We let our kids play video games, though we have some pretty strict rules on them. Pretty much any sports game is ok; however any kind of shoot em up, last man standing type thing has to be vetted through us. The other rule in our house is the time limit. An equal amount of outdoors, fitness and or sport activity has to be accomplished. No screens after 9pm to ensure that their minds aren't racing before bed about the character that they need 473 more points to unlock. These are just a few of the rules, but one came about that we didn't impose.
My two youngest boys play NHL 22 quite often. In this game there is a feature that you can tour the country playing NHL alumni in a game of 3 on 3. If you take the challenge of putting it on superstar mode (the most difficult mode) then you could unlock and win one of the more favourable NHL alumni to play on your team. For example, if you play the Edmonton Oilers, you may unlock the rights to Wayne Gretzky.
I decided to go down to the rec room and play for a bit with the boys. That's when I heard my youngest say that he always likes to play on rookie (the easiest mode) because its easy to win. That goes against every principle I have in growth, but was a good opportunity to delve into that a little deeper. I asked him if there were any rewards for playing on easy? No, not much..a few points that maybe could unlock the logo of a team so you could put it on your teams jersey. Is it frustrating when you don't win? Yes, he replied he gets very frustrated when its difficult. Do you want to unlock the player to play on your team? Yes, he really wanted Gretzky. Then you have to earn it.
My view on wasting time on video games changed a bit right there. There was a challenge and there is a life lesson in there somewhere. I believe that the game has some sort of algorithm in it as well that adapts to the play that you may try every time, so the necessity to think and be creative is also there. The message was coming through to my young guy that you don't get rewarded by playing it easy. There has to be a challenge to win the big prize. Outstanding! Bravo to EA sports on this one! How far we have strayed from the fact that life doesn't give out participation prizes.
Far from a video game, but why is it that the Olympic Medal is something so sought after by athletes around the world? It's because only the best get them. The top 3 in any of the competitions get medals. Everyone else gets a memory, some swag, and some great stories and life lessons...but only the top 3 get the prizes. There are no participation medals.
I think many try to eake their way through on the easy setting in this video game of life. That's too hard. I'll just take the easy points and end up with whatever I get. The most successful relish the challenge. They compete. They fail and then they get up and try again and again until they win.
The roar that came from downstairs shook the house when they finally unlocked The Great One. You could here them communicating their plays. You could hear every time they got close and got pissed off that they lost....and then the elation when they won. High fives, cheering, and the sound of two happy boys bounding up the stairs to share the news. It was awesome.
I make it a point to go play with them now. I'm terrible so I definitely drag their team down. I don't plan on putting in any extra practice time to get better, but I enjoy spending the time with them doing something they enjoy as well. I don't even throw the controller anymore when I get beat! I guess I will leave it with that for now. I have a big game coming up so should try to focus a bit....tomorrow night we try to win Gordie Howe.