Now we have access to so many forms of video games we don't even know we are playing them half the time. From Clash of Clans on our phones, to games like Call of Duty, or the soon to be released Dark Souls 3. Games have changed a lot over the years. Yet, some things have stayed the same.
I remember the first time I really got my hands on a video game. I was in awe of what I was watching on my friends TV screen. It wasn't much but seeing a guy jumping over turtles and hitting question marks with his hand. Put me in a state of awe. To this day I have a problem trying to describe why it did. Maybe it was because I could control what was happening on the screen. Maybe it was because I was so focused on trying to save the Princess.
My opinion on games differs from many within the industry. Yes games are made to be fun. Yes games are made so that the person playing them can experience something new. Yet, the main reason people play games now aren't to really have fun, but to pass the time between breaks in a persons life.
As an adult you work all the time, to pay your bills and be a productive member of society. So in order to have some form of down time and relax time. Many of us gravitate to some form of video game. If it is the 5 minutes we spend on the bus while we go to work, or the hours on end we play on the weekend.
The accessibility of video games has made them one of the biggest time sucks in the world. Yet what do we get from these games. Why do we play them?
Well for me I use to play the games to escape reality. To go somewhere, that I knew I could control. I had a rough childhood and I used video games as an escape. Much like many people do now. They use them to escape. Yet with the amount of money put into triple A games these days. I think there is more to it than just escaping the real world for a few hours at a time.
If you look at the time it takes to beat a normal RPG it can take a while. There are hours upon hours of game play in a single RPG. Which is why I think that the RPG as a genre isn't what it use to be. The main games people are playing now are Shooters or Moba's. Just look at how many Call of Duty games there are. Or how many different Moba's there are on any given day this week.
Originally, many games were single player experiences. Over time though they became multiplayer. With online gaming, video games made a leap into a new genre. The MMO, many of these games still exist today and are even being made. Most people think of the MMO only in reference to the MMORPG (World of Warcraft and other games like it) Yet what a lot of people don't understand is that any game played online by multiple people at one time is a MMO. Think your Clash of Clans game you play, or the newest Call of Duty. Those are also MMO's.
Video games have become a giant in interactive media. They have pushed themselves into many different areas of the media as well. Many games now have books that are released before the game, so that those who wish to play the game get a back story of it. Or pre-order bonuses. Which every different store seems to have some. Commercials for video games are on TV all the time.
There was even a website dedicated to video game trailers. (http://www.gametrailers.com/) Video games have become such a big thing over the years that I have to look back on what they where when I was a kid, and wonder what happened to the fun...
Many games now make you grind for you next piece of gear, or just can't keep your attention longer than 5 minutes. Maybe it is us as the gamers, or us as the generation that wants instant satisfaction. Maybe it is the Game Developers. I really don't know. All I really know is that I miss the times when gaming was just gaming. It is bigger now. With ESports, clans, guilds and billions of gamers around the world ( don't quote me on that one, the number just made sense to me)
Maybe having video games in the light is a good thing, but the amount of good quality games, has dropped drastically. With annual releases. If you don't own the newest release of a game, you get left in the dust. The funny thing is I remember when Call of Duty was a World War 2 game on PC. Or when Doom was the most bad ass game to play.
I guess I am getting older, but my love for this medium hasn't aged. All I want is for games to be worth playing. None of this rehashed bullshit every year. I don't want to be considered as a fake gamer if I only own Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. I have seen these games grow into what they are today.
Yet, many gamers now are spoiled. They get there expensive console and sixty dollar video game, or two. Then they beat the game in a few days. I as an adult am lucky if I get my hands on the newest game six months to a year after launch.
The other issue I have is hype. Hype destroys games. I remember when games were just released without anyone really knowing. All this media coverage and hype does nothing put promote the game that either isn't even finished yet, or won't come out forever. (GTA 6)
I guess what I am trying to say is that, as an adult gamer. I miss the story, the challenge, and how special being a gamer use to be.
Uriel Locke
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