Video Games, Scratching Yourself, and Other Productive Things

As a young, American male who has been playing video games for the better part of two decades, I am living proof that video games will not ruin your life. Despite the claims to the contrary, video games are not a societal corrosive or something that bewitches our nation’s youth (Something that does bewitch our nation’s youth: Guys with mascara and girl pants. Why? I really don’t know). Regardless of the bad press, they can actually be quite a bit of fun.

I have recently forsaken video games, not because of the rage bubbling inside of me, but because of their ability to eat-up an entire day without you realizing it. Your grand plans turn into an afternoon of killing zombies and probably scratching yourself. Nothing you can put on your resume, for sure.

Seeing how it's so much easier to play a video game than read a book or any of the dozens of other things we could/should be doing it's no wonder they've become so prevalent in our culture. Imagine all of the things we could achieve if every time a gamer went to turn on their system of choice instead did something productive. Read the news. Call your mother. Floss your teeth. It doesn't matter what. Just something productive. The results would be surprising.

But every once in awhile a game comes along that makes you remember why video games are so popular in the first place. One of these games is the much-anticipated Spore by TheSims creator Will Wright. The massive single-player online game has been in development for eight years. The developers created an entire universe for the player to interact with. You begin by navigating a single-celled organism through the pitfalls of life. The single-celled organism evolves into a creature; the creature forms a tribe; the tribe evolves into a society; and the society conquers their planet then moves on to intergalactic travel. As you can tell the scope of this game is HUGE. The visuals are breath taking. But given the scope of the game, it seems safe to assume that given the popularity of the Sims series, this game will dominate people’s lives for years. The only thing certain is this game, due to be released in September, is going to be a massive hit.

Here is game designed Will Wright discussing his upcoming mega-hit: