Many people believe we play games to escape reality, to forget about our physical lives and act out different personalities onscreen and online. This may be true, to an extent. But past this shallow perception is a greater, more honest truth. Games aren’t separate from reality, but they are an integral part of ours, and theirs, in the form of advancing technologies, quality of life and creative pursuits.
This may be because after two hours the caffeine in my system is reaching dangerously low levels and I have to get up, pour myself a glass full of Mountain Dew and I consequently forget which way the controller should face. But that’s only happened once (or twice), so I think my aversion to day-long bouts of Call of Duty lies with the game itself. Mainly, it’s too real.
I realize that is the point of Call of Duty. Treyarch, Infinity Ward, or whoever doesn’t spend millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours trying to make the industry’s most successful war game look like a pixilated mess of smiling stick figures who bleed rainbows when they’re shot. I don’t fault the development studio for being good at its job, but the fact that Treyarch has created a billion-dollar franchise with some of the most lifelike depictions of mass murder seen in gaming says a lot about what we want, and what we are willing to handle.We are not all sociopathic serial killers one bad Monday away from turning the virtual into reality. I don’t see our craving for realistic graphics, even in shooter games, as an automatic blood-soaked flag. We are interested in pushing the technology we have to its most beautiful breaking point, and then further in the resultant evolution of our machines. It is a pure, mechanical fascination on our end, and war games have historically delivered on this front, whether Eastern, Western or Cold.
We might be insensitive bastards. Or, we might strive for complete honesty in games that already handle extreme subjects like war, in both the realism of our graphics and the timeliness of the enemy’s name.
To desire realistic war games is to desire advancing technology. Personally, I’ll yearn for perfectly-shaded war zones and less clipping in my grenade toss for about two hours, and then I’ll be content to play Tetris for a while. Old-school hardcore.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Units Sold Worldwide (Jan. 2011): 19.95 million
DREAMS OF THE UNDEAD
The world is filled with non-believers—those who think the zombie apocalypse is a joke, merely a ridiculous plot device for fictional horror movies and Halloween heathens across the globe.
We’ll see who’s laughing when the fictional movies turn into documentaries and no church, synagogue, mosque or temple is safe from the horde.
Still, for most players zombie games are an opportunity to explore fantasy scenarios while still looking like a badass, especially in the more gory shooters like Dead Space and Resident Evil.
Even those who don’t think the apocalypse is coming—idiots—kind of want it to. Don’t lie. It’d be awesome and you know it. Free reign to forget about your job and your responsibilities, stockpile an arsenal of high-powered weapons and survive until you’ve killed every single one of the menacing, inhuman monsters and can focus on rebuilding the human race.
We want our zombie games gruesome because that’s how the apocalypse would be—will be—and our survival instincts are telling us to be prepared. The more bloody, vomitous and cheese grater skin-peeling the zombie games are, the safer we’ll be.
If we continue following our inherent longing for lifelike zombie games, when the infection hits I predict the only people left will be gamers and polar bears.
Left 4 Dead 2 Units Sold Worldwide (Feb. 2010): 2.9 million
FANTASY MMORPG
I’ve been to enough nerd conventions in my life to know there are plenty of people who wish they had been born as elves, warlocks, mages, gnomes, trolls and all sorts of brooding beasts and cuddly creatures.
Games like World of Warcraft are the epitome of fantasy, for obvious reasons, but they also display the enormous impact gaming can have on our realities.
MMORPGs require massive amounts of time out of players’ real lives, so much so they can become part of our daily routines, reasons to save up extra money and wake up in the morning. They are fun, forever. And ever. And ever.
As a non-MMO-er, I can see the appeal of WoW in the game’s predictability and reliability. It will always be there, another world of escapism with systems and friends much like this one, only better. One of the main reasons I don’t play any MMO is because I don’t trust myself to start. I like doing things until they are done, and something like WoW can’t satisfy that accomplishment within my foreseeable lifetime.
MMORPGs are fantasy separate from yet inherently linked with reality, more so than other types of games. They can be as perfect as we want, as benign or evil as we wish. They offer seemingly infinite levels of character, action and relationship. They are entire worlds at our fingertips.
They really aren’t that different from reality, after all.
World of Warcraft Games and Expansions Sold Worldwide (Jan. 2011): 29.62 million
So, what is your perception of realism, escapism, and the reasons why we game? What types of experiences do you crave the most and how do they impact your passion for the medium? How do they impact your real life? Let’s hear it below!
A very well written article. I’ll come back with a more wordy response when I get back from my school!
when I go to play a game, i first look at the trailer. For me this needs to show elements of the story and the story has to look decent. For example the new killzone 3 trailer shows the story and builds up the anticipation for the game, quite nicely.
the experiences i crave are cinematic ones. Such as God of War 3 or Mass Effect 2 with their amazing graphics, camera work and music.
Also I think its important how games are represented and how they connect with real life. Using medal of honour as an example with initial idea of using the word “taliban” to describe the enemy. I think this bridged the gap between virtual and real life too much which broke the sense of escapism. People want this when they play a game and to have something which is so real, destroys the barrier between virtual and real life.
We play games for the same reason we ride a roller coaster,we want to see what it feels like to be frightened to death, with out the consequences.
games are a more “improved” versions of an amusement park,
instead of driving to the park,getting the ticket,staying in line, we sit in our couch,with a bottle of cold bear and play games like dead space/COD.
How ever MMOs are a different topic, on top of giving us an excitement from playing them, they mostly transfer us to a forgotten world, a world we all used to visit in our imagination,when we were kids.
Oh video game reality ^_^. I can give a very simple explanation of why I love video games, and MMORPG in specific. Yesterday, when I sat down once more to start playing Final Fantasy XI, again, just the background music hit me with a wave of Nostalgia. It was like visiting a real place that I’ve not been to in many years. The controls, though very different from any other video game I’ve played, were second nature. My keyboard immediately became an extension of my arm, and the rest of my bedroom dimmed out dimmed out as my full focus was given to the monitor. In order to move, I just had to think about moving – same for talking, attacking, trading – It wasn’t a button press, just an intent and a result. 5 minutes after first logging in, I met up with an IRL friend in the game who I literally haven’t seen in years, and it was like talking to him in person again, but in a world we are both comfortable in. Then I saw the clock, realized I had to get to sleep, and logged off.
Gaming and real life? well it doesn’t effect me that much simply bcoz there is one thing that keeps my head right is responsibilities.
everyone should have some but if you someone doesnt have any example live with there perents and dont worry about bills dont have friends etc
..gaming will become a habit but if not that what else can it be ..drugs? ..now said that, would that be a bigger problem? anyway..
there is another problem people that some live on benefits and are unemployed.. here in UK thats a really freaking huge issue, i know few guys that who dont do anything but play on 360 or WoW and government is paying for them every 2 weeks pretty decent money for not doing anything..
Also there is that sickness in Japan i saw documentary about some time ago that only effects male audience. what happen is they get depressed and they lock themselves in there room and dont come out for years and just play games on and on and on.. nonstop. that only occurs in japan tho
well what can i say i think some say its parents/family fault that allows young kid/teenager getting addicted to gaming.. i think its true im big part of it but rest i think depends of environment that kid is growing up think role models/friends
Speaking for myself, as a gamer i don’t play game to escape reality. For me its like watching movie, the only difference is interactivity and immersion. Gaming allows me to explore an alternate reality. Most single-player experience don’t allow us influence the outcome of the came a game and for most of the part our personalities has no bearing what so ever on the game. When i am confronted with a choice in a game which includes a morality game mechanic, i often react the same way i do in real life. I don’t play MMOs but my guess is that it the as other social networking application like facebook, except in am alternate reality.
I play games because they are fun, entertaning and provide me with safe (for health) thrills.
Every person has a different view on fun. I gladly read a book because reading an entertaining story is fun for me, but I know some other person would rarely put itself to an endevour of reading a book.
