Interactive art that also trains your brain
By Alberto Moreno Gámez · 21 julio 2025
Video games, wellbeing, learning and identity: an adult perspective on a form of culture that has grown up.
Interactive art that also trains your brain
Alberto Moreno Gámez
21 July 2025
The video game has matured. So do we.
In 2025, no one in their right mind can say that video games are just a child thing. That idea was far behind. Today video games are everywhere: on mobile phones, on computers, on consoles, in classrooms, hospitals, museums and laboratories. They are a form of culture, art, learning... and also pure enjoyment.
Industry has not stopped growing. It has been generating more revenue than cinema, music and streaming together for years. But the most interesting thing is not how much money moves, but what moves us. Video games have become a universal language, a way to tell stories, explore worlds and connect with other people.
And yes, more and more people are playing. In Europe, children over 45 play more than children between 6 and 14. Many of us pioneered this. We start with the mythical Pong, Atari consoles or computers like Spectrum or MSX. Those pixelated graphics and basic sounds were the gateway to something magical... and we got caught.
And here we go. Only now the worlds we explore are enormous, open, full of details and possibilities. Games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Red Dead Redemption 2 allow us to get lost for hours in landscapes that look like a movie, with deep stories and decisions that make us think. And the best: we play at our own pace, as we want.
Video games have matured with us. It's not just entertainment anymore. They are places we go to learn, to get excited, to relax or to feel part of something. In many cases, they are a way of life.
For me, video games are a safe place. A space to disconnect, to learn things from myself and also to enjoy. I don't idealize them, of course. But I don't look at them with suspicion either. They are one more part of culture, and like any form of culture, they can touch us, change us and accompany us.
References
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AEVI– Asociación Española de Videojuegos. (2023). Informe Mundial de 2023. https://www.aevi.org.es/web/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/POP_Version_09-10-spread.pdf
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