Games have long been a part of cultures and economies worldwide. Yet in the United States, they do not yet command the respect of serious scholars, philosophers, fair politicians, or even mainstream media outlets. Titles considered "hardcore" are relegated to the shelves of those who actively seek them out, while simulations of sports, iterations of Tetris, and electronic versions of sudoku are the extent of what is found in the library of an average parent. With few exceptions, most men and women of middle age look upon gaming as a hobby for children and adolescents. It is viewed as a phase to be outgrown, an expensive nuisance that does nothing to better the minds of players, and, in some cases, as a detriment to mental stability. As a gamer reading this, you are likely aware that games are a fulfilling and enriching experience to be gained through no other avenue. It must be shown what it is about games that sets them apart from competing methods of storytelling: interactivity.
Role-playing is a genre in which great storytelling is a must. The player is taken through a series of events and given free reign over a small group of individuals with a daunting main task usually involving the end of civilization. There have been many stories which cover similar themes of this type, but in no medium (save gaming) is one able to actively participate in the events that occur. Characters can be strengthened and outfitted with status-enhancing items purchased from stores or found throughout the course of the adventure. In some cases, the characters can be named or even visually customized to cater to the desires of the participant. Plainly and simply, this cannot be done in stories found in books or told through poetry.
In particular, MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft offer an individual the chance to create an adventure entirely his or her own by placing a player in the shoes of a character who he or she has created. Missions or quests are given along the way, but ultimately the player gets to decide which ones to take and what the main goal or objective is. Some play to become virtually rich, to obtain rare items, or to get to the level cap. Others enjoy the sense of community offered or the chance to play with friends whom they cannot physically visit. All the while, a story is unfolding about a unique character found nowhere else in the gaming world; while there may be others with the same outfit or similar stats, it is impossible to find another with precisely the same attributes who has completed the same quests, spoken to the same NPCs, or plays the same amount. The experience is involving on a personal level that literature cannot achieve, as it does not simply parallel events that a person may have experienced - it actually allows one to create and experience events with a direct manifestation of personality. The created avatar is itself a metaphor that reflects the desires of the person who controls it.
Even in the single-player realm, sandbox titles, such as Grand Theft Auto, enable a user-defined branching tale, full of decisions to be made and areas to be explored. Though the appearance of the main character may be set in stone, his actions are not. These games often have a somewhat optional storyline, giving a sense of freedom without losing the important sense of purpose. Thus, a story can still be told even while a player is in full control of the actions of one or more characters.
If we take the comparison further, games which force players through a chain of circumstances still offer a level of psychological interchange that novels or song lyrics cannot offer. The key to this is the very definition of "interchange," as the characters and environments found in a non-game are unable to react to a person’s impulses. In any game, to some degree or other, there is always some type of exchange between the world and the one influencing it. Without this interaction, a game cannot be considered a game; it takes a person who leads a flesh-and-blood life in the real world and turns him or her into someone or something that is naught but a distant dream to most people.
If literature is a form of escapism, then video gaming is the ultimate nirvana. To give someone direct influence over a fictional character is to allow one to literally become something else entirely, even if it is for a short period of time. Hearing about the intense speed and adrenaline-pumping turns of a roller coaster is nowhere near as exciting as riding one yourself. That is precisely the reason that although nothing can be as real as reality itself, taking part in a virtual scenario is far more engaging than acting as a bystander. Movies provide the most restriction of imagination, as the characters are visible, their personalities identifiable, their motives clearly defined, and so on. In this regard, film is less pliable a medium than the novel, but in the end neither of them can offer the interactivity of a video game. There is little reason other than relaxation I should watch a film with a story similar to a game when I could be directly involved with how it plays out.
It seems that the people involved in hardcore gaming culture are often marginalized as a group of nerds living in relative solitude. Despite these unlikely criticisms, it has been my experience that gamers can be and have been active, useful members of society. They have been shaped by experiences that others will not take the time to give a chance to. In the U.S., there seems to be an underlying cultural idea that all games that cannot be played with pencil and paper (and even some that can) are violent, worthless wastes of human resources. This is the greater issue: getting people to acknowledge gaming not merely as an art form, but as an avenue through which philosophy can be conveyed, fiction can be manipulated, and the imaginations of players and designers can interact in unprecedented ways. In this regard, gaming can be just as culture-defining and controversial as literature and music.
