No More Denying It. Video Games are Art.

Paintings Look Like They're From Old-School Video Game

Video games as art is a concept that has been argued for and against since the beginning of the creation of video games.

Video games, however, are undeniably art. Though not all video games created and published for the public should be recognized as ‘art,’ many games have the qualities of being art.

“Not all games deserve the title of art or high art. But, to be fair, we also sell terrible paintings and trashy books.”

Deardoff, 2015

What is ‘art’ though?
According to Nathan Deardorff, writer of the Forbes article “An Argument That Video Games Are, Indeed, High Art,” Art can be defined using this criterion:

1. Art should elicit ideas, emotions, and reactions.

Many video games have the power to inflict strong emotions or feelings in their players, especially video games that are narrative-based. Of course, not all video games meet this criterion. For example, the game Candy Crush or most tile-matching video games. They may cause their players to feel frustration, joy, and satisfaction, but these emotions are rudimentary and lack depth. These emotions are not followed by inquisition or the creation of ideas, but, rather, mindless gaming or a break.

Deardoff continues further by explaining how video games that successfully elicit ideas, emotions, and reactions, arguably, do it better than conventional forms of art. This is so because no other form of art provides such a personal and interactive experience as video games do. Video games merge the game and player into one. The player not only views the ‘art,’ but becomes part of the art. This union creates an interpersonal experience that allows the player to relate to the ‘art,’ and speak of it on a personal level.

2. The ‘art’ in question should have been created with the intention to create art, not to create a profit.

In addition to making players feel and think, a video game must have been created with the intent of being art. Deardorff uses the difference between designers and artists to explain this criterion. Deardorff claims that an artist intends to create video games that express an emotion or an idea, while designers intend to create a video game that can be mass-marketed and can generate a large profit. The latter removes value from the video game, while the former adds value, and this value is the appeal of art.

Is it enough for a video game to check off a list to be considered art? 

No. 

Oftentimes, having a set definition for art can be regressive and exclude pieces of work that are art. There are many video games that violate Deardoff’s argument that art should have been created with the intention of being art, not the intention to make a profit, that should still be considered art. Sometimes, the worst games – the games made simply to create a profit – can elicit such strong emotions in communities that these video games become part of history. They are infused with so much value by society that they become art. This paradoxical phenomenon makes it almost impossible to create a clear definition of ‘art,’ but makes it easy to understand that almost anything, including video games, can be considered art.

Therefore, video games are undeniably art and are transforming our culture’s normative definitions of art. The value given to video games can turn them into art, and video games as art give value to our culture’s history, story, and transformation.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/berlinschoolofcreativeleadership/2015/10/13/an-argument-that-video-games-are-indeed-high-art/?sh=25e671407b3c

Video Games, Leadership, and “21st Century Skills”

Throughout their history, video games have always been criticized for negative impacts they may have on players. Some arguments have remained the same, some have evolved with the changing industry. Many people still believe that video games are a complete detriment to society. But video games aren’t going anywhere. The question emerges then, are there any positive effects that we can see? What can us gamers point to as a benefit to this extremely popular pastime?

“Today, teams of players are taking on all sorts of challenges in many games, worldwide. This fact, allows players to better understand the modern economic world and how important teamwork is when we want to succeed fast and effectively.”

Arie Elbelman, 2018

Arie Elbelman discusses impacts which video games have on everyone, especially younger audiences, focusing on the concept of teamwork. This goes along with a broader conversation about video games and communication, and the experiences with these concepts which are intrinsically embedded in many online games. Elbelman turns to World of Warcraft to explain his connection between leadership, communication, and learning real world skills in a low-risk environment.

“Each player has a unique role in the team and must play accordingly. … No one can succeed on his own, a group must consist of all of these types of players in order to overcome the many challenges in the game.”

Elbelman, 2018

I’ve played MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and been around many people involved in those communities. If I’ve gleaned one thing from that exposure, it’s that you need other people. And not just other people as in additional players, other people meaning characters different from yourself. If a bunch of damage-per-second (DPS) players decide to embark on a raid sans healer, their health bar is bound to hit zero. My experience with this has been with family or friends, with characters all created to complement each other (somehow, I’m always a tank. No, not the healer, women in healer-roles is another topic entirely).

