INTERPLAY 2017 – KDU SHEDS LIGHT ON THE PHENOMENON AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF VIDEO GAMES

I mean like who does not like or enjoy video games or at the very least hop in it to kill some time? Famously known as ‘Glenmarie Games’, KDU University College’s renowned Game Development Department with the support of MyGameDev, an Entry Point Project (EPP14) under the Education National Key Economic Area (NKEA), organised Malaysia’s first Game Symposium that hopes to bridge that gap by identifying and attempting to shed light on the phenomenon that is game addiction. Exactly, ‘Game addiction’, the daunting side effect that would scare most or not, all considerate parents out there. But being the main hub for producing top notch graduates in the game development industry, KDU’s ‘Glenmarie Games’ is going to tackle this issue head on with the endorsement from non-other  than the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) themselves.

The symposium was a one-day event separated into segments where parents, teachers, academicians, counsellors and students can obtain information and gain awareness on the positives and negatives of playing games to arm parents better in facing the challenges of raising children in the digital era. Video games are nothing new and neither are the notions of video game addiction. However, due to technological advancements that has made video games highly immersive, video games have now evolved from a simple single player games to the massively multiplayer experiences complete with vast digital landscapes and eye-popping visual aesthetics. This has made video game addiction even more prevalent and widespread. Video games are deliberately designed, with the help of psychology consultants, to make players want to keep playing, and they are available on every platform and devices from gaming consoles to computers to smartphones. However, many scientists and psychologists find that video games can actually have many benefits. Game-based Learning and Serious games are one aspect of this.

 Mr. Tan Chin Ike, Chairperson of MYGAMEDEV, sharing the reasons for organizing the Interplay 2017 to address issues facing parents raising children in today’s interconnected world.

According to Mr. Tan Chin Ike, Chairman of MyGameDev and Head of the School of Computing and Creative Media, KDU University College, “We recognise that there are negative outcomes as a result of game addiction but we also want to create awareness that playing games in itself is in fact a force for positive changes in a child’s development.”

*Drops the microphone. There you have it, being a gamer myself, it would be a lie if I don’t stand strong and defend this case, believing that video games actually helps out tremendously in the development of one’s child. However, there is always one rule that we should all tag along with any beliefs, ‘too much of anything, is never really good’, even if it’s money! Ideally, consumers should pay attention and well-discipline in regards to the time allocated to enjoy their favourite video game – this never really applies to me since I just immersed myself in playing video games endlessly, all day, every day.

Panellist (from left) Shern Chong, Hany Cheng, Angelia Ong and Dr. Tan Wee Hoe, discussing how games can be beneficial to a child’s development.

Other than that, Amongst the speakers were Rinie bin Ramli, a 3-time Asian E-Sports Champion who is ranked 4th in the world in the FIFA series and has won more than RM100,000 in prizes. He is currently championing pro-gaming across Malaysia and hopes to clear some of the misconceptions surrounding e-sports and to show that responsible gaming can lead to healthy outcomes. The key word here is ‘responsible’ since it will not only benefit ourselves, but also the people around us.

Another notable speaker was Keith Woo, a digital psychologist. Keith is regularly engaged by various education and government bodies to speak on user well-being, psychological effects of addiction, youth development and digital safety. He shared about his own journey and struggle with game addiction and gave many insights. He states that video games itself is just a medium or a tool and the real crux of the matter lies with the individual and their mental, social or emotional state.

Panellists (from left) Johann Lim, Adrian Wong, Adam Goh and Vincent Xu, speaking to educational game developers who create content to encourage learning in students.

The last speaker of the day was Hilmy Rahim, one of the pioneers in the academic sphere of game design. He shared about the present mindset regarding game addiction. He touched on the issue of stigmatisation attached to claims of "game addiction" and how the stigma of 'liking it too much' is a normal occurrence for any new medium that appears in history. He also shared about how to balance the negative opinions of excessive gaming with positive opinions, using anecdotes from real gamers who have done well in life; such as Az Samad, a musician who attributes his youthful game playing to defining his musical style leading him to play in video game concerts at the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

At the end of the day, what I can safely conclude is, video game is a mere tool that we can utilise to blow off some steam, kill time, or even socialising virtually, that should not be taken for granted. We need to be responsible and try our best to strike the balance when enjoying ourselves as there are still our loved ones who really care about our well-being and need our attention as well.