What may once have been a gaming scene of insiders has long since been adopted by the full spectrum of society. Across all age groups and social classes, most Germans play video games – to relax or to shorten waiting time, as a serious hobby or even as a profession. But not everyone who plays games would also like to describe themselves as a gamer. Although video games are recognised as a cultural asset, their public perception still seems to be dominated by the prejudice of the male, rather young gamer who spends far too much time with Shoot ’em ups – which in the worst case make people aggressive, but in any case are a waste of time. The large group of gamers and developers, however, is much more open and diverse; the gigantic range of video games is correspondingly versatile. So what do the gaming worlds look like today? What happens apart from the infamous first-person shooters? And is gaming always “just” about entertainment?
Rae Grimm is Head of Digital Publishing at Webedia Gaming GmbH and responsible for their magazines GamePro, GameStar and MeinMMO. In this episode of Digitalgespräch, the expert for video game cultures describes which facets gaming offers today and what characterises different scenes. She explains what constitutes innovation, what is important to gamers and developers and what innovations and debates occupy the gaming world. With hosts Marlene Görger and Petra Gehring, Grimm discusses the social significance of video games and video game criticism, the gaming industry – and the uneasy feeling that chatting with AI-based, digital “friends” can give you.
Further informationen:
Link to Rae Grimm’s report “Wie ich ein Wochenende nur mit KIs geredet und fast den Verstand verloren habe” https://www.gamepro.de/artikel/ki-mental-health-verstand-verloren,3378382.html
all episodes of Digitalgespräch
The podcast is in German. At the moment there is no English version or transcript available.