Posted on November 12, 2008 - by Lance Ong

The Good of Games

Welcome back!

Xbox 360 Wireless Controller

I am the proud owner of a Second Hand Xbox 360.  Owning this box has made me change my view about video games. I used to belong to the camp which believes that we should engage with real life rather than virtual life to overcome what French cultural theorist, Jean Baudrillard, calls Hyperreality.

Hyperreality occurs when a person’s consciousness is unable to distinguish reality from fantasy. Often people get so engrossed in their video games that the virtual world becomes more real to the person than the real world. They live and breathe the game while their real body deteriorates. Sounds scary?

I used to think that way, but today I see the wisdom in having a fantasy life.

Regular life seems to have evolved an invisible linear path set in place by society. You spend your birth until mid twenties studying; your late twenties to fifties working hard and raising a family; your late sixties onwards retiring and relaxing.

In one word, it can be: BORING.

The question is… what if you don’t want to live this linear path?

You might be ostracized by your family and relatives if you’re of studying age and not going to school; working age and still bumming around; marrying age and still single.

So you seek an escape from real life? Then games are an answer to your prayers. The fantasy world can provide you the fun and variety you seek while still allowing you to conform to the linear path dictated by society.

And it’s not all just fun and games…. Modern game design is smart and can require you to think. It trains up a goal-oriented, objective-driven and mission-based mindset. Now if you think about it, how many of us are really goal-oriented, objective-driven, and mission-based in our real lives?

How often do we just slack and go with the flow?

Many of today’s best games are designed with an open world concept which simulates real life. Go to the bar, go to the Laundromat – you can walk anywhere; no one will bother you. It’s not until you take up a Mission. Then it becomes a game because you now have objectives to accomplish. You can succeed or fail.

Drawing from this and applying to real life, we might realize that there is nothing we really need to do in life. Only that which you choose to set as a mission and objective for yourself.

Society’s invisible linear path often tries to set these objectives for us. You hear things like, “Go get your degree, then get a job, then get married, work hard, raise your kids….”

But these extrinsic goals fail unless you answer the honest question: “What do I want to do?”

If you know the answer to that, the difference now is you start living your life as a game you actually enjoy playing.

Now apart from this mission-based mindset, games can also build up your courage and tenacity. I was trying this Xbox game called Dead Space and it’s so well done, it feels like you’re actually there…. This new genre of ultra-realistic horror games has enough shock to make a grown man cringe.

There are some arguments against video games, namely that games cause poor results in school because the children can’t concentrate, and for working adults, it takes time away from real work (meaning that one should be making money rather than playing games).

These are all valid concerns. Games can be engaging to the point of hyperreality. This is where we need to take some practical measures by giving ourselves a time limit when we play our games. Too much of a good thing is bad. Too much rich and delicious food will cause obesity. Too much studying can cause your brain to haemorrhage like the student who died of stroke while cramming for exams.

Everything requires balance and moderation. BALANCE is the key to ‘having your cake and eating it too’ (half in your stomach and half in your hand). Nothing should be done to an extreme.

On a final note, I hope you are able to see the positive side of games, despite the negatives which arise from extreme use. This is like saying, “I hope you can see the positive side of eating, despite the danger of over-eating.”

You get my drift.  ;p