Video Games Come to Life

So much pain, so much blood. Everything was fuzzy, people looked like splotches blocking my vision. The yelling. It’s getting louder. I look for light, but only darkness is here now. There. Under the door. I try my hardest to lift the fallen door, but a shooting pain propels up my leg so I stop. “

I listened to the weapon’s high pitched tone lessen as it discharged behind me. It didn’t take long before I heard the familiar beep notifying me that the weapon was harmless once again. From what was standing before me in my doorway (at that particular moment), I was happy one part of my body could still function. although, breathing was necessary, what was between my ears was what had more importance for now. What was standing in front of me had instantly froze my feet in place, had widened my eyes as far as they could go, and stopped my heart. I didn’t know what to say, let alone what to do.

Hell, If I could, I would have turned right around. But I couldn’t. There was still something blocking my free will. It wanted me to go inside one of the buildings. Seconds later I feel the same force dragging me towards the A lettered building. 4 windows covered with dust shadow the view from the inside. I can barely make out the structures inside. Obviously everything was abandoned, so the sound of nothingness, not even the wind, was very eery. I arrived to the front entrance. You could clearly see how old everything was. The brick and concrete were beginning to crumble, chunks of rock falling from the building's sides. A large rusty chain was keeping the twin metal doors locked with a simple padlock on them. The rust seemed as though it was severe. A simple pull and the whole thing came apart with the lock on the ground. “How long has this been here?”, i question. Rust shouldn’t have weakened the metal that much. My legs alert me once more and I continue forward march. Through the twin doors, I was in what looked like an old, burned office. There was a receptionists desk in front of me charred black, filing cabinets all around were also charred. Everything in there was burnt to a crisp. There was no smell in there, so this was not recent. I continued up to some metal stairs which made some uneasy noises. Once up there was only one place to go, a conference room of sorts. Charred tables and chairs, but my legs keep me moving. They take me

What have we done? As the moonlight glimmered down on us, shimmering across our bleeding wounds, we began to realize what we just did. The smoky haze began to clear up and revealed a gigantic chunk taken out of the oak tree. This was supposed to be a fun little fountain of flames, but the outcome was nothing close to a playful pyrotechnics. We’re confused and scared, what should we do? We have to get out of here. Fleeing the scene, thorns from the jagged bushes began to pierce my legs like tiny bayonets with every step. Because of how stunned we are, we don’t even realize what pain we’re putting ourselves through. Not being able to hear anything at all and barely being able to see. Thinking to myself never

It was late Tuesday, and I was up late reading an allegory when a muffled thud pulled me back to reality. I sat up still as a statue while I listened. the sound seemed to be coming from downstairs. I sprang out of bed and ran into the across the hallway.

As dawn began to break across the beautiful sky, I heard the powerful iron doors of the main building being closed and locked. Dawn to me is the most beautiful part of the day. Colors streaming across the sky make me forget about the horrors of the world. Under me I heard some sort of loud bombs or grenades being thrown into the lowest hall and exploding there; they seemed to make only smoke, but they may have been incendiaries. Later, the ground floor began to burn a scorching heat. Perhaps benzene or petrol had been poured around. Sadly I was still lying among the bodies of others. The bodies smelled awfully and were terribly wounded. Since they were wounded I got streaks of blood on my face and body.

Scuttling innocently through the twisting corridors I bore the same expression; head down, shoulders hunched, avoiding any eye contact - my desperate attempts to deter the despot for one day at least. Despite my efforts, there was no escape, as seemingly within the second of having that naively optimistic thought, a cruel, callous voice demanded I surrender my broach. Fear spiked, as it always did, but with it came something else, an alien emotion ... Looking back now, I see that it must have been the cumulative effect of months of torment that brought me to the realisation that at this point I had reached the nadir of my life. Deriding cackles pierced my ears and this time I recognised the emotion, fury. It burned through my veins, along with the memories of the past to form a feeling of overwhelming power. I met the daggers that would usually invoke terror, and calmly, I said “No.”

