#no.7 It isn't just a game
Online games have not only provided the general public with entertainment, such games have created private platforms and communication spaces for gamers to interact with each other and build virtual relationships. Contrary to how they may seem, online gaming relationships aren't solely built off of the little red hearts on the bottom left hand corner of our screens.
The options that some games offer including 'multi-player' allow gamers to play against each other from the comfort of their own homes. People who play such games simply need to login to access the game through their account and add friends via online methods and before you know it, you may be playing 'Overwatch' with online user: 'Digital Sue' from Arizona, and she may totally annihilate you. This creates an increased desire for online gamers to seek out other games which are similar. Online gaming chat rooms and forums are also available to those who identify themselves as a member of the online gaming community.
Other online games which are linked with social media platforms such as Facebook can entice non-gamers to enter into the digital gaming world. Mobile games including 'The Candy Crush Saga' encourage you to play while having a Facebook account. By incorporating the game with the social media platform it gives it's users access to 'ask friends for lives' when they need help getting to the next level and to generally have an overall idea of where your fellow Candy Crush players are up to in the game. This encourages users to compete against each other and discuss the possible challenges that they may have faced so far in the game.
Pokemon Go has been branded as one of the most popular games of 2016, the game was the most downloaded application on the iOS app store last year (Gameranx 2017). It drove people out of town, literally. This game certainly encourages its users to travel far and wide geographically in order to catch pokemon which was good in relation to assisting people to get out of the house and leaving the couch. But there is always a catch, pun intended. The lengths that people were beginning to go to just to capture these pokemon were almost endless and this began to add a dangerous dynamic to the game. Some reports stated that a Pokemon Go player drove into a school as he was attempting to capture a Pokemon as his phone's gps led him to that area.
Are we still playing a game when our own life and the lives of others is at risk?? This type of relationship is the kind we don't want to have, almost like the crazy ex-girlfriend stalker kind. Let's leave it to the pros.
Coetsee, J 2017, Pokemon Go, the most downloaded app on iOS app store in 2016, Gameranx, viewed 2 February 2017, <http://gameranx.com/updates/id/87535/article/pokemon-go-the-most-downloaded-app-on-ios-app-store-in-2016/>.
