For me, Experience Points is a way to communicate my enjoyment of an form of art and entertainment I have loved my entire life. But my most grandiose motivation lies in my belief that the time has come for video games and the folks who play them to make their bid for widespread cultural acceptance.
A huge portion of gamers have grown up while refusing to abandon their treasured pastime: we have jobs, social lives, friends, and (you might want to sit down for this) lovers. The gaming community consists of the young, the old, a multitude of nationalities, ethnicities, and gender identities. Ours is a global culture, and we number in the millions.
Our medium of choice has grown and diversified similarly to other artistic categories. Film is considered art even though the dismal "Citizen Kane" to "Catwoman" ratio. And what of the "Dostoevsky to shirtless Fabio on the cover" ratio? I argue that games exist in a similar manner: Some video games made simply to entertain, some to cash in on a franchise, and some are just rotten. However, some games stand as monuments to creativity and have nuanced points regarding the human condition. I always wished for the day when that notion would be broadly accepted.
A generation of people understand the phrase "But our princess is in another castle!" as well as "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse." A new cohort has internalized that a spy's best friend can be a Walther PPK or a cardboard box. Gamers must connect with each other and gain the confidence to demonstrate the artistic merits of video games. This mission should not be rigid or grim, but rather determined and joyful. Today, I stop wishing and start acting, knowing that I am in good company.
A story about the gamer identity. I was talking to my director at the preschool. She wanted a formal "Getting to know you" style meeting. When she asked me about what I do in my free time. I said read comic books and hang out with Allie. I explained that I like to draw, and like to compare the styles of other comic book artists. I didn't mention what I do with the majority of my free time because it is such a hassle to explain what gaming means to me in a way that people will understand even though to me it is quite simple. I like to play games and I like to compare the styles of other games. I was feeling kind for guilty not mentioning this huge part of my life in response to such and innocent question. Luckily, I got another chance. She asked me if I played video games because she has a 22 year old son in law who did. So I told her about Spore.
ReplyDeleteThe moral of the story is that gaming is coming out of the fringes. People are beginning to notice that it is common of people in our generation. We need to be able to speak about our community in a way that is cogent in a way that can connect the gamers and the curious, the avant and the -garde, the leet with the nubs.
@steven
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written my friend. I may just have to steal that last paragraph! ;)
Using this post purely because it is the most recent.
ReplyDeleteWhile clearly you guys have only just started, to me this seems like the sort of blog I tried to do earlier in the year but failed. Originally I created my blog thinking and assuming that it would only be me writing, but then a friend of mine was keen on writing about our gaming passion too and my blog then became a place where (I thought, anyway) we could not only offer our thoughts on the many subjects of gaming, but do so in a conversational manner that is similar to the 'book club' concept. It didn't turn out that way and now it's basically my own blog again, which in turn has seen me lose motivation to write and as such it just sits there not being updated.
BUT, that's irrelevant. My point is, this place seems like the place I thought my blog may have been and as such, I find that very interesting. I found Experience Points via a comment on The Brainy Gamer, so you already get points for posting there (something I should start doing...), but I'm staying because I look forward to seeing how you guys establish not only yourselves, but this blog as well. Fantastic name for the blog, too.
@ nismo
ReplyDeleteWe're happy that you stopped by, and we hope you stay awhile! Thanks for the kind words, and consider Raptured Reality added to my rss reader ;)