Video games uniting new generation
Published 12:29 pm Thursday, August 28, 2008
My father used to tell stories of his fellow college students gathering in the television room to watch the latest Monty Python episode.
Weeks after its release, the film Titanic was all anyone was heard talking about (if you had not seen it, you didn’t get to speak). While television, music, and movies can still sweep a nation (as proven by The Dark Knight or American Idol), my generation has a new media used to unite — video games.
A walk down any local dormitory hall should be enough to convince. One day after class, I witnessed half a dozen video game sessions in progress throughout Terry and Lander Hall at the University of Washington. A Super Smash Brothers tournament of 10 contestants was psyching up the crowd in the television room; two students were working through the twisted puzzle game Portal on the cafeteria screen; a two-on-two Seahawks vs. Steelers match on Madden occupied one dorm room; a howl of broken hearts roared out of another as a Lynyrd Skynyrd song was failed at 90 percent completion on Guitar Hero, and more.
Maybe it’s that this medium is the newest, but I believe video games have become the premier party choice because they are bringing people together in new ways. Some games allow four or even eight people to play on one screen – a number doubled with an additional television and console. Online, upcoming games will provide hundreds of competitors, many of whom could be people you know. And games like Rock Band allow you and three friends to fulfill rock star fantasies together so no one player looks ridiculous in front of the others.
College students may be the age most associated with video games, and they probably take the most advantage of the newest software, but they are certainly not alone. For the first time in my life, adults with no previous video game interest are being persuaded en masse to try or even purchase a video game for themselves. Nintendo is most associated with this trend, as its Wii console offers programs like Wii Fit and Wii Sports which blend simple game play with revolutionary controls. High scores are no longer the only rewards.
Still, the days of Pac-Man are not gone. The arcade game may in fact be stronger than ever thanks to the online capabilities of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, which allow players from all over the world to play together and compare scores on Geometry Wars or Stardust. But no longer are games restricted to such simple premises.
Whether it is two friends playing through an epic story of love, war and politics in Splinter Cell – with a story that changes depending on the decisions you make – or a public Mario Kart grand prix where racers compete for prizes, video games are starting new friendships and strengthening others. Some day I’ll tell stories about meeting some good friends through the carnage of Halo, because, in my day, friendship was sharing a drink after a slaughter.
Philip Pirwitz, a senior at the University of Washington, is a summer intern at the Enterprise.
