gaming essay

Essays About Video Games: Top 12 Examples and Prompts

Video games have revolutionized the way we have fun today. If you are writing essays about video games, check out our guide to inspire your writing.

Few can contest the fact that video games have taken over the world. From the basic, almost “primitive” games of the 1970s like Pong to the mind-bending virtual reality games of the 2020s, they have been a source of entertainment for all. Moreover, they have proven quite profitable; countries like Japan and the United States have made tens of billions of dollars solely from the video game market.

Despite their popularity, much has been debated over the potentially harmful side effects that video games may have, particularly on children. One side argues that playing certain video games can lead to people exhibiting violence in the future, while others believe that video games teach players essential life skills. Regardless, they will continue to be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future.

For engaging essays about video games, read the essay examples featured below for inspiration.

1. What electronic games can teach us by Kendall Powell

2. designers are imagining video games without guns by keith stuart, 3. playing video games all summer won’t make you feel worse by nicole wetsman, 4. violent video games bad by andrea newman.

5. The health effects of too much gaming by Peter Grinspoon

Writing Prompts For Essays About Video Games

1. video games: good or bad, 2. the benefits of video games, 3. what is your favorite video game, 4. do video games cause people to become violent, 5. video games in your life, 6. video games vs. traditional games, 7. is the video game rating system enough.

“In other studies, researchers found that gamers who trained on Tetris were better at mentally rotating two-dimensional shapes than those who played a control game. Students who played two hours of All You Can E.T., an educational game designed to enhance the executive function of switching between tasks, improved their focus-shifting skills compared with students who played a word search game.”

Powell explains a few possibilities of applying video games to education. As it turns out, certain video games can improve players’ skills, depending on the mechanics. Researchers are inspired by this and hope to take advantage of the competitive, motivational nature of gaming to encourage children to learn. New games are designed to help kids improve their focus, coordination, and resilience, and game designers hope they will succeed.

“Imagine a game where you’re a war reporter seeking to capture the most iconic, representative images in a battle environment: You’d still get the sense of peril that audiences expect from action adventures, but your relationship with the environment would be more profound. It would be Call of Duty from the perspective of a creative participant rather than a violent interloper.”

The graphic nature of some video games is said to make kids violent, so it is only natural that some creators try to change this. Stuart writes that it is possible to maintain the fun that shooter-type games induce without using guns. He gives examples of games where you do not kill your enemy, simply stunning or capturing them instead. He also suggests photography as an alternative to killing in a “shooting” game. Finally, he suggests basing video games around helping others, making friends, and doing more peaceful, creative tasks.

“Any role video games play in skewing well-being that did pop up in the study was too small to have a real-world impact on how people feel, the authors said. People would have to play games for 10 more hours per day than their baseline to notice changes in their well-being, the study found.”

Wetsman counters the widespread belief that video games “destroy your brain.” Research done with a sample of 39,000 players over six weeks has shown that whether one plays video games for long or short periods, their mental health is not impacted much. There are some exceptions; however, there are not enough to conclude that video games are, in fact, harmful.

“Some people believe that the connection between violent games, and real violence is also fairly intuitive. In playing the games kids are likely to become desensitized to gory images;which could make them less disturbing, and perhaps easier to deal with in real life. While video games aren’t about violence their capacity to teach can be a good thing.”

In her essay, Newman writes about the supposed promotion of violence in some video games. However, she believes this violence does not cause people to be more aggressive later. Instead, she believes these games expose children to certain atrocities so they will not be traumatized if they see them in real life. In addition, these games supposedly promote connections and friendships. Finally, Newman believes that these “harmful” can make you a better person.

5. The health effects of too much gaming by Peter Grinspoon

“Gamers need to be educated on how to protect their thumbs, wrists, and elbows, their waistlines, their emotional state, their sleep, and their eyes. Simple education around taking breaks, stretching, eating healthy snacks, and resting and icing your thumb, wrist, or elbow when it starts hurting can address injuries early, before they become significant. For the eyes, gamers can try the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, try to look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.”

Grinspoon discusses both the benefits and the health risks of gaming. Video games allow people to interact with each other remotely and bond over specific missions or tasks, and some research shows that they have cognitive benefits. However, some gamers may develop vision problems and hand and wrist injuries. Gaming and “staring in front of a screen the whole day” is also associated with obesity. Overall, Grinspoon believes that gaming is best done in moderation.

Looking for more? Check out these essays about hobbies .

Many parents believe that their children’s “bad behavior” is because of video games. Based on your experience and others, decide: are video games good or bad for you? Make sure to read viewpoints from both sides and write an essay based on your position. Would you encourage others to play video games? Discuss these pros and cons for an interesting argumentative essay.

Like anything else, video games have both positive and negative aspects. Explain the good that video games can do for you: the skills they can equip you with, the lessons they can teach, and anything else. Also, include whether you believe their benefits outweigh the disadvantages they may pose.

For your essay, write about your favorite video game and why you chose it. What is its meaning to you, and how has it affected your life? Describe the gameplay mechanics, characters, storyline, and general impact on the gaming community or society. You can write about any game you want, even if you have not played it; just ensure the content is sufficient.

Many claim that playing violent video games can make you violent in the future. Research this phenomenon and conclude whether it is true or not. Is the evidence sufficient? There are many resources on this topic; support your argument by citing credible sources, such as news articles, statistics, and scientific research.

Video games have been a part of almost all our lives. Recall a treasured experience with video games and explain why it is significant. How old were you? Why do you remember it fondly? How did this experience make you feel? Answer these questions in your own words for an exciting essay.

Essays About Video Games: Video games vs. Traditional games

There are stark differences between video and traditional games, such as board games and card games. For an engaging essay, compare and contrast them and write about which is more entertaining, in your opinion. Be creative; this should be based on your own opinions and ideas.

The video game content rating system is used to classify video games based on their appropriateness for specific ages. However, parents complain that they are not strict enough and allow the display of violent content to children. Explore the criteria behind the rating system, decide whether it needs to be changed or not, and give examples to support your argument.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips !

Tip: If writing an essay sounds like a lot of work, simplify it. Write a simple 5 paragraph essay instead.

Martin is an avid writer specializing in editing and proofreading. He also enjoys literary analysis and writing about food and travel.

View all posts

Best Video Game Essay Topics for Students

Choosing the right essay topic is crucial, and for students who love video games, it’s an opportunity to combine their passion with academics. In this article, we’ll explore a variety of exciting and various video game essay topic ideas for students of high school and college. This blog includes argumentative, analytical, persuasive and other types of essays related to video gaming.

Video Game Essay Topics for High School Students

How Video Games Improve Problem-Solving Skills.
Understanding the World of E-sports.
The Importance of Balanced Gaming Habits.
Exploring the History of Gaming Consoles.
Video Games: Entertainment and Cultural Influence.
Gender Representation in Video Games.
Gamification in Education: Learning through Play.
Game Design and the Art of Video Games.
Tracing the Growth of the Video Game Industry.
Social Connections in Online Gaming Communities.
Video Games and Mental Health Benefits.
Exploring Careers in Game Development.
Ethical Choices in Video Games.
The Impact of Music in Video Games.
Making Video Games Accessible to Everyone.

Video Game Essay Topics for College Students

The Educational Value of Video Games in College Curriculum.
The Growth and Impact of E-sports in the Sports Industry.
Gaming Habits and Academic Performance: A College Study.
Game Engine Comparison: Unity vs. Unreal Engine.
Gender Representation in Video Games: A College Perspective.
Analyzing Game Narrative Structures in Popular Titles.
Moral Choices in Video Games: Implications and Outcomes.
The Psychology of Player Motivation in Gaming.
Virtual Reality in Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges.
Career Prospects in Game Development: Paths and Insights.
Ethical Dilemmas in Video Game Content Creation.
The Role of Music and Sound in Video Game Immersion.
Indie Game Development: Innovations and Success Stories.
Video Game Preservation: Saving Gaming History.
AI in Gaming: Enhancing NPC Behavior and Gameplay.

Common Essay Topics Related to Video Games

The Influence of Video Games on Academic Performance.
Video Game Violence: Separating Fact from Fiction.
The History and Evolution of Mobile Gaming.
The Role of Gaming in Building Teamwork and Collaboration.
The Psychology of In-Game Rewards and Achievements.
Virtual Reality (VR) Gaming: A Glimpse into the Future.
Gaming and STEM Education: Learning Science through Games.
The Representation of Diversity in Video Games.
The Impact of In-Game Advertising on Players.
The Benefits of Gaming for Stress Relief and Relaxation.
The Importance of Responsible Gaming.
The Art of Game Mods: Customizing and Enhancing Games.
E-sports Scholarships and Opportunities for Students.
The Environmental Impact of Video Game Consoles.
Gamers for Good: How Gaming Communities Contribute to Charity.

Argumentative Topics for Video Game Essays

Do Violent Video Games Promote Aggressive Behavior in Players?
Should There Be Age Restrictions on Purchasing Violent Video Games?
Are Video Games a Viable Educational Tool in Schools?
Is Video Game Addiction a Real Concern, and How Should It Be Addressed?
Do Video Games Enhance Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking Skills?
Should Parents Be More Involved in Monitoring Their Children’s Gaming Habits?
Is E-sports a Legitimate Sport and Worthy of Recognition?
Does Playing Video Games Improve Hand-Eye Coordination?
Are Video Games a Form of Art, and Should They Be Treated as Such?
Should the Video Game Industry Be Regulated More Strictly for Content?
Do Video Games Have a Positive or Negative Impact on Social Skills?
Is There a Link Between Video Games and Obesity in Children?
Should Professional Gamers Be Considered Athletes and Eligible for Sports Scholarships?
Does Gaming Culture Foster Toxic Behavior and Harassment?
Can Video Games Help Alleviate Stress and Anxiety in Players?

Didn’t find any topic of your interest? No worries! We have listed 100+ Argumentative Essay Topics for Students here, you can go through the article and choose the best one as per your needs. This blog has various niche topics and can assist to find the best one for you.

Informative Video Game Essay Topics

The History of Video Games: From Pong to Present.
A Deep Dive into the World of E-sports.
How Video Games are Made: Game Development Explained.
Exploring Different Genres of Video Games: Action, RPG, Simulation, etc.
The Evolution of Video Game Graphics and Technology.
Iconic Video Game Characters and Their Impact on Pop Culture.
The Science Behind Gaming: How Game Engines Work.
Video Game Consoles: Past, Present, and Future.
The Importance of Storytelling in Video Games.
The Role of Sound Design and Music in Gaming.
The Influence of Video Games on Architecture and Design.
Video Game Streaming and Content Creation: A New Career Frontier.
The Psychology of Gaming: Why We Love Video Games.
The Cultural Significance of Video Game Events and Conventions.
The Rise of Gamification in Education and Training.

Compare & Contrast Video Game Essay Topics

These compare and contrast essay topics are chosen by our experts and are specifically related to video gaming. These are general and easy to write on.

Console Gaming vs. PC Gaming: Which Is Better?
Single-Player vs. Multiplayer Games: Which Do You Prefer?
Mobile Games vs. Console Games: Pros and Cons.
Classic Games vs. Modern Games: What’s Changed?
First-Person vs. Third-Person Shooter Games: Which is More Immersive?
Xbox vs. PlayStation: Comparing Gaming Communities.
Video Games vs. Board Games: Which Provides More Fun?
Old Game Graphics vs. New Game Graphics: A Visual Evolution.
RPGs vs. Action Games: Gameplay Differences.
Retro Games vs. Modern Games: Nostalgia vs. Innovation.
Open-World Games vs. Linear Games: Freedom vs. Guided Storytelling.
Strategy Games vs. Puzzle Games: Challenges in Gaming.
Video Games vs. Movies: Storytelling Approaches.
Online Shooters vs. Battle Royale Games: Teamwork vs. Solo Play.
Exclusive vs. Cross-Platform Games: Your Gaming Options.

Analytical Topics for Video Game Essays

Strategies for Success in Online Multiplayer Games.
Analyzing Game Elements in Role-Playing Games (RPGs).
In-Game Purchases and Their Impact on Player Progress.
The Design of Levels in Platformer Games: A Critical Look.
Difficulty Levels in Video Games: Effects on Player Experience.
The In-Game Economy: How It Works and Influences Players.
The Significance of Tutorial Levels in Game Learning.
Character Development in Video Games: Evolution and Influence.
Linear vs. Non-Linear Storytelling in Video Games.
Morality Systems in Games: Player Choices and Consequences.
AI and Machine Learning in Video Games: Advancements and Applications.
User-Friendly Game Interfaces: Design Principles and Importance.
Game Analytics: Measuring Success in the Gaming Industry.
Visual Design and Its Impact on Player Immersion.
Cultural Adaptation in Video Game Localization.

Persuasive Essay Topics on Video Gaming

Why Schools Should Use Video Games for Learning.
The Importance of Age Ratings in Video Game Sales.
Video Games: Tools for Enhancing Problem-Solving Skills.
How Video Games Can Improve Mental Well-being.
Debunking the Myth: Video Games and Real-Life Violence.
Promoting Diversity in Video Game Characters.
Parents’ Role in Monitoring Kids’ Gaming Habits.
Gamification in Education: Making Learning Fun.
Addressing Video Game Addiction as a Health Issue.
Teamwork and Cooperation in Multiplayer Games.
Ethical Game Development: Fair Monetization Practices.
The Need for More Research on Video Game Violence.
Combatting Toxicity in Online Gaming Communities.
Exploring E-sports Career Opportunities.
Making Video Games Accessible for Everyone.

Best Video Game Essay Topics in 2023

The Impact of Video Games on Society Today.
Gaming and Sustainability: How Can Gamers Go Green?
NFTs in Gaming: What You Need to Know.
Virtual Reality Gaming: The Next Big Thing.
Making Games Accessible for Everyone.
AI’s Role in Video Game Development.
Gaming Habits Post-Pandemic: What’s Changed?
In-Game Advertising: Friend or Foe?
5G Technology and Its Effect on Gaming.
Video Games and Mental Health: A Closer Look.
Augmented Reality Games in Learning and Fun.
Collectibles and In-Game Economies: Explained.
Gaming Across Cultures: Challenges and Solutions.
The Power of Online Gaming Communities.
E-sports: The Future of Competitive Gaming.

