45 thoughts on “Games (still) Matter”

1. Thanks for this. Also… stealing the word “dickwagon”.

2. It continues to amaze me at how non-gamers can look down at gamers as just “wasting their time”. People derive enjoyment in various ways, some obsessively follow their chosen sports team or go to the movies every weekend or to bars to do karaoke and darts. Fantasy Football or Final Fantasy.

   None are any better than the others. Enjoy what you enjoy, and let others enjoy what they enjoy.

   1. Exactly. I’m not a gamer. I love cooking shows. Husband’s a gamer & hates cooking shows. I don’t understand people who look down at others’ hobbies. Live & let live.

      1. I’m a gamer AND I love cooking shows. Do I get a prize? 😀

   2. YES! I find it amazing that someone will watch 6 hours of football/basketball/hockey whatever, but have the nerve to look down on me for playing and liking something like Skyrim

3. A few years back I had to stop playing games for boring, adult life reasons. When I tried to get back into it again I was surprised at how pervasive the childish bullying, and homophobic, racists attitudes were. I think it was a ‘frog slowly boiling’ situation, where I only really noticed how bad it was after being away from it for a while.

   Game companies (Especially the ‘persistent online world’ ones) have the ability to police this and let their customers know that it’s not okay, but they continue to allow that type of behavior. I know I could play single player games and not have to deal with these terrible humans, but there’s so much negativity swirling around gaming culture these days that I end up feeling ashamed to even be associated with it.

   I enjoy watching Tabletop and Titansgrave and other gaming-related content, but I think I’m done with participating in the culture of it, which is kinda sad.

   1. I’m in the exact same boat. I unplugged my console three years ago when my daughter was born. I had no desire to spend all night playing games with grumpy people and besides, sleep was rare at that time and I wasn’t going to waste it with…”dickwagons.” Recently I’ve been thinking about bringing my thumbs out of retirement but only for vintage video games. I found my old Nintendo and Sega Genesis and plan on hooking them up and giving them a spin. The only dickwagon screaming obscenities will be me this time as I struggle to get the finishing moves right in Mortal Combat.

   2. When I was a kid, board/card games were incredibly competitive events in my family, with the winner gloating and shaming the losers for days after. This was often adult-to-child, too. Fun!

      As a college student (early ’80s), the D&D games I played ran with the assumption that any women present were there to hook up with the guys. The school was in a pretty conservative part of the US, so “drop them and find a new group” wasn’t easy.

      Now, as a Woman of a Certain Age, I’ve had the charming experience of being ignored in games shops while the sales staff try to sweettalk my son — when I’m the one who came in to make a purchase.

      Like you, I enjoy watching both Tabletop and Titansgrave, but I’ve never had that “We are all here to have fun!” feeling while playing, and I don’t think I ever will.

      1. @Epiphyta, I hope you are wrong! Find a meetup group that welcomes everyone – or start your own. When I started my group I wanted it to be a community that would accept everyone except those who would not accept others. As a result, we have all ages, from teenagers to octogenarians. We have a wide variety of nationalities. We have people who are between jobs, and we have physicists and lawyers. No one cares about any of that when we sit down to play games. I am blessed with the nicest, most welcoming group I could have imagined.

         THIS is the rallying call: We have to make the community we want!

4. About 10 years ago, I didn’t think I was a “gamer” because I didn’t play “the right” games. I had friends who played certain games and thought whatever it was I was playing didn’t deserve to be called video games. It ended up turning me away from video games entirely and influencing my idea of who/what games are.

   I now know that I just needed to find the right community to interact with about the games I was playing.

   After seeing a preview from E3 this week, I think I have found the first game in a decade that may make me “dust off” my controller. Perhaps this will be my own personal renaissance of video games.

   Thanks, as always, for sharing your thoughts/opinions!

   1. er…that was supposed to be “who/what gamers are”

   2. You’re a gamer if you play games. Whether that game is solitaire, or Call of Duty it doesn’t matter. You’re still a gamer.

