The Art of Video Games

Video games are a big part of life in modernized countries. It is one of the biggest entertainment money makers and of the things people enjoy doing. They are now mostly played inside the comfort of your home, with a console or computer. But things weren 't always like this. About 40 years ago you would most likely go to the arcade to play. The consoles they had out were either expensive or not good enough to compete with the arcade ones. Classic video games were made with 4-bit pixels and in very low resolution than modern day games. Over the decades, game machines continuously evolved and become more and more powerful, capable of stunning visuals and graphics. In the 21st century, social media, smart phone and tablet technology entered the gaming scene. Casual games become the norm attracting previously non-gamers into the market. However, if those low-quality games were never made, the games would not have evolved into the games they are today. In this article, I will cover main game a platform from the 1970’s to present day explaining what they are, their key development dates, features and limitations.

So, I’m going to change things a bit. Instead of just talking about dates and numbers, which can be boring; I’m going to give this a little casual twist. So, in order to start the history let’s get a few facts out of the way. Let’s talk about gamers, mainly because I’ll be using the term a lot; gamers are people who spent a lot of time playing videogames. The Average gamer playing video games has spent twelve years playing them. Adult gamers have an average of fourteen years of playing videogames, guys have an average of sixteen years, and girls have an average twelve years. Speaking of girls did you know that 47% of gamers are girls? I would have never guessed that, but it’s a fact. So, as of 2013 49% of all people who live in The United States owns a console. All of them that own a console have at least two of them. Me, I own eleven… I think I may have a problem. Anyway, now that some of the facts are out of the way let’s start, THE HISTORY OF VIDEOGAMES! Now before I start I want to talk about all the most important events in the history of videogames, as I call them eras. Each era is very important because they shaped the videogames we know and love today.

In the past 30 years, video games have had a major impact on how people spend their leisure time. The first generation of video games were nothing more than simple geometric shapes, one or more of which could be controlled by the game player. Each generation of games always uses the newest technologies available, leading to more impressive graphics and realism. Along with these modern technologies come more realistic violent acts and situations. Also with each new generation of video games, people are spending more time and money on them. The term video games will be used to define any interactive multimedia in which the human player has control over the main "character" in a simulated game world. This can include all types of video games such as those played on arcade machines, home consoles, hand-held consoles, and personal computers.

Video games have been around since the 1950’s. The first computer game was called Chess and there was no “video” to be displayed. The program was not even powerful enough to play the full game. The first computer game to use video was called XOX, or Noughts and Crosses, a form of digital tic-tac-toe. Since then, video games have rapidly grown in popularity and improved the play style and graphics. Some graphics in video games that are currently being released look realistic and the gameplay is smoother. Also, video games today are no longer confined to a desktop computer. There are now gaming laptops, consoles (Ex. GameCube, Xbox, PS3), handheld video games (Ex. Gameboy, 3DS, PSP), and you can now play games on your smart phone anywhere you want. The most popular ways to play video games are on computers or on consoles. PC gaming (computer gaming) and console gaming have been at a “gaming war” for yeas on which is better to play video games on. Both PC gaming and console gaming offer entertainment and a journey into a fantasy world, however, each offers a different way of gaming for the player. Depending on which system is chosen can determine the cost of the system and the upkeep, the way it is played and the special features each have to offer.

Devices give people new skills that could be used in the real world. A very important skill is finding information; according to new imaging studies “the brains of internet users become more efficient at finding information.” Being able to find information quickly is something that can help many people in school and work. Games are something that are providing us skills

In recent years there have been plenty of cases of music, people, games, etc, being used as scapegoats so authorities can jump to conclusions about violent events and blame these as the main reason for such an event to take place. To give people an answer that may not even have any supporting evidence. Nowadays violence in video games is up to the level of killing people as the norm with many popular titles having this apart of the game. In many games that is the one of the main features that add together to create the game. Some game titles that include violence and killing are ‘Call of Duty,’ ‘Halo,’ ‘Grand Theft Auto,’ ‘Mass Effect,’ ‘Battlefield,’ ‘Counterstrike: Global Offensive,’ and ‘Doom.’ All of these games main storylines include the need to attack and kill to progress forward (Mainly with guns). But does this create a bad effect on people? Is this making people more likely to be violent? Even kill in real life? This is the particular ethical issue that violence in video games is having. The argument to prove if video games are really a cause of anger and if they cause a more aggressive and again violent person just by playing. In the world there are over 1.2 billion people that play video games, which is about 44% of the online population (comScore data cited by Spil Games). With majority of games including some form of violence, ranging from being very gentle lego fights to full on gore and guts in 18+

