Category: Opinion Pieces (lists, features, columns)

Why Play Video Games

Have you ever wanted to go to a place where you could let go? Where you could be yourself and not worry about anyone but yourself. Where you wanted to go but you just didn’t have the time or money. Well, simple, video games.

Explore Pirates Bay, Madagascar in Uncharted 4. Visit the depths of the ocean in Bioshock’s Rapture or beautiful skies of Columbia in BioShock Infinite. Explore your creative side in Little Big Plant where dreams run wild. Blow up an airplane attached to a gas station, just cause in the game… Just Cause (see what I did there). Fight aliens and win earth back in Destiny or be on the front lines in Call of Duty or Battlefield. And how could I forget about you sports fan out there: MLB, NCAA, NHL, NBA the list really goes on.

Probably got the point now but let’s talk some more. Video games change the way we think, feel, hear, see, move and act. We think differently when we are faced with a problem, we do something we know (human instinct) then it flips us upside down then we have to learn a different more creative way (video games). Feeling is a big one. Like music makes you feel when it hits that right note, books take you to that time and place just like you’re with that person, films create depth in a way that’s more than just a thousand words. But video games gets you there, I mean there-there. You are in the moment seeing, hearing, feeling the brush of your daughter’s hair just lying in your arms dead because of some mean jerk “just following orders” (the last of us). This is real, you are there it gets you and you would just have to play the game for yourself to see that. Oh, and when you do you won’t forget that feeling, trust me I know.

Being into video games is okay, it’s the twenty-first-century. Nerds don’t exist! Only gamers and their passion for moving forward and to create, be creative, be themselves. Everyone plays even if they don’t think or consider it. Solitaire, Angry Birds, Facebook games if you will, heck I’d consider playing with your calculator is good enough for me. The fact you can type 5318008 (do it) and see what you and other people get…..it’s amazing.

We need this (Not like a drug, or addiction) like a feeling and release from all the bull crap you suck up every day and simply sit down and just play. Play that it! With or without friends or family. Now grab that cape, hammer, torch, or whatever you can make out of your backpack and take the plunge to the best and probably your happiest decision you have ever made. Play.

April 18, 2017
Why We Play First-person vs Why We Play Third Person Games

The first-person viewpoint is the way we see and hear things, just like we’re actually there. We are the soldiers in the midst of battle. We are the peace of mind, the decision maker that kills or saves lives. The vision of a passing soul that is just trying to find its way.

The first-person viewpoint is easily the most real and fully interactive way of playing games, but there is also VR ( but that’s a different topic for another time) ranging from Skyrim, Borderlands 2, Dishonored and even Ether (which is a must play by the way). These games are great at one thing that is immersion. The way the game sets up the world to convey a sense of realism; it’s really something when you get to explore this world for yourself. The first-person viewpoint has to easily be the best way to play……..or is it?

The third-person viewpoint is like watching a really great multi-genre movie. From freaking Batman to Uncharted, Assassin’s Creed to The Witcher and even Dead Space. I mean it really is like watching a movie. Playing the Mass Effect Trilogy for the first time was truly something that everyone must do. It takes you to a world never-before-seen in anything else (definitely one of the best experiences of my life is playing that game). Planning and crafting in The Last of Us are something to be scared of because and quite frankly you are pretty scared of that world. You almost feel like you’re this person, but it’s them you’re watching. You’re just replaying a part of their life.

See, third and first-person are weird because sometimes you’re like “wouldn’t this game be better in the third-person” and the other person (which is playing a third-person game) says “wouldn’t this be better in the first-person”. So imagine playing a racing game. Now I love playing in first-person in racing games, whether that be behind the wheel or on the hood, it doesn’t really matter. But the moments where first-person is just not working because too many cars are in the way. You just can switch to third with just a press of a button in those types of games.

Some games do a good job at this but not as seamless as racing games but they do it none the less. For example Destiny, Halo and Skyrim. Being an in-betweener is ok there’s just not that many games sadly.

Okay, guys, I would love to hear which view do you love the best or are you an in-betweener? Also, my examples of games are just some of what you can expect to me in those genres, like Bioshock and Fable.

April 18, 2017
Are Video Games a Form of Art

I just heard Penn Jillette talking about why video games are the 21st-century of art and it got me thinking are the video an art form. Why won’t they be art? The creators are expressing themselves through the game in the best way they can. It tells us story’s of happiness, sadness, revenge, betrayal, or just for a laugh “the cake is a lie”, one of my favorite lines. I just finished playing Firewatch and my god that it one good game. The art and sound design is just something you got to experience for yourself. That moment when the music hits when you are coming up to an important part of the game, I just get them “feels” you know. To experience this form of art it really the best way to experience art. I feel that you can’t get as an interactive experience reading a book, listening to a song, or watching a movie. Take the last of us for example, a big company making a brand to I.P., it’s scary but at the end, it was worth it. I was tearing up at multiple parts in the game. What other games have you played that have made you tear up or just feel horribly sad? It’s crazy to think that could happen with a video game but it does and it’s incredible. But not all video games are art (you can count them but really) some are just cash grabs. Releasing a game they didn’t put much effort it too just to make a quick buck. I’m not saying all but most mobile games are know to be those types of games. There are also games on consoles and another mobile device(DS,3DS, PSP, PSVita,etc.) to sell or promote little kids toys excluding Lego games. Also, there are x rated games but you already know why…. So are video games an art form of the 21 century or are they just something to pass the time. It’s up to you to continue this discussion. I’d like to hear what you guys think. And with that have a great day.

July 17, 2016