From what I've seen, video games are no longer frowned upon as a whole anymore. It's a viable source of entertainment as much as watching TV or reading a book. There are so many different genres of games it's hard to know where to begin. If you want an interesting direction to take, I would suggest looking at gaming in the real world. Companies are now incorporating games into their business structure as a source of motivation. One of the new teachers at my college had also taken this concept to another level. Students in his class start by creating a character of their own on the first day and start at level 1 with an F grade (unlike most classes that start the students with an A) and the students must prove themselves but leveling up and gaining new knowledge or gear. They also break up into groups or "guilds" for certain projects. As mentioned earlier, games have an interesting system and can be a great motivation factor if used correctly.
Here's the article written about a speech Jesse Schell gave during the DICE Summit about games breaking through reality: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/27300/DICE_2010_CMUs_Schell_On_The_Common_Threads_In_Unexpected_Successes.php
