There’s A Link Between Gaming And News You Didn’t Know

Time’s have changed. The pointless games of ‘Pong’ and ‘Pac-Man’ are being replaced by modern-day marvels that reflect the issues people are dealing with every day. Games like ‘Life is Strange’ tackle tough topics of suicide, abuse, sexuality, and put players in the shoes of a character who has to make monumental decisions that impact everything around them.

This trend in games is becoming more and more popular every day. Not only have we seen historical games such as ‘Call of Duty: WW II’ show real-world events like the D-Day landing, but we also have indie games that reflect the subtle issues of society. ‘Inside,’ ‘That Dragon, Cancer’ and ‘Journey’ each received praise for taking a fantastical spin on the following issues: freedom from inhuman and corporate practices, terminal illness, and fleeting friendships in our vast world respectively. These installments caused players to critically think about the story and the path they were embarking on.

Video game entertainment has become a way of telling a story that causes the player to take an introspective look at the decisions they make every day. They tell stories of conquest and of failure. There aren’t all “happy endings” in every game. As fictional as it may sound, games are getting real. With every passing day, there is a new event in the news that can be incorporated into a game in some way, shape, or form.

While many still consider violent video games to be plaguing youth into aggression, there are also so many benefits from gaming. Take a game like ‘Roller Coaster Tycoon’ or ‘Cities: Skylines’ that force the player to budget, manage, and learn real-life skills all through computer simulations. There are so many real-world, contemporary benefits to games like this that the future of the video game industry may become more politically charged and educational than anyone could have ever predicted.