Discussion: Video Games and Culture

Really sorry about how long it’s taken me to get back to this. I kept coming back and working on it, but it’s been difficult to get my thoughts out right. Thanks for your patience, and here’s my promised reply. :)

I’ll start off by saying, as is probably expected, I’m presenting my personal take on the video game issue here. I’ve mostly not researched it specifically (my broad research of art informs my thinking here to a large degree), and I generally find it wise not to argue about statistics. ;)

From an artistic standpoint, video games are very unique because they give people the ability to interact with the art in a personal way. With video games, we’re not simply receiving someone else’s art and responding to it, we’re putting ourselves inside of the art and existing within it, to a certain degree.

I don’t at all deny that that’s a cool concept.

I also argue that it deserves way more caution.

Books offer an experience to the mind/imagination, also visually if the book is illustrated.
Movies offer a much more visual experience that dictates how we use our mind and imagination to process the stories we are given.

Video games combine the visual and mental elements with a third element, much more physical element: making choices and effecting the outcome of the story.

Of these three media types, books are going to be the easiest to shield oneself from harmful content. Your eyes move at the pace you direct them to, and if things start looking iffy, close the book. Theoretically you can also do the same thing if you’re watching a movie, though in actuality it’s harder because you aren’t in direct control of how quickly the information gets to you. Since it’s visual instead of mental, something could come at you that you didn’t want to see, but then you’ve already seen it before you could shut it off.

If there is harmful content in video games, well, you get to see it and you get into it, due to the nature of the media. Without even needing to look at statistics, I know that can be dangerous.

Video games are a unique and innovative art form, with a lot of potential for influence. Sadly, I suspect that many video game producers are going to use that influence wrongly (we live in a world of sinful people, so that’s how life works). But if producers want to use it for good, that’s great, just like it’s great when filmmakers and novelists create art using their influence wisely. If the art is wholesome and good, then enjoy the art, recognizing it's proper place in the world that God created.

Thanks for typing out your thoughts. I know you've been busy, so I appreciate the thoughtful response even after all this time. :)

Video games are an art medium that's still in its adolescence; games as a whole are still trying to figure what they are. Just like with all forms of art, it starts of fresh and new, and yet has an identity crisis of sorts, but as it progresses, as each facet of it is explored, it becomes something greater than it was originally imagined. Going from simply toys meant for children to beautiful interactive narrative works like Beyond Eyes or Dear Esther shows that games can have real depth and value as a medium.

It's all up to the developers to make it so. And the consumers to demand a higher quality of content.

Also, one can always pause a game, y'know. :)

…what is Dear Esther? I'm curious. xP

At lest gaming dosen't Identify as a De Stijl art forum.

Just some random thoughts…

Did you know that studies proved that gamers were 20% smarter than non-gamers?
Playing team-games build character, excitement, and team-playing ability.
Bad guys vs. good guys help determine right and wrong. Right wrong and wrong wronger, applies to this as well.
Gaming with friends show what really matters to you. For example, your friends character is in a desperate situation, are you going to save her, or continue with your mission.

@Rosie ~ I've seen stats like those, and while I do agree with them, I also have to point out that there are always exceptions and that not everyone will approach the same game the same way. But I will also concede that gaming helps to bring people together in unexpected ways. Especially online gaming. I've personally gotten close with people I'd otherwise never have gotten to know if it weren't for games, specifically team-based or competitive games like Super Smash Bros, Splatoon, and Overwatch. Overwatch alone has contributed to me having deep conversations with several Christian friends that I feel would not have happened were we not to meet (and in one case reunite) due to our mutual enjoyment of the game.

Also, local co-op games are the best with family and friends. My sister and I have many fond memories of playing LEGO games together, and gaming with friends in the same room is just an amazing time, all-around. Games bring offer the potential for interaction outside of the medium while enjoying it, whereas books, movies, and tv shows tend to require full focus, at least for the first experience with them. I can talk, laugh, and tease my friends while playing a game with/against them a lot easier when we're playing a game together, and that kind of looseness within a tight, well-crafted experience really endears me to the entire idea of games.

I could ramble on about games as an art form or even about games helping in the medical and psychological fields, but then I'd be here all night. XD

Would love to hear it at some point. LOL 8P
Super Smash Bros is a favorite game with us and our friends because, we do talk over the game. But it ends up quite a weird conversation… something like this Me: "And what book are you reading? Oh come on, back off…"
Noticed you put tease your friends on there. Do you do that on a regular basis? I do too.