i have certainly had the same thoughts as recorded in your first paragraph.
but as for the burgeoning video game lifestyle, i think it's really unhealthy. there is always something new; there is something unique about every day and to be bored and disengaged with real life is a very sad thing because as far as things go, there's really no way to escape it. my mom just canceled my brother's world of warcraft subscription because he was sitting in front of the computer screen in the dark every day. his range of motion was limited to the movement of his wrist on the mousepad and the occasional 'trek' to the bathroom. it was pretty disgusting. i understand playing games in moderation (i mean, who doesn't love guitar hero?)but games have a tendency to suck kids in to excessively habitual use. youth should appreciate reading, conversation and the individuality of leaves or something, not the pixelized banality of violent video games. granted there are exceptions, the gaming culture produces obtuse, uninteresting people who are conditioned to expect instant gratification. becoming enveloped in it assimilates you to a culture that only exists on a computer. it all seems very orwellian to me.
I'm not sure that differentiating between types of culture within a single culture is a good idea - you start treading on a tightrope, and if you trip you end up marginalizing culture. Which is impossible because culture is a lot more like stock than it is like different lifeforms. Each stock may be different, but as a whole it's very important to take them all into account when trying to decide what the state of the economy is.
That said, I think that games (not necessarily the ones sold now) have incredible potential to be meaningful in the same way that movies and books are. Maybe not regarding exactly the same topics, but a narrative arc flows (albeit differently) through a game just as it does through a movie or a book.
There are games that are simply fun - that don't have any depth. Guitar Hero and Halo are a couple of examples. But there are also games that address aspects of culture, history, psychology, and social status - like Grim Fandango, Deux Ex, and Psychonauts. These are just the beginning of what I hope will be a wave of meaningful games.
In the end, a well crafted interactive narrative takes you to a different world. Books and movies also do this. So yeah, a lot of games suck, but be careful about writing off an entire medium just because of a bunch of bad seeds.
Actually, Cronenberg explored the same awkward state of virtual reality that you're talking about. eXistenZ and Videodrome are probably the two most prolific of his movies about reality, culture, and technology. In them he looks at how, in extreme cases, people lose touch with reality and the virtual starts to take over. Needless to say, he's a little terrified of the concept.
but as for the burgeoning video game lifestyle, i think it's really unhealthy. there is always something new; there is something unique about every day and to be bored and disengaged with real life is a very sad thing because as far as things go, there's really no way to escape it. my mom just canceled my brother's world of warcraft subscription because he was sitting in front of the computer screen in the dark every day. his range of motion was limited to the movement of his wrist on the mousepad and the occasional 'trek' to the bathroom. it was pretty disgusting. i understand playing games in moderation (i mean, who doesn't love guitar hero?)but games have a tendency to suck kids in to excessively habitual use.
youth should appreciate reading, conversation and the individuality of leaves or something, not the pixelized banality of violent video games. granted there are exceptions, the gaming culture produces obtuse, uninteresting people who are conditioned to expect instant gratification. becoming enveloped in it assimilates you to a culture that only exists on a computer. it all seems very orwellian to me.
Reply
That said, I think that games (not necessarily the ones sold now) have incredible potential to be meaningful in the same way that movies and books are. Maybe not regarding exactly the same topics, but a narrative arc flows (albeit differently) through a game just as it does through a movie or a book.
There are games that are simply fun - that don't have any depth. Guitar Hero and Halo are a couple of examples. But there are also games that address aspects of culture, history, psychology, and social status - like Grim Fandango, Deux Ex, and Psychonauts. These are just the beginning of what I hope will be a wave of meaningful games.
In the end, a well crafted interactive narrative takes you to a different world. Books and movies also do this. So yeah, a lot of games suck, but be careful about writing off an entire medium just because of a bunch of bad seeds.
Actually, Cronenberg explored the same awkward state of virtual reality that you're talking about. eXistenZ and Videodrome are probably the two most prolific of his movies about reality, culture, and technology. In them he looks at how, in extreme cases, people lose touch with reality and the virtual starts to take over. Needless to say, he's a little terrified of the concept.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment