The Future of Video Games as a Mainstream Pastime - Essay Example

The future of video games or online role-playing games as a mainstream pastime Student’s Name: Grade Course: Tutor’s Name: Date: The future of video games or online role-playing games as a mainstream pastime While video games are self-explanatory to many, quite a significant number of people do not understand what Role-Playing Games (RPGs) are. According to Waldron (2005), RPGs are “a form of interactive novel in which the protagonist create and control the actions of a cast of character” (p. 1). Since such games take place in a virtual environment, the characters in RPGs are controlled by a games master. As computers become a common thing in developed and developing countries in the world, RPGs are becoming a major activity for young people. Those who are yet to discover them or those who are yet to access them due to internet inaccessibility can still enjoy gaming through video games. This is slowly becoming an urban culture in most countries as reflected by Taylor (2006), who observes that online gaming and the softer video gaming are slowly becoming major activities for the young population to the extent that the government is considering regulating it. But does the future hold any prospects that video games or RPGs could ever become a mainstream pastime for people of all ages and social levels? Well, this is highly unlikely. Based on the diversity of human beings, the possibility that all people in different social levels could ever consider video gaming and/or RPGs as a conventional pastime is rather far-fetched. To imagine a world where RPGs or video games are adopted by all as a conventional way of passing time would mean that generations of people -young and old- would have adopted them. This would probably mean that the current generation of people aged 35 years and over would be no more (we are therefore talking of probably 30 years or more from now). In this time, assuming that technological innovations keep on happening, it is possible that more entertaining innovations will have taken place therefore leaving the RPGs and video games to the then older generation. Current statistics indicate that online and video games are something that appeals more to the male gender than the female gender (Lucas & Sherry, 2004). To assume a world where all people have taken up gaming as a favorite pastime would then mean that females (both young and women) would have overcome their bias for the games. This then begs the question, is it really possible for women to overcome such biases? Well, according to Lucas and Sherry (2004, p. 499), most girls and young women fail to participate in games because women by nature are attracted to situations that address their interpersonal needs for affection and inclusion. Since most RPGs and video-games to not offer such, then women have little motivation to engage in them. If the games are to inspire more players from the feminine side to participate, this analysis by Lucas and Sherry suggests that the game designers need to consider the inclusion of characters that reflects women’s need to affection and inclusion. Different perspectives RPGs and video games have been the center of much heated debates. Arguments on either side are justified with facts that can sway individuals easily. For example, in China as reported by Taylor (2006), an addiction center meant to rehabilitate online-gaming addicts was opened. Apparently, this was as a result of player spending too much time on RPGs or on video-games to the extent that they neglect healthier living. “Players often spend hour after hour in from t of PC monitors, not even taking a breather for life’s most basic necessities” (Taylor 2006, p.1). This means that although the gamers have embraced such games as a conventional way of passing time, the habit is going overboard and becoming an addiction. How then can a person who has been treated of gaming addiction in his/her youth take up RPGs or video-games in his adult years without the fear that he would re-lapse in to the addiction? It is possible that anyone who has realized that gaming was costing him or her too much time would want to refrain from the same in future and even though he or she may have some free time to spend, they may choose to take other activities such as active sports. There is also a wide ranging debate about the effects of RPGs and video games on the human mind. While proponents of the games insist that they (RPGs and video games) enhances a player’s ability to be more attentive and calculative in his daily undertakings -especially the games that require speed and precision in order to win- others argue that the fantasy nature of the games makes people less attentive to reality and could even result to diseases such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). The fact that there are some people who disapprove these theories is reason enough to argue that people with different conviction about RPGs and video games will never agree on their advantages. As fate would have it, a fraction of the society will always believe that they can be used as a conventional pastime without any harm on the individual, while another fraction will believe that the games are not only addictive but could also lead to the individual being less attentive to their immediate environments. Religiosity and the effect it has on people is also more likely impact how religious followers perceive RPGs and video games in the future. In relation to RPGs, Waldron (2005) argues that the real world of the person playing the game melts away as his feelings and his actions become indistinct from the character role he represents. As a result, the boundaries that separate reality from fantasy in the person’s mind become blurred, in which case they are more capable of engaging in anti-social or immoral activities. According to the author, it is such blurring of boundaries that can easily lead young minds away from mainstream religion consequently making the young people pagans or Satanists. While this essay has found no evidence to substantiate this allegation by the author, there seems to be a plausible explanation why some religions are so wary of PRGs. According to Waldron (2005) two deaths in 1980 and 1982 where two 16 year boys committed suicide was linked the “strange game of Dungeons and dragons” that each of the boys played. To this end, the media coverage accorded to the two different deaths argued that the game was a common factor in the two suicides. The two suicides and the analysis by the media no doubt caused a moral panic about RPGs in mainstream religions like Christianity. To justify their position, Waldron (2005) notes that churches argued that role playing is mainly used for behavior modification, any games that involved vices such as suicide, assassinations, sex pervasion, cannibalism and sadism among others could be linked to similar behaviors observed in young people who played them. The moral panic back then has been propagated in mainstream religions to create a negative perception of RPGs. This would mean that a significant percentage of the religious population would refrain from engaging in RPGs mainly due to the fear instilled in them about possible consequences of the same. Since a significant percentage of the population is religious at any one point, this means that those who pay interest to the moral ideas passed forth by religion regarding the negative nature of RPGs would refrain from playing them. This would make it highly unlikely that people of all ages would take up RPGs or video games as a conventional pastime activity. The issue of changing interests as one grows older may also affect a universal adoption of RPGs and video games as a contemporary pastime that transcends the age barrier, According to Snyder( 1998, p. 235), over 70 percent of all homes in the UK had computer games installed in their home PCs. However, the games were mainly played by the young people in the households and rarely did the adults engage in the same. As fate dictates, most people have considerable more free time that their older counterparts mainly because they do not have as many commitment to engage in. As people mature, get married and establish careers, most of their free time is spent relaxing rather than engaging in taxing RPGs or video games where one is supposed to beat their opponents. As such, the active middle-aged people are more likely to seek other relaxing ways of passing time. The older generation whose family responsibilities have waned as they grew older may have other social interests to pursue rather than RPGs or video-games, which may prove too demanding for their age. Since technology is fast evolving, it is also possible that the RPGs and video games that the current generation enjoy playing to will have changed significantly by the time they regain interest in gaming (probably after retirement). Without a motivation to learn the new games and rules, older people may just give up online or video-games, thus negating the possibility that RPGs and /or video games would become a universal pastime in future. The different social classes may mean that different people engage in RPGs and video-games at different intensities. Parents from poor backgrounds may encourage their children to dedicate more time studying or participating in active sports due to the associated benefits, while more affluent parent may be able to allow their children more time to experiment with the RPGs and video games. Conclusion Various cultural, social and behavioral hurdles would have to be overcome if RPGs or video games are to be accepted as conventional pastime activities in future. The possibility of this happening across all social classes and to people of different ages is a difficult scenario to fathom. The situation is made even more unlikely by the moral dilemmas that some RPGs and video games place on certain segments of the population. As observed above, just two suicides; one in 1980 and the other in 1982- were enough to raise concerns among Christians that RPGs could have the ability to instill suicidal thoughts in players. While no conclusive evidence exist to suggest that this was indeed the case, several theories were used by the Christian fraternity both in the United States and Australia to convince Christians that the games may have some negative effects on their children. Other factors such as gaming addiction, and their perceived effect on one’s attentive and concentration capabilities may all affect the rate at which people are willing to experiment with them or even take them up as the preferred pastime activities. For this reason, this essay holds the opinion that the possibility that RPGs or video games will become a mainstream pastime for people of all ages and social levels in future does not exist. References Lucas, k. & Sherry, J. L 2004, Sex Differences in Video Game Play: A communication-Based Explanation, Communication Research, 31(5), pp. 499-523. Snyder, I 1998, Page to Screen: Taking literacy into the electronic era, Routledge, New York. Taylor, R 2006, China Wrestles with online gamers, BBC News –Click, Viewed July 20, 2010 < http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/4887236.stm> Waldron, D 2005, ‘Role-playing games and the Christian right: community formation in response to a moral panic,’ Journal of Religion and Popular Culture, vol. 9. Viewed July 19, 2010, < http://www.usask.ca/relst/jrpc/art9-roleplaying-print.html> Read More