It’s impossible to succeed in an instance like that without communication, which my experience has mainly been over voice chat features. Elbelman is articulating how games with these different character roles emphasize the need for different perspectives, skills, and experiences, and the need to communicate with each person to get their ideas and needs across. In younger audiences, games like this become automatic practice for listening to other people’s ideas, along with the importance of diversity. Furthemore, a leader is more likely to recruit people of different backgrounds to better their community and make sure they don’t only consist of DPSers.

“According to a study, those playing these kinds of games performed better at a visual perception task, directly influencing and giving benefits to players in real-world learning.”

Elbelman, 2018

Elbelman also goes on to elaborate how games like Call of Duty can also positively affect players, despite the heavy stigmas around first-person shooters. For these games, the mechanics of gameplay themselves along with the communication and teamwork involved help develop motor and assessment skills. Studies have even shown that many gamers make better surgeons or pilots because of motor skills gained from games. In his article, Elbelman calls skills like these “21st century skills”, which he also connects to wanting to experience things like coding which many young video game players are curious about. These 21st century skills, as I look at them, are not necessarily skills that kids have never learned before. I mean, I learned plenty of teamwork skills playing Capture The Flag in middle school, but I also learned from World of Warcraft. These 21st century skills seem to be just the new ways in which our environment can affect the evolution of learning, and prove that video games don’t only bring bad influences and experiences among gamers.

The Impact of Video Games on the Metaverse

The Impact of Video Games on the Metaverse

Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, recently announced the company’s rebranding by changing the company name to Meta Platforms Inc. Following the rebranding, Zuckerberg also announced the company’s plan to build a “Metaverse”, making it the “the first big tech corporation to invest $10 billion in a virtual universe”(Shin).

source: https://www.howtogeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/meta-logo.jpg?height=200p&trim=2,2,2,2

We now live in a society where technology has completely dominated our lives from our workspace to our entertainment to our social life. The pandemic also solidified the power the internet has as we see ourselves relying on apps and websites to communicate with each other. Technology is now seen as a necessity rather than as a leisure. Giant corporations finally see the influence of digital technology and utilize these tools to make the most out of their company and generate more income.

But a specific community in the digital world is gaining more popularity than others and it’s the gaming industry. Now, companies like Meta take inspirations from the gaming industry to make their corporations even more successful than it already is. The video game industry is starting to revolutionize the way companies market themselves through virtual interactive reality and online communication.

This article shows us which elements of video games companies wish to adapt in order to create their own metaverse.

Influence of Video Games on Metaverse

Prior to the creation of “Metaverse” by Meta Inc., most would often associate the whole concept of metaverse to video games. Some of the video games that have this “metaverse” aspect are Grand Theft Auto and Roblox.

“If you ask people today what they thought the metaverse was…people that follow the space would say it’s about gaming, and that’s because gaming provides many of the most immersive experiences, and it is the biggest entertainment industry by far.”

Mark Zuckerberg

According to Noah Shin, author of the article, “Open world games continue to stand at the forefront because it opens a virtual reality space where users can interact with the computer-generated environment and the ecosystem of users.” I believe this is one of the strongest suits of video games. Games offer incredible immersive experience where gamers can communicate with each other via virtual setting and also interact with the gaming environment.

Not only that, the ability of video games to create a virtual reality entice players to play for hours without ever leaving their room. Shin mentioned that “Fortnite has surpassed over 350 million registered users, and gamers logged 3.2 billion hours in the game in April 2020 alone” (Shin). As I stated in my previous blog, the gaming industry has one of the biggest and most loyal fanbases out of all other industries. Even Netflix, a streaming company giant, counts Fortnite, an open-world video game, as their biggest competitor in terms of consumers instead of other streaming services. Meaning, if a company wants to promote their brand, they better take notes from the gaming industry.

The experience and intimacy video games offer is what companies want. Having the ability to generate large amount of loyal consumers is what corporations seek for.

Large tech corporations are investing in-game platforms in hopes of a more lucrative business model.

Noah Shin

Shin listed couple of ways corporations are utilizing digital tools to promote their brand outside of their industry: ” Nike has quietly filed trademarks in preparations of selling virtual apparel, which apparel consumers can don via their virtual avatars. The Los Angeles Staples Center was given $700 million to change its name to Crypto.com Arena by the Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange app. Adidas partners with NFT gorillas Bored Ape Yacht Club and other NFT communities, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) has publicly announced its work into their version of a virtual communication ecosystem with economic, cultural, tourism, and civic services, provisionally dubbed Metaverse Seoul.

