My View of Video Games

    Video games are a fairly recent medium. And it seems to be a pattern that whenever a new medium comes out it is under attack. Why? That is a question I have been asking for a while now. I have been playing video games for a very long time, basically my whole life. Yet also for a long time I have heard arguments made that video games are bad. That they lessen and warp the mind, that they inspire violence, that they are a waste of time. These arguments seem very common place. I began to ask myself questions. I wanted to know why there was such hostility toward video games? Why did so many people think that playing them was bad for you? How could so many people have such disdain, and yes, even hatred for this medium that I love? How could something that I have grown up playing all my life, that has had such a positive effect on me, be bad? So I began to think about it. I studied, formed my own thoughts, and came to my own conclusions. I have always been a studier. I spend a great deal of my time reading. I have studied in depth great works by such authors as Plato, Shakespeare, Aristotle, Euclid, the Founding Fathers, and many others. Through my studying I have learned to read, think, and understand great ideas. Some of these authors I have enjoyed studying, some I have struggled with. Yet I found a great enjoyment when I began to study video games. Part of this was because I love video games so much. Part of it was because I grew excited when I realized just how many games incorporated many of the great ideas and themes that the great authors of the world expressed. And part of it was just realizing how beneficial video games are. I have always known that video games had things to learn in them. My friends and I have had, on many an occasion, colloquiums in which we discussed the stories and ideas presented within video games. So when I began to study several games in depth it only intensified my deeply held belief that video games are, in fact, a good and positive thing for people to play. So I decided that I wanted to share my view of video games with others, in order to hopefully quell the negativity about them. I believe that video games are good. I believe that they can be learned from. I believe that they are artistic, inspiring, and educational. I believe that they are fun. So I hope you will come with me on this journey to see exactly why I believe these things. Why I love video games so much. And why I care about sharing my views. Before we begin, I want to make myself clear on two fronts. First, I am not saying that I think everyone should rush out, buy, and play video games. People pick and choose the mediums they wish to enjoy and learn from. Some people choose not to watch TV, or movies, or listen to rock ‘n roll, or to read novels. And some people choose not to play video games. This is completely okay. My intention is not to say that everyone should or in any way needs to play video games. If you choose not to, that is fine with me. My intention is to share with you why I think that video games are good. The second thing I want to make clear is that I am not trying to say that every single video game is good. Just as there are bad books, movies, and music, there are also bad video games. But I cannot tell you which games are good and which are bad. Everyone has their own opinions on that. I shall in the future share with you many games which I think are good, and perhaps some which I feel are bad. But you will have to form your own opinion about what you think is good, and what is not. I do not wish to convince you to like every game which I like. Rather, I want to help you see why I think that the video game as a medium is good. Now, with that being said, I hope you will come with me on a journey to see why I love video games, and why I think that they are a wonderful addition to the world.