New Worlds Through A Set of Lenses

Anyone else notice the addition of Gaming Stations? 

Not cafes for gaming, but newly placed areas for companies to showcase their latest technology. You can come across them in malls, many of which have multiple devices open for the public to try out. 

One particular device that caught my attention was the VR Headset. 

Just like the Google “Cardboard VR” headsets, these made a big boom! 

Shortform for “Virtual Reality,” these VR Headsets encompass the ability, and technology, to showcase various types of games through the headset itself, placing its players into an unknown world. 

People would line up and wait for their turn at the headset, as players would swing their hands from left to right, or jump up from surprise. It appeared to be a blast in my eyes, but I wondered: 

Why is this so popular? 

Frankie Wallace, who talks about VR Technology, brought up how this growing interest in VR has, so to say, “leveled up” the customer’s range of gaming. 

Wallace exclaims that “at their core, video games are stories, and when developing technology is introduced, stories evolve. This means there are whole new ways for games to be enjoyed” (Wallace, 2018). 

So, knowing that VR is available for PC, phone and game consoles, it gives a wide range for anyone to try it. For example, Beat Saber and VRChat blasted the gaming community! 

Kaylee Fagan, who dug into the world of VRChat, discussed how this free multiplayer game moved past the term itself. 

Not only being available with or without a headset, VRChat was said to let “people socialize, attend events, take classes, create art, play games, perform for large crowds, and explore virtual environments — all from the comfort of their own homes” (Fagan, 2018).  

Despite being described as “walking through a bizarre, stiff, 8-bit dream” (Fagan, 2018), the game itself has allowed people to talk with others freely, and engage in virtual activities with friends. 

Fagan mentions the message of a user known by “NikinCZ,” stating they felt happier with their experience through VRChat, making new friends. NikinCZ became less isolated in VRChat, and engaged themselves with new people due to not fearing awkwardness or rejection. 

Beat Saber, described as “players slic[ing] their way through an EDM soundtrack, which the company’s music-mixing CEO produced” (Lucas Matney, 2019), exploded in the market. 

Online communities enjoyed playing this game, streaming it through platforms for others to watch.  

Selling over a million copies in a year, CEO of Beat Saber’s company Jaroslav Beck, explains “finishing the game isn’t about just bringing in all of these new features, but it’s about capturing the full potential of the game” (Matney, 2019). 

Swinging light sabers to catchy tunes? I would do it. 

With such realism and impact, gamers can’t help falling in love with the communities from across the world. 

The VR Headset not only creates this, but can do so much more – just wait a couple more years gamers. 

Reference List

Fagan, Kaylee. “A large number of people have come out saying VRChat has saved their lives — here’s what it’s like to experience the online meeting place of the 21st century.” Business Insider, 1st Mar. 2018, www.businessinsider.com/vrchat-explained-2018-2. Accessed 28 Feb. 2020. 

Google. Google Cardboard. arvr.google.com/intl/en_ca/cardboard/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2020.

Matney, Lucas. “How Beat Saber Beat the odds.” TechCrunch, 8 May 2019,  techcrunch.com/2019/05/08/how-beat-saber-beat-the-odds/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2020. 

NikinCZ. “[Discussion] All the negative thoughts are gone.” Reddit, 27 Feb. 2018, www.reddit.com/r/VRchat/comments/80m4iv/discussion_all_the_negative_thoughts_are_gone/. Accessed 28 Feb. 2020. 

Wallace, Frankie. “VR Gaming and the Technology’s Impact On The World.” HeadStuff, 15 Oct. 2018, www.headstuff.org/entertainment/gaming/vr-technology-and-the-gaming-world/. Accessed 27 Feb. 2020. 

Time to Max Out Experience!

A scenario: 

You’re in an online match. As people join the voice channel, a scream rings through your ears. Shocked, you begin to lower the volume, only to be bombarded by a kid’s voice yelling and asking if anyone else is in the chat. You leave immediately. 

Seem familiar to you? Is this fair towards the kid who only wants to communicate properly? 

Discrimination against age: How is it affecting those on the opposite side? 

For those who are not aware, Ageism is the discrimination and/or prejudice due to a person’s age. Let’s take a look into this issue. 

Within Steve Peterson’s article on Ageism, he discusses about the effects and reasons to older workers with in gaming industry are facing a turn of discrimination. Peterson explains how the numbers range for industry worker’s age, and that many younger workers are highly favourable. 

To note, he states that “the game industry has gotten older, and there are people who’ve spent their entire careers working in games that are now retiring” (Peterson, 2018). Due to “far more older workers with industry experience” (Peterson, 2018), companies are rapidly looking for new employees, despite having a perfectly fine and experienced worker at hand! 

These workers, who have dedicated most of their lives to video game development, are being laid off because the companies feel they MUST find newer, younger workers: this isn’t out of the ordinary. 

“The Issue of Diversity in Gaming” mentions a survey named “2017 Developer Satisfaction Survey by IGDA,” which stated that “24% of the respondents were 30 to 34 years old” and “5% of the respondents said they were older than 50 years old” (IGDA, 2017). 

The numbers get smaller as the age goes up, sharing the lack, or reduction of older workers. 

In addition, excuses like “’ability to hear clearly, see clearly, lift 40 pounds’” (Peterson, 2018) can get tossed around, despite developer jobs being highly computer based. Pretty prejudice huh. 

Well, let’s see the bright side. Many are attempting to pry back into the video game industry!

Sarah Dezelin shares her interview with “The Silver Snipers,” a group of competitive gamers over the age of 60. The group participated in Dreamhack 2017, a festival that hosts e Sport events. The Silver Snipers took part in the Counter-Strike event, a multiplayer first-person shooter. 

Despite not winning, the group was estatic, being able to freely participate in the event. 

One of the members, Wanja “Knitting Knight” Godänge, exclaimed how it was a great experience, and that “we have been received with such [a] great positive attitude. A lot of love from everyone, especially the gaming community” (Dezelin, 2017). 

They were welcomed warmly into the competitive arena, but what does that say? 

Well, prejudice against older game developers and workers, while people in the general public welcome their generation to actively participate in games! 

If there is more acceptance like so, then a group like The Silver Snipers wouldn’t be such a rare sight, right? 

Let’s hope so. 

Reference List:

Dezelin, Sarah. “Meet The Senior Gamers Who Take On Kids Globally In Counter-Strike.” The Federalist, 18 Dec. 2017, thefederalist.com/2017/12/18/meet-team-senior-gamers-take-kids-globally-counter-strike/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2020. 

Peterson, Steve. “Ageism: The issue never gets old.” GameIndustry, 4 Apr. 2018, www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2018-04-04-ageism-in-games-the-issue-never-gets-old. Accessed 21 Feb. 2020. 

“The Issue of Diversity in Gaming.” GameDesigning, 11 Nov. 2019, www.gamedesigning.org/gaming/diversity/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2020. 

“Developer Satisfaction Survey: Summary Report [2017]” IGDA, 26 Nov. 2019, igda.org/resources-archive/developer-satisfaction-survey-summary-report-2017/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2020.