The effect of time on video games.
Today video games
seem to be going in many new and different directions. One is definitely
incorporating new technology. Another is
the graphical content of the video game.
The role of the female characters in the video game has also change over
time. Video games have also become the
stories which make the movies. People
have built entire lives with video games.
Video games have also allowed players to associate with people all over
the world by simply playing a game online.
Technology has made systems where the game is played on smaller more
portable handheld consoles. Video games
have also opened the door for new employment opportunities. The effects of time on video games has been
good and bad and will continue to have mixed reviews as technology continues to
advance.
The technology as
stated before can be good and bad. The
good part of technology is that it has better graphics, more functions in games,
and handheld games. The bad is that
players of video game can becomes so engrossed in the game they could spend the
whole day playing and finish the game the same day. Games are not as challenging, for instance, I
found that I could finish the tomb raider legends (2006) game in one day. When
I played the first tomb raider (1996) it took me about 5 days to complete. There
was so much more to the first game and no doubt I liked the first game better,
than the newer high graphics one. The
good, is today's graphics, the characters are clearer and more realistic, and
their movement is much smoother. But, I
have found that better visuals do not make the game better. Also, the change in graphics has made the cartoon
looking games to slowly disappear from the gaming market.
With
better technological graphics the contents of the video games has become
bloody, violent and sexual. It is
evident that the public finds the content of these games acceptable because
sales have skyrocketed from the 1990s to the 2000. Most games do have a back story but that
story may not be appropriate for children.
To deal with that issue games are rated for their content and some games
cannot be purchased unless you're over the age of 18, but it doesn't seem to
stop children from getting their hands on them.
The games with foul language, excessive violence, and sexual innuendos
are usually the most popular game. The
bad part of video games is the fact that foul language, excessive violence;
sexual innuendos are considered entertaining to so many people, both young and
old.
Homosexuals
were also censored in video games because it was seen as “inappropriate” to
include them, so they were either cut from the game or change to not be
homosexual. Now, however, homosexuals are now allowed to be in games and some
games even allow the main character to choose their sexuality.
In
the beginning of the video games the role of the woman was very minor. The games were mostly orientated for males
but now females are also being recognized. Until the introduction of Tomb Raider,
a female archaeologist, who fought off criminals, wild animals and who handled
dangerous situations, all to obtain the item in the game. I thought Tomb Raider is a good character she
is smart, very strong and entertaining. Today
female characters play many different roles in video games now, as main
characters or side characters, and as protagonist or antagonist. One good
example of this is “GLaDOS,” an evil computer with a female voice in the game portal,
who is known as one of the best new characters created. The physical graphics of the female in the video
game is usually portrayed as very slim, fit, and beautiful and wears really
revealing clothes. In the video game Soul Calibur and its sequels they did not
allow their females to age, so they were taken out of the game. It’s as if they
had to keep a certain unrealistic image so they couldn’t get older. With more females becoming gamers, in time it
may encourage game designers to allow the female characters in the game to look
more realistic. Female gamers are also
treated differently when playing online and definitely with voice chat. I can
remember a time when I was online and a person asked if I was a girl. I told him yes he then asked what my
name was. I did feel that just because I was a girl in a chat room full of boys,
I was segregated from the group and treated differently. To counter this sort of treatment a gamer
group called “Frag Doll” was created which not only is an all girl gamer group
it also aims to promote females views and ideas in gaming. Though, not everyone likes the idea of female
gamers they are here to stay and growing in numbers.
Many video games
like, “Tomb Raider” became so popular until the movie was made about it. Other games were so entertaining until Hollywood could not
resist filling the role of the graphically designed character with a
human. Many movies, cable and TV shows
has been turned into video game. So the
gamer can feel like they are part of or have some influence over their favorite
fictional character. Financially it is a
win win situation for both the show or movie and the video game. For instance, “Dragon Ball Z” television show
explains some of the situation in video game.
On the other hand, the video game “Resident Evil” inspired the movie but
both the game and the movie went different directions when continuing the
story. Both the TV show and the video
game has kept children and some adults entertained for many years. Also, the technology used in today's video
games has been incorporated into movies.
So, you only require a voice and the technical staff to make the
character. Movies, cable and TV shows
will continue to have a relationship with video games as long as it benefits both.
Some video games
stops a person from living a real life because the virtual life seems better,
“Sims” is a game that does that. Went it
first became available people would sit for hours building neighborhoods,
people and even pets in a virtual world.
Rather than get out and live in the real world. That is the bad part about video game you
missed a lot by playing so much, time has not changed that effect at all and
now “Sims” has a “Night Life” game, and “Pets” game, among many other “Sims”
video games.
A good thing about
video game is the world wide appeal.
While playing a video game online you could meet someone and become
friends. The person could live right
around the corner or on the other side of the world, and a video game could
bring you both together. One warning, a
gamer should be very careful they chat with online. You can't see the person you're chatting with
only assume that they are telling the truth about themselves. But if you're fortunate enough to meet a
person, that holds no threat to you and you become friends it will enhance the
online video game experience, but you still need to get out and socialize with
other people.
With time video
game systems have changed. The launch of
a new video game console goes hand-in-hand with the new video game. From the ”Atari VCS” launched October, 1977
to “PlayStation 3” launched November 2006, the moment of purchasing the console
is met with hope and excitement for the gamer.
The game also change in size and capabilities from the “Nintendo Game
Boy” launched August, 1989 which is a handheld video game console to the
“PlayStation Portable” launched March, 2005 which not only plays video games,
goes online, it takes pictures and plays movies. So the good thing about that is handheld
entertainment, the bad is lack of socializing.
Over time the video
game industry has grown. Industry names
such as “EA”, “CAPCOM” and “KONAMI” to name a few have built a multi-billion
dollar industry. Jobs in this field now require
a college education and the field is continuously growing. More colleges and institutes offer game
design classes to assist in filling job opportunity in that field. Some careers include, video game developer,
character animator, 3-D modeler, and digital artist just to name a few. The continuous development of video games
will ensure creative minds to continue developing entertainment for the gamer.
Video
games are rising now and they are becoming more popular in society then they
were in the 90’s. The technology
associated with the games are also continuing to advance, the demand for the
games and not slowing down and the opportunity for more creative minds is
growing. Everyone is getting into it
either by playing with a group of friends online or by themselves, or by just
playing a game on there “iPod.,” or another handheld consol. Good or bad active entertainment, thankfully
shows no signs of slowing down.
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