Storytelling has always been an ancient art form, taking people back to past cultures. Some believe stories were first printed on rock, carved into clay tablets, stone, bark and other materials. With the beginnings of writing they moved on to parchment and paper and now are digitally produce. “When we experience a story, we allow ourselves to be invaded by the teller” (Gottschall XV). If the author is good at his job, we are completely taken over by the story and our mind is working hard to absorb the characters, theme, colors and scenes. Early video games did not have a story but with the new digital forms, stories are necessary to keep players involved. Storytelling in games gives the gamers the opportunity to be involved in the game, experience the characters, stimulate feelings like fear and excitement and let the player know they make situations happen and the choices they make affect the outcome as well as motivate them to continue on. Graphics have always been important to the game, but developers are now realizing that the story is equally as important if players want to stick with the game.

Video games were originated first in laboratories by scientists. “This first idea came from their imaginations in late 1940s but unfortunately it did not reach the people as they were confined only to laboratories. This situation was observed till early 1970s until arcade games became popular.Then later on a new start-up named “Atari” unleashed a new

In an article titled Video Games Can Never be Art, the author, Roger Ebert, a famous film critic and well known journalist, shares his opinion that video games will never have the same status as other great works. To specify, he claims that ”no video gamer now living will survive long enough to experience the medium as an art form,” (Ebert). He then subsequently explains that the definition of art is “the creation of one artist,” (Ebert) meaning that a dance is an art because of the choreographer, and architecture is art because of the architect. (Ebert) Very early in the article Ebert makes his point exceedingly clear, he states that not only does he consider video games as something not worth his time, but that they will never (in this lifetime,) amount to the works of any great artist such as Michelangelo or Picasso. He then furthermore contrasts art mediums, including composing,

Pro video gamers exercise in various ways which includes, running, swimming and weight lifting, according to Sutter. These exercises are for better performance in their gaming competitions just like traditional sports. Pro gamers, as an athletes, balance their physical health and mental toughness and practice for extensive amount of time. These factors can be used to compare the similarity of both the video games and the traditional sports. Video games comes in various types and form; some common exercisable types are Xbox Live or Wii, they have video games which you need be physically involved in order to proceed the game plays. Types of video games that was released late 1940s to early 1970s makes video games seem impotent, however, present

The first real “video game” was developed in 1958, by a physicist named William Higginbotham. It was a table tennis game and is played on an oscilloscope, a device used for visual displays. While some big name games, companies, and events had, yet, to happen, it sparked the video game industry. These paragraphs will guide you through the many years of games. As Mario would say, “Lets‘a go!!”

In the Article “Why Video Games Are Works Of Art” Kyle Chayka states his views on Roger Ebert’s argument made in the article “Video Games can never be art.” In Eberts article he says that video games are something that can be won, and include rules and objectives, where art is a visually pleasing, and emotionally powerful experience. As a result in Ebert saying this, Chayka comes back and states many of the things he has experienced in video games. For example, he states “I’ve stood at the top of a grass-blown knoll overlooking the sea, a view that stretched to cover a land of sprawling islands traversed only by my sailboat and me. I have played a musical instrument that controls the wind. I’ve been a sword-wielding teenage adventurer, a ghostbuster,

Video games have shaped the world your years. Video games have defined us and made us through technology. Some would say they can’t live without video games while others say they would die if they played them. Video games also start franchises, wars, friendships, relationships, and inspiration for those who might one day become a game designer them self. Aside from the gamers and designers, the video game itself is a whole other story. Video games are now-a-days played on consoles and PCs made from the hardware with all the components from it needs to send signals and what not. There is also the code within the video games, one simple action you take in a video game can be maybe 3 to 20 pages worth of code. The creation of video game also have a really cool history as well.

Video games have been a favorite pass time for Americans and people all over the world for many centuries. I have always loved video games ever since I was introduced to the Nintendo 64 when I was a little girl. I found Super Mario Bros. and Donkey Kong very addicting when I began playing it. However, a new level of game addiction has been introduced into the era of technology. Games on our phones have been a new popularity in recent years. Usually when I hear the words “video game,” I think of a console, like the Wii or PlayStation. I don’t consider games that are on the app store like Flappy Bird or Temple Run a legitimate video game. Even though they don’t fall under that category, these games are downloaded over a million times. A

As we have grown up we have watched the video games we used to play evolve to what is out there now and then turn to previews of what is upcoming in video games.