A love letter to the game industry
In these last few months, I have had the opportunity to email and talk with journalists, developers, and gamers about gaming. I’d discuss what they like in games, what they believe is good in a game, and what they don’t like in the games they’re currently playing. These talks would range from a few e-mails to hour-long debates. It’s been wonderful that to take part in this and it’s made me love video games in new ways.
This new love has given me a great appreciation for video games as creations. It’s fascinating that people are able to play around with code, build a character, and give him access to an entire world to explore. Being allowed to play as these characters is one of the greatest opportunities a person can have. It’s wonderful to play in someones creation.
The odd thing about this, however, is that I’m not creating anything in return. In playing games, we are toying and interacting in another person’s world. This creates a unique creator/viewer synergy that exists only in games. It’s the reason games are worth playing.
As a writer and participant in gaming culture, it’s my job to lead the discussion about video games. It is a privilege to have readers who also care about games and want to discuss them. It’s fantastic that developers are creating amazing products for me to talk about. It’s why I will never stop playing games.
This is a love letter to the video game industry. To anyone who cried during Aeris’ death. To the people who meet up in the park every week for Chess. It’s a letter to people who revel in manufacturing game mechanics, and the people creating hardware for the mechanics to rest upon. Despite the negative criticism writers occasionally dote upon the industry, it’s truly a pleasure to be involved.
