Computer Games and Their Influence on Society
Games are anything anyone does. People play video games, board games, dice games, car games, puzzles, bridge, poker, and so many others. In all these games the point is to win by beating the computer or other person’s high score. Sometimes these games are interactive in that you can tell the computer your best move, like “you hit the red button, I move my car in front of the red truck” or you can actually give the computer a hint, such as “you can hit the red button if you do this”. Games are fun, but why do they have such a bad rap?
First of all, computer games are not violent. They are usually played with virtual enemies which, for the most part, are imaginary. There may be some hand to hand combat simulations, but in general they are far different from the blood spurting death scenes and intense violence of real life. Also, many video games involve tasks that are interactive, so that not only do players have to think and work together to beat the computer, but also to work together to complete the tasks at hand.
Second, and something I’ve always thought was quite humorous, is that real world activities are often cited as being the inspiration for video games. For example, the popular World of Warcraft video game is set in a fantasy world where players have to fight dragons and other monsters while leveling up and acquiring new weapons and armor. Not only that, players go on raids and participate in PVP battles with other players, who all have different goals. Again, in an ideal world, this would be considered mature role-play, but since this is not the real world, it can sometimes be viewed as being silly and even childish.
Finally, most computer games are multiplayer online role-playing games. These games involve players interacting within a virtual world with other players. In most cases, these role-playing computer games allow players to create their characters, obtain powers, find artifacts and use abilities, all while battling other players and increasing their ability to defeat opponents and win the game. While there is no realistic weapon or gear involved in most computer games, there is plenty of interaction between the characters and the game environment.
These five different types of computer games make up more than half of the gaming industry. Computer games make use of graphics, audio, artificial intelligence and lots of interactivity to keep players engaged. As technology advances, these games become more realistic, just as life is more complicated. As we continue to evolve as a society, it’s interesting to see how quickly technology evolves and influences our lives.
Computer games can be played single players and multi-player, or through a collaborative effort; in both cases, players take on a specific character, using a specialized strategy to beat the computer. Some popular multiplayer games are Monopoly, Backgammon, Risk, Stratego and Chess. Many of these games require advance planning, strategic thinking, luck, skill and experience to win. A lot of players have won the game after making seemingly small mistakes, by outworking and outsmarting the computer.
