Why Your Teen Loves Video Games: A Complete Guide

Did you know the video games industry is bigger than the movie and music industries combined?

The global revenue for the gaming industry in 2019 was $120.1 billion, while that of the movie and music industry was $42.3 billion and $20.2 billion.

Video games offer a wider sensory and mental gratification than watching a movie or listening to music. 

Gaming takes you into another world, and for a few minutes or hours, you live in an imaginary world where you’re in control. Your senses heightened, and you get a rush of dopamine.

What an experience!

No wonder your teenager can’t get enough of it.

You know they’ll play video games elsewhere if you deny them access in your house.

The better option would be to learn about video games and why your teen loves them. Only then can you address it objectively.

Today, ParenTeen Kenya will take you through:

How Video Games Work

Where your Teen Gets Video Games

What are the popular Video Games

Common Video Games Genres (With Examples)

How to Play Video Games

Let’s dive right in.

How Video Games Work

Coming up with a video game concept is like writing a best-seller story. The elements of a great story are incorporated into the game: adventure, suspense, danger, superior characters, and an unfolding storyline. 

The difference is that the content needs the mind of a video game maker to create striking visual character features, an intriguing environment, and engaging activities. These components transform the story into a virtual computing experience.

The storylines are so good that there are more movies from video games topping the charts.

The best video games incorporate the player as part of the storyline. In addition, they entertain and challenge the player. Witcher video games and Star Wars video games are good examples.

You can use a personal computer (PC) or Mac to play some complex video games, but the best experience happens when gamers use a console.

A console is a gaming device that connects to a TV or a monitor. It’s like a computer but explicitly designed for interactive video games with compelling features and visual effects.

Examples of video game console include:

• Playstation
• Xbox
• Wii
• Nintendo 3DS

Where Your Teen Gets Video Games

The same way you have Netflix for movies and Spotify for music, video game lovers have sites like Steam and Epic Games for all their video game needs. These online gaming sites allow your teen to have free and paid access to millions of video games.

We also have dedicated Kenyan websites like Gamechanger for players to buy video games and gaming accessories; and Happywishy for renting videos.

Kenyan online video games stores that either give you a digital code or do deliveries include Vivid Gold, Instok, and Ubuy. 

Buying games at a physical video games store is often not used because of the convenience of various video games online buying and renting options and the ease of hiding from you.

Popular Video Games For Teens in 2021

There are new video games released daily. Some publishers release more than three games in a day. The options are endless, and the demand is high.

The method used to rank the best video games include:

• Superb controls: Unlimited ability to perform actions
• Outstanding sound and music: Makes the video world and characters feel alive.
• Fascinating worlds: popular video games have cool settings and interactive challenges and rewards.
• Fun gameplay: The game must be enjoyable
• Memorable characters
• A captivating theme and visual styles: The graphics awe the player

Violent video games take the largest share of the most popular video games. Statista’s study showed that 47% of PC online gamers play action video games, and 38% play shooter games.

The video games come with labels containing age restriction and content rating—which you can vet before buying a video game online or at a video games store.

Some of the ratings pass as teen-appropriate, but the label has rating descriptions such as blood, mild language, violence, and alcohol use. A good example is monster hunter world that doesn’t qualify as a video game for kids.

There are timeless games like Star Wars video games that your teenager plays every so often, but today we’ll give you the video games list of the popular games for teens in 2021.

Common Video Games Genres (With Examples)

Familiar with candy rash?

Swiping and matching those candies and succeeding to go to the next level gives you a rush of dopamine—and with minimal mental effort. No wonder it’s the most popular video game of all time on Android smartphones.

Other types of simple video games you may have come across include driving or flight simulations, puzzle games, and fighting games.

Top Video games with the most complex concepts are best played on Xbox, PlayStations, some PCs, and Macs. Here is a brief description of the video games genre your teenager can’t have enough of:

First Person Shooter (FPS)

It’s a shooting game or other weapon-based game where the player controls the character in a three-dimensional space. The player experiences the game through a hidden protagonist (you see the hands and gun only).

