*************Bioshock Spoilers************

Is an issue that constantly keeps popping up into my mind. As a gamer I often question just why are games so much fun? What makes me play them with such passion? What is about staring at a screen for hours on end that is so appealing? Of course the fact that they are a lot fun certainly plays a role, but is there anything more than that? What brings us to where we are as gamers? Also, can this industry ever be considered a serious and mature art form?

We all play games for different reasons and I believe that everyone can take a message with meaning away from just about any game. Playing a game is not just a form of entertainment put in front of your face to occupy free time; it's an art form that is experienced. This is what sets games apart they are not just looked upon and appreciated they are experienced. Games involve and engross they do not just entertain like a TV show. Games give you a world to interact with and enjoy, and more and more games give you a canvas a say "paint us a picture, do something amazing". Games such as Little Big Planet, Halo 3's forge, any PC game mods. Indy developers are taking tools like Microsoft's XNA and getting a chance to express their art in ways never before possible.

This is well and good but what are we as gamers? Are we mindless zomboids walking around craving blood and violence, or do we as gamers see that on the surface but long for more? As I mentioned earlier, you can take a message away from games. Bioshock is the perfect, but most obvious, example of this. Bioshock presents us with a world gone awry. It immerses us into this city of lost hopes and dreams. The People of Rapture dreamed of having a better life, free to do as they please but ended up with the worst scenario possible. The people of rapture became a victim to their own sword, that sword being their quest for complete freedom. These people were on a quest to live life to its very fullest and have a society completely free from any type of regulation. This was a society of people that could have had everything.

Bioshock is full of social undertones that convey a meaningful message applicable to any person that hears the story of Rapture. What did Andrew Ryan want when he started the city of Rapture, what did he hope to attain? Andrew Ryan's intentions were noble but he was ultimately taken over by a need for power. Ryan's struggle with Fontaine was an effort to preserve this so far prosperous society. But ultimately both, Ryan and Fontaine, longed for power and wealth corrupting them making both the very thing I believe they were trying to escape. Ryan and Fontaine both fulfill Aristotle's idea of virtue theory which makes for a great story. Games like Bioshock make you think. They provoke thought about the society we live in today. Are there people in our society who have seemingly noble goals, but are secretly advancing their own agenda's? Does the society we live have our very own type of plasmids? What kind of vices does our society indulge in? Do people of power use these plasmids to manipulate us to their liking just as the people of Rapture?

I think the question still remains though, are games like Bioshock mature forms of art? I believe without a doubt, yes they absolutely are. So next time someone asks you about a particular game, tell them how much fun the game play and mechanics are. Then after that tell them how you felt as though the Holy war setting of the Halo trilogy depicts a relativist view of the world in which Master Chief contrast the Covenant by fulfilling Socrates' idea of a rationalistic morality. So basically I'm saying that you should share your thoughts on what kind of message the game was trying to get across. I guarantee you will raise a brow or two. People still do not expect us as gamers to see these kinds of things in our games. All they expect us to see is sex, drugs and rock n' roll (well you know what I mean).

I realize that most of this article just consists of me asking questions, but they are all valid. We need to evaluate the why of games. We need to keep having fun with our games, but at the same time realize the art within the game. Then use that knowledge to help others realize that games are serious art form which should be protected under first amendment rights(I'm looking at you Hillary), but that is whole other rant. So what do you guys think? Am I full of BS with my 'games are art' talk? Are games mature forms of art? Let me know. Peace.

Note: I do not proof read, but by the time you have read this you have probably noticed that already.