One barrier that people find in video games is the possibility of increased levels of violence, and particularly how children are affected by this exposure to violence. While some medical associations make the claim that video games make children more aggressive and violent, there is no definite link between videogames and violence with studies showing that children can tell the difference between violence in real life as well as violence in games. In fact, video games have even been shown to relieve stress in a way that is not harmful to themselves or others. While some believe that video games induce violence, there is no confirmation that this is true.
Another major barrier in between gamers is their class and social status. Video games and the consoles themselves can be expensive with pay to play games driving an even further wedge. One of the biggest offenders for a game excluding people through cost is The Sims 3. While the base game is only $60, with the added DLC and Sim Store items the total cost jumps up to around $74,926.31. Even without the addition of the Sim Store items the game and every DLC is still a whopping $439.81. These prices are well out of the range of those less well off and may discourage them from joining in on the videogaming community. Another large offender is Star Wars: The Old Republic and its “free to play” model. SWTOR starts off by allowing people to play for free, but to progress past a certain point players must pay a $14 a month subscription. Those who cannot afford the subscription may be left behind by their friends who are able to afford the subscription and lose interest in playing video games.
Another huge issue is gender. Since technology is a male-dominant field, video games are also typically dominated by males. However, there are plenty of female gamers that are just as interested and talented as the male players. In addition to the players of the games, the content of the games are also centered towards males. It often isn’t an option to play as a female character, and when it is, the outfits and armor is usually sexualized and simply impractical. While there has been some improvements, starting with games such as Metroid and eventually moving on to the much more diverse Mass Effect, women are still marginalized and sexualized in the gaming community.
Race also is a barrier to the unity of the video gaming community. Research proves that most gamers are hispanic, however most of the characters in video games, especially the hero or the protagonist, are white. Occasionally, there are non-white characters in games, but they are often portrayed as the stereotype of their race. These stereotypes can be offensive and incorrect. Typically characters of color are portrayed as unintelligent, lower class or speak with a stereotypical accent. Players also have limited options when creating their character. If the game does have an option to change the player’s character, the options are limited to stereotypes and do not allow for much personalization. While this is an improvement, it is still not an accurate representation of the players.
Overall, the issues of race, gender and class play a big part in the production and use of video games. While we have come a long way in the representation of people in video games, we still have a long way to go. Although this will be hard to conquer because it is a self fulfilling prophecy when more diversified people are discouraged from games, those games are then not changed to meet the needs of diverse people.
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