Stage 3 - Part 5 - "Well, I think it is true"

I believe this is a safe distance to observe them...

I am always eager to investigate social patterns and behaviours; how they spawn, how they spread and how difficult it is to revert them. As video games are a close, personal passion of mine I do spend a great deal of time looking at the community I am a part of and observe behaviours of others around me. As a Christian mixed race male I do the very same where relevant.


It is an unfortunate truth that most of us have to deal with, even those of us who are not! Right now, I feel like a racist whose only opinion on minorities is based on what they see via the media, which I honestly find fair; I have no intention of spending time with the "TOWIE" team, but I am sure they are all really quite tolerable in person. I have, however, lived and breathed amongst them, embraced their "ecosystem" of junk food, anonymity abuse and complete lack of social etiquette which led me down a dangerous path myself.


The topic this week, has been sparked by both recent events and a conversation I had with a friend of mine, Simon, who I engaged on the subject of gamer's behaviour. You may notice, both on my blog and in person, that I will put up a huge defence against those who ignorantly judge people for gaming, just like any other person would. It becomes a challenge, however, when you observe the culture or lifestyle you have embraced for so long and see negative stereotypes and attitudes being portrayed.

"You mean... God DOESN'T hate fags?"

 For example, amongst the many reasons I was upset to see the path of destruction left after the riots in London earlier in year, it was the number of black people I saw. "That's not a good look" was all I was thinking. The same goes for the Westboro Baptist Church who put shame to the beliefs I have held strong for so long. With gamers, it is just this.


Several years ago, EA released "Spore"; a game based exclusively around the evolution, from an amoeba to a space travelling civilisation, that the user creates from scratch. Personally, I considered it not far short of a masterpiece. The promotional videos were ever encouraging, and the final product had me playing through quite a few times. So what was the problem?


DRM (Digital Rights Management). The concept of it was that EA could monitor and limit the number of times the game could be installed, to prevent sharing and second hand purchases. Go deeper in, and what this also meant was that the software could monitor the "actions and movements" of the PC/Mac's user. Gamers were outraged. So much so, that they attempted to boycott the game and hinder sales. I am unaware as to how (un)successful they were, but this should give you a good idea.


Moving passed other events up to this year, there are two instances of cringe worthy antics that left a lot to be desired. Modern Warfare 3 was released no so long ago, and with the age old, crowd splitting war between the Battlefield and Call of Duty series, it was almost not surprising to see the unfortunate backlash of either REALLY disappointed CoD fans, or embarrassingly delinquent BF fans. If you are unaware of what I am talking about, TRY and put down Skyrim for 10 seconds and give it a read.

I know right?!

The last instance was very recent, when Skyrim was actually released. The hype was unmentionable, I couldn't breathe for not hearing about it and rightly so... I hear. Within a particular community though, there was a great deal of excitement, and it seemed the entire site was an unofficial Skyrim fan forum. When the game came out though, not 24 hours had it sat on the shelves before someone posted a link to download the game for free... I do not have the time or patience to go into that right now, I am already taking deep breaths to calm myself.


Now in reference to the anti-social behaviour regarding video games, my good friend Simon did mention that books and movies are also partially anti-social activities. You can spend long periods of time by yourself or at least, not interacting with anyone else to sink yourself into the world being presented to you. Very true with games. You can get too immersed, but the difference did lie in substance. Literature and films genres have had opportunity to spread thick and wide, so you could find yourself cultured, sophisticated and possibly smarter through reading particular books and watching certain films. But where are the games that do this for you?

To be fair, she could be playing Brain Training while he reads ZOO... I am confident she farted...

I struggle to take good examples from any RECENT titles, and perhaps any titles in history, that offer an experience that would increase your "worldly" knowledge, maturity and general decorum*. You could argue this is what games are categorically not for, but in another vein, I would have to make the point that a source of entertain reaches a position of global acceptance when people of all backgrounds can see a benefit from it.


How does this all relate to gamers today? Well, the fact that substance is lacking, and like people who obsess with reality TV shows and gossip magazines (and very little else I hasten to add), they are soon drained to the bones of substance themself and live a life that only understands what they absorb. Gaming today has a huge impression on a lot of people, not always directly, but they will inevitably mold the minds of gamers and what are they being molded into? Well, there's Marcus Fenix, Soap and MacTavish, Kratos, Master Chief, Johnny Gat, Grayson Hunt, and a whole smorgasbord of characters from Rockstar's games. In short, arrogant, gun toting (apart from Kratos) killers who don't like losing. Now I am sure you all have an argument about how all game characters are not like that, and I know. But which games are flying off the shelves today...?

He did start to get on my tits. I'm glad he's de...finitely mentioned lots in the third one. Yup.

I should stress though, it isn't the characters I am concerned with, it is the shallow and unintellectual pools they exist in. These characters could have more than 1 dimension, but the stories and universes that surround them do not want to allow it. I think it is a darn shame.


The opportunity to avoid outlandish and childish behaviour from games is the same opportunity to raise games onto a higher platform as a form of entertainment. While I am confident it will not solve all the problems out there, I am beyond confident that should the market take a sudden turn towards content with substance and intellectual depth, gamers will change... but then again, the market would need to change. Unfortunately that may never happen.

*I suddenly thought, Nathan Drake's character in Uncharted is, to me, as best a "role model" as you could find in games. He has charm, charisma and is adventurous and brave. I am sure these are wildly popular attributes amongst many! Possibly one of this biggest reasons the game is so popular. I wouldn't play if Drake was a dick...

...but he ISN'T! Ah he's like the Ryan Reynolds of games. I would have a major bromance with Nathan Drake. I said it, I don't care.

If you have anything you wish to share with me or indeed the readers, feel free to comment or e-mail me at twentyfiveand0@hotmail.co.uk - Don't forget to check outthe What Have I Been Playing pages found on the right! OR Check out my channel at www.youtube.com/ike1luv