These gaming essay topics would surely help you select the best topic of your choice, all various topics are suggested by our qualified experts keeping in mind the capabilities of an average student. If you want to hire our assignment writer for your gaming essays, feel free to reach us and get your homework done by experts.

discursive essay topics by Your Academic Writer

Discursive Essay Topics for Students

100+ Best Narrative Essay Topics

Video Game - Essay Examples And Topic Ideas For Free

The video game industry has evolved from a niche entertainment medium to a significant part of modern culture with a vast and diverse audience. Essays could delve into the historical development of video games, from the early arcade and console games to the modern, sophisticated online gaming experiences. They might also explore the technological innovations that have driven the industry forward, and the cultural shifts that have accompanied the rise of gaming. Discussions could extend to the social, psychological, and educational impacts of video gaming, exploring both the benefits and potential downsides. The discourse may also touch on the economic aspects of the gaming industry, including the rise of eSports, mobile gaming, and the future trends that could shape the gaming landscape. A vast selection of complimentary essay illustrations pertaining to Video Game you can find at Papersowl. You can use our samples for inspiration to write your own essay, research paper, or just to explore a new topic for yourself.

Do Video Games Promote Violence?

The Internet is rife with articles about the potentially harmful consequences of play. Psychologists and parents have been arguing the pros and cons of this topic for decades now namely whether video games encourage violence, social isolation and obesity, or on the other hand, promote cognitive growth, perception, care, memory and decision-making. Questions flood our mind making it near impossible to truly answer that question: Can a video game truly promote a violent glimpse into a future reality? Summarized below […]

Can Video Games Make you Smarter?

Video games make kids more intelligent. So many parents say that video games are bad for your brain. Little do they know that it has been proven that video games enhance your brain activity. Games like Fortnite, Destiny, Black Ops, Fallout, Skyrim, and Red dead Redemption can teach kids survival skills, what it is like to live in different time periods, and exercise reflexes. Survival skills are one of the most important things in life. In almost all video games, […]

How do Video-games Affect Child Development

We currently live in the age of rapid technological advancement where almost anyone has access to some form of technology. Video games, in particular, have been at the forefront of recreational entertainment in the past decade. The ubiquity of portable technology means that children are more likely to get ahold of a smartphone or laptop and gain exposure to games, which brings about the concern on the effects of games on child development. Results of numerous recent research studies have […]

We will write an essay sample crafted to your needs.

Benefit of Playing Video Games

Video games are seen as a useless entertainment to many parents and even some educators believe that they damage a child's brain. Over the years, violent video games have been blamed for leading people to a life of crime because they believe that games are the cause of kids becoming violent or develop an antisocial behavior. In reality many psychologists and scientists have found that playing video games can actually have benefits towards a person's brain. Video games can eventually […]

The Impact of the Video Games on Children

In this paper I will explore the impact that video games has on children. I will discuss the research on the effect of violent video games on children in particular. At this moment gun violence and particularly school shootings are an extremely hot topic that has resulted in the speculation of different causes for this recent surge in gun violence. Violent video games is one of the leading reasons many are giving for these horrific acts. With all of these […]

Effects of Multi Media on Violence in School

School violence on students can cause psychological and physical pain. The physical pain they get can cause them to be hospitalized. Sometimes that school violence cause students to shoot up schools. People's aggressive behavior increased watching aggressive programs on TV. Students that watch aggressive TV show start to become tougher and less emotional. TV mainly effect students because in the show they watch they become aggressive with other people. Research has also shown that the viewers who watch violent shows […]

Future of Video Games

In many centuries, technology has been a big contributor to human history. It has helped humans advance in many different areas of life. It has provided us with the abilities to advance the human race, and gain more knowledge than our previous ancestors. Technology over the years has advanced rapidly. Not that long ago, the very first cell phone was an extraordinary invention that caught the world by storm. It helped talking with people from long distances remotely seem like […]

Violence and Video Games

The latest debate that is long standing in country today is the big debate does or is video games harmful to our children. Do they allow our children to become harmful to their selves or others, there have been studies internationally looking at the ages from nine to nineteen from 2010 to 2017, over 17,000 adolescents found playing video games led to increased physical behavior over time. There were 24 studies done from countries including U.S., Canada, Germany and Japan […]

Violence in Media

Researchers from Ohio State did a study where they showed one group of 8-12 year olds a movie where the characters used guns and another group a movie where the characters did not use guns. When the group that watched the movie with guns were handed a real, unloaded gun, they pulled the trigger on average 2-3 times more than the group that was not shown the movie (LoBue). The idea that violence shown through media is the source of […]

Video Game Rating System

Video game rating system has come under attack considering the recent mass shooting incidents. Many believe that violence shown in the video games is responsible for these shootings and have called for governmental regulation of the video game industry. In the article"" The Video Game Ratings is an effective Regulation"" Patricia Vance argues that video game rating system created by ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) is an appropriate mechanism to promote and regulate the video game industry. The ESRB was […]

Do Violent Video Games Make you Violent?

A common myth about violent video games is the user is more prone to become violent along with a whole lot more issues like desensitization and many other things. Many think this because it has been a big bad wolf for the media blaming things like school shootings and other horrible things on violent video games. I personally play violent video games and have been asked frequently if i feel violent playing the games. In a article by the washington […]

Negative Effects of Media on Teenagers

Media is literally in every facet of teenage life, and it is having devastating effects on young people today. Cyberbullying pushed a teen in Texas to commit suicide. Brandy Vela was eighteen years old and cyberbully pushed her over the edge resulting in her suicide. Brandy told her family she was going to kill herself and her family watched her as she shot herself in the chest. Teenagers in Brandy’s high school made fake accounts of her and made comments […]

Research on Video Games and Violence

The day and age we live in are getting more violent and aggressive. Since 2013 there have been at least 300 school shootings. As of 2018, there have been at least ten school shootings. As a result, parents and others have blamed the increase of such horrific acts on violent video games. Some of these video games may include the widely known "Call of Duty franchise, "Halo, "Grand Theft Auto, and "Destiny. Though video games may be correlational to violence […]

Teens should be Allowed to Play Video Games

In a research study that has been conducted on 1000 children among the age group 12-17, about 970 children play computer, web, portable, or console games (Lenhart et al., 2008). About 500 children said they played video games ""yesterday."" Video games are being played by all age group and genders. There are enormous video games available on the market, both for consoles and computers, which require some type of physical activity. Simulation games that are meant to simulate outdoor sports […]

Why Video Games do not Lead to Individuals being Anti-social?

While there is still much to learn about video games, it is a common misconception that video games are a large contributor to individuals becoming anti-social and developing an Antisocial Personality Disorder. In fact, this is the exact opposite of what happens behind the scenes when video games are played, especially for prolonged amounts of time. Video games and the link to anti-social behavior has been a subject of discussion for the better part of the decade, but despite what […]

Stop Blaming Video Games

In today's society, we are able to find violence and aggression everywhere; in magazines, on the TV, on social media, on video-sharing websites like Youtube as well as in video games. Yet, why are violent video games such as Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and Assassin's Creed are assumed to be the largest source responsible for the eruption of violence? The criticism towards violent video games from teachers, parents, and the media are so constant that these games have […]

Why you should Play Fortnite

Fortnite Fortnite has taken the video game world by storm. Fortnite is on every console including PC and even on IOS and Android devices. Fortnite Battle Royale has been the most popular game globally since Epic Games, the developer, launched its trial in July of last year. Fortnite: Battle Royale is a Hunger Games-esk game of where up to 100 people jump out of a bus and have to land on an island. On this island, players find weapons, health […]

Video Game Industry

Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest, and others are among the video games that I play. They are consuming, interactive, competitive and fun. When I first started playing video games many, many, years ago, I played them all by myself. What is great now is that the games can be played with one, two or more people at a time. Teams can be formed and it becomes a game where you work together to win. Of course, this requires a […]

Virtual Violence and Video Games

Virtual violence in video games has become more and more realistic in recent years which has created an area of concern regarding whether the aggression and violent actions experienced during play have an impact on real-life situations. Over the past 15 years many studies have been conducted and significant research has been done that focus on the relationship between interactive, realistic, violent video games and violent behavior. This relationship is questioned in many of the studies, and the ultimate results […]

Violence, Addiction and Expenditure in Video Games

I am against video games because they promote violence, addiction and expenditure. Video games are good when life gets bored and monotonous with the same schedule every day, but people now have made gaming as their profession, which affects them adversely. I played video game for the first time when I was 12 years old. It was fascinating and easy to learn than any other of my course content so, I got addicted to gaming. I found myself depressed and […]

Why Violent Video Games is not the Reason for Violence

Even if people believe that video games has caused violence, video games has definitely brought new ways of benefiting the young minds. Since the 1970s, video games introduced a new way of entertainment for children and teens. Video games has produce a wide variety of games, ranging from peaceful and adventurous to violent and fast-paced. Video games has grown tremendously in the twenty-first century, the most trending games today are violent such as Activision's Call of Duty series, which is […]

Fortnite for me

Fortnite has been out for a year now and it has changed a lot with the release of the Battle Royale edition which was released on September 26th of last year.From map changes to weapons being vaulted and new skins with new seasons being in the game. Which today marks the first day of Season 7. Fortnite is the best game because of the pickaxes,skins,and emotes. Fortnite is a great game because of the great pickaxes. The Rainbow smash pickaxe […]

How Video Games are Good and Bad for your Health?

Are video games good or bad for your health? I think video games would be good for your health because when I play video games I feel more relaxed and at ease than aggressive and mean. I think that some people only use it as a little getaway from the world which is fine as long as they come back to the world rather than becoming anti-social. Which video games are good for communicating with each other? The ones that […]

Video Games and Their Impact in Sports

Introduction As an avid fan of Soccer and a fondness for the Fifa video game franchise, I was interested in delving deeper into the details and trying to find an arbitrary relation between the two. While the importance of physical abilities and motor coordination is non-contested in sport, more focus has recently been turned toward cognitive processes important for different sports. Coaches should be innovative in their methods and use concepts familiar to children. If that means allowing the next […]

Video Games in Education

The use of a video game for education is a two-sided coin with each side pushing strong arguments for and against the use of them to teach and help students retain information. There is supporting research for both the detrimental effects of games and the real learning power they can foster. It is my belief, however, that games can truly be harnessed to promote the development of learning behaviors, not only in children but in adults and the elderly as […]

Video Games – Game over

Anyone who has ever picked up a controller knows that "game over" is a temporary state of being. If a particularly challenging level bests you, most games give you an immediate chance to retry, now armed with more of the knowledge, experience, and skill needed to complete your quest. For many gamers, real-life works the same way. A team of 25 scientists from Europe and North America recently reported that people who played nine or more hours of video games […]

Effects of Fortnite Games

Advances in technology since the 1980s has led to a rapid increase in the computer video gaming industry. Different categories of the online video games have been developed during the period including fortnite games which have become craze currently. From the study by Groves and Anderson (2013), the video game industry has been growing rapidly with market volume rising from 100million to about 4 billion in a five-year period between 1985 and 1990. Jones (2018) also finds that there has […]

The Effects of Video Games

The industry of video games has grown exponentially over the past twenty to thirty years, and the amount of games available to the public has skyrocketed (Green 2). The first video games were being made only 50 years ago. Access was not widely available, and content was limited to very simple games such as Pong, which in itself became popular. However, in a world where computers are becoming ever more essential to everyday life, the video game industry can only […]

Violence Video Games

The first video games emerged in the late 1970s with poor graphics and a low amount of depicted violence. Since then, video games have become much more violent with far more sophisticated graphics making the games seem almost lifelike. This has prompted concerns from the media and psychologists concerns that frequently resurface in the wake of school shootings. For example, following a 2006 school shooting in Montreal, the Associated Press reported that the shooter had been "fascinated by the video […]

Video Games are not the Cause for Mass Shootings

Video games, one of the greatest sales in the entire world, are currently found as a threat. It is usually characterized to be evil and a bad influence on people around the world, especially to minors. It makes children more ""violent and aggressive"" (Laczniak 70). President Trump stated, ""Video game violence & glorification must be stopped""it is creating monsters!"". There have been many comments are arguments over this situation. But is all that true? All these stereotypes and miss understandings […]

How To Write an Essay About Video Games

Introduction to the world of video games.

Writing an essay about video games requires an appreciation of the medium as both an entertainment form and a cultural phenomenon. Begin by introducing the broad world of video games, covering their evolution from simple pixelated adventures to complex, narrative-driven experiences. Highlight the diversity in genres, from action and adventure to strategy and simulation, and acknowledge the vast demographic that video games appeal to. This introduction should provide a general background that sets the stage for a deeper exploration of specific aspects of video gaming, such as their impact on culture, psychological effects, or the gaming industry’s evolution.

Analyzing Specific Aspects of Video Gaming

The body of your essay should delve into the particular aspect of video gaming that you wish to explore. If you're focusing on the cultural impact, discuss how video games have influenced and been influenced by popular culture. For a more psychological approach, explore how gaming affects cognitive skills, behavior, and social interactions. If your angle is industry-focused, consider discussing the evolution of game design, breakthrough technologies in gaming, or economic aspects like the esports industry. Use specific examples and case studies to support your analysis, demonstrating a deep understanding of the chosen focus area.

Debating Controversies and Ethical Considerations

An essential part of writing about video games is addressing the controversies and ethical considerations surrounding them. This may include the debate over video game violence and its impact on players, the portrayal of gender and minorities in games, or issues related to gaming addiction and mental health. Present various perspectives on these debates, offering a balanced view that considers both the concerns raised by critics and the arguments put forth by proponents of video gaming. This section should engage critically with these topics, showing an awareness of the ongoing discussions in the world of video gaming.

Concluding with a Personal or Predictive Touch

Conclude your essay by summarizing your main points and offering either a personal reflection or a prediction about the future of video games. If you choose to reflect personally, share how your understanding of the topic has evolved or why it holds significance for you. Alternatively, offer predictions about how video games might continue to evolve and impact society. This could include advancements in technology, shifts in societal perception, or potential new areas for growth in the industry. A strong conclusion will not only tie together your essay but also leave the reader with a lasting impression of the depth and complexity of video gaming as a subject.

