Ledoux 1 Ben Ledoux Ms. Lindgren Creative Writing — Period 6 22 February 2016 Essay Of Ideas ‘A while ago, a friend introduced me to a video game called Spec Ops: The Line. The ‘cover of the game was a dull brown, the grim face of man staring just past my shoulder as he holds a gun in one handPhis was-nothing out-of the-ordinary, ‘used a paint by numbers for Psenerio idee ‘game shaaters to design the cover. it [Goked like the developers had “Don’t look anything up, ” he Pe{said. Recognizing my glance of suspicion, he continued, “Just give yourself the weekend, and play for the first two or three hours. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the game honestly messed me up the first time I played it.” es sat ecci cca toebamors ce ver not thrgh the sbancance of “blood and gore, but through the actions I took and how they contributed to the bloodshed. It with the decisions I made. Most of all, I was able to learn more SS ieee 1 net: ene w aneething tt, in toogreater appreciation and characters shoes, to live the lifetheis living. They can allow us to gai empathy for others be However, there are some who tre would argue differently, convinced that video games ate just-a-form-of passive entertainment or that video games only serve to glorify violence. Allow F rere \oves is true, but, atthe same time, many of literatures greatest works also feature violence. I believe Daniel Floyd, a known presence in the gaming community, explains it the best: “The: games are not being judged because of their content, they are judged because they are ‘games.’ Countless filmmakers, novelists and artists have tackled difficult subjects before and been celebrated for it: topics like war, genocide, sexuality, hatred. Many of these pieces are critically acclaimed, and rightfully so. They dare to explore humanity’s dark side, the ugly realities of the human condition. They venture into uncomfortable territory, and find the truth hidden within.” ed in magazines across the nation, The ad posed More than thirty years ago, an ad ape a simple question, “can a computer make you ery?” It painted a picture of the future in which ‘computers were more than simple data processors: how one day they would have the potential to elicit emotions greater than any medium has ever before. I can say from firsthand experience that Woah dies 9" 4° rote fea eet ee “4s ert GB Bayer a pplied son, upee Wert fear apres ike this? the day in question has come.Ledoux 1 Ben Ledoux Ms. Lindgren Creative Writing ~ Period 6 22 February 2016 Essay Of Ideas A while ago, a friend introduced me to a video game called Spec Ops: The Line. The cover of the game was a dull brown, the grim face of man staring just past my shoulder as he holds a gun in one hand. This was nothing out of the ordinary, it looked like the developers had used a paint by numbers for generic video game shooters to design the cover. “Don’t look anything up, ” he had said. Recognizing my glance of suspicion, he continued, “Just give yourself the weekend, and play for the first two or three hours. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the game honestly messed me up the first time I played it.” He wasn’t wrong. The game depicted the horrors of war not through the abundance of blood and gore, but through the actions I took and how they contributed to the bloodshed. It ‘explored posttraumatic stress disorder, not through flashbacks and controller vibrations, but ‘through the process of coping with the decisions I made. Most of all, I was able to leam more ‘about myself and why I play these games, why I devote so much time to something that, inLedoux 2 characters shoes, to live the life thet living. They can allow us to gain greater appreciation and ‘empathy for others. However, there are some who are would argue differently, convinced that video games aro just a form of passive entertainment or that video games only serve to glorify violence. Allow ‘me to adress the first poin, I concede that there are some video games tha trivialize important issues, but for every video game that does so, I can point to two other that can teach some greater meaning, like Spec Ops. As forthe abundance of violence in video games, I also agree that this is tue, but, tthe same time, many of literatures greatest works also feature violence. I believe Daniel Floyd, « known presence in the gaming community, explains it the best: “These games are not being judged because oftheir content, they are judged because they are “games.” ‘Countless filmmakers, novelists and artists have tackled difficult subjects before and been celebrated frit: topics like war, genocide, sexuality, hatred. Many of these picces are critically acclaimed, and righlly so. They dare to explore humanity's dark side, the gly realities ofthe “human condition. They venture into uncomfortable territory, and find the tah hidden within” sore than tity years go, an ad appeared in magazines across the nation. ‘The ad posedLedoux 1 sen Ledoux Ms. Lindgren Creative Writing ~ Period 6 25 February 2016 Essay Of Mdeas In 2012, the video game company Telltale Games released a point and click adventure ‘game based on the comic book series The Walking Dead. Point and click adventure games had been incredibly popular in the early 2000's and well known for their cinematic narrativessfut, when home consoles first started to generate mass appeal, they faded to a glorious memory. nd the stories (ey ell, by making one large difference to its Telltale reinvented the genre Cot predecessors. The Walking Dead Game had a ‘choose your own adventure’ mechanic, meaning oe that the player chooses the dialogue and decides how the story plays out. 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