Remember the good old days of video games? Funny and imaginative characters would embark on a funny and imaginative adventure in a funny and imaginative world. Those simple and harmless days seem to be ancient history today. Today, many video games created for the Xbox 360 use real world events as their source of inspiration. Whereas before, video games were a tool used to escape reality through diversion, they are now extensions of the reality in which we live in. And, that can either be a good thing or a bad thing.
Take a look at something like the Super Mario Bros video game franchise. There aren't too many games for the Xbox 360 where a plumber battles evil demented turtles that fling hammers at you. No matter how imaginative one's imagination could be, there is simply no way that such an occurrence could happen in this world, like, for real. So, the illusion of the game remains intact.
More and more video game systems are using today's issues for today's video games. Now, there are always a dearth of video games that are still fantasy based, and there always will be. However, you are more than likely to discover a game that takes place in the deserts of the Middle East rather than the Kingdom of Mushrooms. Can you envision a 1980 game based on the Falkland Islands affair for the Xbox 360 or the Sony PSP? But, today, there are many video games using current events as a fantasy gaming world.
There are many reasons as to why more and more video games, like those on the Microsoft Xbox 360 are using reality as their fantasy. The improvement of video game graphics can makes it easier to make real world wars, conflicts and issues appear that much, more, real, on the screen. It could be that developing a video game based on the battle in Afghanistan is easier to develop than starting a game from scratch with new characters, settings, storylines, etc. It could just be a method to appeal to angry gamers who want to fight the real world enemy, but don't want to leave the comforts of their living room bunker. In the latter instance, at least, it can make for a quick way to make a quick dollar.
Before, video games used to be an easily defined line between escape and realism. Reality had problems and issues, and there was nothing you could do about it. Video games, like the Sony PSP, gave you complete control over an entire universe. Idea: why not combine the two, and give a video game player the complete control that video games provide into a real world situation in which otherwise, they feel powerless?
It seems that today, a gamer can watch the news, get upset and then do something about it in the real world that exists inside their Sony PSP or Xbox. Now, whether or not that contributes anything of substance at all is a subject for another debate altogether.
Take a look at something like the Super Mario Bros video game franchise. There aren't too many games for the Xbox 360 where a plumber battles evil demented turtles that fling hammers at you. No matter how imaginative one's imagination could be, there is simply no way that such an occurrence could happen in this world, like, for real. So, the illusion of the game remains intact.
More and more video game systems are using today's issues for today's video games. Now, there are always a dearth of video games that are still fantasy based, and there always will be. However, you are more than likely to discover a game that takes place in the deserts of the Middle East rather than the Kingdom of Mushrooms. Can you envision a 1980 game based on the Falkland Islands affair for the Xbox 360 or the Sony PSP? But, today, there are many video games using current events as a fantasy gaming world.
There are many reasons as to why more and more video games, like those on the Microsoft Xbox 360 are using reality as their fantasy. The improvement of video game graphics can makes it easier to make real world wars, conflicts and issues appear that much, more, real, on the screen. It could be that developing a video game based on the battle in Afghanistan is easier to develop than starting a game from scratch with new characters, settings, storylines, etc. It could just be a method to appeal to angry gamers who want to fight the real world enemy, but don't want to leave the comforts of their living room bunker. In the latter instance, at least, it can make for a quick way to make a quick dollar.
Before, video games used to be an easily defined line between escape and realism. Reality had problems and issues, and there was nothing you could do about it. Video games, like the Sony PSP, gave you complete control over an entire universe. Idea: why not combine the two, and give a video game player the complete control that video games provide into a real world situation in which otherwise, they feel powerless?
It seems that today, a gamer can watch the news, get upset and then do something about it in the real world that exists inside their Sony PSP or Xbox. Now, whether or not that contributes anything of substance at all is a subject for another debate altogether.
