Gottschall writes: "Pick up a copy of PC Gamer magazine, and you will find that--with the exception of sports simulators--most video games are organized around the familiar grammar of problem structure and poetic justice. Marketed mainly to testosterone-drunk young males, the games are usually narratives of lurid by heroic violence." (182)
Are you a gamer? MMOPRG? WoW? What kind of video games have you played and enjoyed? Can you confirm Gottschall's claim that most video games are "organized around the familiar grammar of problem structure and poetic justice"? In your experience, what kind of person is drawn to video games? What assumptions do people make about gamers? Which of these assumptions are accurate and which are not?
Below: Pong, one of the first video arcade games, released in 1972. The Director of the Honors Program may remember getting the home version Pong for Christmas one year. It may have been considered riveting.
Gaming is my resort when I am stressed, bored, or having a bad day. My favorites are those in which I control the story, being able to "play God" on a virtual simulation such as the Sims 3 or RuneScape. The answer to why these games are so captivating may lie on pages 195-196, where Gottschall comments, "Virtual worlds give back what has been scooped out of modern life ... As game designer David Rickey put it, people enter MMORPGs to take a daily vacation from the pointlessness of their actual lives." Video games are outlets in which a person has control over many- if not every- aspect of a situation. Rather than facing the reality of working in an office cubicle everyday, a gamer can look forward to a much more interesting and entertaining lifestyle by plugging in online or playing a simulator where he or she can create an identity and dictate the future. Many different types of people are drawn gaming, whether introvert or extrovert, creative or logical. The fascinating aspect of the video game is that there is so much diversity in what it can offer that everyone can find entertainment- virtual worlds enable communication with other real people, and millions of single player games allow the player to determine a story's end or be stuck in a virtual "Neverland," one in which there is no definite end, and can literally be played for an endless amount of time. Stereotypes people may have of gamers is that they are lazy people that sit on the couch 24/7 with a pizza box and 3 liters of Mountain Dew as a diet. Even Gottschall has a stereotype, quoting on page 182 that most video games are advertised to “testosterone-drunk males.” Because everyone has an inner desire for story, there really can’t be an accurate stereotype. Some people probably do sit daily on the couch playing Metal Gear Solid, but there are also those who live a productive lifestyle and utilize Candy Crush for a short down time, and males are certainly not the only ones fascinated by video games. If a person finds a game alluring to his or her storytelling desires, chances are he or she will use it as a means to upgrade reality with a unique, virtual identity of his or her own creation. -Elsa M
ReplyDeleteI am not a "testosterone-drunk young male", far from it actually, but I still absolutely love gaming. Like what Elsa said, gaming for me is an escape from the real world. It really is a vacation that you can take at any time. For me, I prefer playing RPGs (for non-gamers this is Role playing games) or first person shooter/strategy. Skyrim was one of the best-selling games because it offered an RPG experience where you could play a game with no boundaries. It was basically like they picked you out of your living room and dropped you into a world full of dragons, magic, and assassins (I sound sooooo nerdy). There were no rules you couldn’t break, no places you couldn’t enter, and it was almost entirely up to the player to decide their ‘life’. I also loved playing Sims2, where I could, as Elsa said, “play God” and live a life separate of my own. Why am I so attracted to these games? Because it’s basically living a life that is not my own. It’s giving me a chance to experience a different world where I can make any choice I want. I can be the bad guy, I can be the hero, but it’s all up to me. I think I can confirm Gottschall’s claim because though there are many genres of games, they all run the same way. Save the princess, rescue the town from a dragon, make enough friends to get a promotion. Problem->solution. I really like what Elsa ended with about games appealing to everyone because everyone has the storytelling desire. I don’t really think there is a specific type of person who would be drawn to games. If we broke it down to the individual types maybe, but for games in general it’s for anyone. The one thing I don’t like is when people talk bad about ‘gamers’ and ‘gamer girls’. I’ve had several people tell me that video games are stupid, then they go back to their room and play Sims on their computer. I also have had several guys tell me I’m just a ‘gamer girl’ looking to get attention. (Do NOT get me started on the gamer girl thing.) Everyone has their own opinions on what games mean, and none are right or wrong. I think when it comes down to it, there’s something for everyone, just most people are too afraid of criticism to admit it.
