Tuesday, April 13, 2010

The Evolution of Life...or Just Video Games

As a young boy in the 1990's, of course I was exposed to tons of video games. One of my early favorites was the Mortal Kombat series. There was a strong storyline behind it and it always kept me coming back for more. I always wanted to go through the journey of defeating the lords of the OutWorld with a different character. Perhaps it was the awesome karate, or maybe it was the story behind the characters, or maybe it was just seeing Sonya Blade in a bikini top, but I was enthralled by this game.

Looking back on my experiences, there were other titles that rivaled the back story of Mortal Kombat. Some notables from my past include, Pokemon (which I still play to this day), Prince of Persia, Doom, Duke Nukem, Halo 1, Gears of War, and the list goes on.

One thing that I've noticed as the years have come along, the stories in video games have evolved, and maybe a little too much. When I think about the story of Mortal Kombat, I think about how the characters are very one-dimensional, and that's the way it stays. But nowadays, the characters in other games are becoming too complex. We are seeing glimpses of their entire personality and it is making the game too real. Sure, this is probably doing well with keeping the player's interest, but it is also allowing the player's to become more involved in the game, which is taking over their lives.

By having your own avatar on Xbox360 or having your own Mii on Wii, you may become more focused on living a better life through that alternate character, and not enough on your own life.

By having video games become to rich in character development, and by allowing people to create their own characters, this may be the beginning in a new level of social awkwardness. Children will only know how to interact with their friends through alternate realities. It's unhealthy. Sure, an imagination is healthy, but when your life is revolving around a game, it's sad.

I think that more video games should go back in time and revert to the old ways of Mortal Kombat or Pokemon. You can't really control what they do or how they act, but you are them, only for a little while.