The Effects Video Games Have on our Lives During the Pandemic

Why do most people play video games? To get away from the real world if they’re stressed out or to have fun? Well there isn’t a specific answer, but both are valid reasons why someone would want to pick up a controller and play. The variety of genres of video games available to play are another big reason games are one of the top forms of entertainment in today’s world. You can play in the medieval times and be a knight, play with the pros in sports games, enter a block world and build whatever you want; the possibilities are endless. If you’re tired of playing video games then you can watch others play on Twitch and YouTube for great entertainment; it’s like video games have become our lives . Now here we are in the middle of a pandemic, people are stuck at their homes and can’t go out anywhere to see friends or go to events. You can only watch so much television before it gets boring, so what’s the answer on how to spend time during quarantine? Video Games.

Video games have been around since the late 70s but in recent years their popularity has spiked tremendously. According to TIME magazine last year consumers spent $120 billion on video games compared to fifteen years ago where consumers spent $35 billion. Being in a pandemic and with not many forms of entertainment around, video game sales have skyrocketed. In the U.S. the average gamer plays for six hours and 46 minutes and this number has since increased due to the pandemic. This shows that people are putting time into video games since there’s not much to do during these times.

The early stages of video games were basic, 2D games that were not as detailed as today’s games are. In chapter six of Steven Johnson’s book “Where Good Ideas Comes From” he talks about exaptation. The process in which a feature acquires a function that was not acquired through natural selection. Like many animals in life, video games have evolved over the years, gaining better graphics, smarter AI, and a larger variety of genres. An example of when exaptation happens in video games is when there is an element of the game that was not supposed to be there and a prime example would be speed running. Speed running is when the user can find “shortcuts” throughout the games which allows them to beat the game in a short amount of time. These shortcuts were not placed in the game by the developer and most of the time the user finds them by accident or trial and error. Speed running has become very popular and many people try to speed run games to see if they can be other people’s times. Speed running can be done in most games that range from older games like Mario 64 to modern games. Similar to how feathers were on non flying animals and then adapted by birds so they can fly, speed running was not meant to be a part of games, but is now a popular activity people do. People have found these “shortcuts” on accident and thus speed running was created.

Since mid March all sporting events have been canceled so many people are turning their attention towards E-Sports. Sports leagues like the NBA and Formula 1 have replaced their seasons with digital events. The NBA did an NBA 2k tournament where real NBA athletes faced each other in a massive video game tournament. While F1 has been doing virtual races with their race car drivers. With many people who didn’t watch or understand E-Sports, this pandemic will help not only E-Sports, but video games as a whole.

During these times video games are effecting our lives because they’re bringing us together. Families are playing games together, on systems like Nintendo Switch, to have an activity to do. Many people have become stressed during these times and video games have people de-stress by allowing the user to immerse themselves into a different world where you forget about the one around you. Games also allow you to interact and be apart of the world you’re playing in, unlike movies or TV shows where you just watch. Since parks are closed, playing basketball in real life is impossible unless you have your own net. Many people are turning towards games like NBA 2k to play some virtual basketball. According to TIME Magazine the U.S. has exceeded $1.6 billion in sales in March on anything video game related. From hardware to the games themselves, people were prepared to put hours into these games during quarantine.

Of course during these times we can no longer get a workout at a gym since they are closed too. What’s better than having fun and getting exercise in a video game? Using certain video games such as “Ring Fit Adventure”, to stay fit. The game Ring Fit Adventure is a fun game where you go on adventures while holding a ring and using this ring you do fitness in order to defeat the monsters. Video games are having a massive impact on some of our lives during this pandemic because they’re a different platform that is used to disconnect from the “real world.” Different games provide us with not only entertainment and fitness but knowledge too. A prime example is the game Kingdom Come where you are a boy in medieval times who’s trying to find the people who attacked his town. The game makes you feel like you’re there in medieval times and they give history about people, event, and items from the time period.

Since we are self-quarantined in our homes and can’t socialize with friends or other people we would see in our daily lives, we can do so through games. If you can’t talk through a certain game then there are other types of platforms people use to communicate when playing a video game together. The most used application people are using for talking when playing games together is Discord. Discord hasn’t been around for many years, but has been a popular platform for people to use when talking with one another. This app allows the users to not only talk to each other, but share their screens if they want to stream their games or see each other. You can make servers or join servers which can have many features in them, from mini games to listening music of your choosing. With the pandemic taking place Discord has seen a spike in their servers which means more people are using Discord during these times.

Video games have had a positive effect our lives during this pandemic because they’re an outlet for us to get away from what’s happening in the world. The variety of entertainment they offer is the main reason we play them either through A competitive game, A casual one, or one that keeps us fit . Since we don’t know when things will open up or when we can be around larger groups of people, video games seem to be the best way to spend time and have fun and have changed our lives during this pandemic.