Following on from my previous contextual studies post looking into the works of Roger Caillois and his book "Man, Play and Games", I was given the task to write a piece centred around one of Caillois' quotes. This task was to take what Caillois states in his book about games being a waste of time and discuss whether or not I agree, here is what he says:
"A characteristic of play… is that it creates no wealth or goods, thus differing from work or art. At the end of the game, all can and must start over again from the same point. Nothing has been harvested or manufactured, no masterpiece has been created, no capital as accrued. Play is an occasion of pure waste: waste of time, energy, ingenuity, skill, and often of money… As for the professionals – the boxers, cyclists, jockeys, or actors who earn their living in the ring, track, or hippodrome or on the stage … it is clear that they are not players but workers. When they play, it is at some other game." (Caillois: 1962: p.5).
Taking Roger Caillois Statement into Account, Is Gaming a Waste of Time?
I consider
myself a hardcore PS3 gamer and I can confidently that gaming is most certainly
NOT a waste of time. Roger Callais’ theory is that you accomplish nothing when
playing games and that you revert to an identical state upon completion of a
game. I think this is incorrect of today’s modern games. With the fairly recent
introduction of Trophies and Achievements, gaming has become so much more than “play,
complete, rinse & repeat” with nothing to game but a “loss of time”. Not only do games have massive replay ability
with different difficulty settings and extra gameplay modes but they offer virtual
rewards that draw many people into the world of gaming, making it a useful way
to spend ones time.
I don’t
understand why gaming has such a bad name. I honestly don’t see any difference
in reading a good book, getting completely lost in its story and world compared
to playing a good game. The only real difference is that with a book, it’s up
to the reader to create their own imaginary world to accompany the words being
read whereas with a game it’s already been set out, you just play it instead of
reading it (although many modern games now let you build your own experience,
style and story leading me to think that playing a game can in many ways be
more rewarding than reading a book).
Gaming is
given a lot of bad press being linked to terrorism, anti social behaviour and
even addiction. Many people who don’t have an understanding or knowledge of
video games only comment on the more commonly known games such as the Grand
Theft Auto or Call of Duty franchises, branding them as mindlessly violent
games with no purpose thus being a waste of time. Yes they are violent but then
again so are alot of books and you don’t hear people complaining in the same
way about these, do you?
On a
different note, games can also be highly intelligent. Take the Metal Gear Solid
and Assassins Creed franchises. Both of these games have highly complex
story lines, perhaps more so than a book or film. Assassins Creed teaches its
players about the rich culture of assassins and all the historical factors that
go along side them. It makes learning fun, more fun than I ever remember a book
being, but again maybe that’s just my personal preference. What I am trying to
say is that the more recent and complex games are incredibly factual that I
wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t learn something from them. I most certainly
wouldn’t say that’s a waste of my time.
I think that
as long as you enjoy something, no matter what (within reason) it shouldn’t be
considered a waste of time. I put video games into this category. But I think
alot of people don’t see the art and work behind a game, they see mindless
violence or just plain don’t understand the technology enough to enjoy a game
and therefore write it off as a waste of time. I think it takes a certain
person to see past the TV screen and appreciate what goes on behind the scenes
to truly understand how gaming simply just isn’t a waste of time.
Written & Published onto Blogger by Jessica Lauren Smith
Games Art & Design, year 1
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