6 reasons to get started with video games

1. Games are closely intertwined with other areas of our culture

Only the lazy provincial entrepreneur did not use the image of the Walt Boy in his advertising. Rare town has no Mario plumbing ads. Games penetrate into everyday life more and more, and it's already strangely surprised to raise an eyebrow when someone compares the difficulties of life with the passage of Dark Souls.

We live in a cultural space where originals are successfully lost: most of us are unlikely to see references to a 19th century Polish philosophical work or a French film of the 1920s.

But finding Easter eggs, understanding where this or that context came from is a separate kind of irrational pleasure. Therefore, the very same "biblical references" are shoved everywhere. Thus, the author pleases the viewer.

Video games are doing better. This layer of culture is only forty years old. You may well not only read about all the most important, but even have time to get acquainted with it and not die of old age. And then smile with the air of a connoisseur when you see a shawarma stall with Pudge from Dota 2 on the door.

2. Games expand your favorite universes

If you love Star Wars, then you know what we mean. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Battlefront, Republic Commando and other games have one thing in common: they all allow you to find yourself in your favorite universe for a while and not just see a new story, but become a direct participant in it.

If you love board games or movies, most likely in the world of video games there will be a full-fledged arrangement of them. With special effects, interesting characters and the ability to personally control a Space Marine from the Ultramarines.

3. Games are good for the brain

Yes Yes. Besides the fact that they help old people to restore the reaction, they will not harm the body of a younger one. While playing a typical shooter, a whole bunch of new neural connections are formed in your head, and the achievement system motivates the acquired gaming skills not to lose. Thanks to all this, the speed of decision-making is increased: fans of shooters are on average 25% faster than Video Games Lead to Faster Decisions that are No Less Accurate make decisions compared to those who do not play them.

And this is not to mention the most obvious benefit of computer fun - stress relief. It is better to shoot a dozen or two NPCs in GTA than to break loose on furniture, and even more so in public.

And if we talk about children, then for them in general there is a whole mountain of advantages: starting with the fact that games help Video games ‘help reading in children with dyslexia’ fight dyslexia, and ending with the development of fantasy. So, if you are less than eleven years old, it's time to start sitting at the computer in moderation.

4. Games are fun

Life is so arranged that we either run around like a squirrel in a wheel, or do not know at all what to do with ourselves. And in the second case, YouTube comes into play, looking into the distance under the lines and scrolling the feed on the social network. But as an alternative to TV shows and social networks, it is quite possible to choose video games.

Not to say that a session in a multiplayer project will make more sense, but you will most likely have more fun - this is in the first place. Secondly, playing again in multiplayer mode, you definitely achieve certain goals, heights and results - albeit virtual ones. Thirdly, during the game, time will also fly by faster - which is very good when we have to wait for something.

5. Games are still able to surprise

Of course, a lot of time has passed since the appearance of the first games. The main genres, methods and mechanics have been worked out for a long time. Nevertheless, the boom of indie projects in recent years, the constant development of hardware and the increasingly serious attention of developers to video games are making themselves felt. Every year, if not whole new trends appear, then interesting projects that stand out from the crowd. Occasionally, developers even manage to “reinvent the wheel”. For example, not so long ago VR technology became such a "wheel", which really gives a completely new and unique experience.

In cinema and literature, it has long been worth stopping to hope for something new. But computer games just did not exist half a century ago. In fact, video games (not all, but most) embody the main postmodern principle, when the story in a work of art is created by the reader himself. Even if it is not the text that becomes the mediator, but the turn-based strategy interface.

And it's just that the qualitative development of the gaming industry is much more noticeable than the development of graphics in cinematography. Just compare what the games looked like in 2005 and 2017. And David Lynch never dreamed of such sophisticated approaches to narrative, especially in indie projects. An example is walking simulators like What Remains of Edith Finch or the same Dark Souls series, where the whole plot is in the descriptions of objects.

6. You can make money on games

There is a huge amount of money in the video game industry. The giant is $ 91 billion in 2016. If anything, this is approximately five times the GDP of Moldova. And this number is only growing every year. Moreover, these billions include not only the games themselves, but also, for example, video content on them. And let me remind you that the most popular blogger on YouTube is the PewDiePie letsplayer.

Not to mention streams, e-sports, merch - one Fallout 4 each, as part of the marketing campaign, even released socks and beer. Maybe you will be able to make money on some stream or gaming site. To identify the most trending and popular games, broadcast them, collect thousands of rubles in donations or write articles - try it. And if you're particularly stubborn, you can even go to a gaming company. In general, there are a lot of options.

We think that now you have no more doubts about the benefits of computer games. Stay tuned for new items and have a great time. And come to Kolomenskoye on August 11-12: this year at Geek Picnic you will find a whole zone of old-school games.