Well, according to Lucas and Sherry (2004, p. 499), most girls and young women fail to participate in games because women by nature are attracted to situations that address their interpersonal needs for affection and inclusion. Since most RPGs and video-games to not offer such, then women have little motivation to engage in them. If the games are to inspire more players from the feminine side to participate, this analysis by Lucas and Sherry suggests that the game designers need to consider the inclusion of characters that reflects women’s need to affection and inclusion.

Different perspectives RPGs and video games have been the center of much heated debates. Arguments on either side are justified with facts that can sway individuals easily. For example, in China as reported by Taylor (2006), an addiction center meant to rehabilitate online-gaming addicts was opened. Apparently, this was as a result of player spending too much time on RPGs or on video-games to the extent that they neglect healthier living. “Players often spend hour after hour in from t of PC monitors, not even taking a breather for life’s most basic necessities” (Taylor 2006, p.1). This means that although the gamers have embraced such games as a conventional way of passing time, the habit is going overboard and becoming an addiction.

How then can a person who has been treated of gaming addiction in his/her youth take up RPGs or video-games in his adult years without the fear that he would re-lapse in to the addiction? It is possible that anyone who has realized that gaming was costing him or her too much time would want to refrain from the same in future and even though he or she may have some free time to spend, they may choose to take other activities such as active sports. There is also a wide ranging debate about the effects of RPGs and video games on the human mind.

While proponents of the games insist that they (RPGs and video games) enhances a player’s ability to be more attentive and calculative in his daily undertakings -especially the games that require speed and precision in order to win- others argue that the fantasy nature of the games makes people less attentive to reality and could even result to diseases such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). The fact that there are some people who disapprove these theories is reason enough to argue that people with different conviction about RPGs and video games will never agree on their advantages.

As fate would have it, a fraction of the society will always believe that they can be used as a conventional pastime without any harm on the individual, while another fraction will believe that the games are not only addictive but could also lead to the individual being less attentive to their immediate environments. Religiosity and the effect it has on people is also more likely impact how religious followers perceive RPGs and video games in the future. In relation to RPGs, Waldron (2005) argues that the real world of the person playing the game melts away as his feelings and his actions become indistinct from the character role he represents.

As a result, the boundaries that separate reality from fantasy in the person’s mind become blurred, in which case they are more capable of engaging in anti-social or immoral activities. According to the author, it is such blurring of boundaries that can easily lead young minds away from mainstream religion consequently making the young people pagans or Satanists. While this essay has found no evidence to substantiate this allegation by the author, there seems to be a plausible explanation why some religions are so wary of PRGs.

According to Waldron (2005) two deaths in 1980 and 1982 where two 16 year boys committed suicide was linked the “strange game of Dungeons and dragons” that each of the boys played. To this end, the media coverage accorded to the two different deaths argued that the game was a common factor in the two suicides. The two suicides and the analysis by the media no doubt caused a moral panic about RPGs in mainstream religions like Christianity.

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