Title:Comparing and contrasting video gaming to reading books
There are a lot of differences between gaming and reading books, and even though my essay details a lot of comparisons and contrasts, most of them are based around similarities. There are differences mentioned in my essay, but I felt the essay would be more biased if I leaned towards similarities as the mediums may not hold up well in comparison and via contrast if similarities are not established first. Here is what I came up with.
Both are fantasy outlets
One of the biggest similarities between video games, movies and reading is the fact that they all act as outlets for your fantasies. A person tends to put his or herself in the role of the protagonist in many cases. However, it seems that people are more inclined to live their fantasies vicariously when reading, whereas with video gaming you are forced to play the part of the protagonist. There are still vicarious thrills to be had in video gaming as they often have side characters that players wish they could play. This is even true in games where the player has control over many characters. For example, there is a fairly old but very popular game called Final Fantasy 7, in which a player can use numerous characters but is not allowed to play as the boss. People still, to this day, complain on the Internet that there is no way to play as the bad guy in the game.
Both are very immersive
There are a lot of differences between video gaming and reading. However, there are a lot of hidden similarities, and one of them is just how immersive both are. People have been known to spend their lives playing video games and others have been known to spend their entire lives reading. This is partly because both are very immersive and it is possible to lose a lot of time playing or reading because it takes you away from reality.
Both reading and video gaming are able to take you out of reality, which means they can block out negative thoughts that may otherwise resound in a person’s head. This is backed up by the fact that a lot of people live their fantasies via their gaming or reading. A person that is bullied at school may come home and remain upset about it. Video gaming is so immersive that the same person may play for hours without thinking about being bullied. Furthermore, the person may live fantasies through video gaming and become someone that is immortal, strong and unable to be hurt. He or she may also take the role of a bully and attack characters on the game. Reading has a similar benefit. A person may read books about people that are strong and people that bully others in order to live through their reading. They fulfill fantasies through what they read; whilst the reading process is so immersive that the reader doesn’t think about being bullied or think any negative thoughts whilst reading.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a lot of similarities between reading and gaming, and these were compared and contrasted in my essay. There are numerous differences between the two mediums, but I feel they both serve a very similar purpose beyond mere entertainment.
