While I was relaxing last
Saturday night, I heard a male voice commenting as if he were at a boxing match
or a similar sport. I started because none of the members of my family watches
those kinds of programs or are interested in watching sports. When I followed
the sound and went into my brother’s room, the screen showed a video game
playing. After asking him about the comments he explained that he was watching
the finals of the word championship of LoL. Having no idea what he was talking
about, I left him alone and set my mind to looking for information about the
video game and particularly the finals. What I learnt is surprisingly
interesting (at least for me).
What is LoL? A simple explanation
League of
Legends (LoL) is a multiplayer on line arena video game that was released in
2009. In League of Legends, players assume the role of a character,
called a "champion", with unique abilities, battling with a team
against other player or computer-controlled champions. In the most popular game
modes, each team's goal is to destroy the opposing team's nexus, a building
which lies at the heart of a base protected by defensive structures. Each League of Legends game is discrete,
with all champions starting off each game fairly weak and progressing by
accumulating gold and experience over the course of the game.(Wikipedia)
After getting to know a bit about the game I searched
specifically for the World Championship. What I learnt is that in 2014, the
season 4 of the World championship was held.
The grand finals were held in South Korea and a massive audience was
present to enjoy not only the game but also the music of Imagine Dragons and
other activities. The music band was invited due to the fact that they played the
song “Warriors” for the video game. As regards the team that won the prize, it was
constituted by 5 players from South Korea, and the opposing team by three
players from China and two from South Korea. The winner took home the prize of
a million dollars and prestige among gamers. (LoL World Championship)
 |
| LoL Wold Championship. Season 4 |
All of this surprised me. A
few years ago, gamers were considered to be weird and left aside by most
people. They were even mocked and insulted. I find positive the fact that now
they have created a community in which they can enjoy themselves and create
bonds with other people with whom they share interests. I also like the fact
that each team is not necessarily from a specific country but from all over the
world. I know in some cases the language and cultural
background makes it easy to gather a team of people from the same country but
some of them are from different countries.
Another positive thing about this Championship is related to the fact
that whenever a player acts in a negative way he is given a fine and prevented
from playing. These negative attitudes are not only related to technical
aspects of the game but also to the respect they show towards other players. In
addition, nowadays universities have begun granting scholarships related to
sports to gamers. I know this might not sound fair to athletes but I find
refreshing the decision to give people who have different interests, the
opportunity to have a better education.
I know there are negative
aspects to take into consideration when talking about video games and the
Championship, its creation to bring money to large corporations being just one
of them. But I was really surprised by the positive atmosphere and values that
both the organisers and players of the video game seem to project, taking into
account the violence depicted in it.
What an interesting post, indeed! I have to admit that I’m a big fan of video games (believe it or not... haha). Even though I know the game, I haven’t played it yet. But I’ve heard that many people around the world play it, and I’ve also heard about those championships. I think they are great!!
ReplyDeleteMany things have changed during the last years, mainly the fact that some time ago teenagers (and older people as well) who played video games used to be left aside, as you say. They were considered antisocial just because they liked spending sometime in front of the computer or the game console. However, many of these people have friends who share the same interests. They gather in the house of one of the members of the group, and spend some time playing. Due to this, I don’t agree with them being called antisocial.
I also agree with you in relation to the fact that there are negative aspects when talking about playing video games, but there are also some positive things to take into account. In general, gamers are able to pay attention to many things at the same time; to develop motor skills and coordination; to be good at problem solving; and to develop social skills, since they create team players; among others.
All of us have different interests which should be respected, and this is case with gamers as well.
Great reflection, Ailin!!!
Hi Ailin! I've never been a keen videogame player, I confess, and I thought they had more disadvantages than benefits for children (such as making them inactive and lazy) Nevertheless, reading yor post, my viewpoint changed a bit.. I found it very interesting that these games can also help instilling values such as cooperation, respect, effort, tolerance, and so forth. That's why now I consider that we should previously see what the game is about to judge it!
ReplyDeleteI must say that I didn't know anything about the game even though I have a boyfriend who spends hours and hours playing it. So thanks to you Ailín, now I know what's all about haha. I have another positive aspect to highlight about the game and it's the posibility to learn English through it. My boyfriend is the kind of person who did not find the reason for learning English. Still, he has realised that it is important to have a certain knowledge in the language so as to understand the game. I've watched him playing and the description of the characters and the instructions are in English so he obviously asks me to translate them. In time, he has realised that he has learnt a lot of English through the game. So I consider that it is grat after all! Thanks for the info Ailín. Great post!
ReplyDelete