Gaming and real life perception

My son and I were just talking about this. I think it's interesting that there is a point in time, probably an evolution that finally hit the point where there is no turning back, where video games are a common reference point in life. Hmm I really can't think how to word this...

I'll just give the examples. He was telling me about a dream he had and he said he realized he was in a dream because he realized if he ran in real life the way he was in the dream, there would be no way he could be going that long without being out of breath. Then he said it was like running in a video game. 100 years ago no one would know what that meant, but now? I think most people would know exactly what it means.

One time I needed to read something far away and my son was driving the car. I said, "zoom in," then immediately realized it was due to me playing on the computer (I like MMOs) and I would use the mouse wheel to zoom in and see something closer. I guess in my mind he was the one in control since he was driving and I equated it with him having the control to zoom in.

He told me about a time when he didn't wear black socks much, usually wore white. When he was coming down the stairs and saw the black on his feet, his first thought was " the textures didn't load yet." Of course that was a fraction of a second to think it, then a fraction to realize it and say to himself, "No, you freakin moron, that's black socks!"

So, I thought it would be some fun to see if others have similar things to share like this. Like, where we mix up game life and real life and the way gaming has influenced our thinking in these automatic ways. I still feel like I don't know how to put it in words and I'm still trying to figure out what to title the thread for clarity. hahaha

a reply to: Ellie Sagan

About twelve years ago...walking past a trash can of a certain coloring...my first thought was that it was a node of Copper from World of Warcraft.

Now, playing Fallout 4 like crazy.... I am constantly seeing things in real world that evoke the same thoughts and reactions that I have when I see similar things in the game.

Video games can be no less real than going to the grocery store, IMHO.

a reply to: Ellie Sagan

I hear you.

I'm a car nut. I played GTA for nearly a year straight. It doesn't matter which one, it's the same.

I love driving. I don't care what it is that I'm driving, from American four door boat, to muscle car, to four wheel drive, to sport coup. I enjoy pushing the vehicle to it's slippery limits.

I loved the physics in GTA. They nailed it.

It got to the point where I considered running down pedestrians. Then I realized how wrong that was. I had to quit that game after that.

I'm sure glad I got rid of that negativity.

I just play FPS now.

a reply to: Ellie Sagan

Wow, I was just talking to my wife about this the other day. We both enjoy video games and I noted how our parents who did not grow up with them, in some ways, despise them and see them as mere mindless distractions. Whereas our young nieces and nephews are at home playing games with their aunt and me when they come to say.

Our Niece told us she "hated staying with grandma" cause it was boring and that we were fun and cool. It was the video games that made the difference.

But this is true of all technology and humans become more comfortable with it as time goes by. If you were a child of the late 70's and from then own Computers, video games, personal recorders, cell phones, and social media are all things that you have come to accept as natural. For the older generations, they are abstractions and alien.

I think there is a great Science Fiction story that covers this idea, but with Alien contact. Childhood's End by Arthur C Clark is a wonderful story about how an Alien mothership shows up and just sit in the sky above Earth. When it first shows up it creates panic and mistrust. Most people see it as a danger and hate the craft, but then after several generations of humans pass and the ship becomes a thing of wonder, so when the Aliens finally show up they are meet with little resistance... got to read it find out what happens next.

Anyway, Cool idea.
S&F

a reply to: antiguaEstrella

LOL your Warcraft reference made laugh. Yeah the Fallout thing.. I don't play, but I've watched my kids and I do remember my son saying stuff referencing that game. Like seeing things in real life and saying "if this was in Fallout it could be used for .. " whatever you build in it.

never fails, every time I stand in the road, have a car stop, yank them out, steal their car, then run them over, jumping out to collect their money then driving off on the wrong side of the road at 100 for a few miles, I always feel silly and remember thats probably not good to do just because I do it also in gta.

Its always soo awkward, but I laugh about it after...and on the plus side, I do get a new car and some pocket cash.





Real answer:
So I used to play secondlife a lot..like..every waking moment. I went away for a few days and when half asleep, I kept trying to teleport back home due to not wanting to be without internet..would wonder what was going on, figured lag..then woke up a bit more and realized I cant teleport irl...very disappointing.

a reply to: Bobaganoosh

Wow that's interesting, good thing you never acted on the urge. I can see why it would get in your head though if you played a lot.

a reply to: hubrisinxs

I'm gonna check out that story. Also, the thing about the parents kinda hating them and seeing them as useless distractions, my husband is like that. My kids and I like gaming, but he can't see it for what it is. I see it the same way as him wanting to relax and sit and watch t.v. or a movie. It's a distraction, an escape, a way to relax. I don't know why he seems to hate them.

On another note, I can't even remember how many times my kids would tell me something about the real world that I didn't know, and I'd be interested and ask where they learned it. In different video games! In a lot of ways, I see gaming as superior entertainment to watching t.v. (I do my share of both), because it engages the mind more.

a reply to: SaturnFX

LMAO I can't add anything to this, but thanks for the laugh!

a reply to: Ellie Sagan

"Textures didn't load right"... hah!

