From The Silver, To The Platinum Screen

In times of such technological ingenuity it’s still the simplest of interactions that generate the most accomplished of satisfactions: watching Jaws for the first time, and still shrieking like a Banshee that’s had its genitals grabbed from behind every time that head bobs past the wrecked boat, even after continuous views. The sense of twisted realism of the events portrayed in “1984”, where the manipulation of the communities personal struggles and exploiting the fears of individuals unwilling to conform to Big Brother, by condemning them to the notorious “Room 101”. The ethical severed strands of privacy that’s so whimsically conveyed in George Orwell’s novel, that’s as terrifying poignant today as it reminiscently reflective of present society. Of course this is all incomparable to the timeless hilarity of watching a child accelerating across the room, before abruptly falling face first on the floor (yes I realise what an immoral statement that is, but it doesn’t make it any less amusing). Film, television, books and many forms of entertainment require a degree of rational contortion, a conscious effort on your part to imagine the situations and believe in their various existences. But gaming is able to distort these mental barriers by integrating you specifically into the story.

Gaming combines the vision, design and overall grandeur of a huge blockbuster movie, with the integrity, content and imagination requested to fully immerse yourself in a novel, but it seems to be a concept that alludes conventional people who apparently shun this prestigious stimulating industry, due to some deluded pre-determined perspective passed down through decades of ignorance that your become some socially renounced mute, separated from the rest of the world. And it’s saddening that an industry with such broad levels of craft, so intricately orchestrated, with a huge degree of pride injected into every title, is still branded as unsympathetic entertainment, for unsophisticated people.

But judging by my discretion above, and my vague manipulation of the english language interspersed with my usual ramblings, it creates the illusion that I care what poorly advised idiots believe, I just have an enormous sense of pity for their unfounded scepticism. These people (and I use the term loosely) will never truly understand that unlike a movie or book, the consequences that transpire through a game are your precise responsibilities. Your not just observing the application of certain decisions, you are that character making these decisions, portraying the personality you believe they should be and the appropriate actions they should take. Sure, many of the incidences guide you down narrative cul-de-sac and are as structured as any classic Hollywood movie, but far more absorbing. You are a commander of spaceship, an intrepid fortune hunter, a dragon slayer, a footballer. You are anything you choose to be, no matter how unrealistic or unsophisticated.

Will gaming ever gain the respect it deserves? Or is there still a long progressive road still yet to travel? Let me know what you guys think.