1. Tell Us Your Requirements

2. Pick your perfect writer

3. Get Your Paper and Pay

Hi! I'm Amy, your personal assistant!

Don't know where to start? Give me your paper requirements and I connect you to an academic expert.

short deadlines

100% Plagiarism-Free

Certified writers

How to Write an Essay about Video Games: Presenting Effective Arguments in Papers

Gaming on video consoles is becoming more and more common. In actuality, the typical gamer plays for roughly six hours each week. There are many who claim that video games are harmful to one’s health since they promote inactive lifestyles like prolonged sitting and isolation from the outside world. On the other hand, some people say that playing video games is a good way to unwind and relax, and they are not wrong. So, what is the real story of video games? Are they good or bad? The controversy of playing video games presents an opportunity for students to either be proponents or antagonists of the issue through essays. Accordingly, this article discusses how a learner can write an essay about video games.

It would be best to do thorough research before writing an essay about video games

Research is often the most challenging aspect of preparing an essay. While writing your video games essay, you’ll have to employ the information you get from research to define video games, describe different genres, and give relevant examples to support your claims. Students must recognize that the amount of research they conduct totally affects how good their essays turn out. Your video game essay will benefit greatly from your careful attention to detail and thorough investigation. Just keep in mind that you are trying to convince your audience to see things from your point of view. This is why having a great deal of background information is essential. Researching your favorite video game would give you an added advantage. Additionally, to support your claims, you must include relevant examples and research-based data.

You should develop an introduction that captures your reader’s interest

The whole point of the opening paragraph is to capture the interest of the audience. To achieve this, it should pose an intriguing topic or provide a contradiction or paradox. You ought to add a good hook to grab the reader’s attention so they can’t help but keep reading your paper. Given that there are numerous motivations for why individuals engage in video games, the introduction is where you have to specify the reasons. Moreover, it would be best to incorporate your thesis statement in the introduction. A thesis statement is basically the writer’s primary concept, summed up in one or a few sentences. A well-formulated thesis statement expresses the work’s central argument in a way that makes sense in light of the inquiry or issue at hand. It would be the correct response to the question, “What is the primary theme of this essay?” from the instructor. Nonetheless, you should perceive your thesis as an opinion that may be debated at any time, rather than an established fact or objective reality. In other words, now is the time to speak your mind regarding the impact of video games on today’s youth.

You must present your arguments in the body paragraphs

The arguments are what learners utilize to support their thesis. A single contention and one or two examples must each have their own paragraph. It would be best to provide your reasoning for your video game position and be sure to explain why you firmly disagree with the opposing viewpoint. Examples include your own experiences and, where appropriate, references to data from studies, forecasts, and statistics. Students should provide answers to contentious topics like “Do video games promote addiction and violence among players?” The arguments you employ ought to back your main point rather than contradict it.

You may offer vivid illustrations as you write an argumentative essay about video games

Learners should offer evocative examples of the genres and video games under consideration. Instead of stressing about whether the material you discover online or the game’s publishers are legit, dedicate yourself to writing a fun and vibrant paper for the person who reads it. This approach piques the audience’s attention and facilitates their comprehension of the argumentative essay about video games. Additionally, these vivid examples assist you in conveying your ideas in a manner that words can’t. Even if you aren’t convinced that your assignment requires an example, using one might perk up your reader and provide your arguments additional weight.

You should write a conclusion for your essay

The last section is meant to sum up the college essay. You may accomplish this by restating the thesis statement and briefly mentioning the arguments you presented in your body paragraphs. This approach will help the audience understand how you systematically addressed the issue and made conclusions. For instance, suppose you had to respond to the question, “Do games negatively affect us?” A topic like that can’t be satisfactorily answered by psychology, particularly when it involves something as novel as video games. Consequently, it is actually way easier to just pick a side and support your position with some research. In the end, your readers don’t expect the argument to be elaborated upon but rather summarized. No new material should be introduced in the last paragraph.

Identifying the sources you employed would be best

When you are writing an essay about video games, it is essential to cite your sources. That means you got to make a list of every resource you used in your paper. References to diverse books, scientific studies, statistical data, and remarks made by well-known experts are acceptable. It would help to make sure your research is from the past five years.

Proofreading is vital for developing a top-notch paper

Students must make sure that their essays about video games have been edited and proofread prior to submission. So basically, you are going to check your assignment for spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes. Completing an essay that is free of errors increases a learner’s likelihood of academic success. Here are some tips to help you proofread your work:

Read the text aloud. This will enable you to detect any mistakes.
Take your time proofreading and revising your work. Spend sufficient time on it to ensure you catch any possible oversights.
Concentrate on correcting a single mistake at a time. Avoid the hassle of searching for spelling and grammar mistakes at the same time. Prior to checking for punctuation and spelling problems, you may concentrate on grammatical issues.
You may also create a list of the most typical errors that students make while writing essays, then review your work for each one.

Using these suggestions will guarantee that your essay is devoid of all types of mistakes that might undermine how persuasive your argument is. Alternatively, you can delegate your “ write my essay ” request to online essay writing services like CustomWritings which may allow you to complete a high-quality paper about video games.

Extra tips for presenting better arguments in essays about video games

Today’s youth often engage in video gaming, and this trend will only spread in the coming years. Composing a paper about video games can help you learn more about the subject while also providing readers with information they can utilize in their lives. Just consider the potential for them to be inspired by and gain new knowledge from your essay about video games. Following this article’s recommendations should take you a step closer to achieving your academic goals.

Nick Sinclair

Nick Sinclair, a gaming aficionado since the Commodore 64 era, studied Creative Computer Games Design in university before founding his own gaming company. Discovering a passion for content creation, Nick now helps gamers squeeze every drop of fun out of their favorite gaming hardware

Essay on Video Games

Students are often asked to write an essay on Video Games in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Video Games

Introduction.

Video games are interactive digital entertainment platforms. They are played on devices like computers, consoles, or mobiles.

Types of Video Games

There are many types of video games. Some are educational, others are adventure-based or sports-themed.

Benefits of Video Games

Video games can improve hand-eye coordination, problem-solving skills, and strategic thinking. They can also be a fun way to relax.

Drawbacks of Video Games

Excessive gaming can lead to health issues like eye strain and lack of physical activity. It can also impact social skills if not balanced with real-world interactions.

Video games can be both beneficial and harmful. It’s important to play responsibly and maintain a healthy balance.

Also check:

10 Lines on Video Games

250 Words Essay on Video Games

Video games, a form of interactive entertainment, have evolved dramatically from their rudimentary origins in the 1970s. They have penetrated almost every aspect of modern society, becoming a significant part of our culture and a powerful force in the entertainment industry.

The Evolution of Video Games

In their inception, video games were straightforward, consisting of basic graphics and gameplay. However, as technology advanced, so did the complexity and visual appeal of these games. Today, video games are immersive experiences, boasting high-definition graphics, complex narratives, and intricate gameplay mechanics.

The Impact on Society

Video games have a profound impact on society. They have transformed how we spend our leisure time, and have even created new professions, such as professional e-sports players and game developers. In addition, video games have educational potential, as they can develop problem-solving and strategic thinking skills.

Controversies and Criticisms

Despite their popularity, video games have attracted controversy. Critics argue that they promote violence, addiction, and social isolation. However, research on these issues remains inconclusive, and many argue that the benefits of video games outweigh potential negatives.

In conclusion, video games are a multifaceted phenomenon that has significantly influenced our culture and society. Despite criticisms, their popularity continues to rise, indicating their enduring appeal and potential for future growth. As technology continues to evolve, so too will video games, promising exciting developments for this dynamic medium.

500 Words Essay on Video Games

Video games, a form of digital entertainment that has dramatically evolved over the past few decades, have become a significant part of contemporary culture. They offer a unique blend of interactive storytelling, art, and technology, engaging players in a way that no other medium can. Video games are more than just a pastime; they are a platform for expression, learning, and innovation.

The history of video games is a testament to the incredible technological advancements of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. From the rudimentary pixel graphics of the 1970s to today’s immersive virtual reality experiences, video games have continuously pushed the boundaries of what is technologically possible. They have transformed from simple, solitary experiences into complex, social phenomena, connecting people from all walks of life.

The Impact of Video Games

Video games have a significant impact on society, influencing various aspects of our lives. They have revolutionized the entertainment industry, becoming a multi-billion dollar sector that rivals and often surpasses traditional media like film and music. Beyond entertainment, video games have found applications in education, healthcare, and even military training, demonstrating their versatility and potential.

The Benefits and Concerns

Despite the criticisms often associated with video gaming, such as addiction and violence, numerous studies have highlighted the potential benefits. Video games can improve cognitive skills, such as problem-solving and spatial awareness, and can also foster social interaction and cooperation when played in groups. They can serve as therapeutic tools, helping to manage conditions like anxiety and depression. However, it is essential to maintain a balanced perspective, acknowledging the potential risks and promoting responsible gaming.

The Future of Video Games

The future of video games is as exciting as it is unpredictable. With emerging technologies like virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and cloud gaming, the possibilities for innovation are limitless. Video games are poised to become even more immersive, interactive, and personalized, offering experiences that were once the stuff of science fiction.

In conclusion, video games are a dynamic and influential part of modern society, reflecting our culture, advancing technology, and impacting various aspects of our lives. They are a testament to human creativity and innovation, offering unique experiences that entertain, educate, and inspire. As we move forward, it is crucial to continue exploring the potential of video games, addressing the challenges they present, and harnessing their power for positive change.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Essay on Veterans Day
Essay on Vaping
Essay on Values

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

110 Video Game Topic Ideas for Essays & Examples

🔝 top 10 video game topics for 2024, 🏆 best video game topic ideas & essay examples, 🎮 good video game research topics, 🕹️ interesting gaming topics to write about, ❓ video game research questions, ✅ simple & easy video game essay topics.

Looking for video game topics for your project? Look no further! Here, we’ve collected excellent essay topics for true gaming enthusiasts. Whether you’re looking for argumentative essay ideas on video games, research topics, or questions for debate, you will find them here.