      So what was the E3 presentation that wants you to dive back in?

      1. The preview for Unravel really captured my attention. I haven’t been this excited about a game since Myst came out back in the 90s. =) It looks like it has the puzzle elements that I really get sucked into, and because it’s been so long since I played on video game console, I was blown away by how adorably realistic the physics of it seem to be. All of the same things that made me love Donkey Kong Country on Super NES!

   3. Oh! What is the game that is making you dust it all off and dive back in? Inquiring minds want to know! Please share. 🙂

      1. Never mind, whoops! I got too excited and didn’t read further down.

         1. Haha, no worries. Have you seen the previews for it?

            1. I looked it up on Youtube after I read tour post. It looks lile a winner. It’s beautiful, it has a story with heart, and the physics and puzzles look like fun!

5. I made an indie game, and got the following feedback.

   Hi I am 14 and i have played this game called [xxx]. i think you might know it. this game is really fun and i have played it with my sister and my friend and it is better than any 60 $ game i have ever bought. me and my sister are not really close and we fight alot. this game made us laugh together and we had a good time together. its been a while since that happened. Thank you.

   This still literally brings a tear to my eye.

   Games matter.

   1. That is so awesome!!

      1. I don’t want to presume, but I’d love to give you a copy. I think you’d have a blast playing it with your family. Lots of reports of “even my non-gamer wife/girlfriend loved it!”

         1. Not sure why you’ve avoiding saying what the game is (other than not wanting to seem like you’re advertising), but at this point I’m curious what game?

            If you’re frequently getting that comment then it sounds like something I might want to pick up. My wife isn’t much for video games but if it’s something funny and we can play it together we usually have a blast. Been looking for something new recently.

            1. I didn’t want to sound like I was making a cheap plug for my game, and detract from the very meaningful and emotional feedback I’d gotten. I’ll never be a successful indie game dev because I suck at self promotion. 😛

               But since you asked:
               The game is called “Hidden in Plain Sight”. It’s available for Xbox 360, Ouya, and Windows (via Steam). It plays OK with two, but is much better with three or four players.

               It’s been covered by some major YouTube channels, so check it out and see if it’s something you might like. If so, get in touch!

6. Journey was a game that completely enchanted me as a fallen gamer (I drifted away as soon as headsets became gameplay requirements, for obvious reasons as one might expect seeing how I’m female). God of War, well, not so much.

   That said, glad that you found Journey, and enjoyed it for the amazing gameplay. I remember playing it when it came out and thinking, “This is what online gaming SHOULD BE.” Everyone is equal in Journey. You play cooperatively, or not. You advance, or just roam the desert. Each are equally beautiful. So happy to see it mentioned here.

7. Despite some types who really aren’t gamers but play games and swing their dicks around like they run the joint, I suspect most gamers are like me in that gaming is both about being an active participant (versus sitting on a couch and vegging in front of a TV–a valid pleasure under the right circumstances) in an experience that you can share with others. Whether you’re playing a single player game that you can commiserate with other players about or you’re playing a multiplayer game together with strangers or friends, the game creates stories you get to share or relate with. As much as I love watching certain TV shows (especially certain cancelled ones from a few years back…you know who you are starts-with-fire-ends-with-fly) and movies, I get the most entertainment and joy out of gaming.

   The whole art debate with games are irrelevant, in my opinion. It’s like taking a bunch of words and saying is that art? You can use a paint brush to paint a wall or you can use it to paint a painting. One is practical, the other is art (and sometimes they can be one in the same). Games are a platform. Devs can choose to strive for a work of art and some produce some beautiful games (whether visually or based on the mechanics of the game) or produce consumable sustenance that’s just about getting some entertainment and moving on.

   I’m happy to drop into a game like COD (don’t judge!) because it’s simple and fast paced fun. But I’m also happy to drop into a survival game like Ark or 7 Days to Die because it’s more complex and lets me be creative in my assault on dinos or zombies. I’m happy to pilot a mech or harvest the latest crop on my farm. The important thing is to just enjoy it without spewing the vitriol that some “gamers” think is part of the culture. If PAX and your local game store is any measure, I think you’ll find that gaming is more about coming together and enjoying your favorite past-time than anything else.

