A Positive Thing About Video Games

Video games are often criticized because of senseless violence and inappropriate content, but there is an upside…

Modern video games have introduced a multi-genre collection of classic music to kids that probably would never have been listened to otherwise.

When I was a kid playing on my Atari 2600, the best I could hope for with the game sounds were lots of beeps, boops, and buzzers. When the Nintendo 64 came along, the sounds were only slightly better. The minimalist tunes on Super Mario were catchy and fun, but they were far from “songs.” This is a very stark contrast to modern gaming consoles like the Xbox and Playstation.

When I first heard of my kids getting into games like Grand Theft Auto, I questioned whether or not they should be playing them, but then the in-game music caught my ear…

The games have a really good soundtrack.

Putting the violence aside, the kids really got into the music, and honestly, there are pretty good songs in the game. They thought it was pretty neat that you could change the music in the game. They would often argue over whether the background music would 80’s, rock, metal, or whatever. The violence and action may be what drew them to the game, but I found it surprising they enjoyed the associated content equally as much. It also surprised me just much of the old music my kids knew. While was a little surprised, I really wasn’t because of what they did when they were younger.

I remember the first time I watched my kids playing Guitar Hero. They were jamming out to classic rock of the 1970’s, 80’s hair bands, and 90’s grunge. We had the whole series of Guitar Hero discs which contained a wide variety of music, and they couldn’t get enough of it. They played the game well, but they also knew all the lyrics to the songs, AND, they seemed to actually like the music. As a music enthusiast, I thought that was pretty cool. It definitely made car trips so much easier to tolerate when the kids liked the same music as me.

I will admit, listening to Sweet Child of Mine a hundred times or so before a perfect score was achieved on the game got old quick, but none the less, it was still pretty cool that they were into it. Plus, Guns & Roses (and all the others) was much easier on the ears than the countless hours of Atari noises everyone around me endured in my young life.

Parents always have some influence over their kids musical choices, but the advent of games like Guitar Hero made them like “old” music on their own. When the kids found a band they enjoyed, I would play other songs by the group for them. Most of the time I would get comments like, “That’s awesome! I wonder if they’ll ever put that on Guitar Hero.” More often than not, they really got into what they heard and sought other similar songs on their own. This carried them over in the transition to games like Grand Theft Auto.

There are so many other games out now that have amazing soundtracks too. Sometimes the music is original, created for the game, but many times they insert mainstream well known songs in the games. Along with the realism as if we’re watching a video while playing, the music is something we never could have imagined back in the day. Had I been a hard line parent who banned my kids from playing games like Grand Theft Auto, they could have missed out on this expansive musical experience that I believe made them better human beings.

As a parent, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy knowing my kids like the classic songs I grew up with far more than the current popular music being played on the radio. In addition, it makes me proud to know they stood up to their peers who may have thought it was stupid to listen to “old people” music. This is the part where I think they became better people as they were able to open their minds to different things, rather than just whatever society says is trendy at the time.

Some people say to keep an open mind when looking at things. I say keep an open ear. If someone comments about how bad a video game is, ask them about the soundtrack. You might be pleasantly surprised, and you might even get into it yourself.

~ Marty ~

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