From politics to science, school, and careers, video games have become a staple of just how far our society has triumphed in creating consumable content. While the general usage of video games may seem childish upon the surface, there is an unfathomable amount of layers by which the industry has acclaimed itself and its content.
The premise of creating a blog dedicated to esports may make this passage seem far broader than the initial intent, but allow yourself a moment to truly consider what brought you to this site. Video games. At the heart and soul of it all, gaming contains a unique quality that shatters the imaginable limits of our creativity and bring to life worlds far beyond the comprehension of reality. The time and effort placed into creating a game is not simply for profit, any indie developer with an ounce of lost sleep could tell you as much. Rather video games connect us to both real and fictional embodiments of the very thing that keeps the entire industry afloat, fun. There is genuine excitement experienced by millions on release days, when announcements are made public, or a celebration shared between a on screen allies and person holding a controller. Video games impact the world around us because of their very nature as a multifaceted digital content.
While perhaps falling alongside the more psychological side of regard, over the last two decades a great deal of research has become focused on the effect video games have on us all. You may be familiar with the renowned claims that “violent video games create violent behavior”, but on the other end of that exact spectrum you will find a vast assortment of countered benefits. Mental health, sociability, engaged learning, historical recreation, all of these things and more have been studied in regards to gaming culture, and I assure you that there are far greater rewards than there ever could be risks.
The entirety of negative connotations and stereotypical ideals are no stranger to the industry. For example, a popular topic in the scene over the last few years has been the concept of enforced “gambling”. The official terminology, “pay-to-win” garnered heated legal actions in both the UK and Australia due to research that found young children’s mental comprehension was not yet fully developed enough to warrant acceptable mental processing of their spending. They merely want to win, and in doing so, have cost their families hundreds upon thousands of dollars. While micro transactions, meaning in game purchases, have been proven to directly factor in to a great deal of sociological discussions, this is merely one instances of the declaim many attempt towards generalizing all video games as bad.
What is there to dislike of games such as ABZU, a 2 hour long silent atmospheric RPG with nothing more than exploration under sea that shares real world facts about marine biology? Or what is the detriment to a rhythm game which allows someone financially incapable of affording a thousand dollar guitar to live out their dreams of becoming a musician, if only for a moment or two each day? There are violent video games in the same sense that there are violent television broadcasts and multibillion dollar movies. Each of which shares the simple premise of wanting to be entertaining, fulfilling, and engaging.
This discussion is not meant to come to the wholehearted defense that all video games will create self actualization that will change your life forever. It is simply placing each side of the argument against one another in a way that I believe can not, and will never be changed. Video games are here to stay, and now more than ever, if you enjoy them as much as I do, you can make a life out of them without needing to create it yourself.
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