The "Social" Videogame Phenomenon: A Look At A Disturbing New Trend For Videogames

Welcome to my latest videogame article (hub) here at HubPages.com. If you've been following me recently, you've noticed that I took a small hiatus to write about Google Adsense a bit. I figured I'd showcase my general writing talents while allowing myself time to think about videogame-related topics to write about. Kill two birds with one stone and stuff like that.

The title of this hub may have peaked your interest. After all, I call social videogames a disturbing trend. Well, once you read this article, you'll understand why I'm so perturbed about this phenomenon.

There was a flash of...

Wait, wrong beginning. :P

In the beginning, videogames were a loner's hobby. Essentially, it was an antisocial hobby; the sort of thing you didn't talk to most friends about. However, hours on end could be spent talking to your videogame loving friends about this subject. I can talk from personal experience when I say that, even a few years ago, if you so much hinted at enjoying videogames, you were called a nerd and ostracized.

Basically, barring certain genres considered "cool" by the "normal" crowd (such as racing simulators and sports games), if you played any videogames, you were a social outcast. Heck, I get that argument even nowadays. God forbid I admit I enjoy Pokémon games or actually own a DS. *sarcastic gasp here*

Then again, to play devil's advocate a bit, I'm sure you wouldn't have wanted to be caught dead playing such classic gems as Ultima I (the game featured in that image above this text), because apparently, enjoying such a dated game is impossible unless you're the biggest nerd since Einstein.

As I was growing up, that was par on course for most of my interactions with other people. Me and my limited crew of like-minded friends against the world.

And then...something happened.

As hardware improved, so did software. A direct result of this was a general improvement of videogame consoles. As if out of nowhere, videogames were starting to take root in society, for better or for worse. I'm sure I don't have to talk about all of the crimes that defenders of the law claim are related to videogames. Of course, that stems from the human need to use convenient scapegoats to shadow real issues (such as poor parenting), but I digress.

Almost overnight, videogames became a social phenomenon. It was no longer relegated to certain groups of people. Now everyone, from the most antisocial nerd, to the most popular jock, to everyone else somewhere in between, could enjoy videogames. For a modern-day example of how deeply videogames can take root in a society, feel free to Google South Korea and Starcraft. If you didn't know about the relationship between that country and that game up to now, it'll blow you away. :)

Mind you, that's not the part of videogame history that bothers me. I found it refreshing that I could mention my favorite videogames in a group and not be ostracized for doing so. Tournaments were being run for some of the more popular videogames (Street Fighter, Halo as two examples). It finally seemed like enjoying videogames was a legitimiate hobby and not a stigma or a taboo.

No, if you want to see what bothers me about the social videogame phenomenon, read on to the main section of this article.

To understand what bothers me about the social videogame phenomenon, you first need to understand the concept of social networks. You've probably heard about a lot of them already. Examples include MySpace and Facebook. There's a social network for very nearly every need and/or want nowadays. You have social networks for professionals, social networks for artists, and the generalized social networks for everyone else such as the ones mentioned two sentences ago.

Well, the whole point of social networks, as the name implies, is to connect with other like-minded individuals. In other words, it's like a social gathering, without the actual human warmth component.

That's where videogames butt in and ruin both. You might have read my Starcraft II review. Well, Blizzard Entertainment decided to add Facebook integration to their newest game. As if that's not bad enough, they seem to be trying to push an agenda of forcing you to reveal your real name, among other personal details, for the whole world to see. Contrast this with the age of virtual anonymity and antisocial videogames and you can see how wrong this feels.

As if that's not wrong enough, here comes the annoying trend of casual social network games, such as Farmville and Frontierville, just to name two of the more popular ones. Not only do you play the game, you're basically sending messages to your friends telling them just how much fun you're having (which is an optional feature, but if the game nags you to send messages to your friends every so often, it's a well-known fact most people will crack eventually). So, now you get to waste your days playing a nearly purposeless game, with the only incentive being that your friends are playing it...

Hmm, that reminds me of World of Warcraft...

Oh yes, MMOs are a classic offender for this new phenomenon. Not all of them mind you, but a lot of them basically have you wasting your days making numbers bigger for no real purpose. You could argue that most RPGs are the same way, but at least regular RPGs have a story and plot to go along with them. MMORPGs live off of you just doing the same things repetitively. "Story", they ask: "what's that?" That's what bothers me about this new phenomenon. Some people who play certain games still have the gall to call me out on my videogame preferences. It's laughable really.

• Videogame companies are trying to make MMO games that seek to hook and addict players by sheer psychology, instead of making genuine games that are addictive because they're fun.
• Companies are pushing to make games more sociable by force. Friend lists integrated with social networks (as I mentioned already) are a prime offender.
• As an indirect result of both of the above, games are being dumbed down for the lowest common denominator, because God forbid you have to actually use your brain to solve problems. Prime offenders include Bethesda when they created Oblivion (which had a way too helpful compass, derogatorily named the "dumbpass" for this very reason) and just about every action RPG ever made.
  

I miss the good old days when games were relegated to a certain group of people, but am happy that games have become more mainstream. I, however, am not happy at all with the recent trend of "social" videogames. In other words, my personal opinion is that we had the happy medium when popular games had tournaments devoted to them, but crossed into another unhealthy extreme with the advent of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs).

All of the above represents my opinion and you're free to disagree (heck, you're encouraged; debates can be fun). In any case, I hope you enjoyed this hub and also hope it's made you think a little about one of the most fun activities mankind has invented.

Until the next time, take care and have fun! ;)

-Winterfate