For those of you who have been in a coma since around when the first Star Wars movie came out in theaters and just woke up, we now have these things called 'video games' that can be played on our tube-less TV and graphics-capable computers. While you marvel at that (and our lack of neon-colored suits) I should also tell you that these video game things have also been a teensy bit controversial. One of the theories that swirled around the motive for the Columbine shooting was that the boys responsible had played too many violent first-person-shooter games. And now there is rising alarm in some circles that the age of the average gamer is now 35. The popular image of the boy who had 'failed to launch' used to be the bachelor who played the field with girls instead of committing and settling down; now it's a fat, unwashed slob who plays World of Warcraft or Call of Duty until 4AM. So what's the deal here? Why is this one form of entertainment so enticing and divisive?
Well, why does any form of entertainment work? It mentally takes us out the place we are in and to a place we find much better. Music can clear your mind and express feelings you can't articulate in words. Books can help us vicariously live the life of everyone from a master spy to All-American cowboy. Movies can take the vicarious life experience a step further by throwing in visuals and sound (hey, nobody is watching 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' for an in-depth study of Judaism). A video game takes what a movie has and adds an interactive element. No longer do we have to merely watch John Wayne mow down Nazis, we can plug in our copy of 'Call of Modern Warfare's Medals of Honor 1942 Heroes: Secret Operations' and do the same with our joystick. And that is why video games have such attraction to men. The quick thrill of success without the risk of say, actually getting blow-up by space aliens.
To illustrate the point, here's a few games that have occupied more than a few hours of my life:
Civilization III: Build a civilization up over the course of 6000 years from a few mud huts to the world's dominant military, economic, and cultural power.
Roller Coaster Tycoon: Starting with a small plot of land and a little cash, you build a theme park that eventually makes Six Flags cry itself to sleep.
Knights of the Old Republic: The fate of the galaxy depends on whether you will choose to follow the Light side of the Force become a Jedi hero or the Dark side and become a Sith tyrant (either way, you end up with this mighty fine looking brunette).
MLB Power Pros 2008: Run the front office and use strategy to assemble a team of all-stars, then create your player avatar and take the field to hit home runs, break records, and win championships.
Rome Total War: Assemble and command vast legions on battlefields from Britannia to Babylon as you fight, plot, build, and trade your way to an empire that will last for centuries... and be remembered for millennia.
Star Wars: X-Wing Alliance: As a the Rebel Alliance's top fighter pilot you foil the schemes of the evil Galactic Empire, all while fighting a personal vendetta against the crime lord who killed your father.
Red Dead Redemption: As the deadliest gun in the West, you shoot your way across the vast and savage frontier on a mission to save your family from corrupt government agents.
I could go on, but what's the dominant theme here? Power. Control. Ability. Purpose. Success. And all without having to spend years developing your body into a fighting machine or taking classes in business school. Men were made to fight, to struggle, to build, and to succeed. Video games gives us that thrill.
So what to do about all this? Frankly, I don't think video games are evil or stupid (I'm already planning how I'm going to purchase a PC capable of running Star Citizen when it comes out at the end of 2014). They are another form of entertainment -not simply a distraction for kids- that will eventually find its proper place in society (remember, movies used to be considered cheap sideshow attractions, now they are respected as works of art). I'm also not the most qualified person to make big sociological pronouncements, but here goes: If we as a society are really dead set on preventing our guys from becoming sorry losers who play League of Legends for hours on end and never strive towards anything more, give us real life goals to work for. Hold higher standards and honor those who meet them. And be sure to honor those who do meet them, you can't demand heroism from men, then devote yourself to tearing down heroes, then wonder why guys don't bother to be heroes at all. Men are going to get the fix we're programmed to search for, it's all a question of where. Men can be trained to fight and win in the real world, or we'll default to doing those things in the digital world.
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