(See “Critical Reading” in Chapter 1)

1

Video games are an easily accessible way to cure the effects of boredom. Ever since the late 1970s, video games have been extremely popular. They started out as arcade units, costing 25 cents to $1 per play. Kids would spend hundreds of dollars playing these games. The accessibility of video games has evolved over time from pay-to-play arcade units to personal home TV consoles. The genres of games have also evolved over time: shooter, role-playing, and strategy are just a few.

2

Shooters are one of the oldest genres of games. This genre was born in arcade games such as Asteroids and Galaga. The early shooters were quite simple, and everything was on a two-dimensional plane. Asteroids consisted of a small spaceship avoiding asteroids by dodging and shooting at them. In Galaga, the players shot at enemy alien ships. Eventually, shooters evolved into third- and first-person shooters. In third-person, the player’s view is from above, looking down at the character. In first-person, the player looks through the character’s eyes. These shooters involve a character holding a gun shooting at enemies. Military, Sci-Fi, and Survival are a few sub-genres.

3

Role-playing games (RPGs) started out on paper. Dungeons & Dragons was one of the more popular paper RPGs. Paper RPGs gave birth to computer-based ones. The benefit of computer-based RPGs is that with an Internet connection, they can be played with millions of other people. Players and their friends can create and control characters who live in a fantasy world. These characters are often class-based with classes such as thief, warrior, mage, and ranger. Players micromanage the attributes of their characters: charisma, strength, and magic, to name a few. Players embark on epic quests, slay beasts, find treasure, and fight in great battles.

4

Strategy games are similar to RPGs, but they are on a much larger scale. In strategy games, players often control a historic civilization. The three main components of strategy games are economy, military, and politics. There are usually several types of resources that the players manage such as gold, stone, wood, and food. Players control the villagers, assigning them to gather resources. In the military aspect of this genre, players control the army and train different types of soldiers, taking into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of the different units. Politics determines allies and enemies and who wars with whom. In strategy games, there is no such thing as peace.

5

Many genres of games have been created to explore and play, but all video games offer the same core benefit: They offer a brief moment in time to escape the world around you. Video games not only cure boredom, but they also offer an experience that can rival that of books or films.

(See “Writing Critically About Readings” in Chapter 1)