Why Video Games Matter: An Article on the Feelings Evoked by Video Games

Tom Bissell presents an article in 2010, to college students of which is “Why Video Games Matter.” Bissell isn’t intending for the argument to be about video game criticism, the history of the gaming, or an assessment of anything. On the contrary, he wants to articulate his own opinions and thoughts on what playing games feels like, why he plays them, and the questions they make him think about. Being a gamer myself, I have also endured the struggles of what being obsessed with a video game feels like. It is understood that when first purchasing a video game, all one thinks about is getting home and popping it in the console, disregarding everything else that is happening in the vicinity.

Bissell comically explains what he would say to his hypothetical children, “My beloved Kermit, my dear little Hussein, at the moment America changed forever, your father was wandering an ICBM-denuded wasteland, nervously monitoring his radiation level, armed only with a baseball bat, a 10mm pistol, and six rounds of ammunition, in search of a vicious gang of mohawked marauders who were 100 percent bad news and totally had to be dealt with. Trust Daddy on this one (351).” His impulsiveness and love for Fallout 3 causes him to miss a pivotal moment in history. Impressively though, games can be considered art; for example, Fallout 3 includes “skulls exploding into the distinct flotsam of eyeballs, gray matter, and upper vertebrae (354).” Bissell describes the effects happening within the game and how realistic they can be. Games are purely awe inspiring. The makers of Fallout 3 poured rigorous amounts of energy to create a beautiful “past-future never-never-land weirdness (355).”

Video games can be considered a catalyst, which transport you into ...

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...re doing it (360).” What Tom Bissell does in “Why Video Games Matter” is state his perspective on video game culture and how they make him feel.

Many people assume that playing video games is a waste of time because you’re not being active. It is true that in some cases there is too much of sitting around as the TV glares at you, but on a positive note, it can increase hand eye coordination and relax the mind from profound stress. Bissell explains to me clearly his view on games as whole, not just Fallout 3, and his descriptiveness is astounding. I conclude that, in the gripping reality of it all games are fun and can be addicting. Bissell wasn’t one-sided on his view, he remained neutral throughout the article, and we shouldn’t be so obstinate on our outlook of the future.

Works Cited

Bissell, Tom. “Why Video Games Matter.” Extra Lives (2010): 349-361. Print.