A (somewhat) philosophical argument for gaming

In Susan Wolf’s essay “Happiness and Meaning: Two Aspects of a Good Life” she uses many examples to differentiate what she sees as meaningful pursuits and meaningless pursuits. Among the meaningful pursuits Wolf mentions are: “Relationships with friends and relatives…Aesthetic enterprises (both creative and appreciative), the cultivation of personal virtues, and religious practices.”(p.210) When speaking of useless tasks she mentions “crossword puzzles, sitcoms, or the kind of computer games to which I (Wolf) am fighting off addiction.”(p.210)

            I would agree with Wolf that there are certain ways to spend one’s time that are more meaningful than others, and like Wolf I enjoy playing computer games. However, I do not agree with her classification of computer games, which I take to include all forms of electronic gaming, as entire wastes of time. While the majority of electronic entertainment software that exists is mindless entertainment meant to turn a profit, I believe there exist artistic individuals among the creators who seek to deliver important messages. Wolf herself says “History is full of unappreciated geniuses, of artists, inventors, explorers whose activities at their time were scorned”(212) While videogames have been targets for social criticism almost since their inception, there is increasing attention being paid to critical analysis of electronic games as a legitimate form of media, and potential artistic expression.

            As Alexander Galloway says in his introduction to his book Gaming “Our generation needs to shrug off the contributions of those who view this as all so new and shocking. They came from somewhere else and are still slightly unnerved by digital technology. We were born here and love it.”(Preface xii) The year before I was born, 1986, saw the debut of Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Entertainment System. I have grown up with video games around me my entire life. I remember the adamant opposition of my parents to them at first, and the guilty-pleasure of going over a friend’s house to play video games in kindergarten. Our parents eventually softened their restrictions and allowed my brother and I access to a Gameboy when I was in second grade. There being both my brother and I and only one Gameboy, we were forced to share. Already games were becoming a medium through which I interacted socially with others, even though I didn’t know it at the time. Wolf mentions relationships with friends and relatives as one of the things classically seen as leading to a meaningful life, and videogames acted as a conduit and shared interest through which I interacted with others.

            One of the fears voiced by critics is that people will come to see videogames as substitutes for real social interaction, citing such examples as players of massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft in China, who immerse themselves in the virtual world so utterly that they exclude the needs of the real world and wither away. I acknowledge that this is a true problem, Wolf herself speaks of games in the matter of an addiction, but that means it is the responsibility of the individual, or the parent to regulate the intake of the media.

The argument against new forms have been around for as long as new mediums have been arising, people used to talk about the danger of reading too many novels and being unable to tall fantasy from reality. A more recent, and applicable example may be the movement in the 50s led by Dr. Fredric Wertham who wrote Seduction of the Innocent and led a “crusade” against comic books. Comic books before Wertham were subject to no regulation whatsoever, and could be as subversive or as grotesque as they wished. Wertham condemned comic books as corrupters of the youth of America and attempted to blame all forms of adolescent delinquency on the young, relatively marginal media. Time and time and again the cry that comic book writers and videogame writers are peddling filth to children has been made. While it is true that some of the less scrupulous creators market violent or sexual media towards children, they often ignore the true extent of the media’s demographic in order to make a dramatic point. “Graphic novels” is now the term used to refer to what is essentially a bound collection of comic books. Art Spiegelman’s Maus is a graphic novel recounting Spiegelman’s Father’s experiences during the holocaust and Spiegelman’s own experience dealing with his aging father. Many consider this to be a literary masterpiece and often cite it to legitimate the “Graphic Novel” as an art form worthy of attention. Spiegelman was by no means the first to explore complex themes, even Superman’s creators; Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster drew from Nietche’s idea of the “übermench” when conceiving their character. While games like the recent Bioshock might not reach the same literary heights as Maus they exhibit the same attention to their artistic heritage in other art forms in attempt to make a statement greater than themselves.

One of my own personal favorite games Metal Gear Solid:Twin Snakes follows the secret government agent Solid Snake and his constant battle against terrorists groups and their attempts to threaten the earth with nuclear terrorism. While the premise may seem like another adolescent-power fantasy, which to a certain extent it is, the attention to detail paid suggests something deeper. The overarching message of the series is an anti-nuclear, pacifist one. This most likely has a strong connection with the creator Hideo Kojima’s Japanese heritage. However, the themes extend all the way to the player’s own interaction with the virtual environment. As Solid Snake, you have the ability to either kill your adversaries, hit them with non-lethal tranquilizer rounds, or avoid conflict whatsoever through clever manipulation of the guards artificial intelligence, such as leaving out a book or tossing an empty ammo magazine. While the detail could be written off as a mere exhibition of technology, you are even confronted by a character at one point in the game, and chastised if you have gone around mercilessly killing characters. The game is clearly meant to spark introspection in the gamer, and yet at the same time it is an extremely entertaining experience throughout.

While games are still relatively young as an art form, the possibilities for intelligent and interactive narratives are truly exciting, and it is heartening to see developers attempting to explore these possibilities and individuals expressing interest in them.