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How Videogames Taught Me More About Life Than School Ever Did

By Mrinmoyee Roy•October 20, 2026
Illustration of a laughing young woman in a hoodie typing on a glowing laptop, its screen releasing a swirl of floating temples, a marble statue, a gothic cathedral, a frontier town, open books, paper pages and video windows into a teal night sky

Illustration for How Videogames Taught Me More About Life Than School Ever Did.

Playing videogames for hours on end must seem like a very unproductive activity, yet I claim that it taught me more about the world and life than school. Blasphemous! is what I'm sure many will think as they read the first line. In the current world, the impact of videogames on learning, namely informal learning, is now widely recognised (Protopsaltis et al., 2011). Informal learning basically refers to activities in your daily life that facilitate learning, such as cooking, leisure time with friends or family, and of course videogames. Though it may begin as an accident, it can quickly shift into an inquisitive thirst for knowledge.

I'm also pretty sure many of you are aware of the so-called obvious benefits of videogaming, such as developing fine motor skills by manoeuvring a controller or keyboard, or even developing excellent problem-solving skills. I mean, let's take a look at the number of moms who have crossed level 500 in Candy Crush for proof. In fact, Candy Crush and other popular mobile games seem to escape the brunt of the attack against videogames as distracting and counterproductive (though they are better than doomscrolling).

However, let's talk about some other overlooked benefits. According to the Gaming Involvement and Informal Learning framework (Iacovides et al., 2014), published in the journal Simulation & Gaming, the informal learning that happens around gaming has two distinct external sources: Paratexts and Tangential sources.

Paratexts are external resources that surround, shape, support and provide context to a primary text (here, videogames). These include game reviews, playthroughs and even community forums, which act as a bridge between the game and the people who engage with it. I, for one, got into videogames through these paratexts, by joining online fandoms and watching YouTube playthroughs. I even made a lot of friends just by talking about the lore of these games, even if I couldn't play them yet. Games such as Five Nights at Freddy's and Poppy Playtime rely heavily on playthroughs to expand their consumer base, thus aiding User Generated Content (UGC) for marketing and fostering community. I honestly wouldn't have bothered to learn this term if I hadn't taken part in UGC first-hand.

The second type is the Tangential source, where consumers look up real-world subjects, historical events or concepts just to satisfy a broader curiosity about the real-life inspirations behind a game's setting, story or surrounding content. When I played God of War III, I got into the fine details of Greek mythology, such as the domains of the Greek gods and where their authorities overlap (though Percy Jackson also played a huge part in my spiral). Red Dead Redemption 2 did the same for history: it showed characters struggling to maintain their old way of life in the wake of industrialisation, society's lack of acceptance towards social outlaws, and the marginalisation of Native Americans.

It can also ignite a spark of curiosity towards concepts such as religion. For me, the topic of religious dogmatism was introduced through Satyajit Ray's film Devi (1960). My views on the concept were further broadened through games like Bloodborne and Hollow Knight: Silksong, where the themes of religion, faith and the control imposed through these institutions were explored. The various endings of Bloodborne each highlight one end of the spectrum. As you progress through the game and discover more of the Healing Church's transgressions, one character in particular stands out: Queen Yharnam, whose autonomy was stripped from her, something that is still prevalent in this day and age.

The story of Dante, from the Devil May Cry series, is entirely about accepting who you are, while the game's overarching story also implicitly criticises the lust for power and blind worship (namely through his twin brother Vergil's story). Almost every narrative game has a tangential source, and I could go on and on about it for days, but for now I hope I have ignited some curiosity, so that you may go off on a tangent of your own and discover more lesser-known facts or inspirations behind these games.

Sources

Iacovides, I., McAndrew, P., Scanlon, E., & Aczel, J. (2014). The Gaming Involvement and Informal Learning Framework. Simulation & Gaming, 45(4–5), 611–626. Read the accepted manuscript

Protopsaltis, A., Pannese, L., Pappa, D., & Hetzner, S. (2011). Serious Games and Formal and Informal Learning. eLearning Papers, 25. View on ResearchGate

Mrinmoyee Roy is pursuing her Bachelor’s in Media and Communications at Symbiosis Centre of Media and Communication. Formally trained in Art, Taekwondo and Kathak, Mrinmoyee has also worked on several projects as an illustrator, graphic designer and production assistant. With a strong passion for creative endeavours, an entrepreneurial bent of mind and deeply intertwined with the humanities, she wishes to incorporate all of these aspects of her life into her work.