techbear
01-25-2006, 09:39 AM
Something just came across Slashdot that punctuates an idea I've been mulling over for some time. http://games.slashdot.org/games/06/01/25/159228.shtml
Americans, as a societal group, hold video games in the same esteem as beer, cigarettes, and porn. That is, video games are unseemly and disgusting, but are here to stay anyway.
Of course, we (American developers) grew up playing video games, and we think that's absurd. But we're kind of a special breed, and we don't talk to many Grandmas from the South. More importantly, we are part of the society, and thus it's hard to see what's ingrained in us.
A good friend brought me this conclusion when he traveled to South Korea last year. He came back and told me everything in great detail (making ME want to go), but he said he was struck by this alien culture, a culture with COMPLETELY different roots from our own puritan, Protestant, European roots.
South Korea is a gaming mecca, where every grandmother knows what a Zergling is, where video and computer gaming is integrated into every aspect of daily life, where two government programs directly support and nurture every game developer with money and technology.
Only by soaking in the completely different culture of South Korea, could my friend see American culture objectively enough to realise how the American Protestant work ethic subliminally and perniciously distains games in general, and video games in particular.
The correlaries are many. First, we are right to worry that government laws against violent video games are coming, and that could lead to ALL games being shunned and regulated (a $10,000 government seal of approval would hurt us indies the worst).
Second, we used to be a trendsetter in game styles and innovation, but Japan and Korea could fundamentally take over the cutting edge of video games in the future, leaving America as a gaming backwater, where videogames are defined as "The things you do with an X-Box".
I don't personally believe in those gloomy scenarios, but I did accept the revelations of my friend at face value, and when I saw today's post on Slashdot (the link above) I felt moved to share.
Americans, as a societal group, hold video games in the same esteem as beer, cigarettes, and porn. That is, video games are unseemly and disgusting, but are here to stay anyway.
Of course, we (American developers) grew up playing video games, and we think that's absurd. But we're kind of a special breed, and we don't talk to many Grandmas from the South. More importantly, we are part of the society, and thus it's hard to see what's ingrained in us.
A good friend brought me this conclusion when he traveled to South Korea last year. He came back and told me everything in great detail (making ME want to go), but he said he was struck by this alien culture, a culture with COMPLETELY different roots from our own puritan, Protestant, European roots.
South Korea is a gaming mecca, where every grandmother knows what a Zergling is, where video and computer gaming is integrated into every aspect of daily life, where two government programs directly support and nurture every game developer with money and technology.
Only by soaking in the completely different culture of South Korea, could my friend see American culture objectively enough to realise how the American Protestant work ethic subliminally and perniciously distains games in general, and video games in particular.
The correlaries are many. First, we are right to worry that government laws against violent video games are coming, and that could lead to ALL games being shunned and regulated (a $10,000 government seal of approval would hurt us indies the worst).
Second, we used to be a trendsetter in game styles and innovation, but Japan and Korea could fundamentally take over the cutting edge of video games in the future, leaving America as a gaming backwater, where videogames are defined as "The things you do with an X-Box".
I don't personally believe in those gloomy scenarios, but I did accept the revelations of my friend at face value, and when I saw today's post on Slashdot (the link above) I felt moved to share.