“Welcome to Meta”

https://about.facebook.com/meta/

As for Meta Inc., Zuckerberg launched the Metaverse as “the next evolution of social connection”(Meta) where they hope to bring this universe to life. One can access the Metaverse through virtual reality (using Quest, a VR headset), augmented reality (using Spark AR), and smart glasses (using Ray-ban stories). Just like how gamers can purchase character skins and game assets, users will hopefully soon be able to purchase McDonald’s food through Metaverse since McDonald’s files trademark for metaverse restaurant and probably NFTs too.

The creation of Meta’s Metaverse might led other corporations to create their own metaverse and/or invest on other’s metaverse.

In conclusion…

The rise of metaverses, NFTs and cryptos created a new era of digital technology. We can almost do anything at the comfort of our own homes. Because of this, it now doesn’t seem impossible that in just a few decades, or even just a few years, maybe there’s no need for physical stores or even physical workplace anymore and I think that is scary. Though I’m all for innovation and evolution, I’m scared that as the internet tries to bring us “closer”, in reality, we are truly apart. We are so immersed by technology that we don’t notice how it affects and manipulates our minds to be addicted to the internet. We should still find a balance between life online and life offline.

How Lore Adds to Video Games

Whether it was the bite of 83 or 87, lore adds an extra layer of depth to video games. It allows for players to explore all the nooks and crannies of the world in which the characters exist and fully immerses themselves in the game world. Not only this, but lore creates discourse outside of the game and allows for affinity groups to emerge and interact with other players and sometimes even the creators/developers themselves.

Before we go any further, let’s define what exactly lore is. According to the article, Telling Stories: The Importance of Lore in Video Games by Pablo Seara, “the lore of a game is its backstory, all the elements that complement the principal narrative. These details add depth and richness to the universe of a video game, expanding its history outside the main plot.” Lore provides another level of engagement with the players. Take for instance the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise. If you go on youtube, you can find hundreds of videos from various creators just discussing and theorizing about the lore of the games. Even people who haven’t played the game can explore and understand the world of FNAF through the hidden lore.

“A games developers create this world and introduce it to players in different pieces… leaving parts for players to discover on their own”

Sage Mode Jedi

While it is not essential to know every tiny detail about the world of a game to enjoy it, knowing those small details further connects the players to the world and the characters in them. You could play the game without ever stopping to take in the lore and it would not impact the plot of the story or take away from your experience. But having that option to interact and put together the puzzles scattered across the world, it allows for players to further emerge in the game and even transcend the gameplay entirely. Lore can give a seemingly evil or small character depth and history by exploring their backstories and how they came to be in their video game world.

“Knowing about the past of the world can make you appreciate the experience even more.”

-Seara

In the article mentioned, Seara states that the quality of the lore in a game can either add or take away from the experience. They explain how “lore is essential for the depth of any game, and failing in conveying a good background story can damage the title’s quality.” While I agree that good lore can greatly add to how a game is perceived, I feel that not all games need extensive and detailed lore in order to be good. Lore is a tool that developers can choose to use in their games. And whether the lore is good or not, it still creates discourse outside of the game. Overall, lore, while not necessary to plot, is fun! It “can drive players to get more attached to a game” and “improve a story, by adding lots of interesting information about the world and characters that live in it” (Seara). Lore has the power to build communities and stimulate discourse within those communities. It can enhance a player’s engagement and experience with a game and keep them coming back for more.

Hope exists! Accurate representation is here!

How to Get to Inazuma - Genshin Impact Wiki Guide - IGN

On September 28th, 2020 Mihoyo Co. released their new game Genshin Impact, creating a new standard for open-world adventures. The latest –and largest– patch presents a new storyline and region incorporating Japanese references into the magical Inazuma territory.

Through the newly presented characters, Genshin Impact demonstrates a thorough understanding of Japanese history and culture not many other companies have demonstrated, Sasha Wang’s web article “Genshin Impact’s Inazuman characters, landscape stay true to their Japanese origins”. The region Inazuma is ruled by Baal, the Raiden Shogun; Raiden means “God Spirit” or “thunder and lightning,” while Shogun refers to Japanese military leaders before the twentieth century, known for their severity in command. Baal possesses the element of electro (electricity and thunder) and rules the nation with a strict mentality, and with this coherence, the thread of Mihoyo developing an extremely rich and accurate representation of Japanese traditions begins.