History of Video Game Consoles
Myths of Video Game Violence
The Global Phenomenon of Esports
VR Gaming and Its Future Possibilities
How Video Games Influence Cognitive Skills
Therapeutic Mental Health Benefits of Video Games
Diversity and Gender Representation in Video Games
How Multiplayer Games Impact Social Interaction
Healthy Gaming Habits Against Video Game Addiction
Aesthetic and Narrative Qualities of Artistic Video Games
Product Life Cycle & Marketing of Video Game Industry One of the most important advantages of the concept of life cycle can be seen in the sphere of marketing, where if used as a tool it allows adjusting the strategies, including marketing, based on […]
Video Game Addiction and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs As to me, I was interested in video games when I was a child because this industry was at its beginning and almost every pupil was involved in it.
Sony and Nintendo in the Video Game Industry The firm has manufactured several generations of the home console since the 1980s, beginning with the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System released in the early 1990s, and the Nintendo 64 that was […]
FIFA 10 Football Simulation Video Game A lack of consistency is evident in the various versions of this game as FIFA 10 played on a PC lacks the realism that is exhibited when the game is played on XBOX 360 and […]
Video Game Effects: Good or Bad? Given the fact that there is indeed a logically sound rationale to such a suggestion, throughout the course of conducting my study, I remained thoroughly observant of the article’s classification-related suggestions, in regards to the […]
The “Medal of Honor” Video Game Analysis The game is set to depict the Afghanistan invention in 2002 and the battle between the U.S.military and the Taliban. Due to the close resemblance of the game to the Afghanistan war, the game has […]
Video Game Industry Analysis In 1950, Yamauchi assumed the position of the president in the firm and got on a variety of strategies with the purpose of rationalizing and modernizing the way the firm was controlled.
The Monopoly Tycoon Video Game Review The game is stylistically similar to the board game Monopoly, and it can be played both online and offline. It is important to note that the game has a multiplayer feature, which can be played […]
The Video Game Industry Evolution The first mention of the creation of such games dates back to the 1940s, but it was in 1952 that Alexander Shafto “Sandy” Douglas officially presented his dissertation at the University of Cambridge. One of […]
The NASCAR Video Game Project Management Plan The plan attempts to draw the features and gameplay mechanics by replicating the thought process of a potential player. At this stage, the game should be well-advertised and ready for release.
The Motivation of the Video Game Player For instance, the project gave its players the dynamic and fast pace of the game, a vast and detailed map, various locations, several different weapons, and character skins, and this is not all the possibilities.
Human Life: Video Game, Simulation, or Reality? Drawing parallels between the real and the virtual world, one can admit the unreality of the existence of the planet and people and compare everything that happens with the simulation in which we are.
Does Video Game Violence Lead to Aggression in Children? Among the gaming community, children participate vigorously in absorbing the plethora of entertaining content, including age-restricted ones where the scenes of violence are abundant.
A Role-Playing Video Game Ayiti: The Cost of Life This strategy worked but not to the topmost level simply because the burden of the living cost was gradually weighing down the overall income of my family.
BioWare Video Game Project Management For example, Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third installment of the company’s flagship series, switched to the Frostbite engine used by most of the EA games and succeeded in delivering the product despite the technical difficulties […]
Video Game History: Overview From the 1990s to Nowadays In addition to arcade car behavior, the game was also famous for its beautiful graphics at the time, with each game in the series being a launch title showing the capabilities of the console.
Video Game Delivery Project: Strategic Marketing To initiate strategies in marketing of Video Game, the company will decide to develop a web based application by ABC CORP and this application is customized to meet the requirements of the project. The purpose […]
A Video Game Store’s Business Plan The projected cash flow of the cash in the balance sheet will appear positive for the next five years and will show that the company’s profitability in will be good enough pay for operating expenses […]
The U.S. Video Game Industry This was also based on the views of the company’s developers who assumed that the technological advantages of the the16-bit system were extremely less than that of the 8-bit system.
Video Game Company Against Online Piracy The purpose of the said DRM software is to protect the intellectual rights of the company. The fourth major issue is the encompassing goal of the VGC to end all types of piracy.
Twitch.tv and Video Game Streaming Career From this point, in spite of the fact that the Twitch.tv platform can be viewed as belonging to the live-streaming industry, the careers of streamers develop according to the traditional principles of the entertainment business.
Nintendo in the Video Game Industry Previously, Atari was a major power to reckon with in the industry but was later toppled by Nintendo. Part of Yamauchi’s vision was to introduce new and cheaper video games in the market than the […]
Game designers have the responsibility to design less video game Secondly, the outcome of the video game is unpredictable as compared to movie in which the audience can predict the point at which the story would end thus making the video games more interesting to […]
Striving for the Ultimate Knowledge: Eli’s Mission. Video Game Owing to the peculiarities of the movie plot, the game can be shaped in a most intriguing way, with a lot of turns of the plot which lead to the most effective denouement.
Analysis of the Counter-Strike Video Game Phenomenon in Computer Gaming
Comparison of Three Companies in Video Game Industry; Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft
Analysis of Free Will in The Stanley Parable Video Game
Analysis of the Effects of Playing a Video Game Used in Computer Science
Analysis of the Characteristics and Player Statistics of Bungie’s Video Game Destiny
Are Video Games Truly a Game or a Reality?
Analysis of the Topic of the Releases in the Video-Game Industry and the Issues of the Violence
Analysis of the Rise of the Video Game Empire in Modern Society
Two Aspects of Creating a Video Game
Analysis of the Third-Person, Console-Based Video Game, The Last of Us
Are Users The Next Entrepreneurs? A Case Study On The Video Game Industry
Combating Video Game Addiction : A Global Problem
Does Playing Video Game Consoles Bring About Plenty of Advantages?
Analysis of the Field Work Project and the Topic of a Video Game Community
Does Video Game Violence Affect Children?
Do Video Games Contribute For Video Game Violence?
Is The Video Game Industry an Oligopoly?
Is Video Game Violence the Cause of Juvenile Delinquency?
Psychological Effects of Video Game Violence on Children
What Is the Defining Business and Economic Characteristics of the Video Game Console Industry?
Why Play Station 4 and the Xbox One Are the Kings of the Next Generation Video Game Console?
What Makes A Video Game Addictive?
Competition Among 3 Main Video Game Companies: Nintendo, Sega, And Sony
Brief Note On Video Gaming And The Video Game Industry
Effects of Television and Video Game Violence on Children and Teenagers
Analysis of the Different Genres of Video Game Systems for Children
Overview of the Process and Career in Video Game Design
Development of the Elder Scrolls Video Game Series
Breaking Gender Stereotypes in Traditionally Masculine Sports: The Inclusion of Women in FIFA 16 Video Game
Cancer: Video Game and Playing Violent Video
Fighting the Online Video Game Wars in China
Government Regulation Of Video Game Violence Is Unconstitutional And Unnecessary
Japanese video game industry
History of the Video Game Industry
Microsoft Xbox Entering the World of Video Game
The Merchant of Video Games: Adapting the Merchant of Venice into an Adventure Game
What Are Some Revolutionary Breakthroughs in the Video Game Industry?
What Does It Take To Make It in the Video Games Industry?
Why Has the Video Game Industry Exploded Recently?
What Is Wrong With the Video Game Industry in This Generation?
Is the Video Game Industry Going Downhill?
Who Is the Best Voice Actor in the Video Game Industry?
What Will Be the Next Breakthrough or “Big Thing” in the Video Game Industry?
Is the Video Game Industry in Trouble Right Now?
Who Makes More Money: Hollywood or the Video Game Industry?
How Has the Coronavirus Impacted the Video Game Industry?
What Is the Biggest Missed Opportunity Yet in the Video Game Industry?
Does Video Game Violence Induce Negative Affects on Our Youth?
What Are the Changes the Video Game Industry Needs?
How Large Is the Video Game Industry?
Why Is the Video Game Industry in China Dominated by MMOs?
Is There a Bubble Forming in the Video Game Industry?
What Do Video Game Players Understand That Most People Don’t?
How Easy Is It to Make a Video Game?
What’s the Best Advice You’ve Received From a Video Game?
What Was the First Video Game?
What Is the Most Inappropriate Video Game You Know?
What Are the Elements of a Good Video Game?
How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Video Game?
What Can Video Game Consoles Offer You?
Why Video Game Addiction Is One of the Urgent Problems Today?
How Does Science Create Video Game?
How the 1970s Sparked the Video Game Industry?
Why Do Video Game Movies Always Fail?
What’s the Most Popular Video Game Genre?
The Science Behind Brain-Boosting Games
How Gaming Reflects and Influences Society
How Video Games Participate in Social Justice
Pros and Cons of Gamified Fitness and Wellness Apps
Gamification, Its Benefits, and Learning Outcomes
Virtual Goods in Video Games and Their Real-World Value
What Factors Influence Immersion and Player Engagement?
Cloud Gaming and the Potential of Streaming Technology
Market Trends and Revenue Models of the Video Game Industry
Violence, Microtransactions, and Other Ethical Issues in Video Game Development
Problem Solving Essay Ideas
Computers Essay Ideas
Technology Essay Ideas
Cyberspace Topics
Developmental Psychology Essay Ideas
Software Engineering Topics
Online Community Essay Topics
Hacking Essay Topics
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, December 27). 110 Video Game Topic Ideas for Essays & Examples. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/video-game-essay-topics/

"110 Video Game Topic Ideas for Essays & Examples." IvyPanda , 27 Dec. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/topic/video-game-essay-topics/.

IvyPanda . (2023) '110 Video Game Topic Ideas for Essays & Examples'. 27 December.

IvyPanda . 2023. "110 Video Game Topic Ideas for Essays & Examples." December 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/video-game-essay-topics/.

1. IvyPanda . "110 Video Game Topic Ideas for Essays & Examples." December 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/video-game-essay-topics/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "110 Video Game Topic Ideas for Essays & Examples." December 27, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/video-game-essay-topics/.

Presentations made painless

Get Premium

107 Video Game Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Video games have become a popular form of entertainment for people of all ages. From action-packed shooters to immersive role-playing games, there is a video game out there for everyone. With such a wide variety of games to choose from, it can be overwhelming to decide on a topic for an essay about video games. To help you get started, here are 107 video game essay topic ideas and examples to inspire your writing:

The impact of violent video games on children's behavior
The evolution of video game graphics over the years
The rise of esports and its influence on the gaming industry
The benefits of playing video games for cognitive development
The representation of gender and race in video games
The history of virtual reality gaming
The psychology of loot boxes in video games
The role of music in enhancing the gaming experience
The ethics of video game journalism
The impact of video game addiction on mental health
The cultural significance of video game franchises like Mario and Pokemon
The future of cloud gaming and streaming services
The role of storytelling in video games
The influence of video games on popular culture
The relationship between video games and education
The impact of video game censorship on creative expression
The portrayal of mental health issues in video games
The role of social media in video game marketing
The history of video game consoles
The impact of online multiplayer games on social interaction
The evolution of game mechanics in the survival horror genre
The representation of LGBTQ+ characters in video games
The influence of Japanese culture on video game aesthetics
The role of nostalgia in the popularity of retro gaming
The impact of microtransactions on player experience
The relationship between video games and violence in society
The role of artificial intelligence in game development
The impact of video game streaming platforms like Twitch
The representation of disability in video games
The influence of game design on player engagement
The evolution of mobile gaming
The role of virtual economies in online multiplayer games
The impact of video game sound design on immersion
The portrayal of mental illness in video games
The influence of Eastern philosophy on game narratives
The role of user-generated content in game communities
The impact of fan culture on video game development
The representation of indigenous cultures in video games
The influence of literature on game storytelling
The role of game difficulty in player satisfaction
The impact of video game piracy on the industry
The portrayal of war in military shooter games
The relationship between video games and sports
The influence of board games on video game design
The role of player choice in game narratives
The impact of virtual reality on therapy and rehabilitation
The representation of historical events in video games
The influence of film on game aesthetics
The role of gender stereotypes in video game marketing
The impact of game mods on player creativity
The portrayal of mental health professionals in video games
The influence of tabletop role-playing games on video game mechanics
The role of game mechanics in promoting teamwork and cooperation
The impact of game development crunch on industry workers
The representation of animals in video games
The influence of science fiction on game narratives
The role of player agency in game storytelling
The impact of game difficulty on player motivation
The portrayal of addiction in video games
The influence of mythology on game aesthetics
The role of puzzles in game design
The impact of game reviews on player purchasing decisions
The representation of mental illness in horror games
The influence of architecture on game environments
The role of game soundtracks in enhancing the player experience
The impact of game tutorials on player learning
The portrayal of robots and AI in video games
The influence of fashion on character design in games
The role of humor in game narratives
The impact of game localization on cultural representation
The representation of environmental issues in video games
The influence of psychology on game design
The role of game narratives in exploring complex themes
The impact of game communities on player engagement
The portrayal of mental health struggles in indie games
The influence of mythology on game storytelling
The role of player feedback in game development
The impact of game accessibility on player inclusivity
The representation of gender identity in video games
The influence of surrealism on game aesthetics
The role of morality systems in game narratives
The impact of game tutorials on player retention
The portrayal of mental health professionals in horror games
The influence of psychology on game narratives
The role of player choice in shaping game outcomes
The impact of game aesthetics on player immersion
The representation of LGBTQ+ relationships in video games
The role of environmental storytelling in game design
The impact of game streaming on player engagement
The portrayal of mental illness in puzzle games
The role of player feedback in shaping game development
The impact of game aesthetics on player perception
The representation of LGBTQ+ characters in horror games
The influence of film noir on game narratives
The role of environmental storytelling in shaping game worlds
The impact of game tutorials on player skill progression
The portrayal of mental illness in narrative-driven games
The influence of science fiction on game aesthetics
The role of player choice in determining game endings
The impact of game aesthetics on player emotional response
The representation of LGBTQ+ relationships in indie games
The influence of literature on game design
The role of environmental storytelling in immersive game worlds
The impact of game streaming on player community building
The portrayal of mental health struggles in interactive fiction games

Whether you are writing a research paper, a critical analysis, or a personal reflection on video games, these topics provide a diverse range of ideas to explore. From examining the psychological effects of gaming to analyzing the cultural significance of game narratives, there is no shortage of fascinating topics to delve into. So, pick a topic that interests you and start exploring the world of video games through the lens of your essay. Happy writing!

Want to create a presentation now?

Instantly Create A Deck

Let PitchGrade do this for me

Hassle Free

We will create your text and designs for you. Sit back and relax while we do the work.

Explore More Content

The Field of Dreams Approach: On Writing About Video Games

Tony Tulathimutte on the future of video game criticism

Every year, more and more great essays are published on literary sites concerning video games. In the past year I’ve especially loved entries like Janet Frishberg’s “On Playing Games, Productivity, and Right Livelihood,” Joseph Spece’s “A Harvest of Ice,” and Adam Fleming Petty’s “The Spatial Poetics of Nintendo: Architecture, Dennis Cooper, and Video Games.” But for each great essay there are a handful of others written like apologies, seemingly perennial pleas to take video games seriously as a form of meaningful narrative.

I hoped to have a conversation with a writer about games that went a little deeper. There were two main reasons I turned to the Whiting Award-winning writer Tony Tulathimutte. The first was because of his response in an interview with Playboy , in which he said that his interest in gaming probably “had something to do with my desire to bend or break formal conventions in fiction.” The second was his three thousand word essay about Clash of Clans , “Clash Rules Everything Around Me,” which was exactly the type of essay about gaming I wanted to see more of. Tulathimutte is the author of Private Citizens , which we listed as one of the 25 best novels of 2016 .

What I want is long-form literary criticism. But writers should just write what they want to read. The body of work will be there and the audience will follow it. The ‘ Field of Dreams’ approach.

Graham Oliver: Can we have this conversation without getting stuck trying to legitimize video games as a medium?

Tony Tulathimutte: “Are video games art?” “Have we had the video game Citizen Kane yet?”

GO: That’s such a boring and overdone conversation. I think it’s more interesting to look at the ways in which video games actually do interact with literature, and not to hold the conversation just as a demonstration of our respect.

TT: Take the respect for granted and go from there. I thought about starting a literary magazine about video games a while back, but the discourse had by then become so toxic that, even with the most anodyne academic essay you could write, the best you could hope for was that it would be ignored. There needs to be more space for this kind of writing, but I just didn’t want to wade into it then. I feel a little better about it now, which is why I did the Clash of Clans essay.

GO: What is the difference between video game-related essays showing up on a literary site, versus a site where the primary purpose is the intersection of video games and literature? What could that site do that can’t be done (or isn’t being done) otherwise?

TT: Part of it is just volume. You can’t have a general interest magazine like the New Yorker covering video games to the same depth or degree as it does film or music or even theater. Every big magazine at this point covers video games occasionally — I know the New Yorker has written about Minecraft and No Man’s Sky , for instance. New York Magazine just did a big essay on gaming more broadly.

But for some reason, there’s no video game editor at the New Yorker , no dedicated departments or verticals, except at newer places like VICE, Vox , The Verge . Unlike music or movies, video games aren’t equally distributed through the culture; it’s more compartmentalized. This owes in part to a marketing apparatus around games that caters to and fosters a specific audience, and because the audience for certain genres — responding to these pressures — became self-selecting, especially with respect to gender. Video games may be art, but they are also a STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics] industry, which makes them no different from any other STEM field in that regard.

GO: It’s a question of access. I was thinking about your Clash essay; you have this entire paragraph that has to explain this massively popular and mechanically fairly simple game. Does that automatically turn off an audience who are already proficient in those basics? In which case, are you only writing for people who don’t game? I suppose that’s another conundrum of coverage in a general interest publication…

TT: If you read an essay by Susan Sontag or Martin Amis about the great books, or by André Bazin about film, they can assume a certain level of knowledge about the text or film from their audience. I can write that way about games on my own time and my own dime, but there’s no presumed canon or general readership for games, because they’re not taught in schools and not regularly discussed in big publications. So you either write for the diehards — the equivalent of film buffs or bookworms — or for novices.

GO: Is that why we haven’t had novels which interact with video games the way David Foster Wallace did with tennis, or Ann Patchett with opera? Neither of their books included explanatory paragraphs; it’s so ingrained in our culture that it seems almost impossible to have grown up without some idea of what tennis or opera are.

