I went to a debate about video games, entertainment and their role in our culture, with 4 different experts, on the effect on adults and children, and with movie clips to spark discussion. This is what it inspired me to write, maybe it can inspire you too!
Video games… are they really a part of our culture, or just some form of entertainment? How do they compare to movies, music, books and stories? What is entertainment even for?
Let me take you in a journey that goes all the way back to antic Greece, and the notions of catharsis and memesis.
https://open.spotify.com/track/5TXuCg39hYvbTiEF1juyEY?si=xEwRhN_PRAOCZqVquaUVHw%0A
- On playing
It’s quite critical for children to play.
One example of this from a very young age would be “pickaboo”, the game where we create a bit of tension (where is mama?) and then resolve it (here!) creating laughter.
Games are to learn to live, not in a theoretical way but in a fun, diverse and evolving one.
Adolescents will also play, hopefully discovering their identity, trying team sports etc as they do so. With art, even?
That’s where video games can truly shine, as a portal to another life! Suddenly we’re no longer just Max, the 10 years old, instead we become a God, an adventurer and more! Even those who don’t have the most fruitful of imaginations can have just as much fun.
The potential is great, for instance here is a text-based “game” to discover ourselves.
- Memesis, and the interest of fear
Let’s go back to when we were kids. Who didn’t like stories?
Surely stories are good for the imagination, but I won’t dive into that here. The way they connect with video games is that they can also teach us to deal with fear, by being confronted with a weaker version of it, a simple reflection. That way when something really scary comes, we’ll be more ready.
Stories can put us in someone else’ shoes. They can also let us explore another identity, which can be freeing, explorative, especially at a young age when we’re looking for ours.
In that context video games are the medium where we will be the most immersed into a different situation. The most distracted from this life, in another one. But is that really a good thing?
- Immersion
In games we’re fully present. Time is altered, there is no dullness, no boring parts, time is accelerated.
We get to fully feel in someone else’s place in a way that’s stronger than what movies can do. We get to actually make choices, act.
Naturally, it can be an escape from life, as it will allow us not to no longer be ourselves, but at least to focus on other things, to forget our problems. But also to be intellectually, visually stimulated.
There is something that must be addressed, however. Not all games are the same. Some try to trap us in a dark loop, and should be avoided. Heck, it’s not only games, social media can do it too.
Much like social media, games can allow us to make friends, especially for those of a more introverted nature, offering a most welcomed slight distance from others, like it is all happening in a world of its own.
However it is good to note that both are quite recent, and as it often is the case, when a new addition is made to human culture, some take a distance from it, and rightfully so. We can see this with AI, we fear the impact it might have on society. So much so we did some movies about it like terminator. But why do we create them?
- Catharsis, and why we create and consume
It’s quite simple: we create culture to express what we want to communicate to others, to have an influence on the collective culture of what others think, and we consume them for the opposite, to feel those things others want us to feel, to expand our perspective. For instance, after a time of war, many will turn to writing to process what happened to them, to share, and hopefully be understood, to impact culture.
When we consume it, it has the potential to shape our world view, and it can come in many forms, just like we can feel and express in many forms, beyond just words.
There are great movies like Soul and Shawshank redemption, great games like endless sky and baldur’s gate, great musics like classical music… great art like Van Gogh and …
Which ones we like can say a lot about us.
Isn’t life a video game of sorts? No other games can compare with its depth, with its beauty, its storytelling and countless possibilities. Shouldn’t we be playful with it, try things, spice up conversation?
And at other times, shouldn’t we sometimes try to sit with the silence, instead of rushing to divert ourselves? It’s a long game!
Of course, life is more than just a game. A theater play, perhaps? If so, what character do you play? What does your story tell?