Why Students Play Video Games

By Dylan Valic, Features Editor

Students on campus enjoy video games in a variety of different ways. Some compete professionally in our campus’ eSports program, some play to experience interactive stories, and some play just to relax and get their mind off schoolwork.

Senior game design major Georgia Angeli enjoys playing Role Playing Games (RPG’s) because of their stories. She finds them “engaging” and the gameplay “relaxing.”

Sophomore business management major Brian Chang plays games to help destress from the responsibilities of being a student. “[They] help me not think about all the different tests or homework that I have upcoming,” he said.

Video games also give students opportunities to interact with friends that they are unable to spend time with in person. Chang and his friends use their shared interest in gaming as a way to spend time together.

“[Video games] are the main way we still hang out because we’re all pretty busy and we all live in different areas, but video games allow us to still keep in contact,” Chang said.

For students in the game design major, playing games can be more than just a hobby and actually tie into their studies.

“I think I’d have a problem not playing games since I’m making games; it’s my major,” Angeli said. “If I don’t play games, I’m not really learning and I’m not really understanding what I’ve been studying for four years; that would be a problem.”

Students also see video games as an art form, allowing creative people to express themselves in ways that were impossible before.

“Gaming is the next big expressive medium out there,” Chang said. “I think it might be up there with movies and books, and other forms of media that we as a society might consume.”

Some students, such as junior game design major Nicholas Frank, enjoy the active that engagement video games provide over the passive entertainment that traditional media provides.

“With TV I’m not really contributing to the entertainment,” he said. “I’m just watching and sitting down, looking at a screen, while things are happening in front of me, but with this I’m interacting with it.”

Video games have had a positive impact on students, leading some of them to discover their passion for game design, and giving others a way to relax and have fun.

“I met some of my best friends through video games and it’s really helping me decide what I want to do with my life,” Chang said. “It’s had a tremendous positive impact on my life personally.”