The War of Books vs. Video Games

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For a long time, there has been an ongoing dispute between bookworms and gamers about which hobby makes more sense.  Traditional bookworms cannot seem to wrap their minds around how video games can help creativity and just label it as ‘pure nonsense’. And hardly likely do you see a person who is both a bookworm and a gamer, possibly because of the clearly defined line drawn between the two hobbies by some narrow minded individuals.

However, to criticize something, you must try it, get involved in it, experience it, and then, and only then, should you make a decision. I have done just that – and I must confess I love books and video games!

As a child, I was drawn to books because of a love for adventure, action and climax. I fell in love with the characters and was always sad when the story ended. Even now, after a book ends, I imagine continued lives for these beloved characters. At times, I disagreed with the decisions the author made for the characters and would imagine the storyline happening a different way – my way. Video games have given me the freedom to experience all these same feelings.

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My six year old son introduced me to gaming. My first experience was Mortal Combat. At first, I was hesitant and didn’t expect much. But from the moment I held that controller, I was drawn into this world, full of action and adventure…just like a good book. I was in control of the fate of my characters, so I didn’t have to sulk at the author’s choice of ending and if my character died, I could always press ‘replay’ to avenge him/her. It was awesome!

The controller is dual shock, so everything my character experienced, I felt it. It was like I was the character, I was in the story, I was the author and I loved it! I started wondering, why do some people hate video games? They’re awesome, it’s got everything a book has, well except the pages, and the cover and the comforting ‘book smell’.  

Suddenly, the storyline could happen how I imagined it and that was an awesome feeling.  I was excited to discover new games and realised that there were games where I could customize my characters or their ‘ride’ as well. No longer did I have to imagine my characters the way an author wanted me to. And man, did I like that idea or what.

I was worried then that reading a book would not be the same experience it had been before, now that I had discovered an avenue to visually create my own story. But when I next picked up a book, I still had the same ‘bookworm’ feelings I had before gaming. I still enjoyed the new book smell, I was still excited to drown myself in the story, I still cried when the characters experienced tragedy and I still enjoyed turning the crisp pages.

And that was when I realised, I could be a bookworm and a gamer too. Gaming allowed me to do things I could not do with a book, but there were feelings only a book could evoke. These were not two hobbies that threatened each other, but instead they were two hobbies that could co-exist, if allowed to.

And then after I realised all those things, a British playwright called Lucy Prebble realised it too and spoke out about it. She said “video games require the user to make decisions, giving them the chance to influence the story and even in part design the world in which the game is played out.” She explained that she has been a gamer since she was a child, and it had not discouraged her from literature; today she is a renowned playwright.

So the Lucy Prebbles of the world and I, have discovered a world in which gaming and literature can live together in harmony. However, there are still some bookworms who continue to be against it. In my opinion, these people have not evolved and are still stuck on one page. I say it’s time to turn the page.

To read an article on Lucy Prebble’s observations on video games and reading (which I referred to in my article), go to http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/video-games/video-game-news/9077458/Video-games-more-creative-than-reading.html

And if you are a bookworm and a gaming enthusiast, here’s a blog worth checking out - http://gamersdestiny.tumblr.com/post/98100249186/countdown-to-tournament

You may want to check out video games that are based on books too - 

http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-video-games-based-on-books.php 

& 

http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/32827.Books_That_Became_Video_Games