I was sitting in my tiny New York City apartment, panicky and coming to terms with the reality that I’d be trapped inside for weeks, potentially months.
But my friends reassured me that as lifelong video game enthusiasts, the prospect of sitting on a sofa in front of a TV for an interminable stretch would be a cakewalk.
After all, gamers like me do already spend plenty of time in front of our screens all on our own.
But even sitting alone for hours, gamers aren’t necessarily isolated.
With the rise of social media, gamers – particularly in Gen Z – have perfected the art of building communities in and around video games.
In this age of long-haul social distancing and mental-health strains, gamers have long had a tool that’s now bringing some relief to those who’ve never picked up a controller before.
The explosive growth of gaming during the pandemic has shown that many have found a new outlet for much-needed connection in isolation.
Gaming has skyrocketed during the pandemic, especially ones that connect you online with friends; games over video chat have replaced in-person happy hour for many (Credit: Alamy)
When shelter-in-place orders came down, millions of people around the world turned to tech-fuelled diversions to stay in touch with family and friends, like Netflix Party film viewings, Zoom chats and video games.
There’s the outer-space saboteur mobile game Among Us (which 100 million people have downloaded); and the Jackbox games that mix video chatting and elements of classics like Pictionary, and that have acted as stand-ins for in-person happy hours.
Released in March, Nintendo’s record-breaking Switch game that tripled the company’s profits drops players in a tiny tropical town filled with talking anthropomorphic animal neighbours who help them redecorate their home, catch butterflies and grow fruit trees.
These features can be used from a developers' programming language of choice, or they may opt to also use game development kits that minimize the amount of direct programming they have to do but can also limit the amount of customization they can add into a game.
Like all software, video games usually undergo quality testing before release to assure there are no bugs or glitches in the product, though frequently developers will release patches and updates.
With the growth of the size of development teams in the industry, the problem of cost has increased.
Development studios need the best talent, while publishers reduce costs to maintain profitability on their investment.
Typically, a video game console development team ranges from 5 to 50 people, and some exceed 100.
In May 2009, Assassin's Creed II was reported to have a development staff of 450.[75] The growth of team size combined with greater pressure to get completed projects into the market to begin recouping production costs has led to a greater occurrence of missed deadlines, rushed games and the release of unfinished products.[76]
While amateur and hobbyist game programming had existed since the late 1970s with the introduction of home computers, a newer trend since the mid-2000s is indie game development.
Indie games are made by small teams outside any direct publisher control, their games being smaller in scope than those from the larger "AAA" game studios, and are often experimented in gameplay and art style.
Indie game development is aided by larger availability of digital distribution, including the newer mobile gaming market, and readily-available and low-cost development
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