Angry Birds Farmville And Other Hyperaddicitve Stupid Games By Sam Anderson

Even before the ancient Egyptians, humans have always found a way to amuse themselves through playing games. As time has evolved so too has the platform by which people entertain themselves. Within the past ten years, a new and dynamic form of gaming has emerged that can be accessed anywhere at anytime. In Sam Anderson’s article: Just one More Game… Angry Birds, Farmville and Other Hyperaddicitve Stupid Games, this new instant gaming and it’s controversy is highlighted. To an extent, I empathize with Anderson’s argument that there are games that are ridiculous and provide no overall benefits personally or socially. In this essay, my intent is to summarize and respond to Anderson’s article and critically analyze his techniques.
In most games, players often find themselves combating an enemy that can either be the computer, a player on the other side of the world or even themselves. In any case, both players argue that he or she should be victorious and the other should not. In Anderson’s article, he purposely injects the views of an opponent who believes that gaming provides beneficial applications to one’s, or another’s, life.

Anderson’s purpose for placing this opposing view was a means to acknowledge that gaming can provide personal and social improvements, but it cannot solve every problem that exists and to believe that it is, is a sign of a brain turned to mush from gaming too much. Throughout this article, it can be interpreted that Anderson theorizes Tetris and it’s inbred offspring have invaded our daily function and that we are powerless to stop the decomposition of our minds.
According to statistics, from 2008 to 2015 over 100 billion games have been downloaded onto consumer devices. In Anderson’s article, he states that when Gameboy was originally released in 1989, Nintendo sold “more than 70 million copies” (Anderson 65). This drastic increase suggests that consumers have become increasingly fused with the addictiveness found in these so called “stupid games” (Anderson 65). In addition to connecting with players around the world, Anderson notes world events of when certain games were created. He believes that current political, social, world and personal events play a prominent role in the choices people make. The events that Anderson notes in his article were dark times in history. Anderson explicitly references Communism to draw a metaphor between the brainwashed Communists and the brainwashed addicts who feel compelled to upgrade from version 10 to version 10.01 in order to correct an unnoticeable issue in the game’s programming.
Throughout his article, Anderson’s primary goal was to convince us into believing that the ends, of gaming, do not justify the means.

In his article, Anderson presents startling statistics of gaming addicts, which reinforces his original beliefs. However, towards the conclusion of his article Anderson introduces the notion that there is much more to gaming than meets the eye. To help support his conclusion, Anderson quotes Frank Lantz, a game designer, who states “Games, he told me, are like… a little digital drug you can use to run experiments on your own brain. Part of the point…is to come out the other side a more interesting and self-aware person” (Lantz 68). By the end of his article, it can be interpreted that Anderson continues to believe that many games are stupid, but even the dumbest games can provide profound

introspection.
Congratulations! You have mastered the game with a new personal best! Most games offer that or another form of non-genuine congratulations. However, what they should say is something along the line of “Congratulations, you have won the game! Do you feel any different?” The last lines of Anderson’s article reads “Maybe that’s the secret genius of stupid games: they force us to make a series of interesting choices about what matters, moment to moment, in our lives…” (Anderson 69). I have never considered myself a gamer; nor, have I ever factored in the psychological effects instant decision-making in games has on a person’s conscious decisions in the real world; however, gaming and it’s subliminal purpose are not to be overlooked. The concept of gaming has evolved from defeating the computer or another player into a method of solving the most complex levels that seem to affect and dominate our lives.
In today’s existence, gaming is no longer considered just a recreational activity; it has become a valuable diagnostic and therapeutic tool used to help in resolving brain abnormalities and issues that have metastasized as a consequence of those abnormalities. Gaming may not be the solution to all of our problems, but its a start and whether or not we become addicted to gaming is simply and examination of self-discipline of mind over matter.