Examples of popular FPS video games: Call of duty, Battlefield, Halo, Overwatch

Third Person Shooter (TPS)

Similar to FPS but the lead character is visible. It mainly involves combat and shooting challenge games.

Examples of popular TPS video games: Grand theft auto, Resident Evil, Metal gear solid.

Open World Shooter

It’s an adventure virtual video game in which players can play and explore as they wish without following inbuilt structured gameplay. It’s not so much a competitive game but for your teenager to enjoy the experience. The gamer has the option of taking up challenges to earn points and get new abilities and items.

Examples of OWS video games: Tomb Raider, Assassins Creed, Grand theft Auto, Fallout

Role-Playing Games (RPG)

These games allow your teen to take the role of a fictional character and go on an adventure. There’s a referee to give challenges and rewards—called leveling up or collecting experience points(XP) in the gaming world.

Examples of RPG of video games: Witcher, Mario, Vampire, Final fantasy

Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMORPG or MMO)

The concept is similar to RPG, but it entails gamers joining hundreds of other gamers worldwide to complete missions. Your teen can request to join a guild (team) or form a team of their own with other players they have befriended online. 

You guessed it…

That’s how your teenager forms loyal online friends and prefer being online with them than with physical friends.

Examples of MMO video games: Eve online, Guild wars, New world, World of warcraft

Real-Time Strategy Game (RTS)

It’s said to be a dying genre due to a lack of creativity. But it still has a fantastic gaming experience for the teens who love to enjoy real-time games with multiple physical players instead of the turn-based game where each player waits for their turn. 

The video game involves going for missions where the team has to gather resources to beat their opponents.

Examples of RTS video games: Starcraft, Age of empires, Company of heroes. 

Now you see why your teen can’t have enough video games. There’s so much to try out, and game makers are working hard to develop unique genres of new video games to keep your teenager playing.

How to Play Video Games

Here’s something we can both agree on so far, video games appear fun to play.

Let’s make you one of the few parents who learn to play video games for the sake of bonding with your teenager.

1. Ensure you’ve access to good internet services and a functioning PC, console, and video games controller (optional).
2. Go to a video games store online and scan the categories. Before buying, check the age ratings if you plan to play with your teen. It’s also wise to read the requirements for the game. If your console or pc doesn’t meet any standards, don’t buy because the game will hang or have bad graphic effects.
3. If you’re still unsure, you can read the game’s review, watch the video games news for its preview or rent a video game online at Gamefly. Keep off competitive games until you’ve mastered the basics of video game controllers.
4. Connect the gadgets and start at the beginner level. You can also ask your teen to help you navigate the gaming world.
5. You can change the controls if you find that you’re pressing the wrong key or your fingers are tired. Choose from a computer trackpad, mouse, or video game controller.
6.  Remember to save every so often, even if it has auto-save options.
7. Enjoy the game by exploring and experimenting as much as you can.

There you go; you now have an idea of where to start and how to navigate the video games world. 

Join Your Teen in their Video Games Hobby

Fighting over video games with your teenager can be a losing battle or cause them to hold a grudge against you. 

Join your teenager in this adventure and play safe games with them, leading to a stronger parent-teen bond. Then, the next time you tell them to put it away, they’ll understand you aren’t against t hem engaging in their hobby—which translates to you hating them.

It’ll also be easier to educate your teenager about the pros and cons of extended gaming. This advice will help them to make better choices when you’re not with them. 

The use of parental control apps also keeps your teen in check and helps you track how much time they spend gaming online.

ParenTeen Kenya wants to see you bonding with your teenager. 

Get your gaming shoes on and start the process.

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Jane Kariuki

Jane Kariuki is a devout Christian, Clinician, Psychologist, and founder of ParenTeen Kenya. She authored an exceptional training manual used in her teens’ workshop and an instructional guidebook for her parenting classes. If she is not training, blogging, or counseling, Jane loves to spend time with her sweet husband and three children.