Why not? (Gaming)

by Harmanimus , Monday, March 19, 2018, 18:13 (2237 days ago) @ Kermit

It is actually really important when comparing most media to games in that sense of fluency. I am very glad that you brought up more modern films as they would contrast to early films and film literacy, as well as a the reference to coming up in TV, albeit TV has a different vocabulary in most cases than film. As do different forms of animation. Books, not just accounting for the literal vocabulary required, also have their own literacy level for the medium, and you might not notice it but there are a lot of things (as minor examples: changes to POV in books occurring at new chapters; chapters as a structural divide) that require a certain level of growth and learning to really get. There is no artistic endeavor that doesn't require this for its consumption, to varying degrees.

Video games are young, but they have reached a level of sophistication where they are obviously outside the immediate adoption without any effort most of the time. But video games aren't the only modern example of something requiring learned. Take computers, specifically modern GUIs and interface methods, and their inclusion of things just to teach that literacy (Solitaire and Minesweeper weren't built into Windows just for entertainment) to improve the medium. Modern touch screens, while intuitive, also require a degree of learning to be able to use efficiently.

In most cases, the generation that follows will always have an easier time with the technology which was introduced during your generation. And while many games have grown in complexity, don't forget that many of the most popular and most accessible games are focused on a low-complexity core experience.