Despite the men buzzing with thrill and excitement to witness that a lanky scrawny man like me is going against a menacing undefeatable wall of restrain. I could still perceive my heart pound like a thousand drum as adrenaline rush through my brain. Coldly i begin move towards the wall. As i placed both feet on the stone my feet decided to plant itself onto the stone due to the horrific nature of the outcome my body becomes still. But fear propelled me to leap toward the rope getting hold of it i realise that gravity was acting against me, the rope was as slippery as a politicians conscience my grasp begin to loosen, my palms are feeling restless. Upon getting to the tip of the brick I could detect an unpleasant odour of gas coming from the chamber surrounding me and it pulling me back with a force mightier than storm itself.

I tripped on the way to the bunker door. As I turned to look at what my foot had hit I felt rumbling against my torso. I could tell from the orange light in front of me, probably emanating from the giant mushroom cloud, that I had a few seconds. I got to my feet and sprinted to the giant grey block installed in the basement. It had been installed in case of “an emergency”, of course they never told us what it was. Only for those who really needed to know, but I guess everyone knew now. The door slammed shut with a thud. I took three tentative steps forwards then sprinted back to lock the door, just in case.

I’ve been playing video games and watching various forms of animation for years. I started to play video games on my Sega Genesis, like Sonic the Hedgehog and Phantasy Star. From then on, I advanced in gaming platforms and experienced games from Nintendo since the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and from Sony on the first PlayStation. I spent countless hours playing video games. However, I also spent a fair amount of time watching animation. I’d wake up on Saturday mornings to watch shows like Pokémon and Dragon Ball. Additionally, there was the occasional marathon of Disney VHS tapes.

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

It’s only a game right? Games seem innocent enough when their sitting in the store but what are we really bringing into our homes? Over the past thirty years, video games have become an integral part of our culture, and the video game industry has become a multi-billion dollar domain. Video games have been proven to improve spatial attention (Green, C) and multitasking abilities (Chiappe, Dan), but there are negative aspects as well, such as their portrayal of women. This negative portrayal has been around as long as the video games themselves, begging the question “why does it matter?” Well, the way women are portrayed effects not only the women who play the game but the men as well. In this essay, I will be discussing the over sexualisation of women, female tropes in video games, and the consequences of a male dominant outlook in relation to the detrimental effect it has on players.

For the past few years of my life, I had found myself strangely attracted towards the infinite worlds and possibilities that are unlocked by playing video games. Although I do agree that a well-written book or a film can have a similar effect of immersing someone in a world of pure fabrication, a game has the advantage of taking it a step further, by directly involving the player in the story and taking them to the point where their reality is replaced by something that is truly wondrous. I had also noticed that most people used video games as a form of entertainment so that they can experience things that would never occur in the real world and gain a tiny sense of joy that they can add to their normal, boring lives. This is an understandable process, as games can provide someone with hours of thrilling tales that can satisfy their sense of adventure, a trait that we all have somewhere deep down within us. There are also some people who compete within the gaming world and boast about their victories to an audience that is spread across the globe, proving to everyone that they are the best and that they deserve recognition. As for me, however, I never associated myself with either of these groups. I wasn 't the type of person who played games for the entertainment factor or the achievement that came with competition. Instead, I played games to escape the harshness of reality so that I could thrive in a multitude of worlds where the monsters can actually be defeated.

The persona that the average video gamer is an obvious one. To many, the term “gamer” tends to inspire the idea of a young, lonely boy who consumes a little too much junk food on a daily basis. This solitude is exactly what is wrong with the gamer stereotype. Today’s gamers are experiencing the forefront of technology. An effective combination of new technology and cultural practices has thrust gamers into a new realm of possibility. Gamers are not social outcasts, but rather social pioneers. From MMO’s to MOBA’s, Youtube to Twitch, the power of the gamer has been recognized in profits and sheer levels of participation. With the introduction and development of innovative technology, video games are an elevated social platform.

“GO, GO, GO!” I heard being shouted. It was all chaos, blood, bullets. My thoughts drifted off. It was all a blur. It was a hot sunny day at the time of this event. I kept running as the dust crowed around the ends of my pants while letting my sweat drip though my worries. Just as I had thought I was clear, I felt a bolt of flaming pain rip though my shoulder; behind me I could hear muffled breathing. I turned around and just as I was about to strike, a gunshot went off. The masked figure didn’t move, through my pain I saw his face. His mouth was open like he was yawning, like he was about to go to sleep…he was already asleep. As he limped on to me, he grunted one last time before silence took over him. Personally I didn’t care,