A Case of a Gamer
By: Geo (May 2nd, 2008)The news coming from the west is not very encouraging. With the sub-prime fallout, US economy is troubled, in fact reeling. The US Fed has cut interest rate once again by another 25bp to 2%. However, market in US is not responding to these attempts by the Fed and markets worldwide are worried by this trend. Prices of food and gas are rising. Crude is at an all time high with no sign of cessation. The situation can no longer be called just a case of recession, but probably the beginning of a depression. Industries across the board have seen negative growth and loss of profitability, with banks, brokerages and mortgage companies being the biggest losers with the realty market also going down hill.
But I was surprised to see a particular industrial segment showing unusual growth even in this slump. In contrast to the general negative economic trend, this industry registered a 63% growth in soft-wares and 46% in equipments! I am talking about the video-games industry (if at all I may call it that). I was curious and wanted to learn something about this segment though within a short while I understood that I was delving into something that I would hardly understand even fairly well. I mean, I was sure I would not perhaps completely understand the underlying psyche of a gamer because this population was perhaps living oblivious to the market realities.
It was then that I came across this young guy who looked like someone heavily into gaming. We met up at a common friend’s place.
Me: So tell me what’s news with you Jonathan?
Jon: Well, I can’t wait for the latest game release.
Me: Which is that? Is it big?
Jon: Well sir, you don’t know how big it is. Perhaps it’s going to be the biggest game debut ever. It’s called “Grand Theft Auto IV”. It’s a fourth generation videogame release of ‘Grand Theft Auto’ (GTA) series, known to have sold 70 million copies since its launch in 1997!
Me: And so the number IV? It stands for Fourth generation?
Jon: Actually it’s the ninth in the GTA series but it is made with a new level of graphical sophistication and technology and therefore called the fourth generation.
Me: And what is this about? About killing or racing or what?
Jon: The core gameplay consists of elements of a third-person shooter and a driving game.
Me: Does it fall among what they popularly call MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Play Game)?
Jon: I don’t understand the technical terms but it seems that unlike some of the earlier versions of GTA, we will be able to play online with multiple players. That’s what makes the game more exciting.
Me: When do you get the time to play? I mean how much time do you spend on these games? Is it daily or weekly or how?
Jon: Well, we have predecided days for meeting up. But some of my friends do spend 3-5 hours daily at the gaming centres. I do that ocassionally too.
It had got late when we had started this conversation and it was time to leave. Well, all this looked very interesting and so I decided to meet Jonathan up after a few days. We exchanged contact numbers and he was more than willing to meet up. The venue is anyone’s guess.
I did some research on this subject before we could meet up and here is how it went at the Soul Café.
Jon: Hey you know what, GTA 4 is out. But I have not got my hands on it yet.
Me: Hmm…well… seems you should stay clear of these games.
Jon: Come on, what happened to you suddenly. What’s wrong with videogames now? They are just games. Earlier it was don’t watch movies, then don’t watch TV and now don’t play videogames!
Me: Well, each of those “No” were not without reason and so is this one. I especially read about GTA and they have warned that the game contains adult content and that includes obscenity, porn like content, foul language and graphic violence.
Jon: Well that kind of content is there now on TV, in advertisements and so what’s new if it is there on videogames.
Me: Precisely. It’s there everywhere and the upcoming generation, that includes you, has sadly got desensitized to it. You don’t get uncomfortable anymore while watching some of these contents with your parents. The alarming thing is that parents too are silent about it!
Jon: See sir, we don’t play the game for all this, we play it because it is pure fun, challenging, very involving and I am sure I have developed several skill sets after I started playing these games.
Me: Skill sets like? What have you learned from these which you hadn’t earlier?
Jon: Well, my reflexes are much faster now than before. I have truly improved as a team player. I and my group have together defeated several teams from Europe and US. I also think that my strategy making and planning skills have improved. These games are not just about shooting and racing. There is mind involved. You have to use your mind.
Me: Team player? Online and virtual team playing skills might have surely improved. But are you able to relate with someone that well face to face. How about your social interactions?
Jon: I am quite normal at that. But I understand your point. Some of my friends surely are suffering from what you are talking about. They would rather spend couple of hours more in the gaming centre than go and meet up real people.
