The moment I first picked up a controller, I knew games were for me, firstly because of the way that solid black and red joystick fit snugly into my hands, and then the way the console pumped out those crunchy Atari melodies. My first experience with a video game was a sensory one. Enjoying this new experience, I basked in the frame of my TV for hours, transfixed in equal parts of awe and wonder. I was four years old and over 20 years later very little has changed.

I fell in love with video games instantly, not out of some primeval need to destroy, or the desire for addictive enjoyment. I wanted to understand how this seemingly magic concept worked, to pick apart this package of hardware and software that someone had made and try to figure out what made it tick.

What makes games tick

Even now I can’t help but wonder;  how did someone manage to tumble together the perfect combination of challenge and fun and shrink it into my living room, created so carefully that even a child could understand how to use it? In the years since my first forays into gaming, it became less of a way of passing time and more part of my personal identity. I noticed a change in people’s perception of me. Describing my hobby takes more explanation than most – as a simple sentence “I enjoy playing games”, but describing it as simply this does my lifetime’s of gaming experiences a great disservice – as you describe a love of games you can see the connotations are already building in the mind of the other person.

Like my inner child, I still enjoy the wonder of how a game is put together; the craftsmanship, intelligence, and dedication that each new game requires. Designing a new experience takes more time and sometimes more expertise than other mediums. When I admit to enjoying games, it’s a shorthand for an appreciation of all these factors: the artistry of concept sketches, the brilliance of soundtrack, even the minor details intended to go unnoticed, the often smooth experience guided by rigorous testing scripts, the careful lighting choices showing me the way to go, sometimes it’s hard to forget that I’m being guided through an adventure by the thousands of tiny decisions made by an almost invisible team of hundreds.

As I understand more about games, I can’t help but build on these feelings of amazement and wonder from childhood as our games become more and more capable, able to please, scare, or anger us in equal measure.

And this means gaining an appreciation of all the things that annoy too: the foibles in menus, the design decisions leading to awkward controls, the hundreds of little problems with a game that, regardless, still lead to an experience of some kind. Be it profound or disastrous, the discovery of each game is a pleasure in itself. It’s always puzzled me how something that takes so much hard work to create, and so little faith to enjoy can be so negatively perceived by others.

Negativity

Part of the problem is that games are often taken at face value, a tool for the socially inept, the very opposite of what any person should aspire to – an unhealthy, lonely and unchallenging lifestyle. As we’re locked in the glow of the screen, people can confuse concentration or wonder with illiteracy or laziness. It’s such a shame that we are often challenged about the productivity of gaming while we’re partaking in it, and frankly it’s an unfair approach.

Video games have an unfortunate legacy of negativity, quite unlike any other medium. It is the bad aspects of our community that are magnified out of all proportion, we receive an unfair amount of scrutiny compared to other “okay” activities, with gaming’s detractors often leaping at the first chance to whip up moral panic over a tiny detail of a game which is not outwardly reflective of the complete output of the gaming sector. While not always unfounded in the vast spectrum of issues that games attempt to convey, they are issues monitored by a community of technically agile and (largely sensible) adults capable of holding developers and publishers to account like never before, mainly through their impassioned choices as a consumer.

A hobby like any other

The crux of the issue is the interactivity of games – a feature much lauded when something dubious appears in a game, but quickly forgotten in its day-to-day context. The connection between game and gamer opens a pathway for so much more: the way that playing games can influence our personality – for the better – the benefits that the social aspects of the gaming community bring, the many friend based, co-operative experiences or random encounters brushed over by the inexperienced eye as just another character moving on the screen.

Gaming is something that we’re fiercely protective of. We rise to the bait when we’re questioned, but it’s worth remembering that the scheme of things games are at the heart of what keeps many of us productive. They offer those little moments of pleasure or challenge that we spend all day waiting for – the target for the day – the happy little focus for the evening. Ultimately, games propel us forward, whisking us through the hectic rush of the day into the arms of an interest not too dissimilar to any other. Just one of many hobbies that keep the world ticking along.

So despite the negative perceptions gamers often receive, I still think four-year-old me chose extremely well.

This may come off as grumpy old man complaining that “Back in my day, we only had Combat on Atari, and we liked it!”, but it is something that has been on my mind a lot lately. I’m warning you now this is a full on opinion piece.

Do we, as gamers, complain too much? Do we take into consideration everything that goes into making the games we play in the first place? And do we, or should we, care?

As we know, most modern games take huge teams and millions of dollars to produce. Even smaller games have ever increasing budgets these days. It only makes sense that many companies go for the safe bet, churning out franchise titles year after year. So we complain that no one comes out with anything new. Then, when companies like EA finally do decide to take risks on new IP’s (particularly evident in 2008′s releases), they are, more often than not, met with less than stellar sales. Meanwhile, the latest Madden continues to be an unstoppable juggernaut.

One of the biggest complaints I hear from Wii owners is that there is no third party support for the system. “The only good games are Nintendo first party titles”, many still claim. Capcom released “Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure” almost exactly one year from the consoles’ launch to much critical praise. It was fun, original, and best of all the controls worked. There wasn’t even any gimmicky waggle! Sadly, it sold very poorly it’s first several months on the console. Even though it has since gone on to sell a decent number of copies, this killed plans for a sequel. Where were these complainers then?

Nintendo came out with their new version of “Punch-Out!!” recently. I personally loved it, party because it was just like the old one, but with lots of cool new features. Many of the reviews I both read and heard on podcasts went along these lines: “It is great, but it’s too similar to the original.” This would often contradict what they were just saying about why they liked it.

Then there is the recent debacle about “Left 4 Dead 2″. DLC (downloadable content) has always been a point of contention among gamers. We even had an article about it. A lot of people are complaining that all the content in the new game could have been DLC for the first game. Why they assume it would be free, just because Valve has been generous about their DLC in the past, has me baffled. PC gamers seem to still be spoiled on the fact that “back in the day” that kind of stuff was always free. I got news for you, kids. Multi-million dollar games need a way to continue to be profitable to stay in business these days.

So let’s say all the new stuff was released as DLC. Payed DLC, because it is likely most, if not all of it would be. You are already talking new characters, new AI director, new weapons, new levels, new super zombies, etc. That could easily add up to more than the cost of a full priced sequel.

There is currently a boycott going on the official Valve forums due the release of the Left 4 Dead sequel being scheduled for release only a year after the original game. If this were an EA or an Activision, no one would bat an eye. But this is Valve. Episode 3 doesn’t even have a release date yet.

Many of their so-called fans have banded together to send them a message, “We want your hard work to be given to us for free! You have done so on many of your other games, so why not do that again? That was pretty cool.” I can only assume they feel that Valve owes them since they bought the game. Personally, when I buy a game, the only guarantee I’m expecting is that it will run properly on my machine. Anything not on the disc that works along with it is just gravy. Maybe that’s from being a life-long console gamer. I play games on my PC and mods are fun, but I never expect them.

I think we do complain too much as gamers. Sure it’s justified sometimes, when a company really is doing something ridiculous or a game is poorly made. But when a quality product that we enjoy hits the market, do we vote with our dollar?

It’s the only real way to have an effect. I mean, all we are, is dust in the wind. Dust. Wind. Dude.