The Musings of Scott

The past few years, many folks have analyzed the obsession, and apparent addiction some people show towards video gaming. After recently coming across yet another thought-provoking viewpoint that offered insights on this new cultural phenomenon, I felt a need to share my favorites. I have been known to play some PS3 now and again, though the time I log in now pales in comparison to the times of my carefree youth. I never have “fallen” to the kind of depths illustrated by some of these subjects, but I do find the sociology-technology interaction fascinating. I’ve gathered my favorite resources which helped me see quite a few new angles on this new cultural phenomenon.

Though often over looked as a niche appeal, MMO games are a form of social media in themselves (large networks of people socializing and interacting). Some of these networks are so complex as to have created “real” economies which actually begin interacting with the actual global economy. Furthermore, they have proven to be much more profitable (and addictive) than conventional social media networks. It’s hard to not find these developing alternate realities fascinating, and the people living in them so very unique that they seem almost alien to the non-gamer. Part of the selection process of the perspectives was I wanted to only include those who did not condemn the differences of these people, but tried to understand, convey, and “humanize” their subjects. Coincidentally, all of these can be viewed online at your leisure…

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