Ever since “Halo: Reach” came out a few weeks ago, it’s all I’ve been doing, besides going to class and binge drinking.
It’s also reminded me how much games have changed from when I was a little kid.
Everything’s been improved, from the graphics, to the game play, and the introduction of online gaming.
Let’s start with how being able to play games online has affected the world.
It’s funny that what was originally meant to help 13-year-old kids play these games with their friends has become the last place where a 13-year-old should be.
What I’m referring to is the conversations that take place online.
Now I don’t want to say most of the people with microphones online are racist, but unlike Tyler Perry, these people would rather not “Meet the Browns,” if you know what I mean. Just imagine Katt Williams doing stand-up — minus the jokes and more use of the N-word — and you have an average conversation in the lobby before any Halo match.
I’m not sure what it is that makes fantasy violence online go hand in hand with blatantly offensive rants, but that’s how it goes.
I’m not sure what goes through people’s heads when they realize they can play a game online, but for a good amount of them, it’s something like,
“Oh sweet! I can play Call of Duty online now? Finally I have a place to voice my offensive opinions under the anonymity of my gamer tag ‘PhatMeat69’!”
It seems like no matter how things start out in the game, one person will immediately change the direction of the conversation in a not-so-subtle way to something offensive.
“Aw man, I hate playing Snipers on this level … Speaking of things I hate, what’s the deal with Jewish people?” And things continue to go downhill from there.
To give a perfect example of how arguments unfold while playing a video game online: I once played a match in Halo 3 and after a close game, a young player on the winning team called out a player on the losing team saying,
“Wow, you suck at this game! You should just stop playing altogether!” to which the older player calmly responded,
“Hey kid … I’m going to kill your family,” a comeback spoken like a true gentlemen indeed.
Remember being a kid before online games existed where the most fun game in the world consisted of walking around a field on a 2-inch screen trying to catch little monsters, train them, and then force them to fight one another?
I guarantee 100% of kids at UT can still name at least three Pokémon, and I know some people who can still name over 100 of the original 150 (I know, it’s the coolest/saddest thing ever).
Now little kids who start out playing online games from a young age will be going up to their parents asking, “Dad, what does ‘s–k my d–k you little butt f—-r’ mean?”
Besides the online play, games have been trying as hard as they can to become more complex and detailed, to the point where it’s not even fun anymore.
For example, I was playing “Grand Theft Auto 3: San Andreas” my freshman year of high school and at one point I was actually spending time making my character work out in the gym.
I was hitting buttons for each individual rep, watching my character in this virtual gym workout while I was sitting on the couch for hours at a time.
It’s a sad day when you realize you spend more time working out in a video game than you do in real life.
People also love to focus on how much more “realistic” games are getting as time goes on.
Sure, they look more realistic, but the concepts and actions in these games will never truly be realistic. Take “Call of Duty” for example.
First off, war isn’t 8 vs. 8, first team to 7500.
Second, when you make a mistake in real life you’ll still do something in the manner of what you meant to do.
However, there are only so many actions you can do in a video game so when you make a mistake you might do something completely different than what you wanted.
It wouldn’t be a very realistic mistake to accidentally throw a grenade at your teammate instead of crouching, but that’s something that could happen all the time online.
And finally, I’d love to see a game where once you die you can never play again.
It’d be the most frustrating thing in the world, but then it’d truly be “realistic.”
Overall, video games gain more importance and significance in our society every year.
Just this year “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” sold 20 million copies worldwide, and “Halo: Reach” made $200 million dollars on its first day. To put it all in perspective, the football game “Madden” has its own TV show on ESPN called “Madden Nation.”
The winner of “Madden Nation” (a.k.a. the best player) wins a grand prize of $100,000.
This means, if you’re really good at playing a game which consists of controlling virtual people playing a game, you can win $100,000.
Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average college level sociology teacher makes $20,300.
That means, if you’re really good at virtual football, you can make five times the salary of a teacher. Crazy, right?
John Jacobs can be reached at jjacobs@spartans.ut.edu.