Most people today who are reading on a site like this one understand the basics of modern technology. They know how to use popular devices, they’re generally proficient navigating the internet, and they tend to have at least a marginal grasp on new and emerging technologies (such as artificial intelligence or virtual reality). Beyond these general, everyday concepts though, there are a lot of technological concepts that are less simple to understand, and which can, as a result, go ignored.
For example, do you think you could work out how to build your own website using computer code? Do you understand the internal electronics that make your device work? And do you really know what the blockchain is all about? These are just a few examples of topics that even young individuals who are generally familiar with modern technology aren’t always familiar with. They tend to be a little bit more complicated, and require a little bit more effort to master. However, we believe that some of these concepts — like those listed below — could actually be taught through video games.
1 – Code-Based Web Design
Learning how to code well enough to design your own website (whether through HTML or a different computer language) can be a somewhat academic process, and a lengthy one. Skillcrush estimates “as little as three months” for someone to learn to code from scratch, and that alone can turn a lot of people off of the idea. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, three months spent learning a valuable modern skill isn’t so bad. But practically speaking that’s a significant commitment to what is ultimately going to be a hobby for a majority of people.
Game-driven code education can all but eliminate these concerns. Almost like learning a foreign language, coming to understand code involves mastering the basics, repeating them, and progressing to more complex concepts. And just as we’ve seen these steps presented in the form of a variety of games for language learning (just look at apps like Duolingo and Babbel), the coding process can be made entertaining, rather than tedious. A quiz-like game built as a long series of increasingly difficult challenges could absolutely result in coding proficiency. And in fact, in this case, there are already some games of this nature out there.
2 – Cryptocurrency & Blockchain Navigation
If you’re unfamiliar with cryptocurrency and the blockchain technology through which it operates, these very terms can be somewhat dizzying. And if you take a look at a crypto wallet for the first time, it may appear as if you’re looking at a bank account from a different country. The truth of the matter is that it’s all quite simple. Cryptocurrencies are decentralized digital assets that can be traded via transactions recorded on the blockchain, which is in effect a digital public ledger.
With that said though, it can still seem somewhat foreign for a while, and practice makes perfect — which is why we can imagine a crypto investment and trading game being very helpful as a training tool. A game that allowed you to use fake money to acquire and trade cryptocurrencies (perhaps with specific goals and challenges involved, for fun) would serve as an excellent simulation, and would make the real world of cryptocurrency and blockchain navigation less daunting.
3 – Printed Circuit Board Design
We raised the question above of whether or not you understand the internal electronics that make your devices work. And really, that question comes down to printed the circuit boards, or PCBs, that drive the functionality of our electronic devices. Most people are at most generally aware of PCBs’ existence — but unless you are specifically involved with electronics, you may never have given thought to how they’re designed, or how they work.
A video game can actually go a long way toward explaining PCBs. Already, you can gain quite a lot of understanding about the basics through online design platforms for PCBs. For starters, Altium’s post on basic circuit board parts, includes (but not limited to) pin layouts, schematic symbols, and 3D models. It also explains how modern design software can help you to combine all of these parts to design a real, functioning PCB. But tools like these are more for production than anything else. Before reaching that point, it might be highly beneficial to play a game that could perhaps challenge you to achieve different functions by altering circuitry designs. There are some games of this general type, though we don’t know of one yet that specifically teaches players how to design PCBs.
4 – Cybersecurity
Our article on ‘Why Cybersecurity is Now a Necessity’ made clear that inadequate preparation in this area can be disastrous. The article was focused largely on cybersecurity in businesses, and the potential costs of attacks or data breaches, but the truth is that we all need to become more adept at handling digital risks, both as individuals and in a professional capacity.
Unfortunately, cyber crime is growing continually more sophisticated, and as a result we need to better educate ourselves on how to fend it off. This can be a dry and somewhat discouraging process in general. But we could imagine a variety of simple video games that could make it more engaging. In fact, even a game in which you’re the cyber criminal could help to open people’s eyes to potential risks. Imagine something like the game Plague, Inc., in which your job is to design a virus to overcome humans’ efforts at containment. Such a game focused on cyber crime could teach the various ways in which hackers look to exploit modern technology, and thus better prepare players for what to watch out and prepare for.
Truth be told, gaming could help to educate people about modern technology in more ways than these! It could be used to explain artificial intelligence, teach IoT concepts, and so on. But the concepts above represent some particularly tricky ideas that people often overlook specifically because they’re difficult or dry to learn about. For such concepts, gaming may be the best solution.