Art Imitating Life: Society's Affect on Video Games

Achieving realism that was nearly impossible to achieve in earlier video games

Video games of the past were certainly fun, bright and addictive, but they were not true to life. In the earliest incarnations of video games, it was something that was nearly impossible to achieve. These days, with virtual reality, motion capture, 3d graphics and sandbox gaming styles, games are more realistic than ever. Slow reaction times and limited graphics are a thing of the past. In some modern games such as SIMS, Minecraft, NBA2K, and Halo, characters can interact and strategize, forming friendships and relationships which can affect their ability to advance in the game.

Modern day video games are often praised for their life-like qualities from the realistic graphics and music to the storylines but the truth is that video games, like any other art form, are influenced by the society that creates them and developers will continue create versions of our world that allow us to escape and have the sense of accomplishment, community or comradery that we do not have in real life.

Video games, like any other art form, are influenced by the society that creates them.

Even so, the debate about whether the content of video games changes the behavior and attitudes of players, and whether this is reflected in video game culture overall, continues. Since the early 2000s, advocates of video games have emphasized the usefulness of video games as an educational tool and their use as an expressive medium while skeptics have argued that video games are harmful and therefore should be subject to legislative oversight and restrictions.

Results of investigations into links between video games and addiction, aggression, violence, social development, and a variety of stereotyping and sexual morality issues are mixed on either side. But one thing is for certain and that is video games are developed to depict situations that resemble everyday life furthering the realism of the game world in relation to the player's ideal world; a version of the world where they can look how they want to, easily make friends, get the girl/guy of their dreams, fly, float, build their dream home or be a part of a dream team.

Now with the advent of Virtual Reality games, players can be in the game instead of just looking at the game while getting some much-needed exercise. Virtual reality allows players to teleport themselves to just about anywhere and feel as if they’re really there. They can play fetch with a robot dog, throw their baseball cap into the sun, or run away from a wave of zombies. In virtual reality games, players become an active participant in an environment and are completely drawn into a whole other world, where they can actually affect and interact with their environment in a way that just isn’t possible in any other medium.