Common People-ization of Video Games

My generation was one of the first to grow up with video games as part of day-to-day life. For the most part it was the domain of guys, who seemed more likely to pick up on the hand-eye coordination required to shoot, punch, kick, jump, and combinations thereof, on hand-held controllers with a directional pad and a few buttons. However, games like Mario, Tetris, etc. were still simple and fun enough for girls and non-gamer guys to pick up and have fun with.

As time passed, consoles got more powerful and the gaming trend became more and more complex. The original 8-bit Nintendo had 2 buttons and a directional pad - today's XBox360 or PS3 controller has 10 buttons and 2 joysticks. Many games have so much research put into them that they can effectively mimic real life - witness the vast amounts of football playbook knowledge that most Madden players now are able to apply to watching games in real life. Heck, several younger NFL players have said that they were able to get the hang of their own teams' and other teams' defenses through the video game - it's that accurate.

Now there seems to be a parallel trend developing for "common people" games - aimed at casual gamers. This hit me this past Saturday as a bunch of friends came over to celebrate Hanlin's birthday. In one room, people jammed to Guitar Hero 2, while the other had an intense atmosphere as everyone shouted instructions to people holding Wii controllers and pointing at various objects in a Brain Age game. I've had the Guitar Hero music for "Carry On Wayward Son" by Kansas stuck in my head the last two days.

While puzzle games have always been a staple in social video gaming, seems like the success of DDR helped break a wall to wean people off of the thinking that video games could only be played on complex controllers with high learning curves.

Where will gaming go from here? I wouldn't be surprised to see more games and companies go away from traditional controllers for their games, a la the Wii. There's a lot of money to be had in making peripherals - the Guitar Hero guitars are $50 each. The upcoming Rock Band game, with two guitars, drum set, and microphone will cost upwards of $200 including the game. For that matter, I think there's some utility in using video games to teach - plugging in a real guitar into the game to learn how to play, for example. The electronic medium appeals to the younger generation, might as well leverage it (a la DDR showing up in PE programs around the nation to help combat childhood obesity).

There's still something to be said for the well-made, challenging, button-combo-heavy game though. Recently Chris and I have been making our way through Rainbow Six Vegas... highly recommended for anyone (mostly guys) who grew up romanticizing Special Forces soldiers.