Me: And where do they get all these money from?
Jon: Well most of these dudes are from rich families. But then, almost everyone is gaming these days. I am severely constrained in this department and work with limited cash in hand but some of my friends are very rich and often when we move as a group, or we participate in some tournament, they pay for some of the others who can’t afford.
Me: Tournament?
Jon: Of course. All these are not just time-pass and entertainment. We have tournaments and championships just like in cricket or football. Some of these guys can be called professionals. I know of guys in other cities who are asked by these videogame makers to play in their mock games, I mean trial versions. Before a game is released, it is tested by several of these almost professional guys, and changes are asked for and standards are set. Some of these guys make big money.
Me: So they have a special place in the gaming world?
Jon: Yes of course. Some of these guys command so much respect that if they walk into a gaming centre, everyone stands up for them. They never wait for their turn. They just walk in and start playing.
Me: Almost like Dawood Ibrahim and Vardarajan Mudaliar!
Jon: (Laughs) Almost. But it is really fun because we get to meet up with guys across the world and with some of them we have great social rapport. Only thing is, we don’t know them by their real names, but by their game names.
Me: Oh yeah, the identity problem. I have read about that. There was this guy, who was married, had a 1 year old son, and was also doing his college. He got addicted to one of the games called ‘Ever Quest’.
Jon: Oh yeah. EverQuest. It is a MMORPG. Its derived from Dungeons & Dragons kind of games. In EverQuest, players create a character (also known as an avatar) by selecting one of 16 “races” in the game, which range from elves, dwarves and ogres of fantasy, to humans, to cat-people (Vah Shir) and lizard-people (Iksar). Players also select each character’s adventuring occupation (such as a wizard, ranger, or cleric), and patron deity. Players use their character to explore the fantasy world of Norrath, fight monsters and enemies for treasure and experience points, and master trade skills. As they progress, players advance in level, gaining power, prestige, spells, and abilities through actions such as looting the remains of defeated enemies and doing quests (tasks and adventures given by non-player characters (NPCs) in which a reward is given upon success). EverQuest also allows players to interact with other players through role-play, joining player guilds, and dueling other players (in restricted situations).
Me: Quite interesting. No wonder this guy got addicted to it. He started forgetting who he was. He ceased being him and started living his character in real life. He continued to think about the game well after it was over and behaved and talked like the character too. He said that the most addictive part however for him was gaining of power and status! As one progressively gains power, he becomes more of an object of awe to the other players…and each new skill isn’t enough.
Jon: Yeah. Each goal leads to another goal, and there are critical choices one makes along the way. You invest a lot of time and thought into developing a character. You feel like you’ve wasted your time unless you reach the next goal.
Me: So it’s like a catch 22. You invest time to enjoy something and reach a certain level in the game and then you start investing more time to make a meaning of the time that you have already invested!
Jon: Well sort of. It does happen sometimes. It’s very difficult to let go off the game midway. When we do that, suddenly everything we did till then look meaningless.
Me: Do you know the Chinese government makes the Chinese under-18s do precisely that. They have passed a legislation that does not allow Chinese kids below 18 to spend more than 3 hours at gaming. If they spend more than 3 hours, their points start becoming half and beyond 5 hours, after some warning, the score is reset to zero!
Jon: That is very cruel. Why should a government get into videogames in the first place and then do such cruelty.
Me: Oh Dear, just listen to yourself. What about the cruelty that these kids get into.
Jon: (Stiffens) what cruelty? What cruelty are kids playing videogames doing?
Me: Well, many. Let me begin with by saying that though sometimes, the kids are not being cruel themselves, they are a part of a game that becomes cruel to others.
Jon: I still don’t understand what and how?
Me: The guy I was talking about who got addicted to EverQuest, he had a one year old son, to whom this guy hardly behaved like a father. That’s not cruelty? He started spending less and less time with his wife. He started performing very badly in his scores at college. There was another case I read where a guy fatally ignored his infant, though I admit that it was a rare incident. But tell me, is that not cruelty?
Jon: For some people, MMORPGs may provide a valuable style of social interaction, but it can become problematic when more time is spent with this depersonalized interaction than real interaction with other people. I agree.
