Earn Your Video Game Badge!

[Songbird]

No this is not a joke, it's real. The Boy Scouts have created a new award for the scouts involving video games; Click here to see how to earn one.

So fellow gamers, how would you earn your video game badge?

[Stranth]

Heh, I think I already have mine, I had to do most of that for detention in school once. Teacher asked why I didn't do my homework and I had to reply with video games. So she sent me to detention with a list of things to do, the next day I brought in a system because I knew I was getting detention and knew they had a tv. My teacher got pissed when she walked in on me, half a dozen kids, and the supervising teacher playing Halo.

[DancingFlameDragon]

Well, I sometimes include video games in analytical English papers and essays (usually to compare/contrast elements from the game with whatever I'm writing about). More people should know that video games can be just as "literary" as anything else! Maybe I should get a badge for trying to advance the recognition of video games in "scholarly" contexts?

[Stranth]

You are a pioneer, soon evreyone will be using video games as a reference in essays.

Within a millennium we will even have archeologists discovering what people did for entertainment in our era, history textbooks will include video games as a marvel of technology. but this is only possible if we stop producing/playing games, and chances of that are impossible for this decade, barring some sort of war or natural disaster sending us back hundreds of year technologically.

[Songbird]

Originally Posted by Stranth

Heh, I think I already have mine, I had to do most of that for detention in school once. Teacher asked why I didn't do my homework and I had to reply with video games. So she sent me to detention with a list of things to do, the next day I brought in a system because I knew I was getting detention and knew they had a tv. My teacher got pissed when she walked in on me, half a dozen kids, and the supervising teacher playing Halo.

You know... I think I recall a few instances of students bringing in consoles during school when they weren't supposed to.

[Myrph]

I suspect its a common occurrence in most places where nerds gather. Video games are most definitely a mandatory pastime for filling the void when learning is supposed to occur!

[DancingFlameDragon]

Originally Posted by Myrph

I suspect its a common occurrence in most places where nerds gather. Video games are most definitely a mandatory pastime for filling the void when learning is supposed to occur!

Now, the key is to actually learn while playing video games. It can actually be really productive! Think about it - many games involve reading skills, strategic thinking, and an understanding of complex stories, among other things.
And for those who say that people get fat from playing video games, I just say, "In that case, people can also get fat from sitting there reading a book."
And if somebody thinks that the game you're playing is stupid, then tell them about how the game discusses the nature of good vs. evil, the role of heroes, mythology, and pretty much anything else that makes that game sound like the greatest work of genius ever. I suppose it depends on the game, though. You might be a little hard-pressed explaining the literary significance of Super Smash Bros., although you could find something, maybe in terms of math or physics!

[Stranth]

Heh, and when I tell my teachers that hey just call me a smart ass. Video games have actually increased my vocabulary on occasion (rare but still notable.) and some games are purely for entertainment to be fair. But that doesn't mean that evreyone plays only the mindless button mashing games all the time and slowly degrade into stupidity and obesity.

[Terraguy]

You should get them to play games such as Myst, Braid, Machinarium, and the like, and see what they have to say about it (and each is bound inside such a debatable world, especially Braid).

[Myrph]

I feel it would be appropriate to point everyone to this relevant article on the Escapist which discusses games which could convince a person that games are actually art. Not quite the same as what we're discussing, but close enough to be relevant!