Can video gaming prove itself a worthy form of entertainment in a TV- and film-saturated popular culture? While most people regard the medium as primarily a pursuit for the younger generation, we who have watched it evolve from the relative simplicity of 8-bit to the incredible capability of the Cell and Xenon processors know that games themselves are becoming a form of alternate, or virtual, reality.

Moreover, the ability of a game to pull its user into its false realm is exponentially greater than in any other medium. Take Assassin’s Creed, for example. The game covers the brutal Crusades from the perspective that Americans rarely get the opportunity to see: those who were being beaten and killed for their beliefs. Being engaged in direct combat as an Islamic warrior is a humbling experience for many who hold their religious beliefs to be above all others. The utter nonchalance with which the Christian Crusaders display violence against the innocent practically forces the player to want to exact vigilante justice upon them. In a modern context, if taken seriously, it may cause a dialogue about the current situation in the Middle East.

Much like classic literature that encourages social and political rebellion, games that bring serious topics to light are garnering more widespread appeal amongst members of the gaming community. If given enough weight by the general public, a game may have a similar, if not greater, impact. In Bioshock, for instance, the player is given a choice about whether to let a sub-human child live or take her life for personal gain. Does this sound familiar? It should; it’s a stripped down version of the main controversy involved in stem cell research, something one of the developers was interested in at the time he was working on the game. This demonstrates that just like any other creative outlet, interactive software can reflect the mindset of the people who are working with it.

With this level of interactivity, it’s only natural to fear the repercussions of prolonged exposure to any virtual scenario. The popular film The Matrix showcases the possibilities, as well as many of the dangers, of a computer-generated alternate reality. For instance, if a subject “dies” while in VR, does the brain shut down the physical body in response? Thankfully, we need not concern ourselves with these matters until much farther down the line. As it stands, game technology is still striving for photorealism and aural fidelity, though neither of these are far-off goals. For now, the virtual experience is one that can be contained and kept separate from our other three senses, and it may be advocated that it should remain so. It is highly probable that hardware and software developers alike will stop at nothing short of full immersion, a prospect that may be helpful, harmful, or both.

With the growing number of people engaged in video gaming through common devices such as cell phones and PCs, it may be possible that some of these individuals will grow more comfortable with gaming as a legitimate form of entertainment that rivals their other entertaining pursuits, such as watching movies or reading novels. The problem lies in exposure: these people will not be aware of some of the more “hardcore” titles such as the Final Fantasy series, the Silent Hill series, or the choice-driven Mass Effect. As a result, any suggestion to these people that playing video games is a waste of time might result in the typical “Yeah, you’re probably right” response rather than a defense. After all, many (if not most) casual games are simple distractions that do little to expand anyone’s definition of what a game can be.

From this angle, can gamers look toward a future of greater acceptance among entertainment lovers in the mainstream? Optimistically, we can indeed. Despite the opposition to the evolution of the medium, the sheer number of people who have fallen in love with casual gaming attests to the power of electronic entertainment to draw in new audiences. It’s simply a matter of time before people other than the like-minded gaming community follow suit and begin to embrace the potential that interactive entertainment puts forward.