posted on Mar, 16 2016 @ 01:42 PM
I'm very disappointed in how focused the video game industry is on violence. It's not so much that violent games exist; it's that the content
pushed out by the industry is so damn lop-sided.
I mostly only play Minecraft anymore. I can be creative, build gardens and such, and mods allow me to do everything from cooking elaborate meals to
growing dinosaurs from fossils to beekeeping. I can't get that kind of gameplay experience anywhere else (that I know of). I'm starting to get bored
of it, but I can't find an interesting replacement game.
Once upon a time, I had hope. Minecraft became huge, Sony began making games like Little Big Planet and Modnation Racers, that were meant to encourage
players to be more creative. I thought this was the beginning of a new era in video games, where the software gave people the tools to interact on a
deeper, more creative level.
Then the Xbox One and PS4 came out, and it was literally the same-old, same-old, but with slightly prettier graphics. Extremely disappointing.
Why aren't there games that embrace S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)? We have this amazing, state-of-the-art immersive technology
that can allow you to interact with a virtual world in an interesting way, and it's all dedicated to stabbing, shooting, stomping on, and otherwise
killing things. Or playing sports. That may have been fun when I was a kid, but now that I'm in my late 30s, I just don't find any of that to be
engaging or stimulating anymore.
Anytime I see a game that's even remotely educational, it's targeted squarely at children. Are adults not interested in learning about the world we
live in?
I want Endless Ocean 3. That's all I want for the Wii U. I want to immerse myself in a vast ocean where I learn about the sea life and help to heal
sick fish. I want a game about digging up and researching fossils, maybe putting together a museum in the process. I want a game that gives me a
deeper understanding of renewable energy by having me construct and manage green city. I want a game as fun and charming as Cooking Mama, but has
accurate recipes and nutritional information; maybe even have categories like "diabetic" and "vegetarian".
I know that video games are meant to be entertainment. But they didn't have to only be that; they could have been amazing tools for education, too.