Why Games?

Video games have become increasingly popular in contemporary society. They are called games because of the "repetitive training of coping skills". (2003, p.139). When looking at the theorist Wittgenstein his theories can be applied to games. For example "game is very loosely- defined, and Wittgenstein used the term as a prime example of a category based on family resemblance" (2003, p.139). For example a family will have many similarities, however they won't all be the same, this is evident in eyes, nose, ears etc. He also stated that games have no accurate boundaries. They don't all share the same features, and therefore have blurred edges. Although Wittgenstein studied game theory, he wasn't actually interested in them. Instead he was interested in how the actual concepts and words worked.

When applying this theory to the video games that I have played, I played the game Doom 2. In this game you had to shot anything with a gun. This game followed natural concepts which are required of a shooting game. However when applying Wittgenstein's theory to this, you could argue that the game is like a rope, made of twisted fibres with no single thread. Therefore there isn’t a specific set of norms and values for the game to follow. When comparing this to 'James Bonds 007' on the Nintendo 64, you could argue that, although they follow the same concept they differ greatly. This is because when I played this game, I had to complete levels to get to the next stage and choose the character I wanted. I could also choose from a variety of weapons through progress in the game. I found from playing this game it allows a "simulating first-person experience" (2003, p. 138). These games share many 'family resemblances' which are highlighted in the characteristics of the game.

When looking at the following two games I also played, Civilization 2 and The Sims, they are both played on the PC. Although they are fairly different, they both share many similarities. For example in Civilization 2, I had to build my own city, I could also choose a character to go and explore. In comparison, when I played The Sims, I could design my own house, choose my characters and by in charge of their 'virtual world'. You could argue that both games require knowledge and skill.

Bibliography :

Wolf, P. J Mark., Perron, B. (2003) The video game theory reader, Great Britain: Routledge