Chatter about video games often involves titles such as FIFA or Grand Theft Auto. They are generally thought of as playthings for children and young adults, but video games are gaining popularity in other age groups and researchers are exploring the benefits they might offer.

Research published by the University of Western Australia last year found an intriguing association between playing action video games and better driving performance.

The study used 138 undergraduate students who held an Australian driver’s license and had a range of experience in playing action video games. Their driving performance was tested on a driving simulator.

James Howard holds a masters degree and is also a registered psychologist. He was the lead researcher on the study.

Howard said that people who had experience playing action video games performed better in areas, such as maintaining a consistent speed, staying within the lanes, and being able to detect hazards while driving.

But in the study the type of video game was important, as to whether it impacted driving performance. He says role playing games and shooters are generally based on fast reaction times, detecting things on a player’s periphery, and noticing motion, which overlapped with the skills required to drive. Ironically, these are often the types of games that parents are often wary of.

Other games, such as strategy games, require a very different skillset which aren’t always applicable to driving skills.

Another interesting finding was that video games that involve driving could hinder driving performance in real life. For instance, racing games like Need for Speed and Forza, and some role-playing games, like GTA, could have an adverse effect.

“In GTA obviously your goal isn’t to drive safely and avoid hitting people. In fact, the goal is pretty much the opposite. And in most other driving games that are racing focused, the goal is obviously to drive as fast as possible, not necessarily taking corners at a safe speed or avoiding other obstacles in the way.

“The literature does suggest that people who tend to play those sort of driving games might show a riskier driving profile, being less cautious in the way they drive. We actually saw a reduced performance in people who play these games, which is what we call the racing game effect,” he says.

While the results in the study were promising and suggest that games could be an effective training tool in the future, Howard emphasised that the findings were preliminary, and more research was required to make a definite conclusion.

So, for the parents out there, it’s still not quite time to introduce mandatory gaming while your kids are learning to drive!

Crash course gaming

Also video games are not the only driver training tech taking leaps and bounds. Simulators which accurately replicate driving in real life are also being used for training and education. These simulators are different from ordinary driving games, and often make use of virtual reality technology.

‘iNSTRUCKTA’, is a safety truck commissioned by Transafe WA, a non-for-profit organisation which aims to make the roads safer.

The truck has a container on the back fitted with gaming stations where participants can choose to either watch on a projector, take a road safety quiz on a tablet, or slip on a pair of VR goggles and be immersed in a virtual truck driving experience.

The safety truck was launched in 2023 and has been to over fifty events around the Perth Metropolitan Area, educating current and future road users on how to safely interact with heavy vehicles.

Transafe WA Executive Director Rob Sharpe says they were concerned about the projection that the number of trucks on the road was going to triple by 2050, which would inevitably lead to more road accidents. He says that around 80 per cent of car versus truck accidents are the fault of the car driver.

“We’re trying to reduce that number so that the vulnerable road users aren’t putting themselves at risk.”

iNSTRUCKta uses VR headsets that immerse the participants in the truck’s cabin from the driver’s perspective, and allows them to experience the dangers of overtaking, turning, blind spots, and what happens when cars cut in front of a truck.

“It’s a lot of fun. Part of the use of VR is to engage our current and future road users in a way where they have a new experience and also learn at the same time,” he says.

Who’s gaming now?

There are a lot of stereotypes associated with gamers which aren’t true. Video games are being played on a much bigger scale than you might think.

Professor Jeffrey Brand is an internationally recognised and award-winning expert on media and communications and was the lead author of the Australia Plays Report 2023.

The report, commissioned by the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association in collaboration with Bond University, is an annual investigation into Australia’s gaming demographic and their attitudes towards video games.

The study gathered data from 1219 Australian households which were represented by adults aged 18 and over.

Professor Brand says that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of Australians who play video games.

“Every year we do the research there is something that knocks me off my chair. Last year, we found that 81 per cent of all Australians responding to our survey say they play video games. That was up from 67 per cent just a couple of years ago. That is the biggest jump that we’ve seen since the early years when we started doing the research,” he says.

In addition, the number of Australian households that own a gaming device has risen from 76 per cent in 2005 to 94 per cent in 2023.

Professor Brand believes this surge can be explained by the post pandemic landscape. With more people going online to do thinks such as banking, shopping, and communicating, they have developed a level of literacy and access to devices which allowed them to play video games.

He also says there is a misconception that gaming is only for young Australians.

The report found that the average age of video game players in Australia is 35, which is approaching the national average age of 37.

Another stereotype attached to video games is that they are predominantly played by boys. Raelene Knowles, the executive producer of IGEA, says this is false.

“If you were to read a certain section of the media, you would think it’s just teenage boys sitting in the basement. It’s not just boys, nearly half the audience is female. The biggest growth is in those aged over 65,” she says.

The study found that around the age of 65, women overtake men in the amount of time they spend playing video games. Older respondents say video games helped to stimulate their minds, fight dementia and were also useful in maintaining social connection and improving mental wellbeing.

While the ageing population might not necessarily be wielding fire magic and battling dragons in Skyrim, they are certainly engaging in mindful games, such as online Scrabble and Wordle.

In terms of physical health, video games still have room for improvement. Only a quarter of participants say gaming helped with their balance, mobility, and arthritis. This doesn’t come as a huge surprise as video games have traditionally been played sitting down. Professor Brand says that until games can move past dongles and wires and encourage more mobility, he doesn’t expect that trend to change. However, he says innovations such as the Ray Ban-Meta headset were promising.

Video games are also gaining traction in the classroom. According to the study, 53 per cent of students use video games to learn at school. They have been found to motivate and inspire children, as well as help them cope with stress and connect with their teachers.

Mrs Knowles says games are also very useful in driving engagement and collaboration among students. Minecraft is commonly used due to its multi-faceted building capabilities, and even games like Assassin’s Creed, which is a series set in a diverse number of historical cities, such as ancient Venice, Cairo and Victorian London, are being used in history lessons at school.

So it’s not just kids who are coming home from school and booting up their Xbox or Playstation. A lot of adults are doing something similar in their downtime too.

With research starting to show that this could be doing us good, the next time you find yourself feeling guilty and unproductive about settling down at home and tucking into one of your favourite games, remember that you could be picking up some useful skills along the way.