This review was written for and first published by Bookmunch. “It is some wonder how a decades-old, $21 billion industry that outperforms Hollywood could still be considered culturally marginal” Gaming and gamers do not always get the best press....
This review was written for and first published by Bookmunch.
“It is some wonder how a decades-old, $21 billion industry that outperforms Hollywood could still be considered culturally marginal”
Gaming and gamers do not always get the best press. They conjure an image of a loner, often a white male, living a nocturnal life in the basement of his parents’ home and subsisting on junk food. This stereotype may be accurate for a few but gaming has always had a much wider fan base. I chose to read this book in the hope it would provide a better understanding of why gamers, whose numbers include family members, choose to spend so many hours in front of their screens.
Critical Hits is an anthology of essays from ‘eighteen writer-gamers’ promising to explore the impact video games have had on their lives. As one would expect, they approach the subject from a variety of angles, only some of which kept within the designated lane. Many used their essay to promote an argument for a particular hobby horse, such as perceived attitudes to race, gender or creed. Valid as these subjects may be, the link to gaming at times appeared shoe-horned in.
Other essayists presented gaming as an escape during a time of stress or other poor health. At times the health issues became more of a focus than the games played, a means of distraction rather than the main feature.
“While living in Disco I found a new framework to consider my thoughts. And it was a reminder of just how much each of us contends with all the time, and having been reminded of that it was much easier to be gracious to myself and others.”
A regularly repeated argument put forward was that games can teach players more about themselves, lessons that can be applied to interactions and responses more widely. In ‘Thinking Like A Knight’ the author gamed regularly while going through gender transitioning, thereby learning to consider more clearly their preferences and the lifestyle they wished to inhabit. Several essays presented the idea that video game avatars are akin to a trans person’s desire to live inside a different body to the one they were born in. I’m not convinced non-trans gamers would agree. This was not the only conclusion drawn that I regarded as questionable in the anthology.
The author of ‘Cathartic Warfare’ seemed to be suggesting the game groomed young people to hold their parents’ or governments’ worldview, apparently based on the fact some of the friends he gamed with subsequently joined the military. The old chestnut of ‘killing for fun is damaging’, even if only on a screen, was raised.
“How many bodies do there need to be before we start to wonder what it is we’re doing?”
‘In the Shadow of the Wolf’ probably annoyed me the most in the collection. The author takes aim at a number of well loved fantasy stories and games – featuring Vikings, Norse Gods, Elves and so on – and imbues them with racist, antisemitic undertones. Slavery is mentioned but focuses only on the related barbarity black peoples have been subjected to. I wanted to point out that women in many cultures have been disposable chattels, seriously abused with impunity, for centuries. White Supremists may well be co-opting stories to fit their narratives but so, it seemed to me, is this author.
There were essays that I enjoyed. ‘Clash Rules Everything Around Me’ put forward a good argument for gaming as a way of spending time. Those who choose to read, play sport, enjoy art or go for a walk are doing so as they enjoy the activity. The same can be said for gaming. I had a clear preference throughout for essays focusing on the positives gaming provides rather than those promoting wider issues through an author’s blinkered lens.
‘No Traces’ captured the intensity of young friendships, of how close two children can be while remaining unknown to each other, not yet having mastered the complex language of emotion and the distillation of empathy.
The Covid lockdowns had an impact on gaming habits. In ‘Ruined Ground’ the author seems to suggest he was truly spooked by the pandemic, an interesting reaction given the storylines of many games mentioned.
Not all avid gamers continue with the habit. As lives change over time so too can chosen interests.
“I feel like the main character in my life now. I don’t need the game to offer me the cheap alternative.”
To be clear, I am not a gamer. Back in the 1980s I was one of the first in my school to sit the newly created Computer Science A-Level, going on to attain a degree in the subject and then to work in the IT industry. As games moved from arcade and table top to home, I watched their development with clinical interest but rarely played. All of this is to say I approached Critical Hits as an outsider, eager to learn but without first-hand experience.
Did I find what I wanted within these pages? The authors certainly generated a reaction, albeit often negative. I disagreed with many of their arguments, mainly because the games being discussed are quite clearly immersive fictions. However, just as a reader may find a reflection of themselves within the pages of a book, games will be experienced differently by individual players.
Any Cop?: Do I now have an improved understanding of why gamers spend so many hours gaming? In this the book succeeds overall and for that reason I am glad to have read it. Hard going as some of the essays were, levels were achieved and rewards collected.
Jackie Law
(If interested in a proper gamer’s perspective on this book, do check out my Guest Review)
