Drew Cattanach, Lecturer on the Computer Games Development BSc Honours course, was interviewed for BBC Radio Cambridgeshire’s series ‘The Naked Scientists’ about the benefits of video games for children, particularly during lockdown.
Talking about how they might help children in lockdown, he said: “Video games, on a basic level, act as a distraction. Spending time engaging in a game can act as an escape from the world around you, especially if there has been a lot of change and uncertainty as there has been this year. For younger children, they act as a way of improving hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and spatial awareness, whereas older children can use social games as a way of reaching out and communicating with their friends, or even building alternative social networks away from the playground.”
Talking about last-man standing games, where players aim to dispatch their opponents and remain the only survivor, he later added: “You can join your friends, you can compete together, and you can compete against each other. At the end of the day it is a last-man standing game so ultimately you will be going for the greater goal, you’re going for that achievement and achievement is very important in games.”
Listen to the full show on BBC Sounds.
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