Not what the gaming industry needs

I can picture the article now:-

 

"With the PS3 network down, day upon day, you have to feel sorry for the everyday gamer with the average attention span and hygiene of a Springer spaniel. His life is firmly at risk our there in what I'll call reality for now.

 

The outside world is a scary place for the gamer – it resembles a horror platform, role playing, space trading, strategy adventure that he might not just survive. Out in the real world, things move slower for a start, much slower. Each passing pram, jogger or cyclist is the equivalent of acid flashback. Each seagull, magpie and pigeon is a golden eagle to be ducked on the way to the next level – or McDonalds. Every person in a uniform is a potential target. If this interruption goes on for much longer, gamers welded to their lightweight steering wheels will take to the real roads to get their fix and cause carnage up and down our high streets."

 

Or that's what the mainstream press will be having us believe if the PS3 network stays dead for the weekend. Such is the reputation of the games industry among those who've not tasted the Kool Aid. The  mistake that many detractors of games, gamers and the gaming community make – is that somehow, they, it and everyone else involved are dead set on turning their brains to mush and taking everyone down with them. Gaming wastes everyone's time, and guess what, the trash still hasn't been taken out and the car hasn't been washed. Games are bad, are young people are being turned in something we can't control and top it all off, now some other gamer is stealing all the money. What's to be done?

 

Gaming does have a reputation as a mindless pre-occupation. But I'd argue we don't scoff at trainspotters or birders, but given those two activities, I know I'd much rather be killing zombies or racing dune buggies. There are plenty of enjoyable activities that don't end in a tangible result. Can I just say the word jazz?

 

I think the reputation problem partly stems from the idea that there is a perceived relationship between video games and violence. The seed was planted and despite Nintendo's positive gaming campaigns and family friendly consoles, Killzone 3 will never replace Scrabble round the family kitchen table at Christmas. Partly it's come from a history of families owning a series of increasingly powerful machines – and let's be honest, not seeing any functional benefit and then there's the ongoing cost of the games themselves, the games that hog the TV and stop the normal discourse of family life.

 

Games and gamers are not all about chaos and destruction, despite what you might see your youngster blowing the shit out of. What is less understood is that the gaming environment is, more often than not, based around control rather than mindless destruction of people in uniforms and property. Gaming is about taking control of your own destiny in a world that is more defined and understandable than the world people find in their newspapers and on their televisions. Gaming is about completing goals and being successful. Gaming is about puzzle solving and impressing your friends. Gaming is about be enriched and being tired afterward.

 

So it turns out gaming is actually what life in the outside world should be about and why should we be surprised? Games come from life, so why treat them any differently to any other media? In theory, "I'm just going to watch a movie for a couple of hours" should amount to the same currency as "I'm going to drive roundNew York shooting and stealing stuff for a bit." We all know it doesn't. "I'm just going to watch the Godfather Trilogy" might be slightly more accurate, such is the depth of the gaming experience.

 

It would be noteworthy to discover how many young gamers have given up waiting for the PlayStation Network to grow a pair of legs and stand up for itself and indeed use their own legs to go outside and do something less interesting instead - like riding a bike, climbing a tree, breaking a collarbone, a wrist or two. Let's hope everyone who goes outside this weekend if the PS3 network is still down, can take some more control, complete some goals and impress some friends without being a total dick.