   Sorry, I keep wanting to scream this sort of thing from every mountaintop I can find. So many years of living in the closet so to speak because being a gamer after the age of 16 meant you were something society looked down upon. Today, that stigma is rapidly changing. It’s still there but it’s become more acceptable than it used to be.

   1. Sadly, the guys who ” play games and swing their dicks around like they run the joint” are just as much gamers as the rest of us. Being a gamer doesn’t automatically make you a better person, gamers can be dicks too and unfortunately games like CoD and other fps are always going to attract macho dickwads, the really sad thing is not all of them are sixteen year olds who don’t know any better, but I think that really reflects badly on society, not gamers.

      1. As someone who works very hard to not be a dickwagon, but really enjoys CoD, I don’t think you should use any game as attracting Dick wagons. CoD stands out because of mics, because you can hear the dicks drown out the non dicks. But, Dick wagons love mine craft and portal just as much as CoD. This is true of most games. CoD is fun. It’s frantic, high paced, and very difficult. It’s ultra violent, but so was contra. I just don’t want people to think the type of game is at fault. It’s the evolution of the culture. Now we have to work to evolve it into another direction.

         1. You’re completely right, after I posted that I remembered getting trolled in WoW. I mainly mentioned CoD because I was replying to the previous post, but my point still stands, there are dicks everywhere, and those dicks are just as much gamers as the rest of us, unfortunately. You’re right, the rest of us have to work to push the culture in a more pleasant direction.

8. Thanks for this Wil, I enjoy god of war solely for the gameplay, the story is nonsensical and Kratos is probably the most despicable playable character created but I’m trailing off. I disassociated myself from gaming, from Gen 8’s seemingly never ending ‘remasters’ of games that still look great on their Gen 7 counterparts. To the whole gamergate diasco (why would you take pitchforks to vilify a woman when the bigwig companies are just as guilt as paying off the big review sites for favorable reviews? does not make any sense!)

   I still like games, whether I’m skimming the sunset rivers in Journey, or wrecking my car in GTA and getting flayed by bobcats or Saving the Galaxy from those pesky Batarians in Mass Effect…. I’m just not as passionate as I was about them During the Last 20 years.
   But despite that one thing is still true.
   Games do Matter

9. Great commentary. Playing through Stealth Inc. 2 recently and enjoying a great indie game.

10. Thank you for this, I think I needed this reminder. I really love RPGs and strategy games, and have really been wanting that feeling of immersion again, but it feels so weighty lately. I need to remember there are games like Journey that are great for more casual gamers like me, and I don’t need to let the dickwagons ruin the genre for me.

11. I am so stealing dickwagons.

12. God of War is frickin’ AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn’t quit playing GOW 3 when I first got it (I ended up playing through the night).

13. Agreed. There is nothing more than my son enjoy at the end of a hard day than a good session of Mario Kart 8 or Mario Party. 😀

14. I’ve become a solo video gamer because, being female, I’ve experienced a lot of the “dickwagon” behavior first hand. Plus I’ve always struggled with social anxiety so it didn’t take much effort to give up on the multiplayer games.

    I’ve only played the first two God of War games. They are pretty awesome.

    I’m playing Shadow of Mordor at the moment. There’s something satisfying about slaying orcs. Makes for a good stress reliever.

15. Games are one of the things that my family enjoys, and we play either together as a group, or we compare notes on games that we play separately. Gaming allows us to discuss a common ground – something that we share an interest in in a world where people are not going out as much as they used to back in the day when bowling alleys and arcades were more pervasive.

    Often times, it’s the fart-trumpets out there that just ruin it for everyone – whether it’s a camper, a modder, or someone who just plays to pick on people. I play games for the sheer enjoyment of the story and the cooperative fun. If more people played it for the positive reasons, then perhaps the community of gamers would grow.

