Virtual Worlds

Before I begin, let me present a few scenarios.

Scenario 1 – Medieval Fantasy. The world is in chaos. Humanity is in peril. The world is ruled by Might and Magic wherein Humans, Orcs, Dwarves, Elves and Demons are just some of the different races that are in a constant battle for supremacy when you suddenly realize that a great calamity is about to befall, which will bring an end to life as we know it, and begin a reign a chaos. The world now needs a hero, a warrior of justice, someone who can unite the warring factions and prevent this great evil from destroying the world. You are that hero. How you accomplish your quest is totally up to you. It is an epic task, and your choices will determine the future of mankind. Are you up to the challenge?

Scenario 2 – War Torn Past/Present. You are an elite soldier/secret agent/commando fighting against an oppressive megalomaniacal regime hell bent on world domination. You, single handedly/with a select few, have been entrusted with the task of making sure that your enemies do not succeed. Failure is not an option. Deep within enemy territory, you may have to assassinate rebel leaders/sabotage critical installations/destroy enemy bases/rescue hostages or steal vital intelligence. Your achievements may never be known to the world, but you know that your acts would save countless lives. Do you think you can do it?

Scenario 3 – Alien Invasion. An ancient relic has been discovered which suddenly became active as scientists started experimenting on it, and before you know it a fleet of Alien spaceships emerge on the horizon and they don’t seem to be here to exchange pleasantries. Within a few months, the world is in chaos. Humans are on the verge of extinction. You are one of the few remaining soldiers of the resistance. The fate of humans lies in your hands. Your mission is simple - Hit the aliens, and hit them hard. You are outnumbered, technologically outclassed and reinforcements are non-existent. The odds are stacked heavily against you. Probability of success is almost zero. The situation is hopeless, just the way you like it.

Scenario 4 – Being God. Maybe you have a much larger perspective, and you don’t want to be a small cog of a large machine. You wish to be all powerful, you want to control. Create or Destroy, Good or Evil, that is your choice. You could be a compassionate god, loved and respected by your followers, or you could be belligerent and ruthless, forcing your minions to cower in fear. You could do what you want without any fear, threatened only by other gods, in case you overstep the boundaries. The world is in your finger tips, and you can shape its destiny as you please.

Scenario 5 – Corporate Giant. You are the head of a giant corporation and you can create your own empire in the sector of transportation/oil/entertainment/real estate/automobiles or any other sector you can think of. You could design and run your own amusement park and customize the rides according to your preference or you could be controlling an entire transport organization and maintain and manage airports or railways. You might just consider yourself an automobile giant and could be designing and creating cars, competing with rival corporations to emerge on top.

Scenario 6 – Global Conquest. Your county has been caught off guard and a surprise invasion has begun. There is total chaos as the enemy war machine rolls on deeper into your territory, leaving behind a wake of destruction. Your objectives are three fold, defend, reclaim, and conquer. Once you repel the enemy from your lands, you must invade their country in order to ensure that they do not make the same mistake in future. Build an army, prepare a battle plan, and crush the enemy. You know the objective, you have your resources. The honour of your country is at stake, fight for glory.

Scenario 7 – You are a paddle. You float from side to side and your only purpose is to keep a ball bouncing. If the ball falls, you fail. There are objects floating above which need to be destroyed by the bouncing ball. You get power ups from time to time to aid you in your cause. Your quest is almost endless as the floating objects keep changing.

I could go on and on with the different scenarios as there are infinite possibilities. There is a certain charm about fiction, which is why most of us are often influenced by movies, cartoons, comic books, novels and any other source which provides an alternate reality. I know that after reading a good book or watching a movie I have wished that I was a superhero, detective, fighter pilot, race car driver, sniper, sorcerer or many other personas that have been depicted. For a person to find himself in some of the scenarios is absolutely impossible, while almost all of them are extremely improbable. Humans are highly ambitious and aspiration driven creatures who strive to achieve something extra. I think most of us dream of being heroes, and am sure everyone makes castles in the air.

There is a very good reason why fiction is so popular. It gives people a channel to escape into someone else’s world. And the stories that leave an impact are the ones in which you can associate with one of the characters. I am sure most of us would have wanted to be the stars of the movies that we see, not for the fame and fortune, but for the adventure that is promised.

I know this has been an extremely long introduction, but this brings us to the point of my post, computer games. It is not a secret that I love playing computer games, and I have been hooked on to them ever since I got my first computer back in 1997, and I consider myself to be pretty good at them as well. Some people don’t really enjoy playing games too much, and there are multiple reasons behind it, but for me playing a game is like living a movie. There is a certain charm in living out an adventure where there are no repercussions if you fail or leave it midway. Also, having the ability to cheat at times to get out of tricky situations is a bonus.

