{"id":97,"date":"2024-09-26T20:43:39","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T20:43:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2024\/?p=97"},"modified":"2024-11-08T15:58:30","modified_gmt":"2024-11-08T15:58:30","slug":"gaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2024\/gaming\/","title":{"rendered":"Gaming as a force for good"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At a university where traditional sports are such a big deal, Ryan Tan is taking a decidedly different path, exploring the potential of esports and gaming to teach people not just play but how to transform their work, too.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Esports, short for \u201celectronic sports,\u201d transform online gaming into a spectator sport. The experience is similar to watching a sporting event, except that spectators watch video gamers compete in a virtual environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tan, assistant professor of sports media and communication, formerly worked in the video game industry until he had an epiphany of sorts that he\u2019d rather make gaming a force for good than profit. His mission: to harness the skills people use in playing these games and apply them to work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think play gets a bad rep. People associate play as the opposing force to work,\u201d Tan said. But humans learn many of the rules they\u2019ll use the rest of their lives through play as children. \u201cPeople become comfortable with tools, rules, scenarios through play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"This
A racing drone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tan has a receptive audience among today\u2019s college students, many of whom have been playing video games since toddlerhood. It helps, he says, that he looks like a college student himself, and his office has a full window that overlooks an open space in Andersen Hall, home to the College of Journalism and Mass Communications.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStudents walk by this window and see all this stuff I\u2019m working on. This window is bait. I want students to think Professor Ryan just teaches fun [stuff],\u201d he said. \u201cUnder the guise of play, I want them to begin developing structure and scaffolding that informs a way they engage with work.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drone racing is one example: Players are virtually in a cockpit, where they learn and exercise skills that can have many industrial and commercial applications.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ryan Tan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a new field, and Tan acknowledges he and other advocates are still navigating how to talk about it without sounding privileged. But he\u2019s a believer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow do we move society in a direction where everybody enjoys life a little bit more, while still being productive and contributing to society? I think that direction is based in play. I\u2019m hoping my research will help close that gap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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