It’s not an argument for or against the “Games as Art” thing. Think of it more like how after you watched Super Mario Brothers: The Movie, you never looked at those plumbers quite the same way.
(The recent release of Crackdown 3 reminded me I wrote this a LONG time ago… somewhere.)
Ever since people started to imagine pretty much anything, those that read or heard stories of amazing or fantastical tales have thought about what it would be like to accomplish them. I mean that’s what having an imagination is all about, right? Kids and adults alike have thought about what it would be like to soar through the air like Superman. Who hasn’t at some point in their life thought about how much fun (innocent or not) you could have if you could be invisible.
This article was started a long time ago oddly enough by the Tony Hawk series. Back when this series first started, I used to play the HELL out of those games. I only started to realize my addiction when I would go out into the “real world” and see things differently. I would walk down the stairs and think, “I wonder what it would be like to grind that” or “I wonder how many points I would get for doing a benihana across that gap.” I still find myself thinking that way at times.
However, it’s not just Tony Hawk that did it. Probably the biggest reason that myself or anyone might see the world this way is Crackdown. If you have played that game for longer than a couple hours, tell me that when you went outside you didn’t think “If this were the game, there would be an agility orb right there” while staring at a really tall building.
Most recently the trigger for this imaginative look at life has come from Just Cause 2. Think about it. If you had the ability to jump out of a plane (that you were flying without any prior knowledge) skydive for several minutes, grappling hook a building, and the open one of your infinite parachutes and float down to earth… wouldn’t you do it? Sure it’s a childish way of thinking, but that’s part of the fun. If we didn’t have a little imagination, we would all go mad from boredom.
I guess my point is this; For all the people that say playing violent games makes you a violent person, that’s a crock. I have been playing violent games since before there was ANY kind of rating system, and it has never made me think about killing anyone or hurting myself. If anything, games have made me see more of the fun side of life, and the more they have stimulated my imagination. Games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto aren’t games that are meant to teach anyone anything; they are simply an outlet. Most kids and adults know how to separate reality from fiction. If you think that games will make your kids evil or mean, you probably think that “Reality Television” is “REAL.” Well, it isn’t. Sorry.
As for your kids? Simply talk to them. Make sure they know that none of the things they see in games are real. Unlike games, real life has consequences, sometimes VERY harsh ones. That’s what being a parent is all about, parenting your kids and being their mentor. They aren’t just a tax write off, they are globs of clay that you need to mold into a (somewhat) productive member of society. My kid is going to have a hard time growing up without video games in his life, in some way shape or form. As soon as he is old enough to understand we’ll have that talk.
Life has no reset button, sure we all know that. However, it is only as fun as you make it.
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