Mythology in Video Games Kei

Overall, during the development of the video gaming industry, there have been several other original games that have captured the hearts of millions around the world. However, the ones that bear mythology in their core have been among the best-selling, proving Campbell's theory that the human mind will always be fascinated with things that are normally inconceivable. Video game developers have harnessed this and made the idea take a life of its own, incorporating several different aspects into their games that provoke thought and essentially teach children and young adults fundamentals that most would consider part of any well-rounded education.

Though there have been critics that have constantly berated the state of video games and claimed they have caused more harm than good (Attorney Jack Thompson is a very large advocate for the censorship of video games due to correlations between violent video games and increase in violent tendencies in some children), there are obviously games that break the fairly negative stigma that many have tried to build around them. Through several games, not to mention games that have specifically been developed to teach children about even more basic concepts, any player that picks up a controller is able to learn about anything one would consider vital to learning what it means to be a good person: love, friendship, the concept of right and wrong, the concept of fate, what makes someone real and human, the list goes on. Video games have expanded far beyond the reaches of normal entertainment: they have become a part of the developmental process of millions of children, though inadvertently. The only question that remains is whether or not this was the intention of the industry as a whole. Most would argue not, but whether that was the case or not, they have provided the world with a tool that may actually have a large impact in the long run.

Bibliography

Campbell, Joseph. Primitive Mythology. London: Penguin Books, 1959.
Campbell, Joseph. Creative Mythology. London: Penguin Books, 1959.
Campbell, Joseph. Occidental Mythology. London: Penguin Books, 1959.
Campbell, Joseph. Oriental Mythology. London: Penguin Books, 1959.
Davis, F. Hadland. Myths and Legends of Japan. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1992.
Hollander, Lee M.. The Poetic Edda. 2nd. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 1962.
Sturluson, Snorri. The Poetic Edda. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1992.
Aston, W.G.. Nihongi: Chronicles of Japan from the Earliest Times to A.D. 697. New York:
Paragon Book Reprint Corporation, 1956.
Tsunoda, Ryusaku, William Theodore de Bary and Donald Keene. Sources of Japanese
Tradition. New York: Columbia University Press, 1971.
Clover Studio. "Okami." Osaka: CAPCOM Company, Ltd, 2006.
Square Enix Company, Ltd.. "Final Fantasy XII." Tokyo: Square Enix Company Ltd., 2006.
NAMCO Tales Studio. "Tales of Symphonia." Tokyo: NAMCO, 2004.

Author
Kei
Date Published
05/10/08 (Originally Created: 05/09/08)
World
Cat Sketch Fever
Category
Other Video Games Fan Words
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