What do you think? Do people play games to escape their own reality? Or will they embrace the idea of creating a game world based on their own lives?
Jul 3, 2013
The "Wright" Way to Gamify Your Life
In a recent interview, Will Wright, creator of Electronic Arts' SimCity and The Sims, explored the idea of constructing a game that connects people to the gameplay of their lives, rather than to fictitious or virtual worlds. Wright explains that he is "extremely interested in making games where reality is the playing field."
I think there are many people that do think of games as an escape, along with many other types of media besides video games or games in general. However, many are still playing for the fun of it, regardless of the majority of games that have a general level of departure from reality. Incorporating this level of fun into another medium (the real world, whatever that might be) besides "video games" or "virtual worlds" is a great idea, and mixes things up a bit. There's definitely application to games or game-like structures that have been applied to the real world, which is easy to see now thanks to folks coming together for things like Games for Change, establishing game-based learning, etc.. I feel many of the games in this space (though not all) have been very direct and specific in their application to the real world, and seem to end up being very dry. I'd love to see more highlights on games that overcome this and see more experimental things out there. It's great!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more Andy. Just like with books in their early days there is fiction and those self help books too, both serving their purpose. However, with games its going to be so much more enjoyable. The question is who will be the driving force behind this change; the capitalist, the government, the developers or the people? I hope its Will but I'm not sure I would accept Simoleons as legitimate currency.
ReplyDeleteI think it will always start with the developers (who I also consider the "people" as well), and it's a great feeling to see that's what many indie devs are all about these days. The capitalists and the governments are about the bottom line and the agendas they have in mind, which is likely not enough outside of the box to make this good stuff happen. But I'd be happy to be surprised by any of them either way!
DeleteAren't our own lives the most "serious" game? What is school and getting an A? Winning the game of history class for that semester (or round / level). What is getting a job? Winning. What is getting a promotion / bonus? Winning. What is getting married? Winning, divorce losing. Or backwards for some?! :)
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ReplyDeleteYes, I do believe people play games to escape their own reality. I am one of those people. No matter how bad I'm feeling physically or emotionally, playing a video game for a few hours takes me to a wonderful, pain-free, stress-free world.
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