Many parents are concerned about the effect of computer games on their children’s development, despite the fact that many of us like playing them. We worry that allowing our children to play computer games for more than an hour every day may cause them to become fat, antisocial couch potatoes. We believe it would be preferable to teach our children to read or to read to them. But computer games are here to stay, so instead of opposing them, why not use them? This article describes how to allow your kid to play computer games while fostering their creative growth.
The problem that many parents have with computer games is that, unlike reading a children’s novel, they do not demand a tremendous amount of creativity. Here are seven ways you may supplement computer games to encourage your child’s creative development:
1. Create personality profiles
Several video games have characters. These characters are already well-known and well-developed thanks to the Harry Potter games. But, in other games, the characters may be less “deep.” This is the ideal time for your youngster to further develop the characters. Kids may create a profile for the character by visualizing the character’s family, origin, school, favorite activities, feelings, etc. Your youngster may then draw or sketch the characters and scenarios from their past, present, and future lives. Your child may also build profiles for the character’s friends, family, pets, coworkers, robots, etc.
2. Develop storyboards
Upon reflection, many computer games are nothing more than interactive storytelling. So, your youngster may construct their own story utilizing characters from their favorite video games. Consider this a continuation of the computer game. You could even pretend to work for the computer game firm and develop a new version of the game.
Depending on your and your child’s preferences, there are several approaches you may take. You may produce a script, cartoon-like drawings, illustrated scenes (i.e., photographs), or photos with accompanying text.
3. Keep a Journal
Your youngster may find it intriguing to enter the minds of a few of the characters. Also, this is a fantastic approach for children to acquire empathy. Instruct your youngster to create a journal as one of the characters.
4. Construct a Virtual World
My youngster has created his own virtual universe. He has made thorough maps and descriptions of all the species, flora (over 100 in all, completely drawn), and places on this fictitious planet, as well as its whole history. Your youngster may develop a virtual environment that extends an existing computer game or is entirely new.
5. What’s Cooking?
If your youngster enjoys cooking, he or she may create particular recipes for the food consumed in the computer game’s virtual environment. What is their preferred food? What is the local specialty? These “recipes” may include genuine edible items or non-edible stuff (be careful your child doesn’t consume the latter!).
6. Get Hands On
Some youngsters are kinesthetic learners; they learn through physical activity. If your kid falls into this category, he or she may construct 3D representations of video game characters out of clay or papier-mâché. Even life-sized replicas may be created in the garden or backyard. For instance, a character may be carved from an old tree stump or wood.
7. Design Your Own Video Game
What could be more innovative in the field of computer games than inventing your own game? Computer game firms use a technique similar to that outlined here when creating a game; therefore, you may be able to leverage the results of your enjoyable labor to build a real computer game.
There are hundreds or thousands of software tools available for game creation. But, if you are not a “techie,” it is usually easier to utilize one that does not involve any programming or complex computer abilities.
For example, “The 3D Gamemaker”* software allows you to build games by just pointing and clicking. You may blend sceneries, music, and 3D objects from the 3D Gamemaker’s collection to create your own games. You can scan in your own photographs, record your own sound effects, and import your own 3D models to make your game more unique.
The Multi-Choice Creation System (MuCeS) enables the creation of multichoice adventures, in which the player chooses one of a variety of possibilities based on what she believes to be optimal in a particular circumstance.
These are only two instances of the many options. To design your own computer games, it is not necessary to be a “rocket scientist.” Consider how excited your children will be to develop their own games. Never again will computer gaming be the same!
Conclusion
Some parents see computer games as “unhealthy” influences on their children, but when you combine computer games with some of the “offline” kid story creation activities mentioned here, you will not only release your child’s creative genius, but you will also have a great time doing it.
