Realism in gaming. As the years have went on and on, its become more and more of a big deal. My question is Why? And what excatly is realism in gaming.

First of all lets look at what it means to entertain orseleves through Media and litreture. Why do we read Novels, comics, Watch movies and play video games. The answer is simple. To escape Reality. However in the mordern age their are a lot of games that go on about realism such as Battlefield, Operation Flashpoint and up and coming game I am Alive. The thing is with these games and so many others are that the devlopers are not stupid. They incorpearte enough reaslim to credit their game "realistic", while at the same time making sure theres MORE than enough unrealitic elements to make the game playable and ultimately sellable. Take the Battlefield series for instance, a grat series yes. However its claims to realism are few, far and between. While the realistic bullet drop, buller riochet and Sound effects are all welcome, how exactly can this game be realitic when you can take a .50 calibre bullet full on and still walk around? I am Alive is an up and coming game that has me really angry. They claim its realistic because the protagonist isnt some amazing shot and can hardly shoot, yet he quite conveniently can vault large peaces of debris, climb gripless surfaces and scale massive bulidings. But I do not blame the devlopers. I Blame the "fans". Far too many of us "gamers" have become Gaming connoisseurs. We look down on games that are simply fun, and commend games that try to be realistic while all the while failing. Going back to Battlefield. I play both Battlefield and Call of duty. I like both because they offer two seperate experinces. Battlefiled offers a more team orientated FPS with huge maps, scale and vehicles. While Call Of Duty offers a crazy moshpit experience that is just fun and addictive to play, yet Battlefield "fans" constantly riducle Call of Duty for not being realistic. Yet it is more fun than battlefield. I honestly wonder if these "gamers" actually ever played a Nintendo 64, Sega Genisis, Dream cast or a PS1. If they did they would know the reason these consoles will live on in gaming history This is simply because while their games where not realistic, or pretty. They where fun and innovative. And acted as a gateway from reality. To clarify my stance. I like realisc games, however I like wacky games that are simply just fun. The point is, not every game has to be realistic. Its all about how the game is suppose to make you feel. I'll leave you with a quick story

A man goes to the cinema to watch a movie. He is enjoying the movie, but halfway through, a bird flys in right into the screen and splats itself. The man stands up and shouts this isn't what I played for.

The End.