Baal wears a purple kimono-like robe fastened by traditional Japanese accessories: an obi, an obijime sash, and an obije. Modernized generations of Japanese girls and women tuck their obiage beneath their obi, to the point of having an introduction to the different obijime types and ties, but to showcase her ideologies of eternal youth preservation and refusal to change the ruler wears her outfit traditionally untucked. As presented in the picture, the inclusion of these small features and attention to detail highlight the effort put into providing a dedicated depiction of Japan. 

More details are reflected in the gorgeous architecture and vegetation in the patch. Cherry blossoms are Inazuman specialties and they are acquired next to Sakura trees that are often placed close to Torrii Gates. Also, the designing process behind the buildings and paths allows an accurate and immersing experience for the user in traditional Japan even in the fictitious role. Overall the environment created for this region was a very thoughtful process that benefits everyone, therefore making Mihoyo’s efforts worth it. 

Genshin Impact Sakura Bloom locations guide | AllGamers
Cherry blossom specialty, image: Mihoyo.

Although I agree Genshin Impact performs an amazing job at creating very accurate and complex territories like Germany-based Mondstad and China-inspired Liyue by also refusing to market an erroneous image just to increase their sales; the company should not be praised. Mihoyo is China-based and has offices in Japan, so a misrepresentation was less likely. But my point is, the company is only executing and being held at the bare minimum of not mocking a cultural heritage the gacha game is profiting off. Therefore the proper inclusion of Japanese accents in Inazuma should be expected, as well as other representations by other media. 

Discrimination of Female Gamers

Throughout these past three weeks, I have researched and learned more about the overwhelming occurrences of sexism in video games, but I think the most fascinating aspect of this topic is how it affects women today. For example, a study conducted by Reach3 Insights where they surveyed 900 female gamers showed that even though women compose 41% of gamers, 77% of these women have experienced gender- based discrimination. This discrimination includes anything from being called a name to having someone mansplain something to them. I find this especially interesting because I personally feel like I have experienced similar instances, especially in cases where people do not take me seriously or assume I only play certain games like Animal Crossing or Mario Kart. 

I have especially noticed harassment of women in video games from video compilations of men making annoying, sexist comments to female gamers. There was a popular Youtube video that I watched that was just 8 minutes straight of the kinds of things a female gamer has to deal with when they play games that are not usually played by women. The video is titled “What Girl Gamers REALLY Have To Deal With”, and I thought the idea for this video was really interesting because these men made these comments so quickly after only hearing her voice. Seeing this harassment first-hand that is based solely on the fact that you are a woman is unfair and should not be tolerated. These videos are very upsetting to me because of how discouraging they are to women who play or even think about playing these games. I also think that these comments not only increase the divide between men and women in video games, but also isolate women from being able to enjoy video games. 

I also have noticed a considerable amount of discrimination against female gamers that stream and/or make a living off of video games. For example, a lot of female streamers that are popular receive a lot of hate and criticism for “using their looks” to gain their following or are “not even that good”. I recently saw a clip of a video that really intrigued me, and ultimately was the inspiration for this post, of a Youtuber, Anthony Padilla spending a day with the very popular streamer, Amouranth, who is an example of someone “using their looks” for content. The most interesting line of this video to me was when she said explained that a lot of people are upset when women use their looks even though video games do that constantly, but more specifically when she said that ”it seems to be accepted widely when male-dominated industries use women for their looks, but when women start using their own looks, it’s not acceptable anymore.” This is the last idea I want to leave you with because I feel like it summarizes everything I have talked about in these past three weeks, and I hope I have enlightened you on these serious matters.

https://www.pastemagazine.com/games/a-new-survey-confirms-that-most-women-gamers-have/

Friction Between NFTs and Games

Recently, more and more video game developers have announced their plans to join the world of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs for short. These announcements have consistently faced criticism from the larger gaming community as well as employees within the companies themselves. One of the biggest examples of such uproar come from within Team17, the creators of the wildly popular Worms franchise, as discussed in the article “Inside Team17, following the Worms NFT firestorm” by Tom Phillips.

