Computer games are more than just a bit of fun. To someone entirely dedicated to game culture, gaming is a universe that is developing, growing and pervading every stratum of the modern world.

What computer games are all about and how to turn them into a real sport is something Martin Kadinov knows all about. He has been pursuing his childhood dream for years, until games became a successful professional career for him. Martin Kadinov is regional manager for Southeast Europe of the biggest company organizing and holding world e-games championships. In his 35 years he has learnt everything there is to know about gaming and the intricacies of the infinite gaming industry. Martin believes there is a great future in entertainment software because the gaming industry is the first sphere cutting edge technologies enter, it is where they are tested and adapted.

Kadinov says that games are a new form of media which gives the person playing information interactively. Games are an engaging way to learn and get to know what the world is like. In time, Martin Kadinov has come to realize that it is up to us all to look for different kinds of information from different sources, and games awaken the natural inquisitiveness of the youngest children. More from Martin Kadinov:

“My own story is that I fell in love with video games as a child and I kept asking whether that wasn’t something I could do in life, seeing as they were well and truly “my thing”. There is one thing I would like to impress on adults, because it is often lost on them – that when a person is playing, their senses open up and they are really absorbed and focused on what they are doing. I have seen this happen in my 11-year old son. One has to follow one’s passion and one’s interests to be able to develop in the direction one feels one is best at. Games keep the player focused. Anyone who has ever worked in formal education knows how difficult it is to find ways to hold children’s attention for any length of time. I think there is something our society is failing to comprehend and it is the firm belief that if you see a child playing games at a computer, that can’t be good for them. There are data that there are more games coming out in the world in a day than there are films. When I was 12 and I told people I played computer games, they invariably asked me why I didn’t try doing something else. I was so fed up with having this conversation. Now, 20 years on, experience in computer games is an asset when applying for positions in companies that are considered to be interesting career opportunities. They are now seen as a set of acquired skills of coordination, communication, teamwork, analytical thinking etc.”

In Martin Kadinov’s words: “The development of professional life and various industries is now so fast-paced that games can only be helpful in the way we look at the world and most of all – in the system of formal education.”

He says that the biggest challenge education faces is that it is still trying to follow tendencies instead of getting ahead of them and this estranges it from the world of technologies. There are games that can serve as a lesson to children, but also to adults, Kadinov says. The example he gives is a game-book which got him thinking about real-life problems.

“It is a game-book in which you put yourself in the shoes of a young boy of Roma origin from Sofia. I myself approached it a bit brashly. But whatever choice I made, it always turned out badly for my character – I would get beaten up, or mugged, I spent the night at a police station, I got used, and that really annoyed me. Finally I came to realize the whole game-book was rigged and that got me reading the reader instructions. And what I found out was that the book was released by an NGO with the aim of acquainting players with the real challenges the Roma population face. Games like that are a very effective and explicit way to convey the hidden message of its authors.”

English version: Milena Daynova