noPUNintendo

We don’t really think about it, unless you are just enthusiastic about your obsessions, but video games have come a long way. I never knew it until recently that video games began as a way that the government could play out how real life attacks could go down. Then somehow, video games grew into a subtle way to waste our time, get us focused on winning at some imaginary competition between you and the computer. Then, between you and other players.

Nintendo was a personal favorite of mine growing up. I have two brothers, one older and one younger. The best way to bond, outside of playing sports, hide-and-seek, or swinging on the tire swing in the backyard, was to play some good ole Nintendo. This included Mario Bros, Zelda, then on to Pokemon and it's many wonders.. oh so many others. But why are these games so amusing?

Well for one, representation. This includes visuals, music, effects, control devices,…etc) Two, responses. This means we get to control the avatar. It’s pretty cool when we can jump off a building and survive!! Or die and have two more lives to go. Brilliant. Then, there are the rules that structure our video gaming lives. All lives need structure that defines your possibilities, so you know just how high you can go. Lastly, what’s better than the randomness of video games? No games are exactly alike. It’s like rolling the dice and being able to go our own direction with the way we play it.

Video games have not only grown in popularity, they have grown in perplexity and complexity as well as become more like a life simulation. Video games, like Second Life, is so similar to life, that one can work, make money, buy a home, grab coffee, converse with people, shop, and so much more. A lot of players do more in their virtual lives than they do in their real ones.

Video games might entice video gamers to become more violent in the real world, or at least have more violent thoughts. I’m not sure if this is true, but often times we overlook the positives about a particular subject after a tragedy happens (like boy shoots friend after playing World of Warcraft- made up scenario), but there are things to look forward to in the newer games. They are interactive and becoming so general in appeal that families with members of all ages can enjoy the same game together. Although people fear that parts of the digital culture separate us, which it may in other ways, video games, like the Wii, bring families together as I see it. The family X whom I have mentioned before in previous posts, may not spend a lot of time together throughout the day, but if Wii Dance is hooked up, they are all in the same room shaking their hips and moving their feet, laughing together. For this reason alone, I think video games should not get the bad rep that they’ve been given.
If you'd like to play old school mario, click this link: I will take you there! Mario Game

Thanks for reading!