In other words, it’s time to change the argument. We believe that contemporary video gaming can and should be compared to other disciplines and tasks that require an equal level of cognitive function and physical skill, such as playing a musical instrument. Anyone who has played both video games and some kind of wind or stringed instrument can immediately recognize a functional likeness between the two. In addition, there is an obvious similarity in the demands on cognitive function that is suggested by the manner in which response to external stimuli, whether it’s to animated content on a screen or the musical notes on a page of sheet music, is expressed tactiley.
But perhaps the most compelling evidence that the last-century view of gamers is no longer relevant, is in the gameplay itself, and not just as an observer, but as a participant. It is one thing to watch the KING as he goes BESERKER RAGE on an entire squad, it is a whole other to be his victim, or his team mate for that matter. Only once you have experienced playing with someone like him, can you begin to appreciate the incredible talent that underlies his tremendous ability, and how he, and others like him, may one day be regarded as a 21st century iteration of a musical prodigy.
Of course no one would criticize a “musical prodigy” for spending 10 hours a day composing and perfecting their art, but that’s the point, the 20th-century bias against video games holds music and art as more worthy occupations than gaming. But we don’t live in the 20th century anymore, and video games, and its players, have changed dramatically since 2000. Thus, to use the same, tired, old diatribe against the culture and its heroes is to reveal oneself as willfully ignorant of the increasing relevance and importance of gaming to contemporary society.
BOOM Salad would like to sincerely thank KING-DYLAN666 for allowing us the opportunity to be a vehicle for his amazing talents. Moreover, we wish him continued success as he extends his repertoire of MAYHEM to include other gaming franchises. In our eyes, you are the Paganini of the FPS. No one is safe…
[1] You can read more about the KING in our first interview: http://www.boomsalad.com/articles-archive/ddfa-int/.