Ramble: Fortnite World Cup!

We were talking about something at work today that comes up on a regular basis - kids playing video games at night when they should be sleeping.  I have to admit I can't offer much advice as to how to make this stop, since I was often playing until some unearthly hour on my Amiga.  Now I'm a parent, I understand kids not wanting to stop (because I was like that too), but also part of me is doing the parenty "they're going to turn into a brain dead couch potato!" thing...

The topic came up again because of the Fortnite World Cup.  It says something that people are talking about this at work, even if it is in the context of how terrible it is that kids are doing this instead of studying.  Normally they're just talking about football, or cricket.  E-sports must be hitting the big time!  And indeed, money-wise, it's a very big deal.  The solo winner, a 16 year old from the USA nicknamed "Bugha", won $3 million!  (The final standings are here.)

That Fortnite dance...

"Wolfiez", the 15 year old British teenager who placed second in the Duos, won $2.25 million with his Dutch partner.  His mum was quite entertaining to listen to, though you can hear the despair of mums (and dads) all over the country in her words:

"It's not been a straightforward journey with Jaden, if I'm honest with you I've been quite against him gaming.  I've been more pushing him to his schoolwork.  I've actually thrown an Xbox out, snapped a headset, we've had a nightmare."

So, what do you do?  Do you let them play loads in the hope that they make you millions of dollars?  Let's face it, that's not very likely to happen.  But if they are good, it's best to get them to the top ASAP while they have peak reaction times.  What a conundrum!

Maybe the best thing is to see how good they are at it.  If they're high level at their game of choice whilst still getting decent grades at school, maybe they could get to pro level.  If it does get serious, it's not the end of the world.  They can always go back to school later on.  Perhaps when they're older they'll even be wiser about their subject choices!

Perhaps as Seb gets older I will change my mind about this subject.  But I feel the chances of him being so good at a game that this is even a potential are so tiny that I can rashly say this without fear of it coming back to bite me.  You know in four or so years I'll be shouting at him to "stop playing and do your homework!".  It's impossible not to worry that your kid is wasting their time playing games.  At the moment I fear it's him bugging me to stop when I'm trying to play as often as it is the other way round...

And if your kid is a girl child?  Unfortunately online gaming can be a pretty toxic and unfriendly place for girls.  Often I've found it's better to disguise my gender (not something that's easy to do with voice chat!).  As ever, if your kid's playing online a lot, make sure you take an interest in your child and what they're doing online.  Support them.  What happens online can be as important as what happens "in real life". 

Girls might not like the teenage boy-filled land of Fortnite, but there are plenty of other games girls can excel at.  E-sports is one area where there really should be no barrier to equal competition between the sexes; if there is a barrier, it needs to be removed quickly.  (Keith Stuart's article Not one of the Fortnite World Cup's 100 finalists was a woman.  Why? is worth a look, if you're interested.)

I guess what I'm saying is that if your kid qualifies for the Fortnite World Cup then support them, they're going to need your support.  But if they're just playing all night for no reward and getting bad grades, maybe throw the Xbox out of the window.  ;-)

Ramble: When games make the world better

Usually when games are mentioned in the news it's in a negative way.  Recently a story in the Guardian got me thinking about the positive aspects of gaming.  It can be an escape from your problems - we all know that - but it can be a real leveller for people.  Friendships you make in games can be just as strong as those In Real Life.  (After all, the teamwork required to conquer a dungeon in World of Warcraft can really bond you with your guildmates!)

The story I read recently was about Elite Dangerous: How a video game community filled my nephew's final days with joy.  Michael, aged 15, was autistic and loved Elite Dangerous.  He had terminal cancer. 

"For us, it was a lifeline: I spent time with Michael in the game world as he tried to escape the suffering of the real one."

His uncle tweeted about him playing and Frontier saw the tweet - Frontier visited brought him goodies in the hospital.  Other players sent their best wishes.  Then Frontier's Zac Antonaci offered to put together a script for a short story set in Elite, with Michael as the hero. 

The way everyone got together to give Michael the best days of his life towards the end brought tears to my eyes (and I'm on antidepressants, not much makes me cry these days!).

There's another story that touched me in a similar way, published by the BBC a few months ago: My disabled son's amazing gaming life in the World of Warcraft.  Mats had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  When he was 11 he started online gaming, and he could interact with everyone else without them knowing his situation.  Online he could run, fight, do whatever everyone else could.  He became Lord Ibelin Redmore, and sometimes Jerome Walker.  He was a member of the Starlight guild.  When he was 24 he wrote a blog where he talked about WoW being his escape.  He shared his blog with the Starlight guild, who had had no idea about his situation.

"There my handicap doesn't matter, my chains are broken and I can be whoever I want to be.  In there I feel normal."

When he died, aged 25, his father wrote about his death on his blog and gave an e-mail address for anyone who wanted to get in touch.  To his surprise, more and more e-mails arrived.  Starlight pooled money so that those who could not afford it could travel to Norway for the funeral.  Though they'd never met In Real Life, guild members travelled hundreds of miles to see him off. 

In a less serious way, another article about gaming in the Guardian rather cheerfully points out the positives of gaming for everyone: It's ironic, but gaming can be an escape from our hyper-connected, screen-filled life.  Games can be a form of mindless mindfulness.  They take your mind off the things for a while (though of course avoidance of big problems in the long run is not helpful...) 

"It seems counterintuitive, but gaming provides for me the kind of peace and relaxation that's becoming harder and harder to find."

Games have structure.  They have rules.  (Unlike Real Life!)  And if you like a game that other people like, you're part of a club.  You have something to talk to other people about.  In the case of those with Autism, this can be a massive thing.  Liking the same game as others your age gives you social openings with your peers.  This little video from BBC's Newsround sums up some of the positives here: How Minecraft is helping kids with autism.

So, then, games aren't all bad.  I know I'm biased.  And we all know it's not good to spend your whole life playing them.  But they can be a great leveller.  They can provide friends.  Spend a few minutes reading the first two articles on here, cry a little, and you'll see what I mean when I say games can be a real force for good.