Word: video
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...deafening curses fill the air. Is this a scene straight out of war-torn Eastern Europe? No--the setting is Harvard's usually peaceful undergraduate common rooms. The cause is not bad grades or even upcoming midterms. It's much more important than that: procrastinating students are playing video games...
...real world, the notable lack of cable in Harvard's undergraduate dorms limits its use as a time-filling tool. But students have learned to make do with another form of entertainment. They have discovered that as wonderful as "Melrose Place," "The X-Files" and "Seinfeld" are, any good video game can provide much more variety...
...Harvard students play video games? Avid players cite procrastination as their chief reason for continual play. Chris R. Stackich '01 claims, "We play whenever we have work due." Playing consecutive games is easy--the press of a button resets the game--and getting off the couch can be difficult, especially when all that beckons is schoolwork...
Despite claims that video games are useful for venting stress of schoolwork, players were eager to talk about just how competitive the situation can become. They may stay non-physical, but, during gameplay, their emotions run high with tension and potential anger. One anonymous freshman, referring to his roommate, remembers that "the closest I've ever come to killing him was when he beat me at Red Alert." Similar sentiments are echoed by Wei Zhou '01, who emphasizes that "We want to beat the crap out of each other...
...competition inherent in video games also contributes to the real-life hierarchy of players, battling to be alpha-male. Eli B. Richlin '01 boasts, "Being able to beat my roommate at a game of skill, such as `Red Alert' or `Madden' 98,' reinforces my superiority and my prominence in the pecking order." His roommate, Michael L. O'Byrne '01, can only defend himself by jibing, "[Winning at video games] is a means by which some can compensate for other inadequacies in their lives...