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Introduction Whether we live in our homeland or migrate to another part of the world, our ethnicity, our values, our perception and outlook towards issues and situations are deeply influenced by the culture under which we have born and brought up. Various studies have agreed upon this fact that every single word, action and thoughts coming out of our mind are a mere representation of our culture. Whether it’s the marketing or promotional activities, emergence of a new product and point of sales of an entity, eating habits, work culture, lifestyle or leisure activities, traces of culture can be seen everywhere. However, it’ll be interesting to brainstorm if online games too are influenced by culture. Culture trailing into online games Lately, online games have become a ‘buzz’ these days. The popularity and hype over these games are quite evident with the scorching numbers shown by the statistics that states that a huge chunk of young people all around the world surf internet to play online games. Gaming giants have made special efforts to prepare a fun filled package of online games for their users and there is stark evidence that the online games have heavy influence of the culture of the country where these are played. But for those who play these games regularly must have noticed that the characters, storyline, sound effects, language are highly improvised and molded as per the culture of the country. For e.g. for Indian gamers the sound effects might be influenced by the Indian music and sometimes the character’s attire is as per the country’s norms, the language and dialect of the character is also region specific. Certain habits, keywords are also installed in the game with a view to strike a chord with the gamers. Positive Vs Negative Influence of Culture It is believed that culture can never be negative since it is the heritage of a country or the identity of a region. A place, a person is known because of its culture. Similarly, the influence of culture on the online games is positive since the similarity in the patterns, behavior, sound, norms represented in the games will help the young gamers to associate themselves quite easily with the character and hence, increasing the fun quotient and at the same time these cultural influence will reinforce the importance of certain things in the minds of the young gamers. However over emphasizing culture in the online games may take away attention from the game itself as the users from the region might not understand certain things and there is a possibility that they will quit playing these games. Also there is high possibility that these may force the games to become region specific only. After looking at the pros and cons of the importance or influence of culture in the gaming zone one can conclude that it is a universal fact that games will have cultural traces since, people who make these games are also a part of this society and so do the players who play these games. About the author Author Bio: Noel is a freelance writer and a thorough reader of the latest online technologies. He humbly admits to be a thorough addict and user of online games.
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