I find it truly astonishing how the company’s upper management has handled the NFT situation, first by not listening to the employees’ opinions on NFTs and not properly informing them of the company’s plans, second by refusing to take accountability for the problems that the announcement inflicted onto the workers who had no say in the matter. This event makes obvious the necessity for companies to include its workforce’s opinions and actually use them for company decisions as the backlash from negatively perceived announcements usually hurt those lower in the ranks. It’s even more stunning that upper management saw previous NFT announcements being made by larger game companies, like Ubisoft, that were all received incredibly negatively by consumers and employees alike and still thought it would be a good idea as a quick cash grab.

NFT games seem to be only working with new developers that have made NFTs their focus. Even then, they largely seem to experience a spike as people rush to make money off the popularity of the game and then a crash as people cash out and switch to another game. Gameplay itself is seen more as a job than a fun experience to those who do play. Including NFTs in games just seems to result in a worse product with an incredibly small life cycle. Hopefully, developers and publishers learn how the short-term monetary gain that could be attained from joining the NFT craze will greatly damage their long-term trust, appeal, and gains.

The Rise of Video Game “Influencers”

Nowadays, because of the growing popularity and accessibility to the internet, almost everyone can be an influencer. Similar to social media influencers, who mostly get their platform from Instagram, Tiktok and Youtube, the rise of live streaming platforms like Twitch and Youtube give gamers the opportunity to become video game influencers. But how did they become so popular that even the biggest Youtube channel with over 111 million subscribers is a gamer? What’s the reason that the following of gaming influencers is growing exponentially?

It can actually be quite simple: gaming influencers not only let their audience experience the gameplay of the video game, they execute it with so much personality.

The rise of the gaming influencer is apparent. In the third quarter of 2019 there were 4.3m Twitch channels that produced content. In the second quarter of 2021 there were almost 12m.

 Ivan Šimić 

Though they may not have the largest following in all influencer platforms, they have a consistent and niche fanbase, almost all are gamers. Their demographics belong to those age 18 to 34, typically dominated by males. These people typically only follow video game influencers and they continue to grow exponentially as more people enter the gaming industry. The long hours these influencers dedicate to playing a game with their big and exciting personality attract many people to watch them. If you are a beginner gamer, they are also a great way to break into gaming.

“For those actively engaged in gaming (playing video games one plus hours per week), the global proportion who follow gaming influencers increases from nine percent overall to 15 percent, and we see a multiplying effect among heavy gamers (playing video games 11 plus hours per week) with double the amount globally (20 percent) following gaming influencers. Among heavy gamers, the countries with the highest penetration of gaming influencer followers, and consequently most likely to drive the growth of the gaming influencer sector are within Asia.”

YouGov
youtube-audience-loyalty-by-genre
https://cloutboost.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Screen-Shot-2021-07-02-at-11.04.43-AM.png

Game influencers’ impact on their audience

Though their audience might not be much diverse since their target demographic is gamers, video game influencers do a great job at maintaining their fanbase. Currently, PewDiePie is the most subscribed Youtuber of all of time with 111 million followers. He gained popularity because of his commentary; he plays videogames and talk about it while playing. But what’s so special about his commentary? Why does he have a large fanbase? Well, it’s his personality that attracts the viewers. Video game influencers allow their audience to fully experience the gameplay through funny and unpredictable commentary to the point that the audience are immersed by the game as if they really played it. Most of these influencers are also expert gamers; hence, if you’re not an expert, you’ll still be able to experience the game through the eyes of a skilled gamer. Through live streaming like Twitch, these game influencers offer social interaction with its viewers, making it seem more personal. The chat function allows viewers to interact with their favorite streamers, like friends. Also, isn’t it more fun to play video games with your friends than by yourself? That’s basically the same thing as watching you favorite video game influencer.

Game influencers’ impact on marketing

Because game influencers have such a huge and loyal following, companies can utilize them to promote their brands to the audience of these influencers.

“While the vast majority who follow gaming influencers are already playing games themselves, influencers can help to deepen this relationship, and that sense of connection and belonging can ultimately be of high value to marketers looking to have a conversation with these audiences.”

YouGov

Nowadays, people listen more to influencers than actual companies. Traditional marketing are becoming scarce because they don’t attract people anymore. To increase engagements, companies must seek influencers from popular platforms; in this case, to gain the attention of these 18-34 year old individuals, it’s probably a good idea to collaborate with video game influencers.

The reality of today is that influential individuals can outperform brands and even media companies in their audience reach.

