Video Games and STEM

As a child of the ‘90s, my first ever video game console was the Game Boy; Pokémon and The Legend of Zelda games were my jam. A couple of years later, I had saved up enough allowance money to buy one of the best consoles of all-time: the Nintendo 64. That’s when my love for video games really blossomed – Super Mario 64, Banjo-Kazooie, Star Fox 64. *Chef’s kiss.* Nowadays I am an avid fan of handhelds, my favorites being the PSP, the PS Vita, and the Nintendo Switch (pictured).

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “What do video games have to do with STEM?” To some people, time playing video games could be used doing much more “productive” things. Have there been times as a student that I’ve been playing video games when I should be studying? Sure. Have I been gaming when I should be outside getting some exercise? Guilty. Have I stayed up way too late on the weekends playing video games before? You bet. Of course, like most things, it should be done in moderation.

But here’s the thing: I’ve noticed that I’ve put quite a lot of brainpower into some of the video games I’ve played over the years. Some of that “mental exercise” and problem-solving has helped me develop some of the core skills that are vital to the STEM fields. I’m willing to bet that video games have helped many others in the same way. While I think this is generally true for most games, I think it’s especially true when it comes to more challenging and complex games (think MOBAs, Soulslike games, and Real-time strategy games). Let’s break “STEM” down letter-by-letter:

Science

Science is all about understanding physical systems and developing models/theories to describe how they work. A scientist looks at a system, forms a hypothesis, and then relies on cleverly designed experiments to test if that hypothesis is true. After they are done collecting and analyzing their data, they go back to tweak their model/theory of the system accordingly. What I’m describing is, of course, the Scientific Method!

There’s no reason to think that the practice of the Scientific Method should be limited to the science classroom. Experimentation is often a vital necessity when it comes to conquering a video game. In the same way that scientists are trained to “interrogate” nature, as a gamer, sometimes you need to “interrogate the game,” pushing its limits and finding niches that work as you go. Games like Minecraft and many of the games in The Legend of Zelda series feature deep game mechanics – and exploring and experimenting with these mechanics can often be the key to making new discoveries that allow the player to truly master the game.

Technology

Technology is all about manipulating the matter around us to make it do things that range from simple to extraordinary. A hammer could technically be considered a piece of technology…more so the simple kind.  A computer is the perfect example of coaxing matter to do the extraordinary. By manipulating the flow of electrons through different materials, computers are able to harness very simple physics to transform the world around us. From cell phones to laptops to, yes, even video game consoles.

Video games can not only get students interested in the electronic hardware that the game is running on, but they can also get them interested in the software side of things. Gaming can be a great way to inspire a young student to learn more about computer science, coding, and the different programming languages available to them out there (C++, C#, and JavaScript being the most commonly used by development teams in the gaming industry).

Engineering

Engineering is all about finding effective and efficient solutions to problems big and small. Engineers consider a problem, conduct some background research, brainstorm ideas, develop prototypes, and then test those prototypes. If this list sounds familiar to you, it’s because I’m describing the Engineering Design Process (EDP)! One of the key aspects of the EDP that makes it such an effective tool for problem solving is the fact that it’s iterative.

How many times have you tried to beat a difficult level or boss in a video game only to completely fail? What do you do in this situation? You try a different set of variables in the game (like armor or abilities)  or adapt your strategy/playstyle. You try something different based on what you’ve learned in the past and start over. That’s iterative learning! I’ve been in countless situations playing video games where my initial approach just isn’t cutting it, and I need to reevaluate my strategy. Persistence and innovative thinking are important whether you’re an engineer designing a bridge or a gamer going up against a Rathalos in Monster Hunter.

Mathematics

Math is all about numbers, and numbers are all around us. From our jobs, to simple calculations we do mentally throughout the day, to cooking, or our personal finances, math is vital to our lives in the modern world.

I’ve always said, “If you want your kid to learn how to use a spreadsheet, introduce them to a really hard video game.” For real, it’s true. Back when I was in grad school, I was big into League of Legends (LoL), a MOBA video game based around tactical decision-making, resource management, and increasing your stats via optimized item builds. After playing LoL for about 6 years, I had created a very, very large Excel file featuring gobs of numbers, functions, and graphs to help me get better at the game. There are a ton of video games out there like this, that require the player to put in the mathematical work in order to advance in the game. This kind of mathematical deep dive into video game stats and mechanics can be an especially great tool for teaching kids how to deal with fractions and percentages as well. Even simpler games, like Angry Birds, use math by calculating angles in order to complete objectives!

Which video games have taught you important lessons that might be applicable to the STEM fields? If you haven’t yet, check out one of our previous blogs about Esports, which goes into more detail on the growing Esports industry and careers in video games, like audio engineers and game developers! Until next time.

 – Dr. Jake Roark