It's Under Control

I'll be the first to admit that I am no good at old school video games. I've been too pampered by these newer games that I've developed a new standard. Old games are tough, nobody can deny that, but They are tough for a myriad of reasons, one of which being that developers were under the idea that a game would most likely be the player's only game, and they would ramp up the difficulty to make the game last longer. That is true. For me, part of that difficulty comes down to the controller.

The old NES controller only had two buttons, and the directional pad. The other two buttons were primarily used for bringing up the pause screen or a quick change of equipment, essential but not the primary functions of most games. This was a limitation of control. It made sense, for the time, as most games were based off of the simplistic controls of their video arcade counterparts. Most arcade games only had a joystick and one or two buttons. Again, the design philosophy behind these games were that they were to be so difficult that the player would lose and lose, thereby extending the life of the game. Games were just things to occupy time for a few hours, and meant to be something more of a toy than what they would eventually become.



Video games apparently caught like wildfire, as the NES sold 61.91 million units since its release in 1983. That's quite a lot. As gaming grew to be something more than just a thing to keep the kids occupied for a few hours, so did the necessity for a more advanced controller. Gaming was getting more advanced with new emerging technologies. Video games could do more, and players would need a way to do more with them.




The way in which controllers have evolved, allows for players to have more control over their games. The amount of control that players have over the characters in the video game still has a great deal to do with the games' programming. However, with more buttons, analog sticks, and even a little bit of motion control, players have more functions to work with. With these functions players can do more within the game space. For most, all of these buttons seem a bit intimidating, though I feel that all of these buttons are out of necessity. Because each button corresponds to something within the game, the player has more control.

I think that I'm no good at the older generations of video games, mostly because I have been pampered by these fancy, new controllers with their multiple buttons, and games and their expansion from being something that challenges the player to engaging them. With the older generation of games, design philosophies were different, technology was different, and controllers didn't offer much control. Yet, they did what they had to, and they survived for their generation to bring us new and better things. Games, as well as their controllers are constantly evolving, and with that comes exciting new possibilities.

Can Video Games Be Monumental?

Video games have certainly come a long way. Not just in terms of technology, but also in the way that they tell stories, engage players, and the way in which developers are constantly shaping the way that we look at video games. Video games are now considered to be an art form by the government, and are protected by the constitution. Gamers everywhere have donated countless dollars to charities through livestreams, and Child's Play. Video games, and gamers alike have done a lot of good, yet I still feel as though they get a bad reputation. They're constantly shaping the entertainment industry, and are constantly evolving, but will they leave an impact on history? Will we be able to look back on video games, and say that they were something more than just a game. Could a game have such an impact on society, on culture, that it could be considered monumental?

Throughout history there have been great artists and entertainers, directors and writers. They have all left an impact on their societies and their names are known throughout the world. Shakespear, Mozart, Da Vinci, these are artists who are known by everyone. Will something such as a video game be able to rise to the level of these great creators? Games are indeed art, not just because the government says so. Games change the way that we look at narrative, and involve the audience in a way that no other medium has. Why don't games get this sort of recognition?

The trouble with video games is that they are a relatively new form of art. Video games have only been around for roughly sixty years. It seems to be tradition of society to want to banish anything that is new. It happened with rock and roll, it happened with comic books, and now video games are the current target of previous generations scorn. While video games have made great strides forward, they will forever be misunderstood by those who did not grow up with them. The video game console was originally marketed as a new kind of toy for youths, which is why older generations view them as such.

Another problem with games, are the people that play them. Gamers conduct themselves in the most inappropriate manner, and are the loudest and most foul people on the internet. The dregs of society exist on Xbox Live, and every single one of them has a YouTube account to write the most hateful things to people and organizations whom they have never met. Worse still, gamers fight among each other. Each generation of consoles, there is a new debate over which one is better. They go on and on about specs, and exclusives, and various things that in the end do nothing but separate us. This bigotry has to stop. Instead, we need to be united under the common banner of games. We all enjoy games, and we play and scrutinize them constantly. We love games, and that's why we spend so much time with them. We should be talking about why we like these games, and be able to openly discuss this without fear of being talked down to, or harassed, for our taste in games. Aside from our petty squabbles between us gamers, apparently the entire nation of gamers will lash out at anyone who says there is something wrong with video games.

Recently, Anita Sarkeesian posted yet another video in her series "Tropes vs. Women in Video Games", and the entire community of gamers attacked Sarkeesian for this. Ms. Sarkeesian brings up many valid points about the treatment of female characters in video games, most of which are negative. It may not take a detective to see that women get the short end of the stick in video games, but it still needs to be said. However, when someone does say something about it, namely Anita Sarkeesian, gamers will flock together to unleash a storm of hate and ignorance. THIS IS NOT HOW WE SHOULD CONDUCT OURSELVES! Not only as gamers, but as human beings. This is truly a sad time when someone gets run out of their house because of the constant threats to their well being, simply because they pointed something out that they feel needs to change. The gaming community cannot continue to go on like this. It's disgraceful.

It is important to have a strong sense of community when it comes to respecting the classics of a particular art form. It brings us closer together when we can all gather around something that we unanimously enjoy. However, part of what makes something monumental, is that it is universally recognized as something that is truly great. When the gaming community latches on to something, they close themselves off from any outside argument or standpoint. They shut themselves in from the rest of the world, and only look to whatever it is that they admire, and they wont let anyone else in. This is another pathetic display of the conduct of gamers. It isn't just with video games either. This mentality will not make us anymore mature, or help our communities grow. This is why I do not believe that games can be considered monumental.

For as much as I adore games, and for as much respect as I try to show them. I am but one small voice among a sea of hate. I want games to be respected, and I want to show the world what it is about them that I admire, yet with all of the other gamers out there who conduct themselves in such a despicable and apathetic manner, I will constantly be discounted as one of them. There are those of us out there who want to change the conversation of video games just as much as I do, and they sit up on high places so that they can be heard. But, the ignorance and belligerence of the gaming community discounts them just as much as it does me.

However, that doesn't mean that I should stop. There have been haters throughout all of history. Many great people stood up against those that stood in their way, and they pushed right on past them. I may not reach that status of greatness, but I will continue to write, and I will continue to change peoples minds about video games, because they are something that is worth talking about. Games have the potential to be monumental, and they have the potential to be something that is widely considered magnificent, and I truly believe that. I want to change the conversation about video games, and I want to open closed minds to what they are and what they have done for me. Video games matter, and they are art, and they are something worth talking about.




ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED 100G - Prolific
- Make 100 posts on your blog.

I did it! I've kept at this stupid little blog to write about video games. I don't know how many of you out there actually read this thing, but it's where I come to hone my writing skills and come up with new ideas to talk about games with, and I am thankful for those of you who have stood by me and gave me feedback. In other words, thanks mom. I love you.