It is very easy to get immersed in the game world. I know I might never really be able to afford a garage full of gorgeous supercars, and if and when I actually do, I am sure I won’t drive them the way I drive in the games that feature them. I remember playing games where the barricades were more of speed breakers and the objective would be to hit them at such an angle, so that the loss in speed is minimized. Braking and avoiding barricades or navigating turns was a thought that seemed too absurd to actually implement.

There is a similar case when I play the shooters that are oh-so-popular and so much fun. I wouldn’t really want to kill anyone in real life, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t imagine how my surroundings, (especially the quadrangle in Manipal) would feel in case it was a map in a deathmatch. Games made me develop an interest in weaponry, especially guns, and specifically sniper rifles. It might be wrong but it sure is fun, lying prone on the ground and firing a single muted shot to take out an unsuspecting target hundreds of meters away. I would actually love to own some of these weapons, though what I would do with them is something that is completely unknown. The downside of such violent games is also quite evident. I have started to believe that depiction of violence, murder etc has a desensitising effect on people, so that they no longer exhibit the normally expected reactions like shock, sadness, disgust when they come across some situations in real life. The realistic depiction of mutilation, decapitation, massacres, which in a sense glorifies violence, is just a ploy to earn money and ratings, but I doubt if it induces violent acts. Only a tiny fraction of individuals with peanut sized brains would play a game and then actually go out killing people.

It is so much fun being so many characters, from soldiers to pilots to astronauts and aliens. Gods, demons, superheroes, villains, you could be a character from any country, any civilization, any era, and in some cases, any species as well. Reality is not a constraint and the only limiting factor is the imagination of the developers, and well technology to translate the imagination into reality. One doesn’t always need to be righteous, and can satisfy his dark side as well, there are games available that allow one to be a tyrannous demon lord, or a thief/assassin, you can also be a megalomaniacal supervillain, complete with a dormant volcano for a secret lair and a giant laser keeping the world hostage.

The best thing about playing games is that you can save and pause an adventure at any moment. The worst possible thing that can happen is that you may fail a few times or get bored, but no one cares if you give up. Of course, it is very hard to leave a game midway, no matter how difficult it might be. The only case when one normally quits is if the game is rotten. You can also have multiple adventures and you are almost always assured of a good ending in which you succeed, although there might be multiple twists in the tale. There is a huge drawback in case the game ends and the storyline doesn’t, which means you have to wait for a while for a sequel to be released.

Games have developed a lot over the years from the silly DDave and Cat to the current marvels of technology where linearity is becoming a thing of the past and your actions control the story with no fixed endings. There are also games that are played online and are endless, so one is free to play as long as they want. I strongly believe that games provide fuel to develop a much richer imagination because when you play a game, you actually experience the outcome of another human beings imagination, and because you get the feeling that you are in control, it is a much more immersive experience than watching a movie. I really think that the end result is a richer, more hyperactive imagination, which might border on being a little twisted, but it gives a fresher perspective to a lot of things.

People might find it strange, but I personally believe that I have learnt a lot through games. I developed a strong interest in weaponry, wars and mythology, and learnt a lot about fantasy worlds like the characters from Middle Earth that have become so popular these days. The competitive feeling of playing against friends, and venting out frustration by blowing things up is very rewarding. It is a lot of fun to be able to identify the guns that are used in movies, and it helps to picture what kind of gun is being mentioned whenever I read a novel. Also, I think I have learnt a bit about the cultures of other countries, at least in terms of their military hierarchy across different ages. Though I might not be able to drive all the supercars that I want, but at least driving them in a game is better than not driving at all. With technology kicking in, motion blur and near real visuals do provide a kick, which motivates me even more to strive for these machines.

I would rather live an adventure than watch one from the outside, and rather than go through the perils of a movie like adventure in real life, I am happy with playing them on a screen. Besides, I would never want or get the opportunity to do many of the things that I can do in games. So, ladies and gentlemen, Let’s Play.

game ¹ (ɡeɪm)

— n

1. an amusement or pastime; diversion

2. a contest with rules, the result being determined by skill, strength, or chance

3. a single contest in a series; match

4. equipment needed for playing certain games

5. short for computer game

6. style or ability in playing a game

7. an activity undertaken in a spirit of levity; joke

8. an object of pursuit; quarry; prey

— adj

9. informal full of fighting spirit; plucky; brave

10. informal ( usually foll by for ) prepared or ready; willing

[Old English gamen; related to Old Norse gaman, Old High German gaman amusement]