Because of the highly popular development of gaming systems, it's only natural that the games mimic society and modern culture, to some extents. Some games include real life people and scenarios, but with a twist on history, such as the Assassin's Creed series (notably A
C 2 and 3).
Everyone is aware of the connection between games and real life violence. There are also connections with objectivity, sexuality, desensitization, and social aspects, or lack thereof.
But what about something that every person needs to survive? What about food?
Generally, people don't think that video games have much of a connection with real world habits, such as eating, drinking, sleeping, and going to the bathroom. This is true for many games out there, however, the topic of food is working its way into the gaming industry.
Crash Bandicoot (1996 - Play Station 1)
The classic video game, Crash Bandicoot, utilizes the image of food showing it’s
connotation to how eating can replenish your health.
In the game, you guide your main character (Crash Bandicoot) through series of different levels.
Throughout the game, Crash picks up fictional fruit called Wumpa Fruit which is added to a counter in the top left corner of the screen, complete with a munching sound of someone eating. If the player collects 100 Wumpa Fruit, they are awarded a free life.
This is a common theme among video games - your character eats to regain health
and is rewarded for stuffing their face.
A modern day example released in early March of 2014, is connected with food in a satirical way. South Park: The Stick of Truth, uses food to represent childhood obesity. The game is an RPG, a role-playing game, where you use food and drinks to replenish health, mana, and power points.
You can find and purchase tacos, Red Bull, water, Tweek's Coffee and others.
The point of this is to mimic how easy it is for children to constantly eat and obtain this food. The items are scattered in magnitude around the town of South Park. The food can be bought cheaply at vending machines. The average price is between $1 and $3, depending on what you are getting.
Cookie Clicker
The game craze isn't exclusive to consoles such as Xbox, computers, or Playstations. Many mobile applications have allowed players to access games from their smart phones or tablets.
Such a game is known as Cookie Clicker. The entire point of the game is to click on the giant chocolate chip cookie as many times as you can. This is just another example of how the developers use food to entice players to play a simple, one-action game.
Food Culture in Video Games
Because of the highly popular development of gaming systems, it's only natural that the games mimic society and modern culture, to some extents. Some games include real life people and scenarios, but with a twist on history, such as the Assassin's Creed series (notably A
C 2 and 3).
Everyone is aware of the connection between games and real life violence. There are also connections with objectivity, sexuality, desensitization, and social aspects, or lack thereof.
But what about something that every person needs to survive? What about food?
Generally, people don't think that video games have much of a connection with real world habits, such as eating, drinking, sleeping, and going to the bathroom. This is true for many games out there, however, the topic of food is working its way into the gaming industry.
Crash Bandicoot (1996 - Play Station 1)
The classic video game, Crash Bandicoot, utilizes the image of food showing it’s
connotation to how eating can replenish your health.
In the game, you guide your main character (Crash Bandicoot) through series of different levels.
Throughout the game, Crash picks up fictional fruit called Wumpa Fruit which is added to a counter in the top left corner of the screen, complete with a munching sound of someone eating. If the player collects 100 Wumpa Fruit, they are awarded a free life.
This is a common theme among video games - your character eats to regain health
and is rewarded for stuffing their face.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_Bandicoot#Collectibles)
South Park: The Stick of Truth
A modern day example released in early March of 2014, is connected with food in a satirical way. South Park: The Stick of Truth, uses food to represent childhood obesity. The game is an RPG, a role-playing game, where you use food and drinks to replenish health, mana, and power points.
You can find and purchase tacos, Red Bull, water, Tweek's Coffee and others.
The point of this is to mimic how easy it is for children to constantly eat and obtain this food. The items are scattered in magnitude around the town of South Park. The food can be bought cheaply at vending machines. The average price is between $1 and $3, depending on what you are getting.
Cookie Clicker
The game craze isn't exclusive to consoles such as Xbox, computers, or Playstations. Many mobile applications have
allowed players to access games from their smart phones or tablets.
Such a game is known as Cookie Clicker. The entire point of the game is to click on the giant chocolate chip cookie as many times as you can. This is just another example of how the developers use food to entice players to play a simple, one-action game.
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Sub-Articles
Minecraft
Grand Theft Auto
The Sims
Fruit Ninja
Not all games are represented.
There are mentions of other popular games in the sub-articles above.
Resources:
Video Game Logo Graphic: http://denverlibrary.org/blog/borrowing-video-games-dpl
Game Console Graphic: http://www.examiner.com/article/comparing-video-game-consoles
Crash Bandicoot: http://crashbandicoot.wikia.com/wiki/Wumpa_Fruit
South Park: The Stick of Truth: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Park:_The_Stick_of_Truth
Tweek's Coffee Graphic: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/south-park/images/25836123/title/tweeks-coffee-logo-icon
Cookie Clicker (nformation and graphic): http://cookieclicker.wikia.com/wiki/Cookie_Clicker_Wiki
Page Authors:
Casey Watts
Joe Starr