No, the real problem with video games is that they pose problems with
predetermined solutions. If a door is locked, the gamer needs to find a
key. If a kidnapper has taken the president’s daughter, the gamer needs
to shoot the kidnapper. Even the more sophisticated and difficult video
games tend to resemble challenging puzzles. But a puzzle, no matter
how complex, is still a puzzle. It has one, or perhaps two, or at best five
or six paths toward a solution. But even the simplest real-world activity—
be it an organized sport like soccer, or a disorganized sport like a stick-
boat race—has infinite possibilities and solutions. Real life games reward
creativity, effort, and orthogonal thinking in a way that no video game
can. The reason for this is fundamental: Humans, crafty as we are, can
never re-create reality’s staggering plenitude of opportunity and failure.
After the passage, you will read a prompt like this:
Write an essay in which you explain how Bernie Krumpf builds an argument to persuade his
audience that video games have a negative effect on a child’s development. In your essay, analyze
how Krumpf uses one or more of the features in the directions that precede the passage (or features
of your own choice) to strengthen the logic and persuasiveness of his argument. Be sure that your
analysis focuses on the most relevant features of the passage.Your essay should not explain whether you agree with Krumpf’s claims, but rather explain how
Krumpf builds an argument to persuade his audience.