If I read a book, am I escaping from reality? Maybe.
Do I read books only to escape from reality? Most definitely no.
Same thing is with movies, video games and other things people consider fun.
Maybe having fun is escaping reality but I’m sure having fun makes a more enjoyable reality
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Here are some of the reasons why I play a certain genre:
Action (FPS, TPS …) – we all love watching a movie where a good guy bravely defeats evil foes and saves the day, with games you can be that hero and experience the thrills of narrowly escaping certain death (while being in the warmness of your safe home)
Adventure (RPGs included) – without video games, people loved reading books (some still do). Book stories could be really interesting and coherent without much plot-holes. Now, we can influence those stories and outcomes. You can safely make wierd decisions because doing something you wouldn’t usually do is fun (and there is no fear of doing something terribly wrong)!
Overcoming a challenge using wits can also be fun.
Strategy – another game of wits. I wonder why chess was so popular (too bad it’s not as popular today)
Another significant thing that Video Games have and other forms of entertainment might not have – competition. In this age of internet it is possible to play with people across the globe and everyone loves competing.
Gaming certainly isn’t escaping reality per se, it is part of our reality. As much as food is a need of a human being, so is entertainment. If it weren’t so, we wouldn’t have sports, boardgames, books, movies …
Many phylosophers discuss how a man should balance between mindless fun and rational thought. And as Aristotle says, moderation is golden!
Another thing worth mentioning is, one can learn while being entertained. From my experience in games I learned basic English, economy, facts about WW2, logical deduction etc.
To sum it up.
Video games shouldn’t be treated much differently than any other form of entertainment. It is parents’ job to teach their children when comes entertainment and when there needs work to be done.
The problem is that new technology is an enigma to parents so they let their kids be in front of a screen all day long or they forbid any contact with this new technology. Both decisions are horrible.
Games like Call of Duty, and Battlefield: Bad Company definitely push for an overwhelming sense of realism but are still far from being too realistic. I’d love to see the soldier with a silenced and scope equipped M-16 and also is carrying 3 flash bangs, 3 grenades, a rocket launcher, a combat knife, and has 3 government issued perks. He simply doesn’t exist and in actual combat wouldn’t run head first into an open fire fight. I always know i’m playing a game regardless but I feel the separation between realism and fantasy is a necessary existence in games. Still though it seems too many developers have a problem balancing those aspects but that is another story for another day.
Going right into the experiences I desire within a game, that is easy, I desire them all. I love the medium that is video games and I dabble in every genre. Variety is king.
As for how video games impact my life, video games are certainly an integral part of my life but they don’t diminish my life experiences or alter my concept of reality.
Tetris was a pretty harsh game that shook me to the core. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to play it for any extended amount of time… XD
No seriously. ANYWAY!
Pushing repressed memories aside for the moment, I treat games like I would treat any book, movie, or other media that I’m interested in. I’m interested in a great story. I want to be take a walk in another person/thing’s shoes. Because frankly real life is a boring game (though if I were filthy rich I’d probably be singing a different tune).
Contrary to what some media has state about games adversely affecting people’s connection to reality, sometimes, it’s all too easy to separate the fantasy of a game’s story from the reality that is me sitting on my couch pressing buttons. After all, when you end up feeling regret that what you’re seeing ISN’T reality, suspension of disbelief is pretty much gone.
Growing up in the 80s you’d pretend to be a member of GIJOE going on an adventure with action figures. You’d use whatever imagination you had and you’d weave together a tale to keep you busy for the afternoon.
Video games for me allows me to do the same thing. However my imagination is strung together by an interest in the game first and the ability to interact in that world second. In it’s simplest form I believe that virtual gaming is another way to go somewhere else and play.
It allows me to suspend my disbelief in all things imaginary and perform feats impossible for me to accomplish reasonably and just go and friggen play. Some people have smokes or shopping and some of us have gaming [edit] oh and ice cream sammiches I’d die without them. That’s why I like SONYS Make.Believe campaign