Julia Onwualu

Staff Writer

If there is one thing that can bring the world together, it is video games. There is nowhere in the world that you would go without finding Playstation, X-Box or Gamecube mania. Along with those gaming systems, released last year, came a flurry of realistically advanced games and a void in the gaming industry itself. Realism in violence can be seen in many games, while a need for game developers can be seen in this rapidly growing industry.

When we think about the earliest games, we think about card games and board games, in which imagination was the greatest weapon and thinking a most coveted skill. We then graduated to the space alien games of the 80s where the bad guys were little squiggly lines lined up in neat rows. There was not much thinking but there was purpose. Moving on, the plumbers were created and Mario's purpose was to rescue his beloved princess. Highly unrealistic graphics but we knew what we were fighting for and had a good reason to win.

Now we have games like State of Emergency. A game about rioting, in which the police are the bad guys one has a set reason for rioting and the worst part, is that it encourages criminal practices. In this game the goal is to loot as much as possible, break windows for points, kill any law enforcement representative and terrorize innocent bystanders. Weapons litter the streets, like axes and flamethrowers, and by the end of the game the city is in ruins.

``Unlike real rioters, most of the people in Emergency are pretty harmless. You are the only person in the game who breaks anything or blows anything up, and even the police and the gangs will generally leave you alone if you do not provoke them. In a real riot, people may start smashing and looting because everyone else is doing it, but in Emergency you are the game's lone troublemaker, a sociopathic hooligan who will keep rioting until the city is burned to the ground. And when it's all over and the city is in ruins, you'll look around and see that everyone except you has stolen a stereo system and gone home.'' C. Herold, of the New York Times said of the game. Realistically, one person perpetrating wanton acts of destruction, with no set goal in mind, is not an effective way to protest governmental injustice.

Another game that triumphs with realistic graphics but with a sadly unrealistic plot is JSRF: Jet Set Radio Future. This is a game with skateboards punks, cool street-wear and a lot of spray cans. In protest against established government, skateboarders arm themselves with spray paint and head to the streets. Whole buildings are toppled with the awesome power of graffiti, and squadrons of police are annihilated when they realize that the paint won't come out of their uniforms.

It may be a little exaggerated, but in this game, if attacked by a police officer, one has to push him down and spray him until he disappears. Not only is the game encouraging anti-establishment sentiment, it provides highly unrealistic avenues for protest.

We also notice that many games are moving away from technology. Though science has brought us to a point where we can be behind the wheels of a Ferrari or actually exploring a ghost ship, the themes of games remain in the technological past. In the world of the X-Box controller with eight buttons, two triggers, and three toggling switches, we still play games like ``Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee'', ``Dead or Alive 3'' and ``Age of Empires.'' These are games set in locations with no real technological development, with nothing like the devices we play these games on. In a way, we try to hold on to the games of the past, lacing modernity with imagination and thought.

In this game-crazy world there is no progress without ideas. Thus, the gaming industry now finds itself on the prowl for game developers. Games have such an impact on our lives that now we find schools that offer courses specifically dedicated to the development of games. Georgia Tech even offers a degree in game development.

Companies in this multi billion-dollar industry are in need of staff. DigiPen, one of the largest sources for development talent, found itself at a loss when offered a huge cartooning contract. Jason Chu, Vice President of the company stated, ``...without the manpower, the industry [cannot] grow.'' Such incidences have spawned a scramble for game developers. Little boys that played games and hoped one day to make their own can now realize that dream, but at a stiff price of up to $5000 per quarter. However, the perception is that the degree is worth it. When these students graduate, they will already have a place in the industry, most likely making more than enough to cover their college loans.

It is then my hope that these leaders of tomorrow will take the time to look at games of today and attempt to better them. Brutal games in which the keepers of the law become the enemy, ridiculous concepts in which police are beaten back with spray paint, technologically advanced games that hold on to the shreds of a forgotten past, need to be changed. It's up to those hopeful little children, palms sweaty from holding the controller, to refine our crude carvings for bigger, better, faster...more!