I thought this weeks video “Second Skin” was interesting and
did a good job of showing us what a “gamers” life is like. Although, it did
focus on a particular style of online gaming, MMORPG’s which are very popular
but not the only online video games by any means. The people in the video seem
to gravitate towards these games to “escape the real world,” which is no
different than watching a show like “Game of Thrones” or reading a book like
“Twilight.” What seems to set them apart from your average video game player,
movie buff, or bookworm is how much of their “real” life their willing to spend
playing it. I play video games, probably more than your average 32 year old
male, but I don’t “pee in jars” or spend my work vacation days on gaming. In
the two Jane McGonigal videos queued this week, it shows how much video games
may be able to cure some of the world’s problems and after seeing how dedicated
these gamers are, I see the possibility, but we need to stop fighting Orcs in
the Fairy Forest and start solving more molecular puzzles.
Some of the things the “Second Skin” video showed, I can
definitely relate to, like the excitement of getting a new game that you know
is going to be great. As a teenager, I stayed up for hours playing video games
with friends and these memories are some of my favorites. However, I did not
stand in a line for hours to get my game and I also used the bathroom to drain
my bodily fluids. Those are things I cannot relate to.
Another thing that I think many people/gamers relate to, is the
fact that many of these people have social anxieties or have a hard time making
friends. For some of these people, it is the only way they can be their real
self, in the sense that they can say what they truly feel and not have to worry
about what others think. I’ve lived in Oregon for three years and I still don’t
have any “real friends” other than my roommate who I moved here with. So I can
relate to some of these people. In my case, I just don’t trust people and I
believe that my days in the military have something to do with that.
Although I play video games often, I do not play online
games for many reasons. I remember when online games first came out, and the
first one I played was “Diablo” for the PC back in 1997. The game was fun
offline, but online, it sucked. People seemed to love waiting by the door of
the first dungeon and killing people who just started the game. I've played
“Call of Duty” or “Halo” but they’re very repetitive and “point gun and shoot”
games just don’t do it for me. I play offline video games because I think the
stories, game play, and replay value of them are far better than crushing candy
or chopping fruit. However, one of my favorite things to do is play old
Nintendo games with a friend… that’s actually in the room with you.