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, I have never been a serious gamer. I did not know what MMORPG or WoW stood for until I read this book, and I thought that an RPG was a “rocket propelled grenade.” I’ve only ever completed one game – Need for Speed: Most Wanted. (Yes, it is awesome!) The game certainly revolved around an action-packed problem and justice theme. As far as gamer stereotypes go, I do not believe that there could ever be a concrete image to describe the typical gamer. I know countless individuals of all sorts that are hardcore gamers. For example: My sister is an individual who plays video games a lot; she is a very busy individual that also loves to be active outdoors.
ReplyDeleteP.s. I want to try that game, Dr. Benton!
- Dillon Rea
I agree, I also know many people from all walks of life that are regulars when it comes to gaming. -Sean Jesse
DeleteDillon, not many have entered the world of Pong and lived to tell the tale. It is not a game to be taken lightly. In fact, you probably shouldn't even look at the video above unless you're sure that you are emotionally and mentally prepared for it. I should have included a warning about that.
ReplyDeleteWell, Dr. Benton, we are all tremendously glad that you are among the survivors of the Pong experience! You certainly should have left a warning. I watched the video without appropriate preparation and was nearly overtaken by the grotesqueness of the beast!
Delete- Dillon Rea
Yes, I do happen to be a gamer. World of Warcraft is one of the games that I engage in regularly, in addition to other video games such as Skyrim, Minecraft,Halo, and even older games such as Rayman. In truth, just about every game I have ever played has always had some ultimate goal when it comes to the struggle between good and evil. For instance, in World of Warcraft's latest expansion, Garrosh Hellscream (current Ex-Warchief of the Horde) is the main enemy for both the Alliance and the Horde, which are the two main often-warring factions players can choose between from when starting in the game. Originally, the leader of the Horde had been an orc named Thrall, who was just in his decisions and did very well at uniting all of the races of the Horde under one banner. In the Cataclysm expansion of World of Warcraft, he gave up the title of Warchief in order to go on a quest to try to commune with the elements and save the world. In his place, he had left Garrosh Hellscream. (mostly because of Garrosh's many successful conquests in the earlier expansions of WoW) . Upon receiving this power, Garrosh Hellscream soon became obsessed with the complete extermination of the Alliance, and also those who opposed his views of an orc-dominated world, including his own people. This later lead to a great rebellion that was mostly spearheaded by the troll racial faction leader within the Horde known as Vol'jin, and also the forces of the Alliance (in a very loose pact I might add). In the end he managed to overthrow Garrosh Hellscream,afterwards becoming the new Warchief and restoring balance to the Horde. As for Garrosh Hellscream, he is imprisoned to later go on trial for his war crimes, and so poetic justice is served......or is it. We'll see what happens in the next expansion. -Sean Jesse
DeletePlease excuse the placement of this last post, it wasn't meant to be a reply.
DeleteI loved Elsa and Miranda’s responses, but I just wanted to add a point to their argument. I think the reason games make such good refuges is not just that they give us a world that you can shape and mold to our hearts content, but also that they allow us to make mistakes while doing so. Often, mistakes, such as robbing a bank or jumping off a plane without a parachute, would have major life changing consequences, but in video games those consequences are reduced if not even beneficial. Accidently tick off a hoard of barbarian orcs, no problem, just reload the last save. There are even games like Temple Run and Trials: Evolution in which the point of the game to do the same thing over and over until you get it as close perfect as humanly possible. In his book, Gottschall suggests that dreams, such as the ones you have while sleeping, exists as simulations of life events you have experienced or may experience in the future. Games are actual simulations, which means that, if Gottschall is correct, a game is essentially a chronicle of a dream. Some games show us a specific dream, others give us free reign to create our own. But because dream are universal, games can appeal to everyone, which is what we are seeing as the age range and gender of gamers expand.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I am proud to call myself a gamer. I may not be as hardcore of a gamer as others, but I have to admit that I am actively involved in the MMORPG World of Warcraft. I've claimed the mythical world if Azeroth as my second home for over five years now. Some things I have discovered in my years of gaming is that A) I am not a testosterone-drunk young male B) there are in fact many females on the internet C) not everyone who is a gamer is lazy and the majority of them actually lead successful, productive lives in the real world. WoW draws in all sorts of people from the lonely high school student (like I was) to the successful business looking to break up the monotony of his routine. One of the main drawing points of MMORPGs is that they not only place the gamer in a virtual Neverland where any heroic deed they can imagine is possible, they place them in a rich community of other gamers to collaborate with. Having this community combined with the semi-anonymous aspect of the internet allows a person to truly be themselves without being judged and is a major draw for anyone.
ReplyDelete