With Black Friday come and gone and the holiday season on its way, people check their lists twice. Video game addiction during this time, or any other time is also solidified because of the release of “Call of Duty: Black Ops.” It begs the question, can video games shape a person’s outlook on reality or not?

Video games have been able to teach people about the real world, especially now because of the capabilities of technology and research that go into a game, as well as the understanding of underlying morality within video games.

Michael Bilek, a freshman pre-pharmacy major, said he spends less time playing games now than he did before coming to Eastern.

Bilek said he spends about four hours a week playing games now because of work, classes, activities on campus. Before coming to college, he spent about two hours a day playing games, and with friends to play with him, Bilek said his time spent was upwards of 20 hours a week.

Bilek said the games that have replay value are addicting to him.

“It’s the replay-able games and mini-games that get me,” Bilek said. “You get your “Mario Party” games, “Fusion Frenzy” for the old X-Box, but now what gets me is the mini-games in “Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne”, and if I had “Starcraft 2″, I would be playing those games a lot as well, and the competitive games are found to be addicting.”

Bilek said he goes to GameStop and Wal-Mart to buy his games. He finds that going to Wal-Mart is cheaper for him, but would prefer GameStop for the used games. When he gets a game he likes to take price and the types of games he likes into consideration.

Bilek said video games have made him feel smarter.

“Honestly, they have made me a little smarter, because they teach you strategy,” Bilek said. “If you listen to the story, they have references to real life occurrences, history and a lot of things and I know a lot about guns because of “Rainbow Six: Vegas 2” and you learn the names of guns and storylines but it teaches you to think creatively, and approach them in a different manner.

Bilek said games have influenced him positively because it is a good way to interact and break the ice between meeting people. It provides something to talk about as well as a way to relieve stress, but has not been affected by the violent games out there like “Grand Theft Auto IV.”

“Violent games give you freedom,” Bilek said.

Bilek said he avoids addiction by completing games in moderation.

Video games have even helped him in the classroom on one rare occasion.

Aaron Gray, a freshman applied engineering major, said he spends upwards of over 12 hours a week playing games, because he said there’s nothing else to do.

Gray said he spent more time in high school playing games because he got his X-Box 360 and joined the military.

Gray said he finds war games addicting because of the violence, and violent war games and the military for him go hand in hand.

“I know the militaristic strategy of how to clear buildings and I find those games are easier for me,” Gray said. “I’ll notice the weapons in the game and if they’re not firing right or if it doesn’t look right, and if effects what weapon I’ll pick up while in-game.”

Gray said he credits the military for his addiction to violent war games.

“Since I’m just Guard, I’m not on the front lines every day and it helps me keep in tune with my tactical strategy,” Gray said.

Gray said games have had a minimal effect on him and has been able to keep focus on what is important, and said war games will affect his future in the military.

“The tactical nature and weapons have stuck with me, but the violent nature will be there regardless because of the natural tendency to kill people because of my role in the military,” Gray said.

Michael Lattimore, a senior political science major, said he does not spend as much time playing games because he sold his system.

Lattimore said he spent up to 25 hours a week when he had his game system and spent more time in high school, and was more into games when he was younger.

Lattimore said video games have influenced him because he is able to interact with other people online.

“You’re able to take yourself out of the real world,” Lattimore said. “It’s why people do a lot of things and it’s the biggest influence to do it in a fun and interactive way.”

Lattimore said the “Call of Duty” games have given him a slight addiction to games, and the franchise was the first time he ever played online gaming.

“The ability to play with other human opponents and teammates gives me that satisfaction to play games,” Lattimore said.

Lattimore said video games have indirectly taught him the intricacies of having an addiction and having passion for something like video games.

Adrian Pickett, a senior corporate communications major, said he spends anywhere from six to eight hours a week playing video games and before coming to college, he found himself playing video games more often.

Pickett said boredom and stress come into play when he plays video games.

“It’s one of my hobbies,” Pickett said. “It takes my mind off of things.”

Pickett said video games have motivated him to succeed within the classroom setting.

“To get my PS2, I had to get all As and Bs for that quarter and I did it,” Pickett said. “You can use it as motivation for kids, but it motivates me to think different ways and to get a different experience.”

Pickett said he finds himself playing the “Call of Duty” games more often than anything, but also finds he plays the newest games.

“I go through my phases,” Pickett said. “Any game I like, I’m on it for a while, especially the new games.”

Pickett said he has learned to think in different ways and gain better hand-eye coordination from playing games.

“Puzzle games and fast paced games teach you how to respond quickly and that can possibly transition into something else,” Pickett said.

Sam Coddington, a physics major, said he finds himself playing video games more on the weekends than anything.

Coddington said he played more in high school like anywhere from two to six hours per day, plus time on the weekends.

Coddington said video games affect his mind because he has forgotten to do certain things like homework and has missed phone calls.

“When I get sucked into a game, I tend to not remember anything else, plus I tend to smoke fewer cigarettes,” Coddington said.

Coddington said there are lots of independent games on the X-Box Live that he finds addicting.

“There are a ton of indie games out there that are more addicting than heroin,” Coddington said.

Coddington said though he has learned nothing worthwhile from playing video games, it has taught him to play video games better.

“I guess you could argue that some of the drawn out RPG games with killer stories teach you life lessons in some sort, but in the end, it’s just a video game and they’re fun to play,” Coddington said.

Jose Gonzalez can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected].