A few months ago, my dad came down to the basement as I was playing a video game. I don’t remember which game, but I guess that’s irrelevant to the story. He said something that kind of struck a chord with me. “Are you ever gonna give this up?”
Once upon a time, video games used to be a kids-only deal. My dad used to be into games during the Atari/golden era of arcades, but he pretty much dropped games because that’s what adults did at the time. I’m well into my 20s, but I haven’t let the medium go and don’t plan on doing so any time soon. He’s still confused as to why I haven’t given up this ‘kiddie thing’.
Do you ever see yourself growing out of video games? Do you think the idea of growing out of video games is an ancient construct? If you were to grow out of video games, what do you think would cause that to happen? Let’s talk about it in the comments!
In Third Person 
This is a very sensitive topic you stumbled on right here. My folks always tell me to drop my games when it comes between their interests and I find it hard to blame them a lot of the time. I don’t know if it’s an addiction or if I don’t have anything else to do but when ever I grasp a controller or a mouse and go wild with my imagination and just escape everyone around me who continuously tells me off for playing them in the first place, there is no better feeling. I don’t see myself as pathetic but I have given a good couple of hundred or thousand hours to gaming. If you ask me if I would want them back I would have to think about it. I hope my views here are not making you think of me as a loser of some sort or someone who does little to separate themselves from make belief things but I think of games as an art form that demands hours from your life to be understood and given meaning, at the end of the day the can only affect your life negatively if you don’t understand them but if you give them a proper amount of time to get some sort of message across then you [the gamer] are treated with a wonderful and unique look on the world. Mass Effect made me wonder if peers and enemies have any value in my universe, God of War made me question my morals, Bioshock made me wonder if personal visions can ever have an impact on people around me (I’M TALKING TO YOU ANDREW RYAN!!!), Shadow of the Colossus made me wonder how far I will go to to bring back something that affects the world in no way but instead affects me in such as strong way, that thing Shadow of the Colossus taught me about was love. Don’t let game with no deep meaning like CoD, Halo or Street Fighter speak for gaming as a whole. So Jett please show your dad this comment and let him understand gaming in general and not just the 8 bit adventures that only lasted for 30 minutes.
P.S People spend a lot of time on their games and really try to communicate to the gamer with emotions and themes. Check out this movie that is coming out in the fall that deals with this kind of stuff and please at least watch the trailer, so here’s the website 🙂
http://www.indiegamethemovie.com/
Great comment Josh!
There are a lot of people like you and me who love this medium and will never let it go. There is also a segment of the population that will always associate video games as a kiddy thing. I think someday, the medium will get mass acceptance like movies, music or books, but it’s going to take time. I think by the time you and I have grandchildren, these social pressures won’t be an issue. Until then…keep fighting the good fight!
It’s because of attitudes from people like you Jett that I have these views in the first place! We just have to support one another. However I for one hope that games don’t end up like movie’s because when ever I enjoy a movie and then look at it’s metacritic score I feel so bad for the people who spent hours and millions to try and make a decent film. Can you imagine if Pirates of the Caribbean was a game instead of a movie, it could be one of the greatest games ever, imagine flawless action like the films translated into a game and with a story that is half as deep as the movie. The highest score the film series has ever reached was a 75% and if a game got that score no one would touch it! If you find it hard to relate to my idea then I urge you to watch all the films or at least the first 3 and think of them as a game and not a film as you watch.
Sorry to change the subject but my view of the future of gaming is quite unsure, I personally believe that games are way better than movie’s in every respect except in story in some cases (Super Mario anyone?).
P.S Please add me on PSN Jett, it’s VoteKratos and I will give you my Steam ID as soon as I make a new one 🙂
P.P.S Keep these incredible posts coming, I beg of you please keep writing and never stop for the love of God!