TT: Most people have played a game, and the average gamer spends six hours a week playing them. I think it has less to do with the medium inherently than just the failure of writers who have approached the subject. I haven’t read everything on games, but so far, the fledgling efforts have been too literal or kind of corny. Some writers seem to think that you’re supposed to transpose the form of games into fiction — to provide this very lightly remediated experience of reading a book so that it feels like you’re playing a game.

The last thing you want to do is create a watered-down experience of gaming in a text. A book should still work as a book. It’s the usual difficulty of writing about other mediums; there’s that old chestnut that writing about music is like dancing about architecture. But there are special considerations for how to write about any form in a way that conveys deep presence and vividness comparable to the experience itself.

GO: When you’re writing about games in one form or another, do you find you prefer to write for someone who is like you — very interested in both writing and video games — or is your preference for someone in that liminal space somewhere between them?

TT: I approach it as I do with all my creative writing, which is to write for the audience of Tony. That frees to me to write things irrespective of their publishability. Right now I’m working on a long essay about Metal Gear Solid — the whole series. That’s between ten and twenty games, depending on which ones you call canon. The dialogue alone stacks up to something like sixty thousand words each. And the companion synopsis is almost three thousand words. I’m just trying to make points about the series that haven’t been made before. Would Kill Screen or The New York Review of Books ever run that? Hell to the fuck no.

If writers keep doing this, eventually there will be a readership equipped to deal with it. For the longest time there have been really smart people playing video games and wondering where all the good criticism was. It’s a discoverability issue, to a certain extent. There’s so much good writing out there about games, but most games-writing outlets cater to fairly niche perspectives. Action Button is extremely good, irreverent creative criticism, probably my favorite. Five Out of Ten is academically oriented, Kill Screen is mainstream journalism. What I want is long-form literary criticism. But writers should just write what they want to read. The body of work will be there and the audience will follow it. The Field of Dreams approach.

GO: You said earlier (and you’ve also mentioned it in your Playboy interview) that the discourse around games is toxic and partisan. Are you talking about within or outside of the gaming community?

TT: All of it. Partisan lines have been drawn within it for purposes far beyond aesthetic disagreement. In part because so much of this discourse occurs in a medium where people are not held accountable for their words, i.e. on the internet.

GO: How does that compare to conversations within the literary community? You’ve written before, for instance, about the MFA vs. NYC debate .

TT: I want to do my part to de-estrange gaming discourse. Not de-stigmatize or demystify, but de-estrange. This cancerous shit happens everywhere — it just happens in a spectacularly aggressive and organized way in gaming.

GO: When you’re not actually writing about video games, what place do they hold in your life? Are they the stress relief at the end of the day, the reward after two hours of writing? Or something you try to avoid when you’re in the middle of a big project?

TT: I’ve played video games since I was three years old. I have loved video games a lot longer than I’ve loved literature — which is not to say more. Actually… yeah, probably more. It just so happens that I’m a writer. I don’t feel the guilt that some people do who, even if they enjoy gaming, approach it feeling as if it’s a waste of time, or a form of entertainment which takes them away from their “real life.” You wouldn’t condemn a cineaste or a lover of literature. But a fug of non-respectability still attends video games.

That said, the reward mechanisms in most games are designed to get you hooked in cognitive motivational ways that don’t apply to most literature. So it’s absolutely possible for games to displace other things that you would want to do just as much. I don’t struggle to fit them into my life, but I probably would, if my life consisted of much more than just teaching and writing.

GO: I suppose I was thinking more about the effect on your mental state. For instance, I have to save video games for the end of the day, because I have a hard time going from the almost meditative state of game-playing into writing. How does it fit in, not in the sense of time but in how it interacts with your ability to produce writing afterwards?

TT: If a visual narrative enters my head before I start writing, it’s enormously difficult to pull myself back into writing. A huge amount of psychic inertia has to be overcome to transition from consuming a narrative to assembling one. I have a lot of wacko bird theories as to why. Perhaps language is such an information-poor medium that it demands a sparseness of input, so that you can have room to envision or create new stuff in your head. Maybe the act of viewing, which puts you in the posture of evaluation and judgment, beefs up the inner critic that makes it hard to write. That’s all pure superstition, I have nothing to base that on.

GO: What about when it comes to the type of video game? You’ve mentioned playing DotA 2 in other interviews, which is very different from more narrative-heavy single player games. In the middle of a big writing project, do you find yourself drawn more to one type of game over another?

TT: With the caveat that writers are the worst self-appraisers, I’ll say that I have not noticed any influence from the type of games I’m playing on what I write. I think games engage an entirely different part of my brain, which might also account for the difficulty I have toggling between those two modes. That said, I think longer games can work like long books — immersively — where you have to pinch your nose and take a deep breath before plunging into the Neapolitan books and it just becomes the medium you swim in for months. Some games demand a higher or more frequent degree of engagement to get any kind of nuance at all. You can play a thousand hours of DotA 2 , without coming anywhere near understanding it.

GO: How does that compare to the relationship between reading and your own work? Do you avoid other people’s writing when working, or do you keep books on your desk for the sake of referencing them?

TT: I do. I try to keep a messy puddle of books around my work area, in case I want to steal something from somebody else. But I Google as much as I refer to other books. I don’t disconnect from the internet when I’m writing, like some writers who have this almost mystical anathema against technology. I generally find I benefit from my procrastination.

You can have a rom-com game, a campus game, an adultery game, or a boring-but-important game that will get taught in high schools circa 2110.

GO: You referred to language as being information-poor a minute ago, which reminds me of the AGNI essay you wrote on boredom. The thesis of that essay was basically that boredom in literature is okay. Can you also apply that idea to video games? Can there be meaningful or productive boredom while playing, through the act of repetition, for instance? I just played Her Story, which I know you enjoyed, and while it has a super interesting story you have to slog through a certain amount of repetition to get to it.

TT: The democratization of game creation is producing a wider range of games, like the Super 8 camera did with film. You can have vignette-style games like Nina Freeman’s — Cibele , how do you Do It? , Freshman Year , etc. You can have “walking simulators” that are almost purely meditative, like Gone Home , Firewatch , or Dear Esther . I just saw a piece on a game based on Thoreau’s Walden .

The impulses and tendencies that make people want to create literature are present. It will happen more as people are able to do what they want to do, without enormous corporate financial support or even crowdfunding, which, to an extent, just moves the bottom line to having to be crowd-pleasing. Games can be plenty boring in spite of themselves, even if that’s not what they’re trying to do. It’s a cliché by now to point out that the most time investment-heavy games like World of Warcraft consist largely of “grinding.” Or, if you play something like DotA 2 , queuing for a game.

GO: For DotA 2 you also have to spend a lot of time reading up on viable builds. Work that’s not in actually playing the game.

TT: Yes, although I will say that that intellectual work doesn’t feel like tedious labor to me. I have fun looking up builds. The deep strategy and understanding are coextensive with the pleasure of playing the game.

Moments of boredom are built into games for reasons that range from comedy to suspense. I think a lot about the moment in Final Fantasy VI where you’re directed to just wait at the edge of a floating continent for a character to come along. On the one hand you’re sitting watching a clock tick down. On the other hand, it’s extremely tense.

Contrasting aesthetic effects in games to those in other media is not always productive, because it’s like playing Twenty Questions. Can games do X like books? Can games do Y like films? In the same way we should assume games are art, and that there’s an audience out there hungry to make something of them, we should assume that games can do anything. You can have a rom-com game, a campus game, an adultery game, or a boring-but-important game that will get taught in high schools circa 2110.

GO: I go to these academic conferences where a similar conversation is happening among professors who write in the field of gaming studies. Some bring in literary and film theory, and try to lay that on top of video games, while others reject that. The tools and the language are already there from other fields, so it seems easy. On the other hand, it can be kind of reductive, and perhaps prevents you from having the more meaningful conversation.

TT: Right, or even just the conversation you’re trying to have. There are also those efforts to create a language around game studies, partly I think try to legitimatize it in the eyes of the academy. You get people going on about the Ludologists versus the Narratologists, about ludonarrative dissonance, copping these quasi-academic terms. I can see the point of systematizing things, but my favorite criticism helps you not to just describe and understand, but to enjoy stuff more.

GO: How much do you worry about the effect that being an “out” gamer will have on your literary career?

TT: If I were bashful or coy about my love of video games I wouldn’t do this interview. The same goes for pornography or television. Even the language of being “out” implies a political and social pressure or an importance that just doesn’t exist. I’d hate to believe that being a writer means living in a constant state of deposition, publicizing everything you do, think, or feel. The fact that I like video games isn’t interesting. Video games are interesting. I love talking about them with smart people, both within and outside of gaming culture. But I’m also perfectly happy to be left alone with them.

GO: Do you hope there’s a day around the corner where a game developer decides to make a narrative-heavy game like Life is Strange , Her Story , or Kentucky Route Zero , and they look at a list of literary authors to figure out who should write it?

TT: Not at all. I believe that I can do a lot of things in writing, but I haven’t felt an urge to create a video game since the third grade. It’s always good to have some kind of interest that is totally pure, where you’re going to be an eternal fan, because sausage-making can disillusion you fast. If part of the charge of art comes from mystique or sheer baffled admiration, that’s something I want to preserve in at least a few departments of my life.

GO: As a writer, you’re expected to be both a creator and a thoughtful critic as well. It seems like once you publish a book, there is an expectation that you’ll be reviewing or blurbing for other books for the rest of your life. How does your approach to writing about literature differ from your essays on games?

TT: I review books as a practitioner; I know what goes into putting one together, so I can pan one that isn’t well-made. I write about games as an appreciator, in that I want to take something I like and enlarge people’s sense of pleasure or wonder at it. This doesn’t mean that I can’t be critical of a game. I have negative things to say about everything. But because I’m not highly qualified to trivialize or disparage a game on the level of craft — for instance, a sunbeam in a video game might look shitty and aliased because of technological or budgetary constraints that I’m not aware of — my main task is to study its narrative and to add value.

GO: You’ve been thinking about games critically for a long time. I read that you wrote your theses — both in undergrad and for your first master’s degree — on video game interaction. What were you looking at in those?

TT: I majored in something called Symbolic Systems, which would be called cognitive sciences anywhere else. They add linguistics and philosophy to the standard curriculum of formal logic, computer science, and cognitive psychology. I applied the extremely specific language of human-computer interaction studies to video games. So I wrote pretty dry literature surveys of game-writing and interaction theory, and how the latter could be applied to the former.

One was about game controller design, which ended up anticipating the Nintendo Wii controller by a couple of years. I talked about the potential for modular design and gestural input. The second thesis was about menus. They’re the basis of turn-based RPGs, and in games their definitional boundaries are weird. Take the Warp Zone Pipes in Super Mario Brothers . You go over a ceiling and drop into a room where you’re invited to select one of three pipes to go through. It is very clearly a menu, where you’re selecting one of three options, but it’s also a part of the action.

God, I sound so stoned when I talk about this.

GO: I hate to keep mentioning Her Story , but I just started it today. In that game, the user interface also has this blurry boundary. You read a ReadMe file to learn how to use the system, but that’s all part of the in-game computer you interact with as part of the story.

TT: Yeah, it’s brilliant. Any computer interaction can be extrapolated into a game premise. Here it’s basically Database Search: The Game, but it’s fun and well written. To analogize with literature, there are plenty of stories whose premise comes from its formal conceit. My favorite is “ Going for a Beer ” by Robert Coover. He takes a simple sentence gimmick — where two things that happen at different times are written as though they’re simultaneous — and it becomes the conceit of the story. The story is, “what if your life was composed of moments with endings and beginnings but no middles?”

GO: Form matching content. That happens in all types of art, right? There was a piece on Hamilton which pointed out that, as the first half progresses, the Marquis de Lafayette’s rhymes get denser and faster, coinciding with him being in America and increasingly speaking English. The music reflects the plot.

TT: Form generating content, I would say. It’s a classical idea. Sometimes it’s done very explicitly, like with Oulipo. It can be super corny, but it’s a dependable source of inspiration.

It’s Tristram Shandy-levels of batshit.

GO: Going back to your idea for a game-writing website, were you imagining a place that just collected the kind of long-form writing you want to see, or were you also imagining a community that would be built around it?

TT: I am not too concerned with building community. The idea was simply to get critical essays on games — not fiction, poetry, reviews, or personal essays, but literary analysis. Like the essay I’m working on about the Metal Gear Solid series… So many of the male characters lose their hands and are sterile and have daddy issues and misinterpret the will of one female character, The Boss. Aside from the glaring Freudian overtones, what’s that about? This is not stuff that figures into the plot as it plays out, but is something that I think screams out for conversation.

GO: I was a Nintendo kid and then jumped to PC gaming, so I never got into the Metal Gear games.

TT: It’s like the Infinite Jest of games. As far as I know, it’s the longest continuous scripted narrative in games. You can make a strained case for things like Zelda or Metroid , but this is the most sustained vision from an auteurist figure, Hideo Kojima, and it’s just bonkers. It’s Tristram Shandy -levels of batshit.

GO: Well, that sells it. I now have to ask the big, speculative question, since you just called it the Infinite Jest of games. What do you think David Foster Wallace’s writing would have been like, had he been obsessed with video games rather than television?

TT: This question is so enormously counterfactual it might as well be a novel. The guy was hugely tech-avoidant. He typed with one finger on an old computer. But games seem very contiguous with his concerns in Infinite Jest . Though who’s to say Virginia Woolf wouldn’t have also gotten equally invested in games? Wallace is a gimme because of the technological overlap, but to me the more interesting speculative question is, What would a game written by P.G. Wodehouse be like? I want to see an essay on that .

How to Have Fun Destroying Yourself: An Interview with Tony Tulathimutte, Author of Private Citizens

Take a break from the news

We publish your favorite authors—even the ones you haven't read yet. Get new fiction, essays, and poetry delivered to your inbox.

YOUR INBOX IS LIT

Enjoy strange, diverting work from The Commuter on Mondays, absorbing fiction from Recommended Reading on Wednesdays, and a roundup of our best work of the week on Fridays. Personalize your subscription preferences here.

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER ADVERTISEMENT

The Very Best Episodes of Girls Are Perfect Short Stories

Looking back at the three episodes of Girls that stand apart as masterpieces of craft and damn good television

Apr 13 - Halimah Marcus Read

On the Accidental Art of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater

The video game subcommunity gave Jeremy Klemin working language to better understand literary craft

Sep 22 - Jeremy Klemin

Why All Writers Should Play Dungeons & Dragons

Roleplaying games, once considered nerdy, are getting popular—and for writers, readers, and storytellers, they’re full of potential

Oct 3 - Join the Party Podcast

Writing and the Game of Kings

What a former chess professional learned from the board about structure, storytelling, and rhythm

Nov 29 - Iheoma Nwachukwu

DON’T MISS OUT

Essay Samples
College Essay
Writing Tools
Writing guide

Creative samples from the experts

↑ Return to Essay Samples

Persuasive Essay: Video Games

Teenagers today often spend a great deal of time playing video games. These games are fun and engaging and young people often feel like playing games is a great thing to do in their spare time. However, you shouldn’t spend too much time gaming and there are a number of reasons for this: it’s unhealthy, you should spend more time studying, and you need to socialize more.

The primary reason to cut down on gaming time has to be that youths that spend a long time on computers and games consoles are often not getting enough exercise. With high obesity rates, it’s very important for young people to spend as much time being active as possible, especially since studies show that people who are overweight during childhood and adolescence are far more likely to become overweight adults than those of a healthy weight when they’re young. There is just as much, if not more, fun to be had in getting out and about and being active. This doesn’t have to mean going for long runs if that’s not your thing; team sports are both fun and great exercise. Dance or fitness classes are also a good option for those not into sports.

Secondly, getting a good education is that best thing that you can do for your future. If every teenager cut down on their gaming time by 30 minutes per day and used this time to study, the whole of that generation would achieve better results and be more likely to have the career that they want. With education, you get out what you put in, so it’s really up to you to put in the additional effort. If you want to go to a good college, extra study in your own time will be completely vital, but gaming can reduce your concentration span and make this more difficult.

The third main reason that playing video games too often is that it’s no good for your social skills. Some teenagers may argue that because they can now play their games online with friends, they are socializing in their own way. However, you can’t beat face-to-face contact, and if you want to succeed in interviews and build good relationships in later life, you need to develop some proper communication skills. This shouldn’t be a chore, or difficult, because hanging out with friends is far more fun than sitting indoors playing on games all day anyway!

In conclusion, there can be no doubt that spending too much time gaming isn’t good for you. You don’t have to stop all together, but it’s all about moderation. Cut down and allocate your additional free time to doing things that are good for you, and you definitely won’t regret it in later life.

Follow Us on Social Media

Get more free essays

Send via email

Most useful resources for students:.

Free Essays Download
Writing Tools List
Proofreading Services
Universities Rating

Contributors Bio

Find more useful services for students

Free plagiarism check, professional editing, online tutoring, free grammar check.

Online Gaming Essay | Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Gaming

Online gaming is the most talked about fun topic among the teenagers of the 21st century. At the same time, it is the most talked about serious topic among the parents and teachers. Everyone has their own reasons to discuss online gaming. Our reason today is to help you write an Essay on Online Gaming so that you are exposed to the unseen side of online gaming addiction.

Long Essay on Online Gaming Addiction in 500 words | Argumentative Essay on Online Games Good or Bad

How online gaming started.

The Internet has changed the way we live, we eat, we dress, we work and we play. It has become a preferred and comfortable mode which has made our lives way too easy. Today almost everything is available at the click of a button. You ask for a thing and it reaches your doorstep within days. Amidst these gratifying moments, when we are saved from the daily hustle-bustle, another trend of online gaming has emerged.

Advantages of Online Games

Online gaming is a huge platform today. A platform that has broken all barriers and boundaries amidst countries around the world. In online gaming, you can connect to anyone anywhere in the world and play. Sometimes you don’t even know with whom you are playing and this mystery makes the experience even more thrilling. It also gives the player an opportunity to make new friends from other countries and get a chance to showcase their talent worldwide.

Nowadays, many online gaming championships are organized where gamers get a platform to compete with the best of the best and enhance their skills. It has gained much popularity over the years because one can play an online game on even a basic smartphone. What one requires is a consistent internet connection. Developing, designing and marketing online games has turned into a full-fledged profession and many are earning their bread and butter through it.

Disadvantages of Online Gaming

But then there is always the other side of a coin which is often dark and dingy. The other side of online gaming is not only dark but dreadful too. Many tend to become addicted to online gaming and it takes away all of their productive time. When money gets involved in it through betting, families are ruined. It pulls an individual into isolation as mostly online gamers play alone. Their social interaction becomes nil which leads to depression and loneliness.

Online harassment through many gaming sites is not a new thing. Children can easily be trapped in this way. Long hours spent in front of the computer can harm their posture and eyes too. These games, through their catchy visuals, entice young children and they become addicted to them to such an extent that they forget to eat or sleep and prefer to sit in front of the screen all the time. Such addiction not only harms the individual but the whole family suffers due to it. Besides social effects, there are many psychological symptoms like anxiety, irritability and uncontrollable mood swings which take a toll on the health of an individual due to addiction.

Ways to Control Online Gaming Addiction

Self-control, time management and focus can serve as the three pillars for fighting the addiction to online gaming. The external prohibitions from the government in the form of laws, certain regulations and even a ban on a few of them are not going to solve the problem. Good parenting, positive family time and socializing with friends can prove to be helpful. In some severe cases, guidance from a counsellor could become necessary. Positive reinforcement & support from loved ones is required for an individual to come out of this addiction.

‘Nothing can be more exciting and thrilling than a victory in real life’. So, let’s look forward to a win in real life than online.

Nurture Nature and Save the Future Impact of War on the Modern World Essay Importance of Cleanliness and Swacch Bharat Campaign Changing Role of Women in India My First Online Class Experience Essay How to Write an Essay on Myself with Examples Solar Energy Meaning Advantages Disadvantages Essay Academic Dishonesty Essay | Demerits of Online Exams Essay on Effects of Population on Environment Essay on Why is Education Important

Share With Your Friends

Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
Click to print (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

Let’s Plays are out. The gaming video culture essay is in

Over the last decade, long-form video essays have grown in popularity — arguably entering into a boom all their own . Viewers can easily look up a video essay on just about any topic they’d like to, from deep dives into filmmaking, theme park history, fashion, and everything in between. With such a large offering of video essays out there, one sub-genre that has found its own footing is that of the video game culture essay.

The draw of the video game essay

Niche topics in a not-so-new format, coexistence with traditional game reviews.

These particular gaming videos are a style of visual essay that offers both the creators behind them and viewers the space to explore video games in new ways that extend beyond what we’ve come to expect in a video game review. That flavor of video tends to dig more into a niche topic that the creator is most interested in — be that a theme, specific character, or even how artistic choices impact the game.

These gaming essays have managed to find their own foothold within the wider world of video game commentary while maintaining a pretty even coexistence with the traditional game review format. Both offer up individual thoughts and insight on video games while actively not detracting from the other.

YouTube Playables gets wider availability — here’s where to find it
Square Enix just set a new bar for video game demos with its latest RPG
Video game adaptations are about to change the game in 2024

To better understand that foothold and coexistence, I spoke with two creators who have been making culture gaming essays. They explained what exactly drives them to share their unique perspectives through this format and what serves as a draw to both gaming essays and reviews for viewers.

Understanding what initially drives a creator to get started on making video game culture essays can give us insight into why they’ve found such a strong foothold in the gaming space to begin with. There’s something to be said for knowing the passion behind something. For both Maria (also known as eurothug4000 ) and Daryl Talks Games , the initial interest to discuss more niche topics related to video games stemmed from outside influences.

Maria, who has been creating videos on YouTube since 2018, shared that her background in studying art during her A-Levels helped serve as inspiration for the discussions around art direction and aesthetics that she has in her video essays.

“I had a very good teacher throughout those years,” Maria tells Digital Trends. “There was one exercise, in particular, she would make the class do when analyzing the works of artists, which would basically just be a good old brainstorm diagram. We would have the painting or photograph in the center and write anything that comes to mind as we looked at it — texture, mood, content, etc. This is something I do in my mind when looking at games. It’s just a natural process so deeply ingrained into my brain — I can’t help it!”

“Essays give both players and creators a chance to find beauty in the mundane, clarity in the intricacy …”

Daryl Talks Games initially started out on YouTube in 2009. But as a long-time gamer with an interest in psychology, he knew that he wanted to get back to making videos eventually. Nowadays, he makes “essays that center around the “interaction between psychology, video games, video game design, and life.” His inspiration came from Mark Brown’s Game Maker’s Toolkit , a channel that takes deep dives into every aspect of game design.

“I was captivated by his ability to explain things I had never noticed in games and how fascinating it was to learn why games work from a design standpoint,” he tells Digital Trends. “I came across his channel during my last year of undergrad and since I was studying psychology, I found myself making connections between a lot of the points he was making and the things I was learning in class. I pretty much just said ‘Let me try the whole essay thing, but my gimmick will be psychology.’ Since I was uninterested in grad school and a bachelor’s in psychology pretty much only qualifies you to be a YouTuber, I just kept on making videos!”

Both creators approach their gaming essays through a new lens that gives them the ability to explore games in ways that go beyond the limits of standard criticism.

With the broad range of possible topics that creators can explore in their gaming essays, it’s no surprise that creators choose to look at hyper-specific things that catch their interest — such as the space in games that players encounter between a respawn point and the boss.

Niche topics offer viewers the chance to see what creators are seeing in a game that extends beyond just a cursory playthrough or answering the question that many turn to reviews for: Is this a game that I’d like to play?

“They’re just documentaries, but smaller, with more personality, and sort of, dialed-in to one very niche topic. I have a whole essay on the mental health of this one particular side character in Deltarune . Jacob Geller has an entire video exploring games that specifically save their most interesting bits for last,” Daryl Talks Games says. “I think both myself and others that do this enjoy it so much because creatively, the sky’s the limit. Essays give both players and creators a chance to find beauty in the mundane, clarity in the intricacy, and generally just a chance to enjoy games on a deeper level than if we had just played them and moved on.”

That ability to explore and enjoy games a little deeper in gaming essays certainly offers viewers another way to look at and experience the games that they’re playing, almost peeling back certain layers in a sense. Some gaming essays tend to tread into lengthy territory as a result, often going over the 30-minute mark. Ladyknightthebrave has an hour and a half look at the Last of Us series , while some of Tim Rogers’ videos are about as long as an HBO miniseries.

Maria, who originally began producing game reviews, eventually figured out that she enjoyed making this style of gaming deep-dive more.

“A lot of the time I focus on the inspirations behind certain games that contribute to their art style,” Maria says. “For example, Demon’s Souls ‘ background in dark fantasy and its similarities to Frank Frazetta’s works, or the cultural aspects behind Resident Evil Village that I rarely see in games. In Kuon (PS2), even the saving mechanic is contextualized by having a small ritual involved instead of just a menu with a save button. While I love just how game worlds look, it’s really impressive to me when they can fit their mechanics into it as it makes me feel even more engaged.”

Gaming essays and game reviews have come to a rather unique coexistence. And while viewers and creators alike might prefer one form of gaming commentary over the other, both Maria and Daryl Talks Games honed in on the fact that both serve slightly different purposes at the end of the day — even as they both work to answer questions.

“They’re just documentaries, but smaller”

“A review, in my mind, is to inform someone whether they would want to purchase the game for themselves, or to simply see what other people generally thought about it,” Maria says. “A video essay can offer the same, but ultimately they’re about learning something new, whether that’s about the game, someone’s personal experience, or even something seemingly unrelated. A lot of my videos have got me researching all kinds of random topics. I’ve learned about Italian horror cinema, camp fashion, and even the origin of CPR dolls to name a few!”

“There are plenty of reviews for the game Omori out there, but I am definitely the only one offering a detailed analysis on how it illustrates dissociative amnesia.” Daryl Talks Game says.

That slight difference in overall purpose sets gaming essays and reviews apart from each other but also ties them together. Creators and viewers can easily pick and choose which of the two they’d like to create and watch respectively.

“We all see and play games differently which means that everyone gets their own experience,” Daryl says about the coexistence of gaming essays and reviews. “For some, the mechanics are more interesting, for others, it’s the music, for some it’s all of it! Just about any genre of gaming video will be important to someone out there and it will never be impossible for a person to only watch one type of gaming video.”

In a space that could easily have been dominated by one or the other, gaming essays have managed to find a unique coexistence alongside game reviews while maintaining their own individual draw. Creators like Maria and Daryl Talks Games find a lot of joy in the varied ways that they can discuss games in their essays, sharing special insight and discussions around topics that are important to them — all while deepening the collective toolkit we use to understand games.

Interview responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

Editors' Recommendations

PlayStation State of Play returns this week, will feature 14 PS5 games
3 free video games you should play this weekend (May 10-12)
One of the Apple Vision Pro’s first games lets you play tabletop classics
The best third-party video game controller is about to get even better
PlayStation Portal misunderstands remote play and cloud gaming’s appeal

When I write “cooking game,” I’d bet a pretty specific image comes into your head. Your brain might go straight to something like Cooking Mama, where you need to assemble several random recipes through a series of tactile minigames. That’s become a go-to format for developers looking to adapt cooking into a game, but it’s not exactly what developer Visai Games wanted to do for Venba.

Venba - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch

First impressions are important. That’s true both in people and video game consoles.

The first time you boot up a new gaming system can be a magical moment when done right. There’s always a built-in bit of tension anytime you get a new video game console, as you gingerly unbox it and set it up. That prelude can feel like an orchestra tuning its instruments, building anticipation for the moment where you’ll finally get to power it on and hear the opening notes of a long symphony. And I’m not just speaking in metaphor here; I’m talking about the all-important console startup sound.

Digital Trends attended Summer Game Fest Play Days once again this year, as well as events held by Xbox and Ubisoft, and we were able to play demos of a variety of upcoming games from all corners of the industry. We played or saw a hands-off demo of over 30 games slated to release throughout the next year or so. From new entries in long-running series like Mortal Kombat or Armored Core to more quirky and experimental indies that are pushing the video game medium forward, there was a lot for us to like at this Summer Game Fest Play Days and its surrounding events. Still, we talked and narrowed things down to our ten favorites so you could have a succinct list of some of the best-looking video games that are on the horizon. In no particular order- with the exception of our Game of the Show - here are our 10 favorite games we played last week as part of Summer Game Fest. Game of the Show: Cocoon

It’s incredibly difficult to describe what makes Cocoon so special; it’s truly one of those games you need to actually play to understand. The atmospheric, insect-themed adventure game transported me to another world entirely during my demo session, letting me get fully lost in its sci-fi ambiance. Part of that is due to the astonishingly tight game design that had me traversing its visually striking environments and naturally solving puzzles with no explanation necessary. It’s an experience that stuck with me long after I put the controller down, and I wasn’t the only one. It was the one game on my peers’ tongues all weekend, as both press and content creators couldn’t stop praising it despite not being able to describe why. That makes it an easy pick for our game of the show, beating out some impressive Titans on this list. ~ Giovanni Colantonio Armored Core VI: Flames of Rubicon

What Does the Future of Gaming Look Like?

From virtual reality to artificial intelligence, these technologies are shaping the future of video games.

Video games have steadily risen in popularity for years. And with the social benefits of video games becoming more apparent, the trend has only accelerated. Gaming is now a bigger industry than movies and sports combined .

Revenue for gaming reached $184 billion in 2022, and the number of gamers is expected to grow to 3.6 billion by 2025. It’s not just kids either: 38 percent of gamers are between the ages of 18 and 34 years, and 16 percent are older than 55.

So what’s next? Culturally, gaming will only continue to become more mainstream. But what tech innovations are shaping the future of video games, and how will they influence the gaming experience ?

Future of Video Games

Virtual reality
Augmented reality
Artificial intelligence
Cloud gaming
High-fidelity graphics
Free-to-Play
The metaverse

Virtual Reality

For decades, virtual reality (VR) — three-dimensional simulations players access via headsets — has tantalized gamers with the prospect of a fully immersive experience. But the technology has been slow to deliver on that promise.

Polygon ’s Ben Kuchera put it bluntly in 2020: “VR has been five minutes away from some kind of breakthrough for about eight years.”

VR is still a niche category when compared to the rest of the gaming industry, with sales and manufacturing reflecting this: The global shipments for VR and AR equipment fell by 12 percent in 2022. And despite its buzzy status, it continues to give many consumers pause.

“Right now we’re sort of in this trough of disillusionment about VR,” Kevin Mack, a VR game developer, told Built In in 2020. “There was a lot of hype around it in 2015 and 2016, and then the whole world sort of got butt-hurt that their first-generation VR headset didn’t instantly morph into the Holodeck .”

Although VR has hit a few bumps along the way, tech and gaming companies are busy trying to advance the industry, investing considerable resources to develop VR hardware and games. Companies like Meta , Valve , PlayStation and Samsung have all ventured into the VR industry over the last several years. Apple is even rumored to be developing a VR/AR system, although there have been delays and issues . This trend of investment is likely to continue with the VR game industry projected to grow at 30.5 percent by 2028 .

There are promising developments on the horizon for VR. But first, a few challenges need to be addressed. Namely, the bulky headsets and high prices.

Most VR headsets weigh over a pound and must be strapped tightly to a user’s face. It’s not terribly comfortable. You get sweaty and after a half hour of play your energy is sapped.

“The whole world sort of got butt-hurt that their first-generation VR headset didn’t instantly morph into the Holodeck.”

This experience chafes against that mode of playing that is typical of gaming enthusiasts — spending hours comfortably sunk into a couch. If VR hardware can’t align with the preferences of gamers, will it be able to survive? Until companies slim down their VR headsets, get rid of cumbersome connector cables and lower prices, most gamers — save the early adopters and tech enthusiasts — will continue to balk.

Companies are busy making VR more appealing to a wider audience , and hardware prices are dropping. But even when those hurdles are cleared, the fact that the typical VR experience is so socially isolating might limit its upside.

“[VR] is a solitary experience. It’s a thing that you’re doing on your own and it’s a thing that you choose to do to the exclusion of anything else,” Mack said. He enjoys playing VR games, but if someone else is around, he thinks twice before strapping the headset on.

Though he recognizes the limitations, Mack remains optimistic about VR’s future.

“VR, I think, will remain niche, but it could potentially turn into a big niche,” he said. “I think we’re going to see some very impressive stuff and very compelling stuff come down the pipe in the next couple of years.”

Mitu Khandaker, a professor at New York University’s Game Center, is hopeful about VR’s role in gaming, she said in a 2020 interview with Built In. Khandaker just doesn’t think it’s going to look like people alone in their homes playing through a headset, so much as a co-located experience that multiple people share in.

“I think that the future of VR is more through social VR,” she said.

Indeed, several VR games — such as Rec Room and VRChat — offer social experiences where users can interact and hang out with each other in real time. If VR unlocks more connections with other people, it will be able to earn a prominent place in the future of gaming.

Related Reading 32 Virtual Reality Companies to Know

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR), a kind of gaming technology that superimposes digital images onto the physical world, typically through smartphones or special glasses, broke out onto the gaming scene in a big way in 2016.

That’s when parks and plazas swarmed with smartphone-wielders playing Pokémon Go , an AR mobile game in which digital objects — in this case, colorful critters called Pokémon — overlay a person’s natural field of view. The game, which has generated approximately $1 billion in sales every year since its release , was most people’s first brush with AR and remains one of the technology’s biggest success stories.

But the long-term success of Pokémon Go is due only in part to its beloved intellectual property. There are plenty of other games and books and movies in which people can spend time with Ash Ketchum and Pikachu. The real secret sauce is the game’s blend of virtual and real, the interplay between digital characters and physical locations.

“Instead of trying to simulate reality altogether, I think designers might find complementing reality a more trackable design challenge.”

That’s partly why AR took off faster than VR: People have an appetite for games that interact with reality, not remove them from it.

“I think the entertainment experiences in AR aren’t going to try to be immersive experiences,” Mack said. “When I was playing [ Pokémon Go ], I would go to specific places just because there was a Pokémon there. And that’s a powerful social driver.”

Further out into the neighborhood — rather than deeper inside goggles — was the x-factor that led to the network effect that propelled Pokémon Go into a multi-billion-dollar phenomenon. Its success will no doubt inspire more game studios to try to capitalize on the consumer demand for games that blend the virtual with the real.

“I could totally see a game where you’re playing hide-and-seek or some kind of laser tag,” Mack said. “It’s a natural fit at that point.”

Rogelio Cardona-Rivera, a professor at the University of Utah’s School of Computing, likewise predicts that, in the short term at least, AR will prove to be more fertile ground for game designers than VR.

“Instead of trying to simulate reality altogether, I think designers might find complementing reality a more trackable design challenge,” he told Built In in 2020. “And then we might see some of the lessons from AR folded back into VR.”

AR gaming is most recognizable on mobile phones, but tech companies like Meta , Snap and Magic Leap are expanding into AR glasses. Magic Leap’s lightweight, glasses-style headset is specifically made for enterprise applications like healthcare, design and manufacturing. Although Snap’s Spectacles are not actually for sale, they are available to select creators looking to test them out. With Meta expected to release its own AR glasses in 2024 , there are sure to be new innovations for gamers interested in AR in the coming years.

Related Reading Everything You Need to Know About Extended Reality

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence has been used in gaming for decades — most prominently in non-player characters, or NPCs, like the colorful ghosts in Pac-Man or the innocent bystanders in Grand Theft Auto .

AI in Non-Player Characters

In recent years, gamemakers have taken a more sophisticated approach to NPCs. Many NPCs are now programmed with behavior trees, which allow them to perform more complex decision-making. The enemy aliens in Halo 2 , for example, have the ability to work together and coordinate their attacks, rather than heedlessly beeline into gunfire one by one like they’re in a cheesy action movie.

Still, NPCs can only do what is written in their code. Their behavior, however intelligent it seems, is still determined in advance by the game’s designers.

In the future, could we expect to see more advanced AI appear in commercial games? It’s possible, according to experts, but not all are convinced it’s coming anytime soon.

“Games are a pretty conservative industry, in terms of the willingness that publishers or studios have to take risks.”

“You can try and build a really cool, comprehensive AI system which is about letting a character behave in all kinds of ways the designer hasn’t anticipated,” Khandaker said. “But if there’s too much of that, there’s no guarantee about which way the story will go and whether it’s going to be any fun.”

In other words, even if we could give NPCs minds of their own and let them run free in games, odds are that their autonomy would result in a less fun experience for the player. A rogue NPC could decide to shirk its duty to help the player advance toward the next level or take the player on a nonsensical quest where nothing happens.

In addition to presenting game design challenges, free-range NPCs may be a non-starter when considered from a purely economic perspective as well.

“Games are a pretty conservative industry, in terms of the willingness that publishers or studios have to take risks,” Khandaker said. “Because there is such a great history in terms of design for what does work in games, there’s a real sense of wanting to keep doing that same thing.”

Putting more sophisticated NPCs in games may be possible. But if it costs a lot of money and fails to improve the player’s experience, studios lose an incentive to make it happen.

Still, some designers persist in NPC enhancements, especially in figuring out ways to make NPCs more believable and human-like.

“The biggest challenge for AI is to mimic what is perhaps the most complex and mysterious capacity of the human brain: imagination,” Julien Desaulniers, the programming team lead of AI and gameplay on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla , told GamesRadar . “Having AI generate narrative content is taking this to a whole new level, one that not even all human beings can perform well.”

Generative AI in Gaming

AI isn’t just part of the gameplay experience though. It’s part of the game- making experience. For several years now, designers have been using AI to help them generate game assets, which frees them up from painstakingly drawing each individual tree in a forest or rock formation in a canyon. Instead, designers can offload that work to computers by using a technique called procedural content generation, which has become fairly standard practice in the industry.

Procedural content generation is also used to create game levels — sometimes randomly — so the player can enjoy a fresh experience each time. (The 2016 game No Man’s Sky took this technique to the extreme, as the entire open-world environment of the game is procedurally generated and was not sketched out ahead of time by the game’s creators.)

Some gamemakers also rely on neural networks to tailor-make game levels for players through a process NYU professor Julian Togelius calls experience-driven procedural content generation.

For example, in 2009, researchers collected player data for Super Mario , quantifying each player’s preferences as they played. Maybe a level had too many jumps and not enough sewers, or coins were hard to reach and bad guys were too easy to defeat. Researchers fed player data to a computer. Once the computer digested the information, it spat out new levels that reflected the player’s preferences.

AI in the Future of Gaming

While AI generates game assets and, in some cases, entire levels, the livelihoods of human designers aren’t in jeopardy — at least not yet.

“For the foreseeable future, we will not have AI systems that can design a complete game from scratch with anything like the quality, or at least consistency of quality, that a team of human game developers can,” Togelius wrote in his 2018 book Playing Smart .

While AI may not create entire games yet, AI-generated art may change the graphics industry in the future. One designer even used AI art to create a horizontal-scrolling shooter game in just three days.

Playing with AI art might be fun for creators, but academics and game designers alike are still trying to implement AI systems that will control the game in a way that is engaging for the player.

Cardona-Rivera envisions a future in which AI acts as a game master that calls the shots for a human player.

“Imagine what it would mean to have an AI ‘director’ who’s looking at what you’re doing and directing the unfolding experience for you,” he said. “That’s kind of like what my research is trying to do and what a lot of interesting work in the field — not just me — is trying to do.”

Until they figure that out, we’ll continue to see human designers and computer algorithms working together to create the next generation of video games.

More on AI The Future of AI: How Artificial Intelligence Will Change the World

Cloud Gaming

The future of gaming might take place on someone else’s computer. That is to say, in the cloud .

Cloud gaming, sometimes called game streaming, is a kind of online gaming that allows players the ability to stream games directly on their device by accessing video games from faraway servers, in the same way they stream Netflix movies on their smart TVs without needing to pop in a DVD first.

In theory, this arrangement makes the gamer’s local hardware less relevant — they can stream the games regardless of their device. And since cloud gaming is typically pitched as a subscription service, it’s moving gamers away from a mentality of owning physical media and toward one of renting digital content.

In the past few years, Sony and Microsoft , which have long been the console gaming incumbents, have rolled out their own cloud gaming services. Gaming chipmaker Nvidia has too.

Even Big Tech is getting in on the action. Amazon debuted its cloud gaming offering — called Luna — in 2020. Even Netflix — which, up to this point, has only made movies and TV shows — has shown signs of getting into cloud gaming . The company hired its first vice president of gaming in 2021.

Microsoft reported that 20 million people have used Xbox cloud gaming services, a figure that’s double the amount of players previously reported. Nvidia’s cloud gaming service, GeForce NOW, has also seen significant growth in recent years. The platform grew from 14 million subscribers in 2021 to 20 million in 2022.

Since it’s expected to be worth approximately $3 billion by 2024 , cloud gaming is likely here to stay. Gamers without a strong WiFi connection might have laggy cloud gaming experiences, but with the growing number of people who have internet access, that’s likely to change.

High-Fidelity Graphics

In the pursuit of ultra-realistic graphics, video games have come a long way.

PC gaming companies like Nvidia and AMD have made great strides in creating graphics cards that allow for high-fidelity images in games and techniques like ray tracing. High-fidelity graphics are when a game has 3D imagery with a multitude of complex vertices, the points in space where line segments of a shape meet. High-fidelity games usually have ray tracing technology too.

In the past, things like shadows and reflections and lens flares were essentially painted onto objects within the game. This gave the illusion that light was coming from the sun or moon and reacting as it would when it hit a surface. With ray tracing, an algorithm actually simulates the behavior of light on objects within a game.

The technology is expected to be a game changer — if only consumers are able to get their hands on it. A chip shortage has plagued the industry for the past few years, but executives from some of the top semiconductor companies believe that’ll change soon.

Not all games of the future will be designed for such realistic graphics. Especially not indie games. The way Mack sees it, there are two distinct routes game developers can take when it comes to graphics.

One approach is what you see happening in triple-A games (high-budget games made by big game publishers) which is to hire tons of visual artists and technicians to supply vast amounts of art for high-fidelity graphics. That means big budgets, big teams and increasingly realistic graphics, down to every last speck of dirt.

The other approach is to produce a more stylized — in some cases cartoonish — aesthetic for your game. That way, the costs stay down but the game still looks cool and dodges the criticism: “It doesn’t look realistic!” Mack said this approach is becoming more and more common in the mobile VR space.

Read Triple-A Game Publishers Are Finally Taking Accessibility Seriously

Free-to-Play Games

Free-to-play games have exploded in popularity over the past several years. In fact, most gamers over the age of 35 prefer casual games and play on a smartphone . The free-to-play game market is expected to continue growing, with an estimated value of $83.6 billion in 2023 .

Many free-to-play games make money from ads, but some games, like Overwatch and Apex Legends , are free to play but have in-game purchases — like battle passes and skins — that drive revenue.

Several gaming companies are seeing the benefits of offering free-to-play games with in-game purchases. Activision Blizzard, the company behind Overwatch, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty , reported that it made $5.1 billion in 2021 from in-game purchases alone.

The Metaverse

No discussion of the f uture of gaming would be complete without mentioning the metaverse , a theoretical concept that has dazzled many of the world’s foremost tech companies.

A concept popularized by author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 science-fiction book Snow Crash , the metaverse is best understood as an online cyberspace, a parallel virtual realm where everyone can log in and live out their (second) lives. Ideally, the metaverse will combine both virtual and augmented reality, have its own functioning economy and allow complete interoperability.

While we may be a long way off from that, hints of the metaverse are increasingly evident. You see it in gaming platforms like Roblox , where luxury fashion brands like Gucci host events , and in games like Fornite, where users can dress up as their favorite Star Wars or Marvel characters and watch virtual Ariana Grande concerts .

The number of companies working to build the metaverse is growing, with about 500 organizations developing sectors geared toward the digital world, according to a report from market researcher Newzoo.

The metaverse, like the internet, will be used for more than just gaming. It may incorporate office work as well. But the definition of gaming is expanding. It’s no longer about competition — but connection. It’s what Keith Stuart describes as a “digital third place,” more closely resembling a skate park than an arena.

If the current trends and future forecasts of the gaming industry clue us into anything about ourselves, it’s that our desire to connect far outpaces our desire to escape.

Recent Design + UX Articles

Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Violence in Video Games — Advantages And Disadvantages Of Video Games Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Video Games

Categories: Video Games Violence in Video Games

About this sample

Words: 1148 |

Published: Feb 9, 2022

Words: 1148 | Pages: 2 | 6 min read

Introduction, video games: advantages and disadvantages, works cited.

Bavelier, D., Green, C. S., & Seitz, A. R. (2013). Learning through action video games. Nature, 12, 135-138.
Chang, Y. C., & Huang, Y. M. (2015). Learning by playing: A cross-sectional descriptive study of nursing students’ knowledge acquisition in digital and non-digital games. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 18(1), 128-140.
Ferguson, C. J. (2015). Do angry birds make for angry children? A meta-analysis of video game influences on children's and adolescents' aggression, mental health, prosocial behavior, and academic performance. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 10(5), 646-666.
Gentile, D. A., Anderson, C. A., Yukawa, S., Ihori, N., Saleem, M., Ming, L. K., . . . Sakamoto, A. (2009). The effects of prosocial video games on prosocial behaviors: International evidence from correlational, longitudinal, and experimental studies. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(6), 752-763.
Granic, I., Lobel, A., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2014). The benefits of playing video games. American Psychologist, 69(1), 66-78.
Hilgard, J., Engelhardt, C. R., & Rouder, J. N. (2017). Overstated evidence for short-term effects of violent games on affect and behavior: A reanalysis of Anderson et al. (2010). Psychological Bulletin, 143(7), 757-774.
McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world. Penguin.
Russoniello, C. V., O’Brien, K., & Parks, J. M. (2009). The effectiveness of casual video games in improving mood and decreasing stress. Journal of Cybertherapy and Rehabilitation, 2(1), 53-66.
Subramanian, V. (2018). Digital game-based learning: A review of the effectiveness of educational games. In T. Reiners, & L. C. Wood (Eds.), Gamification in education and business (pp. 43-73). Springer International Publishing.
Vandewater, E. A., Shim, M. S., & Caplovitz, A. G. (2004). Linking obesity and activity level with children's television and video game use. Journal of Adolescent, 27(1), 71-85.

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Prof Ernest (PhD)

Verified writer

Expert in: Entertainment Social Issues

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 788 words

2 pages / 1073 words

2 pages / 752 words

5 pages / 2604 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Advantages and Disadvantages of Video Games Essay

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

Instructions Followed To The Letter
Deadlines Met At Every Stage
Unique And Plagiarism Free

IMAGES

The Video Gaming Industry Essay Example
Video Games Essay
≫ Video Games Research Paper Free Essay Sample on Samploon.com
Pros Cons Playing Video Games Essay Gaming Addiction Free Essay Example
😱 Argumentative essay about online games. Essay About Online Games
History of Gaming Essay Example

VIDEO

Gaming Has Gone Too Far
The state of modern gaming and why people enjoy video games less
Priyanshi saini gaming #gamingPriyanshi saini gaming #gaming
The game I like the most
Сценаристы и их роль в индустрии разработки игр
Priyanshi saini gaming #gaming

COMMENTS

Essays About Video Games: Top 12 Examples and Prompts
Find inspiration for your essays about video games from these 12 examples and prompts. Learn how to write about the benefits, drawbacks, and effects of gaming on various aspects of life.
Video Games Essay
February 13, 2024 by Prasanna. Video Games Essay: Video games are electronic games that requires a user interface, input device (it can be joysticks, controllers, motion-sensing devices, keyboard, etc.) that generates visual feedback for the player or players, an output device that is either a two or three-dimensional display device (like TV ...
100+ Video Game Essay Topics for Students
Persuasive Essay Topics on Video Gaming. Why Schools Should Use Video Games for Learning. The Importance of Age Ratings in Video Game Sales. Video Games: Tools for Enhancing Problem-Solving Skills. How Video Games Can Improve Mental Well-being. Debunking the Myth: Video Games and Real-Life Violence. Promoting Diversity in Video Game Characters.
Effects of Video Games: 15 Articles for a Compelling Essay
Positive Effects Article 2: "Game Reward Systems: Gaming Experiences and Social Meanings". Researchers Hao Wang and Cheun-Tsai Sun use examples of rewards systems from many popular and iconic video games from various genres to support their argument that these systems have positive social effects on players.
Video Games and Their Impact: [Essay Example], 433 words
In conclusion, video games can be a valuable tool for the cognitive and intellectual development of individuals. They require players to exercise various skills such as attentiveness, fast reaction times, logical thinking, and problem-solving. Additionally, video games can also benefit adults by improving communication, resourcefulness, and ...
Video Game Free Essay Examples And Topic Ideas
A strong conclusion will not only tie together your essay but also leave the reader with a lasting impression of the depth and complexity of video gaming as a subject. Free essay examples about Video Game ️ Proficient writing team ️ High-quality of every essay ️ Largest database of free samples on PapersOwl.
How to Write an Essay about Video Games: Presenting Effective Arguments
Identifying the sources you employed would be best. When you are writing an essay about video games, it is essential to cite your sources. That means you got to make a list of every resource you used in your paper. References to diverse books, scientific studies, statistical data, and remarks made by well-known experts are acceptable.
Essay on Video Games
250 Words Essay on Video Games Introduction. Video games, a form of interactive entertainment, have evolved dramatically from their rudimentary origins in the 1970s. They have penetrated almost every aspect of modern society, becoming a significant part of our culture and a powerful force in the entertainment industry. The Evolution of Video Games
Essays on Video Games
Writing an essay about video games provides an opportunity to delve into their historical evolution, from the early days of arcade machines to the immersive and sophisticated gaming experiences of today. It allows for an analysis of the technological advancements that have propelled the industry forward and shaped the way we play and interact ...
110 Video Game Topic Ideas for Essays & Examples
Here, we've collected excellent essay topics for true gaming enthusiasts. Whether you're looking for argumentative essay ideas on video games, research topics, or questions for debate, you will find them here. We will write. a custom essay specifically for you by our professional experts. 809 writers online.
Video Games and Its Positive Effects
Introduction. "Video games foster the mindset that allows creativity to grow", said Nolan Bushnell. Video games, a highly debated subject for many parents, have been the subject of social stigmas for a long time. Many believe that video games do more harms than goods, and waste precious time for kids and adults alike, time that could be ...
107 Video Game Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
To help you get started, here are 107 video game essay topic ideas and examples to inspire your writing: The impact of violent video games on children's behavior. The evolution of video game graphics over the years. The rise of esports and its influence on the gaming industry.
Video Games Essay
English 132 9 March 2015 Video Games A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game means any type of display device that can produce two- or three-dimensional images. The electronic systems used to play video games are called platforms; examples of ...
The Field of Dreams Approach: On Writing About Video Games
Every year, more and more great essays are published on literary sites concerning video games. In the past year I've especially loved entries like Janet Frishberg's "On Playing Games, Productivity, and Right Livelihood," Joseph Spece's "A Harvest of Ice," and Adam Fleming Petty's "The Spatial Poetics of Nintendo: Architecture, Dennis Cooper, and Video Games." But […]
Persuasive Essay: Video Games
Persuasive Essay: Video Games. Teenagers today often spend a great deal of time playing video games. These games are fun and engaging and young people often feel like playing games is a great thing to do in their spare time. However, you shouldn't spend too much time gaming and there are a number of reasons for this: it's unhealthy, you ...
Online Gaming Essay
Online gaming is the most talked about fun topic among the teenagers of the 21st century. At the same time, it is the most talked about serious topic among the parents and teachers. Everyone has their own reasons to discuss online gaming. Our reason today is to help you write an Essay on Online Gaming so that you are exposed to the unseen side of online gaming addiction.
Let's Plays are out. The gaming video culture essay is in
Learn how video game culture essays offer a different perspective on games than traditional reviews. Discover how creators and viewers enjoy games on a deeper level by focusing on niche topics, art, psychology, and more.
Video Games Thesis Statement: [Essay Example], 658 words
A review published in the American Psychologist highlighted the potential of video games to provide cognitive and emotional benefits, particularly in the realm of mental health. This suggests that video games can have a constructive impact on individuals' well-being, challenging the prevailing narrative of their negative influence.
Esports Research: A Literature Review
Following Creswell and Creswell (2018), we developed a list of key words to guide our search, including esports, competitive video games, electronic/virtual/digital sports, and electronic/virtual/digital competition.With this set of key words, we conducted a search across multiple databases and search engines including Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost.
What Is the Future of Gaming?
High-Fidelity Graphics. In the pursuit of ultra-realistic graphics, video games have come a long way. PC gaming companies like Nvidia and AMD have made great strides in creating graphics cards that allow for high-fidelity images in games and techniques like ray tracing. High-fidelity graphics are when a game has 3D imagery with a multitude of complex vertices, the points in space where line ...
Advantages and Disadvantages of Video Games
Video games: advantages and disadvantages. Firstly, it is argued by many that video games can cause a lot of health problems. For instance, looking at the screen for long hours can harm eyes and cause vision impairment because the cornea and iris of the eyes are not intended for viewing electronic devices for a long time. Moreover, using video games for too long may also cause headaches ...
(PDF) The Cultural Impact of Video Games: A Systematic ...
video games have a direct impact on the transmission of culture. Patterns and agents of cultural. representation, transmission and communication were identiﬁed, allowing researchers to evaluate ...

Essays About Video Games: Top 12 Examples and Prompts

1. What electronic games can teach us by Kendall Powell

Writing Prompts For Essays About Video Games

5. ​​ The health effects of too much gaming by Peter Grinspoon

Best Video Game Essay Topics for Students

Video Game Essay Topics for High School Students

Video Game Essay Topics for College Students

Common Essay Topics Related to Video Games

Argumentative Topics for Video Game Essays

Informative Video Game Essay Topics

Compare & Contrast Video Game Essay Topics

Analytical Topics for Video Game Essays

Persuasive Essay Topics on Video Gaming

Best Video Game Essay Topics in 2023

Related Posts

Discursive Essay Topics for Students

100+ Best Narrative Essay Topics

Video Game - Essay Examples And Topic Ideas For Free

Do Video Games Promote Violence?

Can Video Games Make you Smarter?

How do Video-games Affect Child Development

Benefit of Playing Video Games

The Impact of the Video Games on Children

Effects of Multi Media on Violence in School

Future of Video Games

Violence and Video Games

Violence in Media

Video Game Rating System

Do Violent Video Games Make you Violent?

Negative Effects of Media on Teenagers

Research on Video Games and Violence

Teens should be Allowed to Play Video Games

Why Video Games do not Lead to Individuals being Anti-social?

Stop Blaming Video Games

Why you should Play Fortnite

Video Game Industry

Virtual Violence and Video Games

Violence, Addiction and Expenditure in Video Games

Why Violent Video Games is not the Reason for Violence

Fortnite for me

How Video Games are Good and Bad for your Health?

Video Games and Their Impact in Sports

Video Games in Education

Video Games – Game over

Effects of Fortnite Games

The Effects of Video Games

Violence Video Games

Video Games are not the Cause for Mass Shootings

Related topic

How To Write an Essay About Video Games

Analyzing Specific Aspects of Video Gaming

Debating Controversies and Ethical Considerations

Concluding with a Personal or Predictive Touch

How to Write an Essay about Video Games: Presenting Effective Arguments in Papers

It would be best to do thorough research before writing an essay about video games

You should develop an introduction that captures your reader’s interest

You must present your arguments in the body paragraphs

You may offer vivid illustrations as you write an argumentative essay about video games

You should write a conclusion for your essay

Identifying the sources you employed would be best

Proofreading is vital for developing a top-notch paper

Extra tips for presenting better arguments in essays about video games

Recent Posts

Essay on Video Games

100 Words Essay on Video Games

Types of Video Games

Benefits of Video Games

Drawbacks of Video Games

250 Words Essay on Video Games

The Evolution of Video Games

The Impact on Society

Controversies and Criticisms

500 Words Essay on Video Games

The Impact of Video Games

The Benefits and Concerns

The Future of Video Games

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

110 Video Game Topic Ideas for Essays & Examples

107 Video Game Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

The Field of Dreams Approach: On Writing About Video Games

5. The health effects of too much gaming by Peter Grinspoon