Books vs Video Games

            An argument has been popping up over and over for the last couple decades: books versus video games. The arguments go along these lines: Books have greater intellectual value, are thought provoking, influential on society, entertaining and they stimulate the imagination far more. Video games can improve hand-eye co-ordination and reflexes, be played socially, are interactive, entertaining and challenging. My question is, why are we comparing them?

            I've spent a lot of my life playing video games and reading and I love both forms of entertainment. Each has its merits and neither can really be compared to the other. Sure, they have similarities, but in my opinion they complement each other more than anything else.

            What got me thinking about this was when I started playing through Final Fantasy IX and Colleen, periodically looking up from whatever she was doing to watch the game, suddenly said, “This game’s a lot like reading a book!” My reply was, “Of course! Video games are the bridge between books and movies.” They really are. It’s like watching a book where you can take control of the characters.

            So why, if video games are a combination of two of the world’s most popular forms of entertainment, won’t they ever take over the entire entertainment industry? Because they can never replace either of them. Let’s take a comparison of books and movies as an example. When have you ever read a book, then gone to the movie and been entirely happy with what you saw? I can’t say I've ever heard anything other than “the book was better”. The reason for this is because there is just too much information in a book to translate into a movie; all that can be done is an interpretation of the book. The same is true of video games – they can fit in more information than movies, but never as much as books.

            At this point you might say, well, it sounds like books are better, to which I reply, no; they’re just different. Books rely on your imagination, which is great, but sometimes people actually want to see that amazing setting or action scene. Video games feel more like you’re doing something and take more concentration (unless you’re reading while there’s a lot of background noise or buzzing flies). The closest a book can get to giving you a choice is with those ‘choose your own adventure’ books and the only way a book can improve your reflexes is if you have a lot of flies you need to swat.

            You can say books deal with important topics – games frequently do, too. Most games deal with morality issues, I’ve played games dealing with handling finances, environmental issues, racism – just about anything books can cover. Books teach you things – if you play the right games, they do as well. It all comes down to choice; what you choose to play, what you choose to read, what you choose to read and play.

            As an author, I also have to look at plot lines and characters. Some of the characters I've become the most attached to are in games. Some of the greatest stories I've ever come across were in also in video games – they even inspire some of my own writing. I currently have the good fortune of working behind the scenes on a video game. I'm on the writing team for an upcoming game called Anaria Online and, let me tell you, it has been far more challenging to work out the plot lines for even a small portion of this game than it has to write three complete books. I’d go so far as to say that I'm becoming a far superior book writer through my work on this game.

            So, readers, before you harp on video games, I suggest educating yourselves. Sit down with a game (an RPG would be best, such as Final Fantasy or Assassins’ Creed) and play through it. Gamers, just read a book. Most of you have done it before, you just need to find one that you love to remind you how much you enjoy reading. Then we can just stop comparing these two wonderful entertainment mediums and perhaps find ways of making them work together even more than they already do.

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.