Gaming in this day and age

Even if you're not a big gaming fan or remotely related to the any of the geekish wonders of this Internet fueled present times, it's kind of hard to ignore the developmental advancements of video games in terms of not only graphics and gameplay elements but also social impact. Things like narrative, choice, themes, competitiveness, esthetics and overall quality of games today are all creating new gaming experiences full of possibility, that in their  way allow and pave the way for a richer culture and gaming sub-culture.

Needless to say, the appreciation of games is changing, the more focus is being put into transmitting a unique message or experience through this particular type of entertainment in ways never dreamed before, thanks to immersive environments, solid gameplay and rich storytelling among many other evolving elements. All of these allowing discussions not only about the specific appreciation of a certain game or genre even, but also about the fundamentals about what gaming is in itself. Is it helpful? Is it violent? Should it be encouraged? Is it art?

Never before have we seen such attention being paid to this hobby alone, nor to the people enjoying it, we've come out of the closet and into the street, to the classrooms and conventions, through the scientific paper and out by the news coverage and TV shows, showing indeed that we are here (in the virtual world) and fascinated by every second of it.

Of course there will be the pessimistic crowd, insisting that the golden era of gaming is long gone, killed by the atrocities of the big companies releasing the same DLC infested, bug ridden game every year, savaged by Fox News and buried in a sea of casual cell phone games and quick time events in every major release, and to them I say to keep crying while I play another round of matchmaking, no, better yet, I'd tell them to look the other way, to remember that in this day and age there exists the greatest variety of games that one with enough time can barely hope to experience them all, whether you're hardcore or casual; male or female; triple A or indie gamer, most likely you'll easily find a gaming experience that is suitable for you.

Most of this is already known, and you may be thinking that we don't really need another reminder that games are awesome, but maybe we do, may we never forget that games are important because they are important to us. If there ever was a time to rejoice about the state of the video game industry it would be today, if we weren't too busy playing that is.