Gaming Stereotypes. The stigma placed on gaming as a medium.

Sup guys me Ciaran here with another post about a thing that plays a relatively large part of my life, Gaming. Over the past few years this very thing has befuddled me, how people feel about gaming as a medium. To give you may two cents on what I think the problem and reasoning for this is I'll explain some situations that invole gaming and compare it with something that is similar.

Okay first off, Television. In my house I'm pretty much aloud to watch as much Television as I see fit as long as Dad or Mum don't want to watch something. Say I watch Television for 14 hours, only getting up for food and drink what do you think my Mum and Dad say to me? Nothing, its no problem but say I do they same thing but play Xbox possibly in a party of friends chatting about stuff for the same amount of time and only getting up to do the same things. They judge me and say you play the Xbox too much (I suppose 14 hours is tons but anyway) and maybe threaten to ban me. Why is this? Television is literally watching a screen doing nothing else expect maybe eating while Xbox is much more engaging. Your sitting on the edge of your chair fighting for that last kill. Talking to your friends while you try to beat campaign together. And more. Why is Gaming looked down upon compared to mediums of the same visual methods and pretty much just in general.

Secondly, Violence in video games. The classic stereotype that if you play a game where you shoot somebody your going to go out and rob and shoot somebody in real life. First of there is no logic behind this. If you generalize it to what you do in video games you'll do in real life do you see people jumping on other people copying Mario? People copy what they see on Television like Jackass. Do the same people talk about that? No, you know why? Because they know the rational behind it but with gaming they don't know a thing about it. They don't play games and they don't understand games. Its unknown to them and that lack of knowledge leads to fear. Fear of the unknown. If you fear something you most likely will destroy it or in their thinking will comeback to get them.

Now to talk about the knowledge gained from gaming in comparison to say reading a book. Lets take a game that makes you think deeply, BioShock. BioShock represents why no governing body in a society of man fueled only by work would inevitably crumble and turn into a dog eat dog world, of course this is a very summerised version of story but it gives you the jest. It makes you think, presents you with audio diaries of the troubles of the average leading up to the societies downfall and of course makes you think of how it would work in our world. BioShock shows a deep story. The story I just gave you is no different from the outline of a book. It is interactive and offers more than a book ever could but its looked down upon.

A games multiplayer offers competition against other people but in virtual setting. It takes skill to be good at it and is getting as serious as to be getting millions of dollars out of it, but say if a professional gamer who day after day practices remembering map layouts, strategies etc. was compared to a person who plays soccer for a life who would get more respect? The soccer player, and for what reason? No good one at all.

Gaming's evolving to the point of it being a mainstream medium but still even now gets less respect then any other medium. And its all because to the average person they don't understand it so they fear it.