Computer science, games and all

            So, the stereotypical computer scientist is the guy who writes code and surfs the internet in the day and plays games in the night. The stereotypical computer scientist not only plays games but also makes them; some even devout their career to making games. The stereotype is a computer scientist is incomplete without games; that’s why there is never a product of computer scientists without games. There are two ways to think of computer games.

            Well, to start with games are a good source of entertainment, a healthy way to completely indulge in a completely ‘different’ universe that simulates an imaginary universe actively. It’s the reason they are the first baby courses. They have a tendency to push one’s thinking to the limits in other words, make people think. They too have a tendency to get creative juices flowing. They encapsulate the whole concept of problem solving. Besides that games are the guys who have mastered the art of boredom.

            With all the goodies, games also have a tendency to addiction. Just one more game and I’m done. Only after it has gone on for hours, does one really stop. And that’s not all, while on it gamers, adults and children alike tend to get so engrossed in a virtual world that they imitate it in the real world. Unfortunately in the real world, there is no undo button and neither do people earn a living by scoring points nor do people solve problems with guns. I thought computer science was all about problem solving. What a paradox?

            So; the smartest (or considered to be) people ‘solve problems’ by corrupting people’s minds. Is that all they can come up with? This is quite a paradox. Here is what I think, when we computer scientists design games, we assume the consumer of the product has enough common sense to know the right kind of use of the product. If not then that’s unfortunate.

            The beauty of games in the eyes of the programmer lies in its power of creation. Designing a game is similar to creating a whole new universe with its own set of rules and rewards, guess who makes the rules? Yeah, everyone likes being a boss; programmers are no exception to that rule. Stereotypes can be pretty narrow sometimes. Just in the same way we think computer scientists should be geeks and males, we might also be wrong on games. Games can actually do some good to the brain. In lieu of that thought, programmers have a big opportunity to influence people’s brain, let’s not abuse that power and solve problems instead.