Benefits

It has been shown that action video game players have better visuomotor skills, such as their resistance to distraction, their sensitivity to information in peripheral vision, and their ability to count briefly presented objects than nonplayers.[21] They found that such enhanced abilities could be acquired by training with an action game, involving challenges to switch attention to different locations, but not with a game requiring concentration on single objects.

As a form of multimedia entertainment, modern video games contain a unique synthesis of 3D art, CG effects, architecture, artificial intelligence, sound effects, dramatic performances, music, storytelling, and, most importantly, interactivity. This interactivity enables the player to explore environments that range from simulated reality to stylized, artistic expressions (something no other form of entertainment can allow) where the actions of the player operating as a single, irreducible variable. In this respect, every game scenario will play out a slightly different way every time. Even if the game is highly scripted, this can still feel like a large amount of freedom to the person who is playing the game.

A related property is that of emergent behavior. While many games including card games and sports rely on emergent principles, video games commonly present simulated story worlds where emergent behavior occurs within the context of the game. This is something that some gamers find appealing as it introduces a certain level of randomness to a game. The term "emergent narrative" has been used to describe how, in a simulated environment, storyline can be created simply by "what happens to the player."[22] Emergent behavior is not limited to sophisticated games, however- generally any place where event driven instructions occur for AI in a game, emergent behavior will inevitably exist. For instance, take a racing game in which cars are programmed to avoid crashing, and they encounter an obstacle in the track: the cars might then maneuver to avoid the obstacle causing the cars behind them to slow and/or maneuver to accommodate the cars in front of them and the obstacle. The programmer never wrote code to specifically create a traffic jam, yet one now exists in the game.

In Steven Johnson's book, Everything Bad Is Good For You, he argues that video games in fact demand far more from a player than traditional games like Monopoly. To experience the game, the player must first determine the objectives, as well as how to complete them. They must then learn the game controls and how the human-machine interface works, including menus and HUDs. Beyond such skills, which after some time become quite fundamental and are taken for granted by many gamers, video games are based upon the player navigating (and eventually mastering) a highly complex system with many variables. This requires a strong analytical ability, as well as flexibility and adaptability. He argues that the process of learning the boundaries, goals, and controls of a given game is often a highly demanding one that calls on many different areas of cognitive function. Indeed, most games require a great deal of patience and focus from the player, and, contrary to the popular perception that games provide instant gratification, games actually delay gratification far longer than other forms of entertainment such as film or even many books.[23] Some research suggests video games may even increase players' attention capacities.[24]

Learning principles found in video games have been identified as possible techniques with which to reform the U.S. education system.[25] It has been noticed that gamers adopt an attitude while playing that is of such high concentration, they don't realise they're learning- and that if the same attitude could be adopted at school, education would enjoy significant benefits.[26]

Online multiplayer games provide players with the opportunity to compete in real time with other players from across the globe over the internet. MMORPGs build on this concept with the establishment of vast, online communities existing in persistent virtual worlds. Millions of players around the globe are attracted to video gaming simply because it offers such unprecedented ability to interact with large numbers of people engaged simultaneously in a structured environment where they are all involved in the same activity.

Even simple games offer potential benefits to the player. Games like Tetris and Pac-Man or Galaga are well-designed games that are easy to pick up but difficult to master, much like chess or poker. Despite their simplicity, simple games may also feature online capabilities or powerful AI. Depending on the game, players can develop and test their techniques against an advanced computer player or online against other human players.

The U.S. army has deployed machines such as the PackBot which makes use of a game-style hand controller intended to make it more familiar to use by young people.[27]

According to research discussed at the 2008 Convention of the American Psychological Association, certain types of video games can improve the gamers’ dexterity as well as their ability to problem-solve. A study of 33 laparoscopic surgeons found that those who played video games were 27 percent faster at advanced surgical procedures and made 37 percent fewer errors compared to those who did not play video games. A second study of 303 laparoscopic surgeons (82 percent men; 18 percent women) also showed that surgeons who played video games requiring spatial skills and hand dexterity and then performed a drill testing these skills were significantly faster at their first attempt and across all 10 trials than the surgeons who did not play the video games first.[28]