The origins of digital games can be traced back to the 1950s. That being said, it wasn’t until the late 1970s and 1980s where digital games were developed as a leisure industry. Some of the earliest games were such as Pong, Asteroids, and Pac Man. Fast forward to today, the games industry is worth in excess of $21 billion. (Gray, Sandvoss & Harrington, 2007) As mentioned in other posts, the public used to be passive media consumers where they only consume what is produced. The same can be applied to games. Games used to be very narrative-oriented and are governed by rules and regulations, which the game developer sets; there is a start and an end to each game and these games normally allow up to two players at a time. Today, though, games have evolved tremendously. Single-narrative games are still in the market but the trend at the moment is massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs).
MMOGs are the answer given by games publishers in regards to user-generated content, or in this case, simply known as mods. The key point in understanding MMOGs is that user-generated content is part of their makeup. Games such as Second Life, World of Warcraft, and The Sims depend heavily on user-generated content to keep the longevity of the game and also provide the game publishers their profits. MMOGs are games that do not have a set narrative; the game promotes open-narratives where the players/users are able to create their own narratives. To keep it interesting, games publishers allow players/users to generate their own content for themselves and other players in an effort to maintain player loyalty and develop the game further.
MMOGs have generated active communities of fans and with the permission of the developers these fans are allowed to create their own artwork and objects to be used in the game (Graaf & Washida, 2007). The creativity of players/users and the potential of user-generated content were quickly identified by games publishers. MMOGs are successful due largely to the ever evolving nature of the games and also the contribution of players with their content, both of which helps keep the game interesting and up-to-date. In that sense, current games are never seen as complete or singular in narratives because the games continue to develop after publication. Even in conventional narratives where the structure and events taking place in the game is controlled, they are starting to include user-generated content in their games. This is achieved as most of these games are able to connect to the Internet for regular updates.
Middleware, or game engines as they are known, is the tool that is used for game development. In light of the potential of players/users in creating content, game companies such as Valve have even decided to release their game engines for the public. (Graber & Burri-Nenova, 2010) This enables people to create contents for games and more importantly, they can even create an entirely new game. Counter-Strike is the perfect example. The game was created by four hardcore game fans using Valve’s middleware, Source.
With everything good, the bad is normally always lurking around and it is not different in this case. As positive as the relationship between games publishers, players/users, and user-generated content is, there are certain issues that still plagues the relationship. (Bruns, 2009) In regards to user-generated content and games publishers, the main issues are always the ownership and copyright laws. As mentioned, MMOGs continue to develop even after its publishment by the publishers themselves but mostly by the players/users. (Humphreys, 2009) Considering that majority of the contents post-publishment are created and contributed by players, this poses a huge issue for games publishers who often look to capitalize on user-generated content by claiming it as their properties. (Humphreys, 2009)
In summary, the evolution of games since the 1950s has been outstanding and impressive to say the least. What is noteworthy, as with other sectors in current media is the involvement of consumers and the impact they have on media production. The games industry is a model example of media publishers working hand in hand with media consumers, albeit a few legal issues that need to be and are being resolved as we speak but generally speaking, both parties have a mutual understanding and agreement in regards to the matter and rarely are there any major legal disputes, unlike the ones we see in the music industry (most notably the shutting down of Napster and the recent LimeWire).
FROM PACMAN TO POOL 