Why are boys addicted to video games? I have asked myself
this question hundreds of times, is it the escape into another reality...? The
thrill of killing a German soldier in COD?
My brother, cousins, and countless ex-boyfriends have been addicted to
the killing games like Halo and COD. And
don’t be fooled, because I’ve played my share of these games as well. When your cousins are all boys and they come
down to go to the beach and everyone’s tired afterwards, playing video games
wasn’t a bad way to wind down the sunburned day. I got pretty good too.
But once or twice a month was enough for me… so why do boys
have to play every day/night? Why, when
a game comes out, do the boys have to get it at the midnight selling and play
the entire night so that they show up to school as zombies? And why do I only know of maybe one girl who
would do this? For one thing, the video
game companies have never really made their addictive games appealing to
women. The games are usually degrading
to women because they have no female avatars to choose from, they will have
women in the games but almost always the women are hookers dressed scantily
trying to sell themselves to the men.
Now, I’m not going to lie to you guys… I have been addicted
to a couple video games myself, I played dance dance revolution (DDR) and Mario
Kart Wii everyday with my best friend for a couple months during my 8th
grade and high school years. And I might
be biased on this topic but I’m certain many people would agree with me that
DDR and Mario Kart are not as bad as COD and Halo. Am I right?
DDR at least offers some sort of exercise and Mario Kart got old after
about an hour. I guess I don’t really
have any reasons for why boys are addicted to killing games other than they
enjoy them, it just doesn’t seem like a good enough reason!
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ReplyDeleteWith respect about the comments made regarding women, video game companies understand that the industry is mostly male dominated save for a few female game designers. The option for the creation of female avatars is increasing as more games are released, but at the same time it's worthwhile to note that they are still designed to attract their target audience. Whether it's the shape of the body or the clothing worn by a character, it's all carefully chosen for a specific purpose. Blizzard is one of the most notable examples of an over-sexualized rendition of female avatars.
ReplyDeleteIn short, I agree with you that games can sometimes be degrading towards women, but gaming companies are working to get better. A notable example of this would be the Mass Effect and Elder Scrolls series. Both Bioware and Bethesda have implemented near endless possibilities for designing a female avatar to immerse yourself in their virtual world.
(I had a few spelling errors so I deleted the first post)
Interesting debate you have going! The original posting is bold and provocative. It makes you think and makes you want to respond. Good job both of you.
ReplyDelete