I wasn't expecting Tears for Fears before lunch today, but when I walked into the Serious Gaming panel, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" was playing from the speakers.
"Yes, the music selection does have something to do with today's panel," said Larry Dailey, a journalism professor at the University of Nevada - Reno, and the panel's moderator. The song then changed to an all-too-familiar hit: Video Killed the Radio Star.
Dailey sang, "Oh-a-a-a oh," with the chorus and said, "This is about journalism, come on!" I could only imagine what the business work shop next door was thinking.
So what did this have to do with gaming? The Buggles song was the first video to appear on MTV 30 years ago, and, as the song narrates, it was then believed the appearance of videos would kill radio.
After the song ended Dailey held up an iPod. It wasn't the appearance of video to kill radio he said, but the gadget at hand.
Enter gaming. This $30 billion industry, where the average user is 30 or 31 years old, has changed the way audiences use and learn from media. Its entrance into the field has come on so quickly there wasn't even time for a song to warn people.
But, seriously, why is this important? Can't we just leave these gamers in their basements forever?
Marc Prensky, author of "Digital Game-Based Learning" and "Don't Bother Me Mom - I'm Learning" and CEO of games2train, said this is exactly what he encountered among his audiences.
The reason to game, however, is simple: To learn. Laparoscopic surgeons who gamed made 37 percent fewer mistakes than their colleagues, said Prensky.
"Now you know what to ask your doctor: Did you play Super Monkey Ball growing up?"
For more on gaming, check out our Q&A with J. Paige West.
-- Jen Monroe