Game Cultures: Studying Computer Games

In recent times the games industry has made the move into mass culture with, as Guest (2005) reveals, around 27 million people per week passing through virtual online worlds. A major reason for the rise in popularity of games is the vast technological improvements made to the gaming world. From the Sega, to the Playstation 1, to the Xbox 360, gaming has come a long way.

Online gaming is highly popular with many gamers. Playing online gives the opportunity to create a profile and play against other gamers from all over the world. In some cases, for example on World of Warcraft, an entire online virtual world is created by the user. They can create their own character and live out a virtual life through the game.

Although improvements in technology may have contributed to the rise in the gaming industry, the need and want for games has always been there. Before technological advances, people already played games. As children, everyone role played with their friends in the playground. Gaming consoles have merely provided a platform for these games to be played. Through the use of virtual worlds, it has become acceptable not only for children, but also for adults to create virtual profiles and role play in a scenario that they may never get the opportunity to be a part of in real life. Perhaps this is what draws people to the virtual worlds of games.      

“Worship at the Altar of Convergence”

Jenkins describes convergence culture as being “where old and new media collide”. Convergence culture is a way in which different media platforms come together to create something new. A great example of this is the ‘Bert is evil’ images described by Jenkins in this reading. Bert from the popular children’s television programme, Sesame Street was inserted into images of various individuals with evil connotations attached to them including Hitler, Sadam Husain and Osama Bin Laden. One particular picture was discovered by an anti-American protester. Unaware of the comedy value of Bert, this image went on to be used in an anti-American protest. This incident clearly demonstrated the power of convergence culture.

Consumers have more power than they might think. Since the creation of sites such as YouTube where users can freely display their own interpretations of mass media products, the growth of convergence culture has rapidly increased as convergence culture relies heavily on the participation of consumers. Audiences can make connections between different media products which may at completely different ends of the scale, yet can make some form of identifiable link, i.e. Bert and Osama.