While touting the benefits of games, we must also not forget that like all tools, there is also a flip side. Games have been known to be addictive. They can sometimes warp our perception of what is real and what is simulated and cause us to be anti-social when we prefer to interact with others online rather than in real life.

People are going to play games anyway so rather than simply dismissing games because of their limitations, we can mitigate the bad so that we can get the best out of them. In this Chapter, Dr Azilawati will introduce the bad and the good in games. She will highlight the opportunities and new technologies that can enhance your gameplay experience. Stay the course and you will learn the various ways you can tweak your gaming process so you can harness games for productive ends and maximise the potential of your life.

Games can be effective teaching tools if we know how to get the most out of them. Open your mind to what games can offer and you will be surprised by how they can transform your life.

In this chapter, Dr Azilawati dives into the benefits and learning potential of popular games that could impart surprising skills, including healing and coping strategies for real-world conditions such as trauma and depression. From single-player games like ‘Night in the Woods’ to turn-based strategy games like ‘Civilizations’ and massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) like ‘World of Warcraft’, there is something you can learn from every one of these games.

Dr Azilawati also shares three principles of good game design that has stood the test of time and helped to engage, entertain and educate players. Find out what makes games work and continually draw the interest of old and new players, some for more than 20 years!

Games can literally be a game changer in transforming the way we learn. They can change the way you think and behave, making them effective learning tools that create positive emotions to drive good learning outcomes. So rather than feeling bored about attending lessons, games can make you look forward to learning and even enjoying the process.

In this chapter, Dr Azilawati explains the nature of games and how it can impact our lives. She delves into what your brain is doing when you are participating in the gaming process and how it can activate meta-cognitive thinking, a skill that is hard to teach but can be easily developed within games.

Dr Azilawati shares how she helps students overcome learning difficulties through gamification. Learn how you can turn activities into games so that you too can achieve such breakthroughs! When you have a clear vision of what you want out of a game, the possibilities are endless.

Playing video games has been viewed as a de-stressing tool or a fun expense of time. On the extreme end, it has also been negatively viewed as a form of addiction or blamed for influencing violent acts such as real-life shootings. But what if games can actually change our lives for the better? What if games can equip us with skills beyond conventional learning? How do we harness this power?

In this Education Launchpad, Dr Azilawati Jamaludin debunks some of the common myths about gaming and explains how they can empower us in various ways. Get set for a new kind of reality that can create a better you.