16. I agree on all parts, but one here. I feel that saying games are supposed to be fun a bit limiting. I like to say that games need to be engaging.

    Take Telltale’s The Walking Dead for example. At no point was I having fun, but Great Scott was I engaged!

    Not to say that games can’t be engaging, because they are fun. Tons of games are. But the fun descriptor runs the risk of leaving some great games out.

17. The very title of this blog post immediately brought to mind the YouTube channel Extra Credits. Their tagline is “Because games matter.” And indeed they do.

18. Games have always mattered, but it wasn’t until this writer guy from the Internet (and also from some sci-fi TV show way back when) started doing a web series about playing games with your friends that it became more than just this nebulous incoherent feeling.

    Wil Wheaton, Prophet of Games has shown me THE LIGHT

    And I am now an Apostle of Games

    So in a way, you’re like James Brown.

    So you’ve got that going for you. Which is nice.

19. I’ve been a gamer since my first tabletop game (Warhammer 40k).
    I’ve been a gamer since my first video game (Oregon Trail).
    I’ve been a gamer since my first RPG (Advanced D&D).
    I’ve been a gamer since my first strategy game (Tactics II, Avalon Hill).
    I’ve been a gamer since my first board game (first one I remember is Chinese Checkers).
    I’ve been a gamer since I learned to play my first card game.

    I’ve been a gamer as long as I remember, and no dickwagon (or group of dickwagons (a sprinkling? or maybe a caravan? Yes, a caravan of dickwagons)) is going to change that or make me ashamed of it.

20. I’m glad to see you mentioned Destiny. I’m not the most outgoing person, and I don’t take being yelled and and belittled well. That is probably why I’ve never played a multiplayer game. The storyline for Destiny intrigued me, as well as the fact that you could “cut your teeth” so to speak, on single player. It was with some hesitation that I ventured into the multiplayer part of the game. I have to say, it was a wonderful experience. Perhaps I’ve been lucky and not encountered any of the nasty people, but everyone I’ve been matched with on fireteams (random matchmaking, I might add) have been wonderful. Just the idea of this person, perhaps thousands of miles away, or perhaps living in my small town, sprinting through a crapload of enemy fire across a battlefield to come resurrect my dumb ass because I did something dumb – is amazing to this neophyte multipplayer gamer. More often than not, my guardian angel will give me a friendly wave, point at the bad guy, as it to say “let’s get busy killing this guy” and move off to his position. I’ve started using a headset and actually talking to friends I’ve made and now we’ve done dozens of strikes and missions together and it makes me happy. I’m sure there are other multiplayer games that are as good or better than Destiny, but Destiny will always have a special place in my heart. Sorry for the length, but I really love all the stuff you do to make this world a better place.

21. Ever played Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons? FANTASTIC game.. Although you might need hugs from time to time.

22. Couldn’t agree more.

    I get completely sucked in by games like Mass Effect or Dragon Age which have writing (and music) as good as any TV show, in my view

    And it’s fun to goof off and Disney Infinity and Skylanders (wallet be damned) with the kids.

    I will probably need to quit my job when Star Wars Battlefront comes out!

    I

23. Last time I checked it was the dickwagons wil wheaton tends to congregate with who claimed that games aren’t supposed to be about fun.

    1. Exactly. And one of the games they claim is “bad” and people shouldn’t play is God of War…

24. I got introduced to Journey last year as I was visiting friends. The experience left me speechless for quite some time.

    In fact, ever since I found the soundtrack on Bandcamp I use it as my “go to place” whenever life gets to be too much and my depression sets in. Listening to the music brings me right back to the Journey I took with a complete stranger somewhere in the world.

    I actually decided not long ago to gift ten (but ended up being fifteen) copies of the Journey soundtrack through Bandcamp to random people asking for it on Twitter, and I think I made Austin Wintory happy in the process by showing appreciation for his work. Win-win!

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