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I’m not one for playing video games, but because I had a lot
of time over the summer I played Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite. I can say it isn’t a new experience since it
is just a story in a different media.
Still, many people are dedicated to video games and use it as an escape,
so I wanted to think about what is appealing about things like this
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Good game |
I’m more of a reader, but if you look at the books I read,
they are mostly sci-fi and fantasy novels.
This trend started Freshman year of high school and hasn't really
stopped since. Is the huge interest in
video games not a similar escapism as I do with books? With the great 3D and HD
quality of video games, they create a digital fantasy that is on par with the
imagination I use when reading books.
When you think about it, nowadays a fantasy book or video
game is successful because of its world building. Probably the first would be the Lord of the
Rings series. It isn't just a fantasy
novel, but it created a whole universe with maps, history, even languages (that
people actually speak at conventions…). It is a formation of a new world that
one can jump into, destroying the self in this reality for a brief moment.
I doubt anybody could truly escape reality playing old games
like Pong or Tetris, but modern games like Bioshock are so good at world
building and immersion that people spend a huge amount of their time
online. Think about the hours people
spend on World of Warcraft, almost as much as they work or go to school. This generation is immersed in the digital
world so deeply that it is hard to ignore.
And it will definitely not stop there. Google glass and virtual reality will take it
to the next level, blending reality and fantasy. In a short story of Sword Art Online, one of
the characters, after coming out of virtual reality, said the first thing she
feels is “the weight of my physical body.” Will there always be such an obvious
marker between reality and fantasy? Will we ever return to the real world? Or
just as people want to escape into fantasy, want to escape into reality?
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Our Future? |
Our era is a very scientific era. You ask someone what the world is made up of
and they will probably say atoms. This
materialism helps scientists and philosophers answer questions about the
world. Emotions? Chemicals in the brain.
God? Doesn't have a physical embodiment and has no place in this idea. The world thinks in this materialist view
that has spread through globalization
Idealism is more about consciousness. It is the artistic expressionism to the not so
metaphorical realism. Just as the famous
“this is not a pipe,” Idealism support
stories and thoughts as reality instead of physical particles. It is hard to not see this idea taking root
in the arts, such as fantasy. Just look
at Marvel moves, Harry Potter, etc. and think about the genuine love and
influence those things have created in people.
If I dare say, it is similar to religion, which creates genuine love and
influence in people through an idea.
Though the world is materialist, isn't some of it as fantastical
as anything else? Private jets, country
clubs, penthouses, those are all real yet not.
They are not part of my reality and as good as not existing. There is only your daily existence. Working and fighting for the things you want
or need, with no divine plan. To be
ironic and quote the bible as I talk about materialism “for dust you are, and
to dust you shall return.”
The material world is harsh, so I see why people escape into
the fantasy world. Invest in a world
where you are a hero, in a world based on you, where there is a single plot
driving you forward. The real world is
mostly ruled by the powerful and wealthy.
We are just beings that come and go and that can only grab so much on
this Earth. Maybe watching heroes in
movies or playing as one in video games isn't a bad thing. The limits of society are gone and we are
allowed to be free. Maybe being in that
alternate world will allow us to learn something about ourselves, that can empower
ourselves to do better in the real world.
As Damien Walter said, “The world is not made of atoms. It is made of the
stories we tell about atoms.” Escapism allows us to find that story and
influence our own life.