Since their creation, video games have been a hotbed for debate, among artists, concerned-parents, and academics alike; with many claiming this new-fangled technology would turn our brains to mush, or that it was turning the youth violent. Despite this ideological friction, gaming has remained, inextricably, tied to the most recent generation, triggering a boom in web related jobs, as those tech savvy Millennials came of age in the early to mid 2010’s. Over time, as fresh faces took the creative reigns in game design, the formula changed for what it took to be a successful game/studio. Best sellers changed, moving from primarily text based RPG’s (Role Playing Games,) to Turn-Based-Combat, to First-Person-Shooters, all the way to the modern genres which are celebrated today.

I was born in the year 1996, meaning I had a chance to gain a unique perspective on the birth of the video game industry. I, along with every other young boy begging mom and dad for a ps2, wasn't old enough to be nostalgic for the first thirty years, or so of gaming. Nintendo was on the decline, and in response, something new had to fill Mario and Donkey Kong's Proverbial shoes. Enter Sony, and Microsoft, and suddenly, (by 2001 technological standards,) games become "pretty," and they have real stories, giving the player more satisfaction than just pure, unadulterated, button mashing.

Then, as is subject to happen, the generation which fueled the video game boom, grew up; taking video games with them. As time progressed, Kids went from "Sly Cooper" and "Crash Bandicoot," to "Nathan drake" (Uncharted) and "Master chief," (Halo). This "coming of age" that video games experienced in the mid-2000's was remarkable as it wasn't just the hardware that got an upgrade, but also the stories video games were capable of telling us.

The birth of third generation consoles, in the mid 2000’s, gave way to a totally new style of video game like “Heavy Rain,” and “Beyond Two Souls,” which utilized a cinematic gameplay style where the purpose was not death or destruction, but instead, progressing the story forward through your actions. For the first time there was a shift in gaming from primarily skill based tests of hand eye coordination, to complex moral and ethical dilemmas, which came about all based off your choices. Developers, equipped with updated technology, and this new found storytelling ability, embarked on massive narrative campaigns, where your actions were not limited by the parameters of the game, but instead by the desire of the player.

Video Games, have always been art, however, it is with the introduction of complex choice that, just as it is in life, new complicated possibilities open up. For example, one of the new artistic challenges a video game studio faces whilst allowing the player to choose his own path is that there is no way to accurately calculate every single path a player could take, meaning the Artist (Game Studio,) must allow for

path the audience (Player,) wish to take. Imagine a film, where at any moment you can pause, look around the room in which the scene takes place, change positions in the frame, and resume action, all without ever disrupting the flow of the film; this probably sounds very odd, however these principles; spacial awareness, and ability to move, or interact are the fundamental building blocks to any good game. A movie with these features would likely be impossible, however even the most, relatively, simple video games have these features. In no way is the comparison of video games and film, a slight of the latter, however it does provide perspective on what's expected of, art in the form of gaming.

Gaming is as much a part of Millennial culture as, ugg boots, memes, and beards, and is having an effect, on art and media, an effect which will, eventually change the way we look at art and entertainment forever.