Me: There are divorces being filed because of these games. People are jumping jobs and as many girlfriends because of these games. Mothers are ignoring kids. It’s a riot of sorts.
Jon: Well, it’s not as bad as you make it sound. Many of these people are lonely, have never felt like they belonged. They get a sense of belonging in the game. In some cases, because of chats that accompany the game, it provides the only friends they interact with.
Me: Well, I don’t think that’s an excuse enough to withdraw from reality. There’s a lot of anonymity that these games provide and so these people vent out their frustrations, their anger and whatever feelings they have, which are not socially acceptable, out in the game. And the technology of the game allows it too. You can choose the body part that you want to shoot. The graphics associated with the killing is also gory in detail. Most of the games have blood spilling everywhere and body parts and flesh flying off in all directions. The gamer can chose different weapons to make the damage greater. And the character involved in it, are so weird and ugly, so un-human, that I fear, that many of these kids have lost an understanding of beauty. It’s an addiction, let’s face it.
Jon: This type of behavior is perhaps more of an “impulse control disorder” like pathological gambling not an “addiction” per se.
Me: Whatever. Doesn’t make it any better. Many of these kids are developing real psychological problems such as social isolation, depression, difficulty in work and relationships and being disconnected from reality.
Jon: I think you are repeating the same things again.
Me: Inability to control, stop or diminish the activity, persistent thoughts of the activity or performance of the activity, need for increased time spent on the activity to achieve satisfaction or diminished reward for the same amount of time spent on the activity, restlessness or irritability when prevented from partaking in the activity, neglect of family and friends, lying to employers and family about activities, problems with school or job, committing illegal acts to sustain activity, dry eyes, failure to attend to personal hygiene, Relying on others to finance activity, sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns, headaches, backaches, even neuroticism…..
Jon: Well, it’s ok. I get your point.
Me: This is not to humiliate or embarrass you in any way. But I am really worried about my kids and also about the kind of kids that my kids will interact and study with. With this kind of exposure and experience, it will not take them too much time to try to apply it in real life too.
Jon: Yeah, the speeding on the roads, the foul language, the shooting in the schools et cetera are being inspired by these games perhaps. Sir, you have done so much of reading, what do you say some of these “addicts” should do.
Me: Hmmm… I think to begin with they should acknowledge that they have a problem. Unless that happens, rest is useless. It is a difficult step because of the apparently innocuous nature of these games. Then they should delete such games from their own computers and also give away the source CDs. They should become answerable to someone, maybe a friend or an elder. They should try to meet up more real people and be involved in more social settings or plan up ways to do that or make friends with people who are not gamers or that kind.
Jon: That is difficult, but not impossible though. To make friends with gamers is so much more easier because the passion, the interest is the same.
Me: Well, most of these gamers have emotional needs that keep them hooked to these games. So they should find alternative ways to satisfy these emotional needs. But despite many of these measures, if its not possible to kick the habit, then professional help should be considered.
Jon: I have read about some countries outside having rehabilitation centers for these.
Me: Yes, you do know about it! It’s a serious problem and people, especially parents should not ignore it. If their kids are spending more times playing computer games, they either have a serious problem at hand or at least a prospective problem.
Jon: I am a bit more balanced in my approach to these games so far, but I think, I will be more careful henceforth.
Me: Not just for your physical and social health. There’s also a spiritual angle. What kind of a life or an example can you live in the virtual world, a world where you decide most of the things that happen around you. A world where you heal and recover at will, fly, kill and steal at will. It’s the real world that God has made for us to live our lives. I agree that real life is not as musical and exciting as the virtual world, but then, a game is unreal. The real world is surely filled with less sound, action and colorfulness but then there are real needs like love, hope, companionship, joy, healing, comfort, encouragement, strength et cetera. Giving these, contributing in such, needs “character”. Not the character as in the online game “avatar”, but integrity, honesty and substance. Hunger, brokenness, loneliness are real issues around us and for that we need to go out and reach out. Sometimes help and at other times talk and “be there”. Games are taking people away from society, from reality, from the world, and even from God.
Jon: Yeah. I am with you in whatever you say.
Well, this is not fully discussed but rest is for each of us to read and update. It’s a real concern. Let’s wake up and let’s make things right. Time to log out from Soul Café. Godspeed, God bless.