Taking a break from Reality

 

Hello, I’m Adam Crane and this is my new blog.  I’m attending Delta College in order to get a basic degree while deciding what to do for a career.  I’ve always loved writing, and reading, in addition to the usual stuff, like movies, TV shows, and of course, video games.  The sorts of things teenagers like me love to do in order to get away from the stress of everyday life and kill a couple of hours with our respective hobbies.  For me, the thing that really makes these things fun for me is the story involved.  Kind of a broad category, but it’s true, I’ve always been fascinated with stories and how they’re expressed and presented, and nothing entertains me more than a good plot twist, an awesome character moment, and feeling genuine emotion while experiencing a story.  I love the amazing special effects in movies and shooting people in the face in video games as much as the next guy, but what truly defines the experience for me has always been the story the creators are trying (or not trying, in some cases) to tell.  Over the years, I’ve come to realize that almost everything I love has an amazing story as an aspect of it.

So why is this blog about video games, specifically?  Well, while all of the things I mentioned above have stories involved, they’re all presented in very different ways.  Books, of course, are most commonly associated with stories because that’s basically what they are, in a word:  stories.  Movies and TV shows have other things going for them, but again, no movie maker is setting out to create the most impressive explosion or most beautiful environment for people to watch.  Of course, visual’s a big part of it, but at their core, the movie has a story it’s trying to tell, and the most passionate directors and writers will try and tell it in the best way possible.

 

 

 

But video games, as you can probably guess, are a different matter.  A lot of people, especially those who don’t play them very often, don’t think of deep character arcs or climactic plot moments when they think “video games.”  This is because video games, especially the very early ones, focused on the interaction between the player and the screen, the “gameplay.”  Space Invaders was a game where you explode aliens before they can reach the bottom of the screen.  Not exactly a thought-provoking premise, but it’s what was available at the time!  Video games are a relatively new industry, but one that is expanding rapidly.  Over the past decades, gaming has evolved into a fairly common pastime, and of course, the technology and innovation has evolved with it.  Video games now tell stories that can be every bit as compelling as the journey through Jurassic Park or Jack and Rose’s adventure to escape the sinking Titanic.  In fact, the storytelling in video games, in my opinion, has even more potential than any other form of media yet, because the player is directly involved as they play through the game, making them more attached to the characters and more immersed in the events that are unfolding.  The gameplay that is often thought to diminish the importance of story can, and does, enhance the plot and the way we experience it.

Perhaps that’s why I love them so much.  I wouldn’t say they’re my entire life, but they’re definitely a major chunk of it.  I love playing them, experiencing them, and getting lost in them.  They’re a new form of art and expression, and whether you casually shoot birds at the pigs castles or own noobs in the World of Warcraft, video games have something for you.  The gameplay in each one is as varied as the stories they tell, and I care about them and like talking about them enough that I’m up for writing about them in a blog.  So here we are.  Let’s take a break from reality and talk about video games.