The video game industry is at a boom. More than a boom, it is an explosive chain of matter folding in upon itself ad infinitum, creating larger and more powerful booms wherever it goes. That’s not to say there aren’t huge issues in production and staffing, rather that demand of these media forms is forever rising. Just look at Grand Theft Auto 5, which last year became the fastest selling entertainment product of all time.
There can be no doubt that gaming and its culture, especially in the modern area, are perfectly valid areas for academic study. The media effects model, and more specifically video games making us “violent,” is one area that will remain a hot topic forever.
“Some scientists, like Bushman, have concluded that yes, playing violent video games will make children more aggressive. Others argue that current studies are faulty and inconclusive. It’s a debate that has been going on for over 25 years. And it shows no signs of stopping.” – (Schreier, 13)
While I do not side with the media effects model, it must admit I no longer want to read or debate about that topic ever again, I am sufficiently bored of it. Is that bad? Rather, what I find most interesting about its current state is the strong user-based empowerment – namely in “Let’s Plays:”
Jane Dorner states in regards to readers becoming end-users: “writers need readers, not users, in order to make a living” (Dorner, 1993). While an obvious sentiment, I find this statement interesting in light of the current technological environment, for it is in many ways almost the opposite. That’s not to say the role of writers and game developers are totally comparable, rather the acceptance and encouragement of people to use their product in front of an audience for free, is a new and more welcome approach to advertising granted by new media. I remember before the release of my favourite game of the year so far, Dark Souls 2, the developers released copies weeks earlier to many popular “Let’s Players.” This allowed for end-users to generate hype, and most likely save a few dollars on advertising, a strategy that would seem almost pointless for writers.
References:
Dorner, J. 1993 “When readers become end-users: Intercourse without seduction’, Logos, Whurr, London 4(1): 6-11
Schreier, J. 2013, “From Halo to Hot Sauce: What 25 Years of Violent Video Game Research Looks Like”, Kotaku
probablypretentious 