Friday, January 18, 2008
No Longer Noobs
I’m not afraid to admit it. I have a level 70 Blood Elf Priest that resides on the servers of World of Warcraft; I have a subscription to Xbox Live; I know the difference between a FPS, RGP, RTS and MMORPG. In layman’s terms, I play video games. Now what images does this fact conjure up in your mind? Stereotypically, you may think that people who engage in video game play are social shut-outs, individuals with little to no social skills, obsessed with their games, and terribly lazy. Fortunately, this assumption can no longer be made. Video gamers are no longer the shrew-like cretins they once were. Instead, they have evolved and grown in response the evolution of the video game industry itself. In the last ten years, the video game industry has been growing at an exponential rate. Better technologies have allowed the field to make leaps and bounds, making videogames more accessible, fun, and enjoyable to the average person. Indeed the appeal of video games has grown, as evidenced by the 9 million subscribers to the video game, World of Warcraft, and the 10 million unique subscribers to Xbox live, an online video game service. Even popular websites, like miniclip.com, that host online video games, receive 34 million unique users a month. The video game culture is expanding; it is no longer the exclusive nerd club it once was. It is now becoming a pastime as commonplace as watching a movie. Video games are even becoming a popular part of campus life. Games like Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero are great party games that almost every person at BYU has played. In fact, Guitar Hero will be a featured part of an upcoming school sponsored dance. Of course, there are still the last vestiges of the unevolved video gamer, with his blood-shot eyes, breathing impairment, and nasally voice. But in a group of at least 100 million people who have played at least one video game, there are bound to be a few who haven’t caught on. On the whole, the video game culture has expanded to include normal everyday people who live balanced lives and prove that the video game culture has expanded past its outdated stigma.
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6 comments:
Its true normal people do play video games as well as geeks without any social life there is much more diversity now.
First, well done with the level 70 Blood Elf. Second, what you said was true. Even the so called "jocks" are getting in on the video gaming these days.
Good ethos; you definitely seem to be an expert on video games. I can see the relevance to BYU students and your points seem valid, but what is your thesis going to prove? The only point I found you proved was that video game playing is becoming more common. I am sure you could take this a step farther. Keep in mind counter arguments such as: People who play video games are still wasting their time away staring at a screen when they could be improving their physically fitness, reading a good book, or doing service. Obesity is becoming more ordinary just like video game playing which may be very closely linked.
I like how you started off proving your knowledge of video games. Your points are also spot on by saying that video gamers are now anyone who has some free time, however, I had a hard time seeing a thesis and a direct relevance to BYU audience. I just do not know what you are try to prove.
I thought this was was a very successful post because the image that came to my mind first was of a socially stunted kid who never leaves his room. However, after finishing the post I realized that many of my friends (whose social skills are just fine) spend a lot of time playing video games. It really is true that playing video games is not indicative of social skills. I definitely got the main idea from the writing, but I'm not sure I could pick out a specific thesis statement.
This was a very good post. You established yourself as a credible source about normal people playing video games and you picked a great time to write about this. Oh, and I am very impressed with the LVL. 70 Blood Elf Priest. I have never had the patience to play that game long enough.
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