31st May 2018 - Video Games as Escapism

Today's Topic - 31st May 2018

Submitted by @The Communist Wookie

Should video games, as a form of media, continue primarily to offer escapism or should it try to make us think about our own life/ choices (I mean should most games try to reach one of these topics, not just one or the other)?

Holo - 05/31/2018
Also it depends on the initial intent of the game; like how some games are mindless cash grabs or others are the retelling of a personal life story. The developer can choose to comment on whatever topic he/she makes the game about.

Unenthusiastic_ - 05/31/2018
I think most games should make you think about life choices. There's no point in games if they're all devised to make you escape from your real world problems. I suppose the closest relation to this would be games like Night in the Woods, where they are supposed to help people with the idea of growing up as well as the topic of change. It's probably only a matter of time until they deal with other life based topics such as the fear of moving out or getting married or something.

Alex (Pop) - 05/31/2018
I'd say both, restricting games as a medium inhibits potential and creativity.

Limiting any sect of a medium hurts it, in sales and in perception, and I feel like games would be better off as a medium if they did. Games can ask questions that no other medium can because of how personal they can be, or how interactive they are. Not using it for anything gets the mainstream industry selling the same five games again and again, not realizing the potential of something thought-provoking. It doesn't take the fun out of them, it adds to it. We can question things like morality, industry standard, the human condition, in ways never touched by any medium, and that's just something that shouldn't be limited.

Holo - 05/31/2018
Since you can't force the developer to be restricted to doing something that does not contend with their original ideas for the games development.

Julian - 05/31/2018
I think games should do everything they want to do - the devs want them to do. And that ofcourse depends on the game, so I dont think every game should try to reach those topics. Also games can provide both escapism and make you think about your life choices, as seen in night in the woods and also Life is Strange (Atleast for me personally)

Silen - 06/01/2018
I think that games can do either one of those things, sometimes even both, because it all depends on how the game is built and what it wants to achieve. I prefer games that make you question my own choices, because I consider them a lot more fun. For example, how this war of mine manages to portray a war situation that I (if I'm fortunate enough) won't find myself in, yet it portrays human emotions and actions during extreme situations so well that it made me question my own motives behind a couple of decisions I've made in the past, mostly because I don't feel regret for doing something that's considered bad. Then again, escapism also works because not everyone wants to acknowledge the situation they're in and instead they want to take their mind off of the reality to just play some video games. Escapism is usually used by more popular mainstream games, because there's no real need to have the player think about their own life, instead the game makes you think about how to be a better player (especially so with multiplayer games). I don't think games should focus only on one of these aspects, because having only one or the other being the main focus of the whole media takes diversity out of the media, the thing that makes it so great in the first place.(edited)

Doki - 06/01/2018
In my humble opinion, I say that games have the choice of freedom but they have to differ from our everyday lives to make the game as medium a bit more than mundane mass pass time. Besides that a video game's goal is to entertain the consumer, so in the end there is no generalised answer or path for games to take, so it is personal opinion based choice. As far I'm concerned tho the escapism part of the video game medium is the part that helps me to...feel relaxed. So I think that games should focus on that, I feel like emotionally charged games, heavy games are becoming a bit more accepted and wild spread.  But still I don't think that is a good path for this medium to follow.(edited)

Xenken - 06/01/2018
I disagree with the idea that entertainment is the primary purpose of ALL games, and would assert that that view is denigrating to many games that don't really have entertainment as their priority. Everything from text games like Depression Quest to shooters like Spec Ops: The Line. Interactivity is a whole new dimension that can be added to art in general, and right now the vast, vast majority of exploration into that dimension is being done in games. It would sadden me to see creative pushes in the medium stifled in the name of a singular focus on entertainment alone.

ahdapting - 06/01/2018
I personally use games as a way to escape reality. When I play games I don't have to deal with my thoughts, so it's a coping mechanism for me. Therefore I look for games that offer just that. BUT, I can also find myself enjoying games that make me think. That make me look at the world in a different way, or make me feel emotion and sympathy for a fictional character.

It's difficult to choose between the two because they are two very different types of games. So by saying that all games have to be one of the two would really just damage the industry.

I'd say that we leave it to the developers to decide what their games are like. Some will ride the wave of whatever is popular, and some will make works of art that tell the most intricate stories. I think that's the way to go.(edited)

Ty - 06/01/2018
I think that as it is, any game will make someone out there think about their life. But should they start trying to make them like that? Yes. Yes indeed. Maybe someone will get inspired to do something good for themselves or someone else. It doesn't have to mimic our lives, The Sneetches was an entertaining enough story about a bunch of big birds drawing stars on their bellies (yadda yadda you know the story). Anyway, the moral of the story is don't judge a book by it's cover... I think, it's been a while. The story was fun, easy on the ears, and you come out of it having learned a lesson. Games can be the same way too. I may just be cynical, or just really dumb, but I didn't learn anything from SUPERHOT besides woah dude, like, hacking and shit, man. The story doesn't have to be lighthearted like Dr. Seuss, I think that we all should question ourselves every now and then. Just don't be afraid to change, it may not be such a bad thing.(edited)