Counter strike and gaming culture essay examples

Technology has become a core aspect in every individual’s life these days. In the current century, we cannot imagine life without technology. It has influenced every aspect of our lives and always endeavors to make it better. There is no denying that technology has improved our quality of life and has benefitted us in numerous ways, but we have become very much dependent on it and it is almost impossible to imagine life without it. So much so, we have become big time addicts and to a great extent, it has cons too. It affects our personal life and health and mind in many ways.
There is a diverse spectrum of video games that entertain people of all age groups. At present, we are in the 8th generation of gaming. Kevin James Breaux shares, “ When my dad was young he shot marbles. When I was young I played Marble Madness on my Nintendo Entertainment System.”  There are many established companies that deal with development and selling of games. There have been a number of games that are still a choice of many people. They are conventional and old, but still continue to attract many computer users. Some of the most popular and widely selling video games till date are pac-man, asteroids, missile command, pitfall, kaboom, cosmic art, river raid, atlantis, star wars, space invaders, demon attack and so on. Henry Jenkins once quoted, “ The worst thing a kid can say about homework is that it is too hard. The worst thing a kid can say about a game is it’s too easy.” A video game developer is an individual software developer or a business unit that specializes in creation of video games. The most recent game give an ultimate, state of the art experience to the players. The latest technology is used in graphics which gives a feeling of playing in reality. Jane McGonial’s famous quote says, “ Reality is broken. Game designers can fix it.” The games are a choice of today’s youth are NFS (need for speed), Mass Effect, Far Cry, Halo, Transformers, Counter Strike etc.

About Counter Strike

In the world of gaming, Counter Strike is one name that created a difference. There have been games on similar lines, but there is no close competition to this game. It is one of a distinct kind in the games of the same genre. . CS was initially played online from World Opponent Network gaming platform. But it was closed in the year 2004, this forced players to switch to the software Steam, which gives use the installation and auto management of the software across distributed computers through. This communication platform was introduced by Valve Corporation. The versions of CS which are not based on Steam (before versions 1. 6) can be downloaded from some websites like FilePlanet. After WON was closed down, a section of players community created their own dubbed version of WON network which was called WON2.
CS is a tactic based, strategically designed first-person shooting game which was introduced by Valve Corporation. It was derived from Minh’s Gooseman and Jess Cliffe Half life modification. The game had instantly touched heights of success. By august 2011, the CS franchise had sold approximately 27 million games. One of the games that witnessed an unprecedented success. If you look at each version of Counter Strike game released till date, not much of the things have changed. The creators of the game did not feel the need of bringing about much change or experimenting with their super hit idea which is liked by masses, just the way it is.
The execution of this objective based game has been done in a brilliant way. There does not exist something like regeneration of health, unlike in other games such as Modern Warfare3 or Call of Duty. Nothing like persistent unlocks meant for the equipment. If you die in a round, you become totally inactive until the next begins. The only thing that you can do is be a passive spectator and watch your team rescue the hostages and the counter team moves to implant the bomb.
It can be played on a windows based PC, laptop, Xbox and other Microsoft products. The game is actually a simulation of terrorist and counter-terrorist situation. It assumes that terrorists’ team does not have an intention of carrying out their destructive mission, on the contrary, they only lure and prompt the uniform army mean (counter-terrorists) to kill them. The game has the concept of ‘ Maps’ which depict different locations for the battle ground. The counter terrorists’ job is to fail the intentions of terrorists, diffuse the bombs planted by them and protect the civilians. The game has been a prime target since its inception. Hackers and cheaters have attempted to exploit it by illegitimate means.
Learning to play the game is very easy. There are not much complex controls to coordinate your movements and actions. With time and experience, it just gets better and better. Also, you get an opportunity to understand other player’s mindsets and tactics and your knowledge and skills help you to counter their moves.
The game counter strike is a mod. It has been designed by a team of graphic designers and proficient script writers, software developers and mod creators. It is a vast and a highly customizable game at the player’s end. You can easily find a lot of articles on playing counter strike in a better manner. Many expert players have shared tips and ways in playing the game smartly and gaining expertise in it. The game makes the player responsive, pro-active, think rationally, prioritize things and manage time effectively, enhance decision making capability, formulate intelligent strategies and inculcate team spirit. By observing the other’s players you tend to pick up and learn a lot. This may directly or indirectly help you with raiging up your level as a player. People of similar interests in gaming come together and exchange tips and ideas. Together, they come up with their own innovative strategies and making gaming a better experience. You get to know how to work together as a team, analyze your and your team mates’ strengths and weaknesses. It also sharpens their mind and encourages them to come up with new and better ideas of solving their problems.
Technology has not only changed our lives, but also our terms and interaction with people around us. New media has given a different structure and form to our personality on the whole. Technology can practically solve every purpose of our living and fulfil all the needs. It is also an interesting source of entertainment and recreation. For example, video games are a gift of technology to the mankind. It gives them a refreshing break from their schedule and breaks the monotony. Not only that, it is very much in demand and people are earning their living from it. There is ample scope and money for game designers and developers who do the mind engineering behind the conception of games. The craze for video and online games is getting so much hype that there are portals and competitions in which the participants get good amount of money by playing and competing against each other. All said and done, it has gained commercial importance on a global level.

Works Cited:

“ What is Counter Strike” Counter-Strike
“ About Counter Strike” Counter-Strike < http://internetgames. about. com/od/counterstrike/CounterStrike. htm>
“ Special features in Counter Strike” Why Counter-Strike is one of the Greatest games ever Made < http://www. gamesradar. com/why-counter-strike-one-greatest-games-ever-made/>
“ Review on Counter Strike” Counter Strike: Global Offensive Review
“ What makes counter strike popular” The Amazing World of Counterstrike