Gaming I.R.L.

'Gamers' can be seen as a cultural group that some people do not want to belong to. In an 'IGN' interview the massively popular video game franchise 'Call of Duty' (2003 - 2013) creators 'Infinity Ward' stated that their fans and players "aren't hardcore gamers, or even gamers, but they play Call of Duty every night." (IGN, 2013) This throws up a question of what a gamer is, which differs to what person you ask. Jane McGonigal would argue that games make us better and she dies so in her book 'Reality is Broken'.

When describing a game McGonigal states, "When you strip away the genre differences and technological complexities, all games share four defining traits: a goal, rules, a feedback system, a voluntary participation" (McGonigal, 2011: 21). If we look at an  example we can easily see what she is talking about, let's look at the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) title 'Super Mario Bros.' (1985). The goal in Super Mario Bros. was to rescue the Princess, the rules were that you have a certain number of lives, creatures can kill you and you can get power ups for your character. A feedback system was in place that told us how we got on, how many coin we have collected and how far into the game we are. As for voluntary participation, at anytime we can walk away from the game if we choose. McGonigal's explanation of a game in this sense seems spots on though what if we looked deeper into why we play the games?

Video Games can be viewed as an escape from real life, a common new media term when talking online and even when in person is 'I.R.L.' (in real life). Even this term suggests that we view games as another 'universe', somewhere were our lives are different. Our own realities are not as satisfying as within our games, no stimulation, challenge or goals. This could end in no enjoyment in our life, although with games we can have immediate gratification, whether it be saving the universe in 'Mass Effect 3' (2012) or living a fantasy life of adventure in 'World of Warcraft' (2004).

Games can have a good effect on our lives in real situations, take the game 'Tetris' for example, this improves our puzzle solving skills while we play, or our team building in the 'Halo' series (2001 - 2013) while playing team objective game types. There are even games designed to improve us, like 'Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training' (2006) which tries to improve our reaction time, mathematics, spelling and more.
"A game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism, at something we're good at." (McGonigal, 2011: 22)


Bibliography

Bioware, 2012, Mass Effect 3, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Electronic Arts.

Blizzard Entertainment, 2004, World of Warcraft, Computer Game, PC and OS, Blizzard Entertainment.

Bungie, 2001, Halo: Combat Evolved, Console Game, Xbox, Microsoft Studios.

IGN (2013) Call of Duty Players 'Aren't Hardcore Gamers', Says Infinity Ward [Online]. Available at: http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/10/21/call-of-duty-players-arent-hardcore-gamers-says-infinity-ward (Accessed: 13 November 2013)

Infinity Ward, 2003, Call of Duty, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Activision.

McGonigal, J (2011) Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better And Why They Can Change The World. Penguin Press HC.

Nintendo, 2006, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain?, Nintendo DS, Nintendo.

Nintendo EAD, 1985, Super Mario Bros., Console Game, NES, Nintendo.

Pajitnov, A, 1984, Tetris, Computer and Console Game, Multiple Formats, Spectrum HoloByte.