One Year

Dear Scott C. Jones,

In the May 2010 edition of Gameinformer (issue 205) you published an opinion piece stating that gamers should respect their elders. You stressed that this was of even greater importance in terms of videogame journalism. By having crafted sentences for decades and being able to remember when games were pixels you make the argument that elder gamers are just as qualified if not more so to write about and review games. You present the story of Crispy Gamer as proof of the unfair treatment that elder gamers are faced with. Its unfortunate demise was and still is the foremost example just how cruel and unforgiving this industry can be to those who are outside the accepted age. Finally you ended the piece by asking a question for the gaming community at large: “Do gamers truly want more sophisticated content? Or is it simply something that they like to think they want?”

And now, nearly four years late and spammed through the only available contacts I could find for you on the internet along with being posted on my blog, I would like to answer that question. Today is my eighteenth birthday. It is also the one year anniversary of my blog The Age of Gaming. Started when I was officially considered by the ESRB to be “rated M for mature” I set forth to write intelligent articles based in fact with developed and supported opinion. It was my grand goal of reducing the negative stigma that surrounds teenaged gamers. Whether or not I have succeeded is ultimately not for me to decide. But this noble experiment has taught me something and that is yes.

In answer to your question, yes. Gamers truly want more sophisticated, mature content. Because maturity is not a measure of age nor is it a classification to be given out by a ratings board. Maturity is a mental state. Sophistication is a side-effect. The desire for more maturity does not result from a dearth of it. It is, instead, the genesis of change within the industry and the gaming community at large. In the one year since I began I have noticed it. And in the four years since you first posed the question the answer is an undeniable yes. Videogames are finally coming of age as a medium. The painful and prolonged adolescence that so stagnated this industry is finally over. The next level is about to start.

Arguments can be made that say because of games like The Last of Us, The Walking Dead and others that games are becoming mature. Others point towards self-analysis in games as an indicator of maturity heralding The Stanley Parable and Spec Ops: The Line as the forerunners of change. And last, it is impossible to deny that no matter what happens within the gaming landscape that of the outside world has changed in such a way as to make games “legitimate” whether we think they are or not. The Museum of Modern Art opened an exhibit focused solely on videogames. I like to think of that as the undisputable litmus test.  Games are now mature and sophisticated enough. But all these great advancements and markings off of the great maturity climb are only external repercussions of internal change. The medium and industry of videogames is now mature because, from within itself, the shift from adolescence to adulthood struck stealthily in the night. These grand steps forward are only the result of the small steps taken inside each and every one of us. Maturity is the culmination of personal responsibility, devotion to others and the ability to admit your failings. These past four years have shown the death of THQ, Guitar Hero and all the old Gods. Some lessons were learned and others were forgotten. However, it is the growing sentiment to accept and understand these losses as well as the successes that give this medium its rise and fall. Maturity and sophistication begin in the mind and it is in the mind of the gamer that things have changed.

When I started this blog I had about a month’s worth of articles, or at least ideas, ready. One of them was this letter that you are currently reading. But, I held off knowing that I was not yet ready to write it. I did not feel prepared enough to venture out into the wild and harsh landscape that is videogame journalism. Not entirely anyway. More so I was frightened of the repercussions I might face, if my work wasn’t good enough or liked. So I waited and wrote and played and then wrote some more. The final result is thirty one articles, each of which I am immensely proud of, thirty game concepts and this. The letter that I wanted to write since day one. Because I wanted so much to say, but did not feel ready to until now, that you are right. Ageism in the game industry is not limited to stigmatization against teenagers. It cuts deep separating those who have loved this medium the longest. It was my hope that I could change the world, or at least gaming, with my thoughts, ideas and most importantly words. I stood to fight the intolerance directed at myself and my peers. And I was selfish. Narrower in my perception than I originally believed. There is no proper age of gaming. Neither is there a new one or an old one. We are all gamers, united by the love of the game. It is the hobby that becomes a passion. Consuming through us like fire, filling within us the very desire to save the world.

I was adolescently self-absorbed when I began this blog. And now I feel mature enough to admit that I was wrong. Presenting myself as the hottest, newest commodity in an industry built off of constant advancements was how Crispy Gamer failed. This out-with-the-old-and-in-with-the-new philosophy is the bane of industry as a whole. And for my part I would like to apologize. The Age of Gaming stands for equal representation of any and all people who willingly describe themselves as gamers. We are all of the Age of Gaming. That is why it is now that maturity has taken hold. The medium has grown to a point where it is so wide spread and so common place any attempt to add extraneous and erroneous definitions is obscene. Maturity is not defined by age; it is a state of mind. You asked if gamers wanted sophisticated content and the answer is yes. You asked if gamers will ever respect their elders and the answer is yes. Because we, as a gaming community, believe ourselves to be and through that belief find ourselves becoming mature and sophisticated. Whether you are 18, 44, 52, 12, 35 or 7 the Age of Gaming is what you make of it.

                                                               Play On:
                                                              Steven