Video Gaming: The Forgotten Hobby

The gamer. A nocturnal creature, allergic to sunlight, social situations and often identified by their square eyes. This is the stereotype that video gamers are still associated with and by looking around the UK high street, it is evident why we are not viewed in the same light as music or film lovers. Both music and film are individual experiences, however in these industries fans can enjoy their medium whilst sharing a social experience in the form of cinema and concerts. The Video game market is bigger than both of these industries, yet there still is a distinct lack of provisions to motivate the everyday gamer just to want to take their passion outside of their bedroom.

Don't get me wrong there is no smoke without the fire, and a large portion of video gamers do fit this stereotype but without avenues for gamers to play in social situations then this industry will continue to stay as a back room form of entertainment. This current age of gaming took a step in the right direction with online gaming allowing voice communication and global competition. But ultimately we are sacrificing the growth of a potentially massive industry by encouraging gaming as a solitary lifestyle.
 
The original Legend of Zelda was made with the intention of communal gaming. An extremely hard game with no direction, released at a time where internet walkthroughs weren't around. The idea was that players would discover different things through individual play and then swap notes with friends, encouraging teamwork and creating a shared experience. By all means I am not saying we should all move away from single player adventures, games are at their finest absorbing you into a world and letting you experience a story. It's the publishers who need to refrain from spoon feeding gamers, instead of challenging us which makes us seek out help from other gamers and creating social interaction.
 
We don’t need to sacrifice depth with width. The industry as a whole needs to invest in more ways to make video gaming acceptable in today's social culture. We can learn from mistakes that we have made in the past, in terms of expanding too thinly and ignoring the hardcore, and instead we can turn video games into the biggest form of worldwide entertainment. Financially it already is, even without majority public support the gaming industry is more profitable than any other form of entertainment. This is a testament to the power that games have over individuals and the passion it instils within them.
 
Communal gaming centres like Xtreme Gaming (see previous article) boost not just the sociability of gaming, but further raise the competitive bar of gaming as a sport. The definition of a sport is, "An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others." If Darts is classed as a sport then gaming most certainly can be. Publishers should be hosting tournaments in every city not just one major global city once a year. If we spread gaming as the competitive and professional sport that we treat it as, continually push the benefits of gaming into mainstream view, it will gain momentum and be taken seriously.
 
Some people might remember the TV channel Game Network, a channel 100% dedicated to competitive video gaming and gaming news. Evening programming consisted of live matches of competitive genre's such as FPS and sport. Whilst reviews, news and trailers were shown during the day. The channel presented gaming as a serious business with cash prizes for winners, however it was cancelled in 2005. This is how gaming should be presented to the masses and with more effort from publishing houses, console producers, and the everyday gamer we can destroy the stigma surrounding the current form of the industry.
 
A future where Video gamers gain social acceptance, and dare I say respect, is within our grasp. All we need to do as a gaming community is to reach up and push our passion into the spotlight it so righteously deserves. No longer do we need to barricade ourselves in our bedrooms. No longer should we be labelled geeks and nerds. No longer will we hide in the shadows. My life has been a lie. I have lived hiding the truth, afraid of ridicule from my peers. But no more. I am a gamer. Why aren't we all?




Image credit: www.telegraph.co.uk