Gaming’s demographic has evolved drastically over
the years. No longer are video games considered
just a child’s plaything – they’re for everyone, from
grandparents to toddlers.
I
WHY WE NEED
MORE VIDEO
GAMES FOR
TEENAGERS
By Brett Claxton
t cannot be denied, however, that
a large portion of the audience are
those still in their formative years.
Among the games aimed at the
portion of the audience, there are
many that aim to educate, particularly
on mobile. Yet, for teenagers, the
only thing they can relate to is
usually down the ironsights of a high
powered assault rifle.
When people think of teenagers in
gaming they tend to think of the
spoilt brats shouting mum-based
abuse into a headset. Obviously
this isn’t all teenagers do in gaming,
but there’s definitely a distinct lack
of teenage role models. Only a few
anomalies deal with the human
drama of turning into an adult.
Being a teenager is a difficult time
for many and it’s a vital period
for developing an identity. Film,
television and music has, for years,
done a wonderful job in reflecting
this world with its focus on the
pettiness of school politics and
the ridiculousness of young love.
Gaming, however, often finds itself
shying away from it. Instead it
focuses on distancing itself from
the real world or allowing you to
only inhabit adult protagonists.
There are exceptions of course,
especially in the world of JRPGs.
Final Fantasy 8 takes place in a
military academy. It contrasts
action-packed military operations
and exciting field exercises with
the backdrop of a relatable high
school-esque setting filled with
things like peer rivalry, the school
prom, trying to pass exams and
looking for love. Despite the
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fantasy world, there’s something so
familiar about it all.
The same can be said about
the Persona series. Persona
4 might be a murder mystery
RPG, but at its core it is a school
life simulator. You find yourself
going on school trips with
friends and trying to have a good
time despite being in a terrible
situation. You witness people not
only trying to understand and
accept their sexuality, but also
help them realise there’s nothing
wrong with acting against the
gender norm. It was all there if
you delved deep enough.
What about Western developed
games, though? The emphasis
on shooters and high fantasy
RPGs rarely sees developers in
the mainstream address teenage
situations. With the increase in
exposure to smaller development
teams however, we are starting
to see more variety. This is what
makes the episodic Life Is Strange
so interesting.
The game takes place in a fairly
unremarkable small town. The
main character, Max, is then
given the remarkable power of
time manipulation. This gives
the audience a reality they can
relate to with just enough of
the fantastical to keep things
interesting. With her power,
Max is able to cheat in lessons,
divert disasters and, most
importantly, say the right thing in
social situations.
bad. It’s an important lesson in
accepting the choices that you
make in life.
Allowing the player to rewind
a moment and linger their
thoughts on it as long as they
want helps them realise that
sometimes you can’t say the
right thing. Sometimes you can’t
do the right thing. Sometimes
you can’t prevent the inevitable.
The game also deals with
issues such as bullying, sexual
harassment, fitting in, loneliness,
paranoia and just trying to exist
in a school where you’re not
part of the popular clique. Max
is an inbetweener. She has her
own likes and interests, but
she’s just vanilla enough that
you feel like you shape who she
is, allowing you to inhabit her
completely.
You can talk to people as much,
or as little as you want. This
is itself a reflection of being
a teenager, with a lot of your
dialogue being your internal
monologue. While it’s not a
perfect reflection of all teenage
life, the way it deals with teenage
issues provides an escape to
something entirely r []X