Video Games Are Educational!?

By Laurie Borst

Long before even Pong existed, the great Sir Isaac Newton had figured out his three Laws of Motion. For three centuries, physicists studied these laws and applied them to the world. In 1972, Atari debuted Pong, which displaced pinball games in arcades and bars throughout America.

In a scant three decades, video games have progressed from two paddles and a ball bouncing around a gray screen to complete virtual worlds populated by all sorts characters in all kinds of settings. Video games have received their share of negative publicity, reviled for their violence, “mindlessness,” and encouraging couch potatoes.

Microsoft has changed that — at least in one popular game, Forza Motor Sports. Newtown resident and Microsoft account executive Kevin Suckow was at Newtown Middle School on the morning of December 1 to demonstrate the game to eighth graders who have been studying Newtonian physics.

“Forza Motor Sports has two engines,” Mr Suckow explained. “One is a graphics engine and the other is a physics engine. The physics engine controls performance of the car. The two engines communicate to create realistic action.”

The player can select the type of car he or she wishes to race and apply various upgrades to the car. The engine, tires, brakes, etc can all be adjusted as desired. The game offers screens where the laws of physics are applied and graphs give the player information on changes in performance based on the upgrades. Players can also select from a number of routes including Tokyo Circuit, NYC Times Square, NYC Central Park, or Pacific Shipyards.

The advances in video game development the past few years allow more freedom in what can be done in games. As the car moves through the circuit, light reflects off the car as it would in the real world. The physics engine factors in whether the car is going uphill or down, tire temperature, weather, gravity.

Whereas arcade games are very forgiving, Mr Suckow explained, Forza is not. If the car hits a wall, damage appears on the car. Depending on the type and amount of damage, the car’s steering could be affected, resulting in poorer handling. The basic arcade game lets the player continue as before the accident, only losing some time getting back on the course.

An understanding of basic physics principals, e.g., weight, velocity, inertia, vectors, lateral G’s, momentum, and aerodynamics will result in optimum performance when applied to the game. Changing the car’s bumper will change airflow over the car, which can result in better handling. Adding an antisway bar distributes the weight better.

Several students were able to try the game. Everyone in the auditorium got to see how they performed as the game was projected on a large screen. All the students obviously enjoyed their turn at the controls.

Even games like Pong have had a makeover. Pong operated on basic principals of geometry. In today’s Ping Pong games, English can be applied to the ball, requiring an understanding of how to apply spin.

Computer game software development is an area that generates a lot of questions from students, Mr Suckow said. Not every kid will go into that field, but that interest may spark more interest in physics that opens the door to other lucrative fields. Video games can motivate students to study more math and science.

Developing video games is a pricey proposition. An average game costs $25–$40 million dollars to develop. That may seem like a lot, but consider that Halo II, one of the most popular games of all time, generated $150 million dollars in sales its first day.

Mr Suckow has donated three Xboxes, associated controllers, and the Forza Motor Sports games to the Newtown School District.