*Editor Note: This article was submitted for publication during the Fall 2019 Semester. *
By Mathew T. DeLeon
Video games have taken over as one of the most popular forms of media today, however, as politics and technology change over time some have concerns about video games and the culture they bring to society.
To start, video games were created with the intent of only being a source of entertainment since 1958 when the first game was made. A simple pixel battle of hitting a small dot of a monitor or screen was highly experimental and was played with only one other individual. This was entirely different than the video games featured today. Today, many video games focus on fast paced action play style and are often played online with anonymous strangers over the internet; it has been this way since online games began getting popularized in the early 2000’s. Examples of this include video games like Halo, Call of Duty, Mortal Kombat, and Forza Motorsport. All these extremely popular titles have high player counts daily, meaning no matter what time zone you are in, at whatever time of the day you can play.
When video game companies are not creating highly anticipated multiplayer titles, they create games that tell good stories. Like film has been for at least three generations here in America, these video games have genres of their own as well whether it be action, comedy romance or any other genre. Because of this similarity, video games should be a very comparable and familiar piece of media but what separates it from the rest is its growth alongside the internet.
With the current state of video games and internet together, a certain subculture or digital culture has now surfaced this decade, especially within the youth. Video games and the internet together have allowed people to connect and develop relationships with others around the world, thus making the culture all more popular. The culture itself is not all that dissimilar from any other subculture; it unites people based on a common interest and has its own set of customs, trends and influences, has a unique set of terms and has a level of authenticity to go with it. Yet, some still believe this may be negative or even a harmful cult following of this trend of internet and gaming.
Video games and its culture from the past is no stranger to controversy and this may be part of the reason it has had such a bad reputation, especially among older generations of people. For example, the hit fighting video game Mortal Kombat with its debut in the 1990s made a splash in video games becoming one of the most popular video games of the decade, because it featured violence in a manner not yet presented in any other game before. This shocked many and had later received harsh criticism by frightened people. Later, this game would be the reason ESRB ratings appear on video games much like ratings on movies suggest the type of audience it is for.
Looking forward into today’s video games, they have yet again been blamed for certain horrific and violent acts occurring across the nation as the culture of video games is at its most popular, and with titles such as the war themed game Call of Duty or the crime themed game of Grand Theft Auto being two of the most popular titles in this form of media, the blame is easily shifted. This is because mature rated content is more favored by users than most other titles and the nature of most gamers is easily looked at negatively as less exposure to outside society and perhaps a bit of de-sensitivity from the many time spent exposed to these violent images.
However, much evidence has been displayed in many investigations and scientific analysis that there is no correlation to video game violence and real-world acts of violence, meaning most people’s fears are based just on paranoia set upon them by the news media and otherwise.
Concerned people need not to worry about the negative impact of video games or the culture as being harmful, because this is just the new popular form of media this generation. Even through the interconnectedness on the internet, no fear of this culture spreading negative behavior at high speed should be present as most everybody can separate fiction from reality.
On the other hand, video games offer more than just a culture of violent video game playing gamers. Much of the same principles found in sport such as teamwork, dedication, sportsmanship and general positivity can be found among the gaming community. In fact, ESPN has recognized gaming to be a sport and hosts a platform for what is known as e-sports today, along with other networks such as TBS. Video games in general are great stress relievers to focus on something else for the time being. Video game players in moderation face no risk of exposure to a bad culture. Much like music and movies have faced controversy in the past, such as the trials of metal musicians and rappers alike for violent lyrics or movie backlash like with the new Joker movie, games have united many. As stated in the beginning, video games are made to be enjoyed in their own respective art form and most concerns over them and the culture, are nothing more than that. Continue to enjoy video games and hopefully, they bring you as much joy as they have many others.