I remember my first day at college, I had a class at the top of the hill and the view was amazing. It was a clear day and I could see the mountain range with such intense clarity. My spouse was with me and I turned to her and said "This draw distance is amazing!"

Since then, I've used that occasionally to reference clear, open horizons.

originally posted by: Bobaganoosh
a reply to: Ellie Sagan

It got to the point where I considered running down pedestrians. Then I realized how wrong that was. I had to quit that game after that.

I'm sure glad I got rid of that negativity.

I just play FPS now.

Weird, I've always viewed FPS as constant violence, with very little context in most cases. When screwing around in GTA, it's only as violent or immoral as I make it. I'll have my daughter with me sometimes and I'll just drive around, obeying the traffic laws and go shopping. I can't do that with those Call of Halo types of games.

a reply to: Abysha

LOL that one is funny too!

Sort of related, some of the games I play or have played sometimes have really amazing landscapes and views. I will just sit my character down and look all around, just hangin out, by myself, enjoying the view, hahahaha. I am the queen of screenshots too, like taking pictures of the places I see!

a reply to: Ellie Sagan

Many will say, "Oh it's just a game Ellie, everybody knows the difference between games and reality". But I see that you have misgivings. So do I.
It's how we are training our brains, setting those neural connections on how to react and respond to stimuli that come to our senses. From what I understand, this is not as cut and dried as some wish it to be.

Decades ago before "Pong" the first video game I was in college and we used to play a game. It was called Bull#. A card game that was similar to liar's dice. The object was to combine a mixture of lies and truths about the cards you held in your hand AND to listen to the other players and discern when they were and when they were not telling the truth. If you thought they were lying, you called Bull# as quickly as possible to beat out other players and catch the liar in a lie. It was not uncommon that when the game or games were over and people were off and away to find that they were in a denying mode and such things like driving down the street was accompanied with calling Bull# while approaching a red light or seeing a sign saying turn right to get to the freeway and calling Bull# and wanting to turn left. Now of course this was fleeting, I never did run a red light or turn the other direction but the impulse was there, established from the intensity of the game.

Another was game was Killer. Those around the table would all get a card, one of which was the A of spaces. This person was the killer and would kill the others at the table by winking with one eye at then when eye contact was made. The object was to wink without anyone else seeing it while they all tried to discern who was the killer. This led to a lot of 'not looking at anyone else s face for fear that that person could be the killer. Once these games were finished, we noticed how as we moved on to other things to do that there was a tendency to not want to look at the other peoples eyes for fear of being killed.

These were group games played with playing cards but the intensity of them was enough to cause a flood over from neural connections established for the game, into real life. Video games are much more intense and for the most part not played as a group of people, they are played individually.

I too know the tug of after playing a video driving game of going out for a real drive and thinking that if I take this next corner to causally and end up crashing that the whole thing would just 'reset' and I could try it again.

Al these 'minor' impulses I guess may not be something to worry about in those of us of enough mental fortitude to have our real world experiences over-ride these virtual world impulses, but I am not so sure about those who do not have this mental strength to subconsciously differentiate between virtual and real.

a reply to: TerryMcGuire

That's very interesting what you related about your experiences with the non video game stuff.

I agree with you that most people would not allow themselves to act on the impulses, but sadly some might not have that filter.

a reply to: Ellie Sagan

I view work as a video game.

Part of my job requires me to make a lot of food and everyday I watch as I make it, and it goes flying out the door like 10 dollar bills, and I am looking to beat the high score.

It makes what would be a rather rough job a bit less rough,
more entertaining, pushes me to make more profit for the company,
and when I get that high score,
I'll try to top it again.

a reply to: Ellie Sagan

I agree that video games are much like television, being that their primary purpose is to entertain and relax us, but I feel that educational Television will engage the mind more than Grand Theft Auto. Now, there are very educational video games, but let's face it, no one really likes to play them... I would much rather watch a documentary than learn using the often childish games made to teach us things.

Also, don't forget that just like the internet, books, television and other forms of media, video games can provide false information. Still, it is interesting that the generation gap is played out so obviously in your household. It reminds me of the opposite of my brother/sister-in-law. My bro loves games and it something we share, his wife though does not get the point, but is most willing to veg out to Dr. Who(nothing wrong there) for a few hours.

Last, I would like to direct you to the works of Marshall McLuhan.

The subject that would occupy most of McLuhan's career was the task of understanding the effects of technology as it related to popular culture, and how this in turn affected human beings and their relations with one another in communities. Because he was one of the first to sound the alarm, McLuhan has gained the status of a cult hero and "high priest of pop-culture"

McLuhan noted that media would become more "active", just as you describe, but he points out this is not always a good thing. The more active a media becomes the more influence it may take over our ability to perceive and understand messages. That is Advertising and Marketing companies have to work less to hide their messages, they know you are so engaged they can just lay out anything they want you to believe and off you go.