The Balance of Gaming

Video games are one of the fastest growing forms of media in our generation. People who play video games on a regular basis, or gamers, use video games as a means of personal enjoyment, competition, or socialization among other gamers. Some would be as bold as to call video games their favorite past-time, maybe even compare video games to that of any Olympic sport. While one would be enticed to immediately indulge himself or herself in the joy of gaming nonstop for hours, one must always remember that every good thing almost always comes with something bad.

The original concept for the creation of video games was to create a fun experience for the player. There are many people that become immersed with the fun factor a game can provide. So much sometimes, that they neglect and ignore most of what is going on around them, and can even neglect life’s most basic functions; this can include eating, going to the bathroom, and sleeping. In November 2008, a boy from Sweden died of an epileptic seizure from playing World of Warcraft for more then 24 hours straight. This tragedy was due to the boy becoming too immersed in his game and not realizing that his body could not last as long as his mind could playing the game. A tragedy that could have been easily avoided if he took breaks to eat or sleep while possibly having his character do something that did not require his immediate attention. This is only one of many other easily avoided tragedies that have occurred due to lack of common sense.

Competition is a huge aspect in the world of gaming. Many gamers that have reached a point where they are confident in how well they play may decide to take their love of the game to the next level. That next level is being able to enter tournaments and compete with other players for different prizes, most usually and preferably cash prizes. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to win money for playing a video game, the lengths people are willing to go in order to win can be troublesome for most people. In a documentary titled “FRAG”, the directors follow the lives of a few competitive gamers and learn of the inside stories of being within the competitive field. Some of the tales told are people who want to win prize money so badly, they would willingly sacrifice their futures and personal health, without second thought, for a chance to come out on top. Most of these risk would include people dropping out of school as early as middle or high school, not finding a job with benefits, and even resorting to just consuming food and drinks that are loaded with caffeine and guarana. Taking such a plunge, without first thinking of the consequences is something that many people would consider to be not smart. Risking one’s whole future on the hope of winning a lot in a specific game is not a viable way of making a living in today‘s day and age. There is no retirement plan or annual benefits for playing a video game, nor is there a guarantee for a constant means of income. The game is just as it has always been, a source of entertainment, not a foundation for living. Pure common sense.

Since gaming has always been meant to be a fun activity, it is only natural that gamers would gather together with other gamers to share the fun. This socialization is the end result of multiplayer gaming at its best, that is if it is assumed that all those gamers have more then their fair share of common sense. It has been growing increasingly more noticeable that stories of people fighting, injuring, and at times killing other people when playing a video game at the time. In Harlem, a 9 year old boy was stabbed to death by a 24 year old man over a game of Tony Hawk’s Pro-Skater. Even those with an unbiased eye would still be one of the first to jump up and call this sheer stupidity. In Kansas, a man was beaten to death by three of his friends for allegedly cheating in a game of Madden 2011. Again, although having every right to be upset over someone cheating, sheer stupidity. What these and many other tragic stories out there have in common is that someone acted impulsively while playing a video game. Gamers need to remember to think before they act, even when in a state of rage. Killing a person because they played a better game is not worth the consequences of such action, it makes the perpetrator look that much more foolish. Fully thinking out and using rational reasoning in a situation is a another aspect of, yet again, common sense.