Everything Bad is Good For You by Steven Johnson

When it comes down to it, you need to decide for yourself if gaming is right for you. The book Everything Bad Is Good For You gave one hell of a reason why it can be good for you. It also goes to explain why the addiction to video games is so large. Steven Johnson gives a whole new outlook on how gaming produces the right mindset and the gives a great analysis on the learning process behind the gaming. In some ways after reading this, I almost wonder why do people complain so much on how gaming is bad for you.

There are certain points of this book that need to be mentioned for one thing, he states “You hit a point in the game where you need to do something, but there's some obstruction in your way.” (pg 54) This is where the addiction part comes in. He explains how when we are faced with a challenge we will go to all means to understand it. He also goes on about how the narratives comes in levels in other words layers. With this in mind he goes on to explain how we need to focus on the tasks ahead of us to complete and actual game. So in other words in a book, but you need to have more of an attention span to actually go with it.

There is also a key point which must be mentioned and he pretty much pin points it right on. He talks about something that I truly never though of until reading this and that is that games are not always fun. There is a lot of frustration and goes along with a game. It is how we solve different problems that gives us the satisfaction.

There are certain element's in a game that will influence us, but what a lot of people do miss is how games actually teach us and even improve certain senses we may have. It is like figuring out a puzzle, and completing different objectives that are given to us. When we complete those objectives it is stored in our minds for later use. Whether that “objective” comes to us in the real world or not. The way we complete tasks will be similar to that of the real world and the game world.

I truly think he hit is right on cue almost about everything. The way media will over exaggerate or overlook certain parts of gaming. He best puts it “No other form of entertainment offer that cocktail of reward and exploration: We don't “explore” movies or television or music in anything.” This is what makes video games what they are. The interactivity and the brain power used behind it.