Humans have conquered every aspect of our world. We can now travel from one side of the planet to the other in under 12 hours, we can fly to the moon and back, we can literally stand among the stars. Among us though, there are people who strive for something even greater, for glories that transcend our own world’s boundaries: video games.

Generally, video games are looked down upon by the world as something for nerds and the friendless; that video games are nothing but a waste of time and energy and could never compete with the real world. However, times are changing and so are the people.

Asking a few people on why they play video games gave such varied responses but at the same time, all of them were all the same, like all the feathers of a bird allowing it to fly, everyone creates a community that all push towards the same thing: evolution. Everyone wanted something more out of a world where everything has already been done before.

“To explore and affect a massive world and to interact with narratives otherwise untellable” said junior Nick Roberson.

Video games have no boundaries. There are no limits to what can happen or the places that you can go. Take the game No Man’s Sky for example on the computer, you are a space pilot trying to find the origin of life in the center of the galaxy. On your way, there are an infinite amount of different full size planets that one can explore and admire. Some in the game may never actually be seen by human eyes, only remain in the unexplored for forever.

“I like the idea of a game’s story. A different world from ours where you are the main character and control the story. When your friends join you on the adventure sometimes. And it all just amounts to having fun” junior William Usdane said.

Video games are not solitary things, there are extremely social and community orientated despite the players never having met each other face to face. Many video games require the participation of hundreds of players to complete a goal, like popular games such as TERA or Dota 2. In both games, teams of players work together and share in the work to overcome another team or computer generated task.

“I enjoy the concept of using your time to better your own reaction time” sophomore David Do said.

Some players spend thousands of hours of trying to perfect their skills in order to compete on the global level. Yes, video games have global tournaments that millions pay to watch and enjoy. In fact, just last year Dota 2 raised almost 20 million dollars so that team in first place could walk away with 6 million dollars. In a team of 5, each one walked away with over a million dollars for being the best in the world. One of them, only 16 at the time.

Videogames are universal, have no restrictions, and finally, are the future.