(By the way I'm not actually against all "escapism", just highlighting some questions that often go unasked) Do games lie? Are they a way of pretending that that reality does not exist, or is not 'real', in the same way that so many films avoid subjects such as premature death and illness? Are we guilty of hiding the truth behind a veil of myths, infinite lives and reloads? Is there value to the escapism we sell, or is it a less harmful equivalent to taking drugs? Are games merely a fantasy of winning? [edited by - Ketchaval on June 2, 2003 7:54:54 AM]

Well, games are about winning something. Meeting some sort of goal. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be games.

"I got so addicted to Monopoly, I had to go into rehab..."

Hmm.

It''s the interactivity and how the games fill our senses with sights and sounds that make them so involving.

The level of escapism depends on the individual. Long ago, I played games just to see what the new technology was doing. A few games sucked me in, but I made it out again, eventually.

EverQuest is a bad one for that.

Pretty much, yeah.

The point of games, for the most part, is to provide something that isn''t reality, where we can do something that we couldn''t do in real life... nuke Berlin, slice Martians in half, spy on the KGB, rule a kingdom, build a city, etc.

Let us form a manifesto for a new breed of game that will avoid all of the fakery, and reflect reality as it is !

What should our manifesto be? Feel free to contribute new rules and expose the deception at the root of our "entertainment".



Rule One
---------

1. No more saved games! The player cannot reload if they have made a mistake.

Rule 2. Handheld computers that display a 3D representation of the world around them, and as the player moves and turns, the view changes.

We would get a lot of exercise in FPS''s, that''s for sure. Try not to make maps with huge drops and body-moving updrafts...

Interesting topic, and one that concerns me as well. I think the very notion "game" leads to a certain connotation that what you play should only be about fun, winning, or escapism. But I worry about escapism, because really...it''s not healthy. At least the kind of escapism that most games have.

Getting away from the seriousness and stress of the real world is a necessity at times, but there''s different ways to relieve that stress. Taking a walk in a park, meditating, exercising, or even reading a non-fiction book, are all good ways of releasing that tension without "escaping".

To me, denial of the world we live in is probably one of the worst things we can do. To forget and simply have fun while ignoring certain issues is laziness at best, and irresponsibility at worst. To me, what makes a bad form of escapism is when we detach ourselves from the real world. When we no longer can empathize with what happens around us, when what we do makes us callous, cynical, jaded, or apathetic, then we have cut ourselves off from our purpose.

It''s funny how watching the Matrix Reloaded got me to thinking again about the concepts of purpose, meaning, and choice. We all have a choice to make when we design games. Do we do something that makes us forget about the real world, or do we do something that can be stimulating, educating, and exciting, while still making us realize that we have a responsibility to do as much as we can to understand ourselves, our world, and to help others?

If a game''s only end goal is to have fun by letting us "win", then it teaches us nothing, and it''s worthless in my opinion. Only if a game makes me think, only if it makes me question, only if it helps me understand myself will I think a game is worth the time I have invested in it. The only other exception are games which help you at certain skills, such as puzzle games or certain simulators in which case you can use the skills you learned in the game to the real world.

Games are not the only form of escapism. Pretty much any movie could be considered "escapism". We sit watching in a trance-like state, fully engrossed in the plight of the characters. (did you ever think it was weird that 100+ strangers can sit quietly and motionless, packed together for two hours?). You forget about the outside world. If you do find yourself thinking about work or bills or family during a movie, then it''s probably not a good movie.

Books too can be considered escapism. Haven''t you ever lost track of time reading a good book? Taking a vaction can be considered escapsim. And yes, drugs too. I''m sure that the desire to "escape" is probably the main reason why people get drunk (or stoned, or whatever).

Escapism is not necessarily bad. Life can be pretty tough, and it''s healthy to take a break once in a while. You know how they say "all work and no play.."

But obviously too much escapism is a bad thing. If it gets to the point where you are playing video games (or watching movies, etc) so much that you are losing touch with reality, and falling behind in school/work, then yes that is a problem. But it''s up to the player to know when to stop. Video games are not bad just because they are escapist.

I think you guys have an odd idea of what escapism actually is. Any form of recreational activity is by definition a form of escapism, no matter how much or how little fantasy is involved. By simply taking a break from our regular lives we are temporarily escaping from them. If a game does not offer that break, then it''s no longer a recreational activity, it''s just work.

quote:

---

Original post by Ketchaval
Do games lie? Are they a way of pretending that that reality does not exist, or is not ''real'', in the same way that so many films avoid subjects such as premature death and illness?

Are we guilty of hiding the truth behind a veil of myths, infinite lives and reloads?

Is there value to the escapism we sell, or is it a less harmful equivalent to taking drugs?

Are games merely a fantasy of winning?

---

Needs clarification. All games or just the games where we take on roles (i.e. excluding sports, board games, card games, etc.)? Is escapism refering to escaping the routines we face every day (like work) or escaping to another reality (taking on a role of someone you cannot or will not, for whatever reason, take on in real life)?

Really, the answers to your questions depend on exactly what you mean.

Dauntless: Ideas you get from seeing movies generally aren''t your best (even "The Matrix".

The point of a game is to escape reality. How much fun would a perfectly realistic game be?