Disruptive games: Power and control or fantasy and entertainment

Abstract

Video games are a complex form of culture, creative entertainment and representative art, which surpasses, in technology and relevance, other forms of audiovisual expression. Since the conception of the first games, through computer technology and military knowledge, games have become an entertainment, translated and molded as interactive graphic images. The initial aim, which was to create a kind of distraction, outgrew itself and made possible to simulate and provide users with the psychological sense of control and power over fear, decisions and over the imminent danger of new challenges (real or imagined), all at same time. From the pioneer arcade to the modern consoles and multiple platforms seen today, the games evolved to meet users’ expectations in search of simulation, interaction and immersion experiences. In this trajectory, developers, programmers and designers applied all the technological advances possible in attempt to achieve complete man-machine interaction. This article seeks to identify if the games in the current stage, loaded with hyper-realism, in relation with their ‘cartoonized’ counterpart, aimed at a new generation of users eager for disruptive technologies and for interactions that assure the sensation of influence and control over fear.