles as many of the great classics of literature. I know this because I have seen them. They have been an inspiration.

    As I have become a more serious student and scholar I have spent a great deal of time reading and studying. But I also spend some time playing video games. They have been a huge, powerful, inspirational part of my life. And I have found that they contribute to my studies, they do not detract from them. They improve my life, they to not take away from it. They have made me a better person, not a lazy bum who does nothing with his life. Video games have contributed greatly to me becoming the scholar and person that I am today. I am thankful for them, as they have given me much to be thankful for.