Despite being more mainstream than ever, there still remains this preconception that video games are somehow a lesser form of entertainment than others. Part of this image can be attributed to simple ignorance on the part of a certain percentage of the population, but part of it is actually warranted. The industry is hampered by bottom dollar businesses who focus on sequels and rip offs to make money. The majority of these rushed and mass published games are framed with poorly written stories while being lazily designed because the developers are treated just as poorly. The audience is filled with a loud minority of immature fanboys who get overly upset about the dumbest things, giving gamers as a whole a bad image. The video game industry is a wholly positive one, but issues like these, combined with the various preconceptions of the ignorant, are holding it back from one thing: recognition. Of all the hopes we have for the video game industry, the greatest of them all is the hope that one day, in the not too distant future, video games will be recognized as valuable and culturally relevant works of human creativity and innovation. Gone would be the days of being told to stop wasting your time on stupid games or that theyre just for kids. Like books or film or music, video games would no longer exist in a separate sphere of existence for other creative works. People of all ages would play them and actively engage in critical discussion about them. They would no longer be feared and blamed for every tragedy that befalls mankind. They would, ideally, become a normal, socially acceptable means of artistic expression. In order for this to happen, though, many of our other hopes have to be met. The industry has to stop being defined by juvenile male power fantasies or generic action games. Focus needs to be less on quarterly earnings and more on technological innovation and advancement. Gameplay and narrative need to blend and serve each other more seamlessly. Video games need to grow up and mature in nearly every way, and the hope is that when that happens, video games will get the recognition they so greatly deserve. Like this article? Let us know in the comments section below.
