The year is 1983, and due to an oversaturation of low-quality products and the rise of the PC, the video game market has crashed.
The crash lasted until 1985, when Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System along with R.O.B the Robot and Super Mario Bros, according to History Computer. Marketed as a toy and requiring a “Seal of Quality,” Nintendo revived the video game industry, selling over 33 million units in North America, according to Statista.
Nintendo’s revival of the gaming industry ultimately led to video games being more prominent than ever. Multiple gamers said video games have left a lasting impression and shaped who they are.
“Video games and playing competitive[ly] are a way for people to come together, to share common interests and to meet people and learn new things in ways that they cannot get in common everyday interaction,” said Jon Schrader, former vice president of growth and marketing at Generation Esports.
In the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney trilogy, the main character — Phoenix Wright — learns how to trust his clients and pursue the truth, growing as an individual. All the while, Wright forms meaningful bonds as he rekindles a childhood friendship and meets new people who leave an impact on him.
But Wright and other video game characters aren’t the only ones growing, as multiple gamers themselves said video games have helped them grow as a person and in their relationships.
Growing with video games
YouTuber Andrew Hatelt said his favorite console is the Nintendo. He has collected over 700 games — only missing four for a complete collection. After picking up a copy of Power Blade 2, one of the rarest games, Hatelt realized there are many Nintendo games he owns but hasn’t had the opportunity to play.
Starting Nov. 27, 2021, Hatelt said he challenged himself to beat every single game in the Nintendo library — one of the most difficult video game consoles. Two years later, Hatelt has completed over 500 games, building his confidence.
“Now, I don’t look at things anymore like, ‘Oh man, why even try? I can’t do that,’” Hatelt said. “Because I have over 500 experiences now where it sometimes seems impossible, and yet, I got it done.”
Pepperdine has four esports teams — Overwatch, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Valorant and League of Legends. Teams typically have around eight players who regularly practice and attend video game tournaments, according to the Pepperdine esports website.
Senior Juli Wagner, former captain and now coach of Pepperdine’s Overwatch team, said she led her team to an undefeated season in Fall 2023 and the program’s first playoff appearance. Her experience with the team has taught her how to be a leader.
“We went up against a lot of schools that were very difficult and we had to figure out how to work around that and how to strategize,” Wagner said.
Sophomore Ray Truter said he has spent time as the captain of Pepperdine’s Super Smash Bros team and was a top 100 Fortnite player in Asia a few years ago. While Truter competed, he learned to improve physically by exercising and changing his diet.
“When I competed in Fortnite I ate foods that help with reaction time, like fish, blueberries, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds,” Truter said. “I tried getting a lot of sleep.”
Schrader, who has had multiple jobs within the esports industry, said esports help students learn academic skills and to build social relationships in a way that can’t be taught elsewhere.
“Esports has also proven to be a great way to improve one’s mental well-being,” Schrader said. “There’s a number of different studies out there that show when you’re involved with esports your mental health is better.”
Multiple people said one of the reasons they choose video games over other forms of entertainment is the player gets to grow with the characters.
It’s hard for any media to draw emotions out of people, but video games are often more successful because players can affect the outcome, said Tyler Maddock, an employee of the vintage game store Game Zone in Salem, Massachusetts.
“You’re actively participating in the narrative, it’s gonna lend to a greater sense of empathy,” Maddock said. “And in a lot of cases, a greater sense of your agency.”
Maddock said in horror games, agency is commonly taken away from the player — factoring into the character’s struggle to survive through the game.
Bonds formed through games
Video games are rarely about only the main characters, as the presence of their friends and companions is equally vital. Multiple gamers said video games have helped them form tight bonds with people — just like the game characters themselves.
If it weren’t for Truter playing Smash Bros in the Genesis Lab one day, he said he never would have met his soon-to-be-best friend — Pepperdine junior Lucas Lorimer.
“My best friend Lucas — I wouldn’t have met that guy if I wasn’t a video game player,” Truter said. “And my relationship with him has just been so amazing for my personal growth as a human being but also like my faith.”
When Pepperdine was remote for the 2020-21 academic year, Wagner said she and four other students — senior Cole Chuang, senior and Graphic DEI Editor Joseph Heinemann, alumna ‘21 and former Graphic member Anastasia Condolon, and alumna ‘20 Grace Ramsey — joined together to build Pepperdine’s campus in Minecraft.
This experience allowed Wagner to connect with her classmates virtually.
“We weren’t able to physically be there in person because it was closed,” Wagner said. “But we’re able to hang out and enjoy it and talk about it because we were building it.”
Another aspect of gaming is the world of fan translation and ROM (read on memory) hacks — where fans will either translate a game into a language it was never released in or add their ideas or quality-of-life improvements, such as Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time having faster text speed.
Hatelt has taken part in both ROM hacking and fan translation, such as when he created one of the most popular Super Mario World ROM hacks — Super Mario Omega.
It is in ROM hacking and fan translation where the potential for community in gaming is realized.
“If you’re working on a project, a whole bunch of different people need to come together,” Hatelt said. “Someone to help with the art, some help with the story, someone to help with the game design and the programming.”
One moment where Maddock joked “world peace is potentially achievable” was after an interaction he had with a Polish man. Neither of the two spoke the other’s language but still had an interaction by simply listing different game titles.
“It was moments where different points of view, different viewpoints, different lifestyles — I don’t know what this guy and I have in common,” Maddock said. “But I do know one thing we have in common: We both really like games.”
The bond formed through video games is important because humans tend to fear those who are different, but finding common ground over video games can help bridge those dissimilarities, Maddock said.
“You have at least an option to bring some commonality between the two of you,” Maddock said. “You remove the barrier between us and them, and you’re back toward us.”
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Contact Tony Gleason on X (@tony__gleason) or via email: anthony.gleason@pepperdine.edu
