Video Games: A Temporary Method of Escape from Reality

Everyone has been there. You are so stressed out can barely think. You are worrying about how you performed on an exam, whether or not your friends are sincere, if you made the basketball team you have been training for the last six months for, or are simply just too taxed to do anything productive. At this point in time, many will do something else to help take their mind off their current plights. For some, that something is reading. For others, it is drinking. Now, in our current generation, this list has expanded to include another method of finite escape, video games.

Many Video games help people to relax in the same way well written novels do. By providing a world with believable characters, a gripping story, and an interesting setting, both video games and novels attempt immerse the reader/players in the story, allowing them to temporarily forget the troubles barraging their lives on a daily basis. However, unlike a story, video games actually bring to life the world the creators had envisioned, and place you, the player, in the middle of it. The Legend of Zelda, for example, is a gaming series highly regarded for their stunning stories and plots, as well as their setting and level design, which are brought to life by the talented designers at Nintendo. When complimented by the series’ stunningly composed soundtrack, the events that take place in the game will hit you as if you were experiencing them firsthand.

Many video games, such as Fallout 3, allow the player to control aspects of the story by carrying out certain missions and scenarios. In Fallout 3, as well as other games, such as Red Dead Redemption, these missions, based on their morality, will determine the type of person your avatar becomes. Ultimately, by allowing you to control certain aspects of the story, these games tend to completely immerse their pilots, diverting all of their attention from their physical problems as they struggle with the moral codes of fantasy realms.

However, a video game does not have to be a Role Playing Game (RPG) in order to be immersive. A game merely need to react to the player in order to keep them actively engaged and interested. If the player is pulling ahead in Mario Kart Wii, it is only natural that a computer player will hit the player with a blue shell to keep the race competitive. Game difficulties can be turned up in combat games such as Halo and Call of Duty to keep the more experienced players on their toes. For many games, the ability of the game to react to the skill of the player is what makes it immersive.

Critiques of video games will argue that such a high level of immersion is a bad thing. They say that video games will keep people from interacting in their own world. I will counter this point by stating that the purpose of video games is to provide a temporary escape from one’s own problems using immersion in a good story, as well as enjoyment and control of one’s destiny in said story. Like reading for pleasure, it is only meant to be a distraction, not a solution, to the problems of real life. In addition, playing video games does not have to be a reclusive act. Games like Mario Kart, Mario Party, Super Smash Bros, and many others become immensely more enjoyable when you play them with friends. In addition, with the development of the internet, people from around the world are able to talk and socialize as they play games together. From my personal experience, video games function as a point of interest that draws people together. Though like many forms of escape, including reading and alcohol, excessive use can become unhealthy, moderated video gaming is a healthy way to keep your stress level down, and your adventurous side satisfied.

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5 Responses to Video Games: A Temporary Method of Escape from Reality

  1. Pingback: Scientists say computer games can help lift feelings of depression - Battle of Mind Blog

  2. Nicole says:

    The Legend of Zelda is totally awesome! I like how you put down both sides of the argument and addressed them both equally while still remaining virtually neutral. On an unrelated note, apparently the company head of Nintendo just passed a few days ago! 🙁 Nintendo’s legacy will definitely live on, though.

    • aes5689 says:

      Yeah, though Yamauchi was not directly responsible for creating the iconic games we love, he was responsible for giving such artists as Shigeru Miyamoto a Canvis to paint on. The video game industry wouldn’t be what it is today without him. He will be missed.

      P.S. Thanks for the Feedback!

  3. nyc5163 says:

    I like your assertion of video games as a temporary escape from everyday life, not a permanent escape. And I agree. Playing video games does not make one a hermit; like many other stress relieving activities (some more wholesome than others), you maintain that video games facilitate relaxation and provide a temporary oasis from the world. And while some continue to deride video games as an increasingly isolating activity, you counter that video games bring people together in a healthy atmosphere–as compared to the parties that will undoubtedly be occurring mere hours from now.

    • aes5689 says:

      Thank you for your extremely well thought out response. I couldn’t agree more. It’s kind of ironic that parties, which are meant to be extremely social in nature, can often be rather isolating, in addition to being an unhealthy medium for forging healthy social connections. Thank you for reading, and thanks for the feedback!

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