Polina Haryacha

https://cloutboost.com/the-key-to-video-game-marketing-gaming-influencers/

One example of a successful collaboration with a video game influencer to promote their brand is the collaboration between CoryxKenshin, my brother’s personal favorite gamer, and Sony Pictures Entertainment to promote the newest zombie movie, Dead Rising: Endgame. This new film is adapted from the video game Dead Rising (well, speaking of video game movie adaptations, you should check out my other blog about that one). It’s successful because it doesn’t feel forced; the movie is from a video game so it was a smart choice for Sony to use a video game influencer to promote their movie. It also garnered about 1.5 million views. His promotional Youtube video feels natural because it is directly related to his niche which is video game commentary. That’s what he does. Well, if Sony were to pick a fashion influencer to promote their new film, then that would be very awkward….

It’s important for companies to learn about the gamers’ niche and skills so they can effectively promote the product in a natural way. Besides that, Polina Haryacha also described video game influencers as great content creators. Like I mentioned earlier, social interaction plays a huge part for video game influencers; through chats and comments, they’ll know what their audience want and don’t want and they can better cater their videos to their audience. Not only will that be helpful for companies to effectively promote their products, that will also be helpful for video game influencers so they can gain an even bigger following.

Overall..

We should appreciate video game influencers. Not only are they a great form of entertainment, they also build a strong community that connects anyone in the world and help brands market their products better so us, their consumers, their audience can have a better life. ALSO, NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THEIR POWER!!

Video Games: The Future of Entertainment Culture

For me, it’s hard to find someone my age who rarely plays or has never played a video game. Video games have been around for a while, and gaming consoles have been around much longer than my 20 years of life, but it seems like each generation has its own unique relationship to video games. Because of the large presence video games have had in my life (some of my formative memories involve laying on my stomach in a friend’s bedroom, playing Super Mario Bros mini games together on a Nintendo DSi), I started to wonder, how has Gen Z’s relationship with video games changed from previous generations?

I don’t think I can remember a time when a video game wasn’t at the tip of my fingers. Anywhere I was, even at the age of five, I could nudge my mom so I could play Frogger or Bejeweled on her flip phone, or ask my dad if I could play Brick Breaker on his BlackBerry. I think this may be the biggest difference between Gen Z’s relationship with video games, and older generations’ relationship with video games.

“For [Gen Z], watching TV and movies at home ranks fifth, behind listening to music, browsing the Internet, and engaging on social platforms. Gaming’s appeal spans generations: 87% of Generation Z, 83% of millennials, and 79% of Generation X are playing video games on smartphones, gaming consoles, and computers at least weekly if not daily.”

Westcott and Arbanas, 2021

Kevin Westcott and Jana Arbanas discuss how the video game industry is rapidly becoming Gen Z’s entertainment of choice, on a trajectory to overtake the film and television industry—according to them the video game industry is growing by 10% each year. It seems astounding that even though our generation is also the generation of streaming services, it’s possible that video games could become the top source of entertainment for future generations. And yet, when everyone has a smartphone, or almost every kid is equipped with an iPad or tablet, it seems inevitable that games will become even more ingrained in our culture. If we are at the cusp right before video games become even more a part of our lives, the question raised is one about the ramifications of such an influence.

“Increasingly, gamers can enjoy the same immersive stories and astonishing special effects that appear in movies. But here, not only do the players get to become the charismatic heroes, they’re often sharing these experiences with others.”

Wescott and Arbanas, 2021

In their article, Wescott and Arbanas talk about the reason behind the recent boom within the video game industry: the COVID-19 pandemic. In times of isolation and lockdown, people have turned to video games as an escape—and as a lifeline to others.

“Amid lockdowns, games have empowered people to solve puzzles, vanquish fearsome enemies, collaborate with allies, and compete against foes.”

Wexcott and Arbanas, 2021

What’s even better than an as-socially-distanced-as-possible game of tag in the park in the middle of a global pandemic? Hopping onto a voice chat with friends and playing your collective video game of choice. It’s safe, fun, and you still get the social interaction you’ve been lacking in quarantine (the only downside might be a decrease in physical activity). In addition to Gen Z’s unique experience of growing up in immediate proximity to video games, the COVID pandemic has offered an opportunity for video game communities and industries to thrive. Even people belonging to older generations (who haven’t previously been involved with video games) have begun to see the appeal. All of this suggests a new realm of culture that we are just on the brink of; a society almost reliant on video games as our entertainment and source of interaction, whether that’s for better or worse.