From 8-Bit to Beyond

By Hassan Mohamud

For Randy Orenstein, 31, video games are more than just a pastime. He sits comfortably in his apartment’s built-in hammock, the numerous genres of games that adorn his shelves are a window into how he approaches his work as a video game developer: with an informed and open mind.

“Video gaming or video game development is at its adolescence,” he said. “We’re now dealing with mature games… it’s just that the power of the medium to touch more people has expanded vastly, as well as its ability for more varied voices to reach into it.”

At the mention of the media portrayal of games and gamers, Orenstein goes into detail illustrating just how greatly media reports focusing on the video game community have shifted.

“The portrayal of the video game community has changed drastically for a number of things,” he said. “Geek identity, nerd identity is becoming cool these days because of various things like nostalgia for the ’80s and the fact that games are becoming so massively produced that they are forcing their way into the consciousness of ‘cool.’”

Stephen Dragi Sekuvloski, a University of Toronto Scarborough student and very involved gaming/anime club community member, pointed out the changing perception surrounding video games and how that has helped them to become more noticeable in the mainstream.

“Video games are a huge part of geek culture because they have always gone hand in hand with each other,” he said “The words ‘geek’ and ‘nerd’ are no longer considered derogatory and are no longer synonymous with someone who just sits in their basement playing games all day. Now, video games accepted to the point where they’ve become a family-oriented pastime.”

Sekuvloski, 29, believes that video games serve to connect people who otherwise wouldn’t interact with one another, effectively bridging a gap and even fostering communities of like-minded individuals. “I went from Anime club and Shutterbugs (photography) club at UTSC to the tabletop and Video Game Society,” he said. “It’s a huge community and by joining, you’re suddenly open to a social group. You’re not so much of an introvert and have people to communicate similar interests with because you’re not strangers anymore. There’s a shared common bond.”

Centennial College Game Design student Jovanne Rowe explained the impact that the popularization of geek culture and video games has had in opening his eyes.

“I’ve seen the diversity in a lot of students in my program studying game design,” he said. “I never would have thought that jocks actually wanted to be game designers or even were gamers back in high school. Since the geek culture as a whole has gotten more mainstream, I’ve seen so much change and it really inspires me.”

Rowe, 20, shares his delight at how mobile games have further included the elderly and the possibility of what else video games are capable of accomplishing.

“My grandma is almost 80 and she asks for my phone sometimes to play video games,” he said. “It’s not even the boys on the streets playing Pokémon on their Nintendo DS, but the girls as well. It hits everybody.”

On the subject of inclusivity and connectivity, Orenstein explained the purpose of the Toronto Game Jam and his role within it.

“Game Jams in general are development events where game developers get together and produce a game in the course of a single weekend from start to finish. No going home and no sleeping,” he said. “Troy Morrissey and I started the Toronto Global Game Jam about three years ago and we’ve been running it ever since.”

As for the future of gaming, Orenstein is optimistic.

“I think it’s definitely brighter,” he said. “I didn’t have a very good time as an adolescent. I’m enjoying being an adult and I think games will as well. I believe that once the medium truly matures as an art form, it’s going to be amazing.”

For more information on Toronto Game Jam visit their site: Tojam.ca

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