The Evolution of Gaming

Sure, video games are improving by the day. It seems like only yesterday SEGA Genesis and Super Nintendo were the forerunners in gaming. These platforms remained on the top for so long because of the content in its games. While games were "improving" other platforms like SEGA CD weren't quite helping gamers optimize their experience.

Games like Sonic The Hedgehog and Super Mario Bros. were popular for one main reason: consistency. No matter how many sequels in the franchises came out, people couldn't get enough of the same colorful and head-turning gameplay. Maybe it was the use of colors or the fruity music and sounds that made these games pop. But it seems like for the true gamer (the kind that played video games frequently in a social manner), this was the time to shine.

At some point, however, gaming started taking on a new meaning. It was no longer about going from level to level to get the big prize in the end. Instead, it turned into a more realistic, lifelike journey. Think Legend of Zelda for Nintendo 64. At the time of its release, it was one of the most popular games to ever sell. Suddenly it wasn't just about having Mario or Sonic hop over obstacles and switching off with friends; it was about committing yourself to a way of life. It was about abandoning your role in human society and becoming a junkie. It was addiction.



With the improvement of graphics and the competition between different companies to release the best experience for its consumers (i.e. Microsoft vs. Sony) gaming started kicking into high gear becoming more and more realistic. Some games started to even offer a cinematic quality to them. Not only do you have to win a game, you have to be the hero in your own movie.

But it wasn't until the emergence of online gaming, that the true subculture of the human species started to rise. Games like World of Warcraft and Halo changed EVERYTHING.

We are in an age of being plugged into the system (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, TXTing). Online gaming offers an aesthetically pleasing way of being further involved in an ever-expanding dimension that is crippling our society. Kids aren't playing basketball outside or camping anymore. Instead they are turning into junk food-addicted fat fucks developing carpel tunnel syndrome between all of the joystick-handling and masturbating to online porn.

For all of the teenage to thirty-somethings out there flirting with an avatar from World of Warcraft. They're not going to blow you. Shut down the PC, throw on some sweats, and hit the gym. Gaming is the lease effective way of getting laid. There's still hope for you.