Level Playing Fields
I wrote a little essay a few months back about our
new computer. I don't have that piece in front of me at the moment,
so I can't be sure what I actually said at that time about having a
computer come into our house, but I can remember my intentions quite
clearly. The new machine was to have three quite clearly defined
uses: for word processing (both for my business and my essays), for
my music composing hobby, and for the kids to use to become a bit
familiar with some of the things a computer could do. Over the half a
year that our Mac has been living with us, it has fulfilled these
expectations admirably.
As a word processor it has been a wonderful tool,
and has both improved the appearance of the material I put out, and
increased the amount that I can produce (about the quality I should
say nothing ...). If I had known that such a sophisticated tool was
available for such a reasonable investment, I would have made this
purchase a long time ago (I guess though, in that case it would have
been neither a sophisticated tool nor a reasonable price ...). Even
if there were no other applications for this computer in our home,
this one area has been more than enough to justify my investment.
But there are other applications. The music
composing system (computer plus synthesizer) that was the original
'excuse' for the purchase, has also astonished me with its power and
comprehensiveness. I now have here in my hands a vast palette of
sounds, able to be arranged and combined in any way that I can
imagine. Although this sort of system is not going to replace
ensembles of real performers, it does allow one to write, listen and
rewrite again and again in a fashion that would just not be possible
with even the most cooperative group of musicians. It is in fact, far
too powerful for an amateur like myself. I have been so overwhelmed
by the essentially infinite nature of the possibilities, that it has
been difficult to organize my work. The canvas is too wide ... The
palette too full ... I will have to step back a bit, and limit myself
to a smaller 'subset' of the system before I will be able to create
any-thing better than the confused and feeble compositions I have
written so far.
As for the third application, kids 'education', I
have to be repetitive and say again, that here too, the system has
been effective far beyond my original expectations. Using nothing
more than a few pieces of software that were 'bundled' with the
computer when it arrived (interactive books and 'paint' programs),
they have quickly become familiar with many of the basic aspects of
operating this type of machine: manipulating a mouse and keyboard,
loading programs, and saving and retrieving files, etc. Combine this
with the additional experience of seeing the things that their father
is producing with the system, and I think that they are getting a
good grounding in the use of computers. They certainly aren't going
to be intimidated by them when they meet other machines later on, at
school or in an office.
So it might seem as though I had things pretty
well 'figured out' when I decided to go ahead with buying a computer.
Well maybe so, but there is more to the story ...
One day early this summer, a couple of months
after this new member of our family arrived, we received a package in
the mail, a small present from the company who made the computer. It
was a CD-ROM, sent to us in exchange for our filling out the
registration card and the questionnaire that accompanied it. The disc
contained many applications, utilities, illustrations, etc., all
designed to help make our Mac more useful, and in addition to these,
there was also a selection of computer games.
Games ... It had been the question of computer
games that had been the only negative in my mind when I was
considering the original purchase of the system. The thought of
seeing my kids parked in front of the screen for endless hours,
stupidly shooting away at coloured blobs representing space aliens
... No thanks. They knew about such games, having seen them at
friends' homes, but each time they asked me to buy something like
this, I refused. Perhaps it was a bit old-fashioned of me, but I
found it hard to accept that the presumed benefits of an improvement
in 'hand-eye' co-ordination could possibly make up for the amount of
time lost to 'normal' activities.
So when I saw the index to this new disc, and what
was on it, my first impulse was to simply set it aside, and not let
them see what it was. But before doing so, I browsed through the
various selections myself, to see what all these 'goodies' looked
like. What did I find? Space aliens and more space aliens ...
pachinko simulation ... mahjong ... still more space aliens ... card
game simulations ... and so on and so on. No, there was nothing here
for us. I could throw it away with a clear conscience. I couldn't do
so though, without checking through everything on the disc first.
It's not only cats that can be curious ...
You know what's coming up, right? After clicking
on the 'icon' to start up one of the games on the list, I was faced
with a screen display a bit different from others that I had seen. No
aliens. No deck of cards. Just a black marble surrounded by various
shapes. When I rolled the marble around the screen with the mouse,
various coloured lights flashed, and then a moment later ... 'game
over'. I had completely failed at whatever it was the program was
expecting me to do. I tried again, watching the lights flash, and
trying to understand what was going on. And this time, after a few
moments of seemingly random flashing, the message came ... 'next
level'. I had succeeded. At what, I still had no idea. This next
level was totally different in appearance. I sat and stared at it.
'What is this? How does it work? Why does that marble behave in such
different ways in different parts of the screen?' About fifteen
minutes or so later, I had it. 'Next level ...' And again, a totally
different screen ... and yet another intriguing puzzle ... It was
hours before I could put it away. And now you are laughing. Going
back to read some of the documentation accompanying the game, I found
out that it was indeed a multi-level puzzle - 100 levels of
interesting, captivating puzzle - each level made up of a totally new
playing field. The next morning I showed it to the kids. They caught
on quickly, and nearly every day since then, the three of us have
been spending time with this fascinating, but sometimes extremely
frustrating program. What did I say earlier, 'stupidly shooting away
at coloured blobs representing space aliens ...'? Well, is this game
really any different? Ahem, yes of course! This is brain work, not
simply hand-eye work. The two girls sit there pooling their talents -
Himi, being older, and thus a bit more physically coordinated, doing
the actual mouse manipulation, and Fumi, being better able to 'see'
solutions to what seem to be insoluble barriers, directing much of
the action. They have climbed very high up the chain of levels,
solving puzzles that I was certain would have left them stumped. They
only call me for assistance when they are completely baffled.
So now I sit here, trying to sort out my thoughts
on computer games. Am I crazy, letting my kids spend so much time
with this thing? The simplest rationalization is that it is very much
a brain game. This sort of play (work? study? mental exercise?)
surely can't be bad for them. After all, I have recently been feeling
quite frustrated at seeing them 'playing house' with their dolls all
the time. At 10 and 12 years old, they seem to me to be too old for
that sort of thing. But I certainly feel no frustration at seeing
their faces light up and hearing them cheer when they break through
yet another level and move on to the next playing field ...
Perhaps their interest will fade away after a
while. That seems to be a common pattern with things like this. So
I'll give them free access to it for as long as they wish ... as long
as they promise not to tell me any of the 'secrets' of how to solve
each puzzle. Because I too, am working my way up that ladder of 100
steps. I'm not going to tell you how far I've got, because I do have
some pride, but I think that I'll be able to catch them soon, as the
levels have recently become very very difficult. Perhaps we'll arrive
at the finish just about together ... And that thought is starting to
bother all three of us. What on earth are we going to do when we have
finished level 100? How are we going to live without any more of this
game to challenge? I think I can now get some idea of what a drug
addict must feel like as he feels his 'fix' wearing off. "More, more!
I've got to have more!"
What do you think? Should I have thrown away that
CD-ROM? Can anything that is this much fun, really be bad for
you?
* * *
I've avoided mentioning the name of the game. You
see, I don't want to be responsible for bloodshot eyes, missed
appointments, failed examinations, divorce, starvation ... But if you
think you have enough self-control, and would like to try it, just
give me a call, and I'll tell you the name - but I will disclaim any
and all responsibility for what subsequently happens to you!
Now if you will excuse me, I have to shut down
this word processing program for a while. There's something a bit
more serious waiting for me ... Just how am I going to get through
all those glass windows on level 82 without breaking my marble
...?