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What's the point of games that attempt to emulate real life?


Heijoushin

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So I'm browsing my favorite gaming news meme site today, and this kickstarter game comes up:

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/asylum/identity

 

To copy a little from their kickstarter page:

 

"Identity is a modern-day open-world MMORPG for PC and Mac with complete freedom to do almost anything you can imagine at any time in first or third person views.  Live as an honest civilian, a criminal, police officer, paramedic and many more."

 

So... The Sims in 1st person?

 

Firstly, I don't think a game that promises the ability to do "anything you can imagine" is even possible to make (especially on that budget) But let's say it is. What's the point? Is gaming not about escapism? Real-life is pretty dull, which is why I like fantasy games and books.

 

Why would I want to role-play something I already am? (honest civilian) Why would I want an "orindary" job in a game?  

Edited by Heijoushin
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Second life is extremely popular, so is fiction that depicts average lives. I guess people like to imagine 'what if' they had a different life or was a different person. Some like you (and me and many here) seem to enjoy the fantastic, crazy, dark or impossible 'what if' instead.

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Fortune favors the bald.

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the main point of games is to let you experience something that you could not in real life by interacting with a fictional world through the main character. the type of games you like, mostly depends on what sort of experience you want to "live".

games like the one you describe or the sims, offer the same thing with a more "mundane" aproach

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The words freedom and liberty, are diminishing the true meaning of the abstract concept they try to explain. The true nature of freedom is such, that the human mind is unable to comprehend it, so we make a cage and name it freedom in order to give a tangible meaning to what we dont understand, just as our ancestors made gods like Thor or Zeus to explain thunder.

 

-Teknoman2-

What? You thought it was a quote from some well known wise guy from the past?

 

Stupidity leads to willful ignorance - willful ignorance leads to hope - hope leads to sex - and that is how a new generation of fools is born!


We are hardcore role players... When we go to bed with a girl, we roll a D20 to see if we hit the target and a D6 to see how much penetration damage we did.

 

Modern democracy is: the sheep voting for which dog will be the shepherd's right hand.

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I noticed it's being made by Asylum Entertainment. Could be a bunch of inmates making this.

I noticed that too, and the name sounded so familiar. I guess I'm thinking of the media company, not a gaming company.

 

Anyway, the question...I guess because for some people, while games like are patterned on "real life", they're still a fantasy. Be a criminal, be a surgeon, party all night long, buy that luxury house, shop like Donald Trump, etc. I don't care how long/hard I worked in real life, the odds of me being filthy rich are tiny. In a game, spend all your free time doing it, and you may get to pretend you're rich. Or whatever floats your boat.  :lol:

 

Not really my thing. Although I don't mind/may like if a game has a bit of that sim-y flavor here and there. But not in its entirety.

“Things are as they are. Looking out into the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.” – Alan Watts
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Definitely not my bag, i'd prefer my escapism to be a little more thrilling and unattainable, Deus Ex or Alpha Protocol for example.

 

In fantasy settings however i think that internal consistency and verisimilitude are very important, so that the fantastic elements are firstly fantastic and stand out all the more clearly against the background, and secondly have their own niche and laws within the gameworld. Thus the fantastic becomes a welcome break from mundanity, and the limits of the mundane, but is still approachable and makes sense in its own sphere of influence.

 

Thereby we do not have any blatant and clumsy Deus Ex Machina events occuring, or our fourth wall breaking, because we have a vague understanding of the processes being used. We only need a slight logical tapestry painted for us, and we can theorise and extrapolate upon it, forming a solid foundation for the impossible. When such simple foundations are not laid, then the whole setting is in danger of being rendered unbelievable and illogical, ironic as that sounds for a fantasy setting.

 

All in my opinion of course.

Quite an experience to live in misery isn't it? That's what it is to be married with children.

I've seen things you people can't even imagine. Pearly Kings glittering on the Elephant and Castle, Morris Men dancing 'til the last light of midsummer. I watched Druid fires burning in the ruins of Stonehenge, and Yorkshiremen gurning for prizes. All these things will be lost in time, like alopecia on a skinhead. Time for tiffin.

 

Tea for the teapot!

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Escapism doesn't have to mean fantasy setting and magic and dragons and stuff.  Escapism could be as simple as living a regular life as someone more attractive, successful, and/or better at dealing with the opposite (or same, if you're so inclined) sex.  The fact that this has raised over 60k Canadian so far seems to suggest there is at least somewhat of a market for that kind of experience.

Edited by Keyrock
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🇺🇸RFK Jr 2024🇺🇸

"Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive." - Bill Hicks

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the main point of games is to let you experience something that you could not in real life by interacting with a fictional world through the main character. the type of games you like, mostly depends on what sort of experience you want to "live".

games like the one you describe or the sims, offer the same thing with a more "mundane" aproach

I can land a Boeing 737 in my old hometown in Microsoft Flight Simulator X. I wouldn't try that in real life =]

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“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein

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driving a truck is no different than driving any other car... but gas, brake and clutch are much harder to press and you need to keep in mind that it's longer than a car when you make turns in cities.

and remember when you drive behind a truck: if you cant see his mirrors, he cant see you either

The words freedom and liberty, are diminishing the true meaning of the abstract concept they try to explain. The true nature of freedom is such, that the human mind is unable to comprehend it, so we make a cage and name it freedom in order to give a tangible meaning to what we dont understand, just as our ancestors made gods like Thor or Zeus to explain thunder.

 

-Teknoman2-

What? You thought it was a quote from some well known wise guy from the past?

 

Stupidity leads to willful ignorance - willful ignorance leads to hope - hope leads to sex - and that is how a new generation of fools is born!


We are hardcore role players... When we go to bed with a girl, we roll a D20 to see if we hit the target and a D6 to see how much penetration damage we did.

 

Modern democracy is: the sheep voting for which dog will be the shepherd's right hand.

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Not my thing. Never felt compelled to play Sims or the like. I don't get things like Eurotruck Simulator either.

Ze are a lot of Deutsche truckers that enjoy relaxing after work by playing simulators.

 

 

But seriously, you can't really get them until you give them a serious task. It is the same joy of actual work where you perform a task well and you feel proud of it, and they are actually good with some white noise a stiff drink. Very relaxing. 

I'd say the answer to that question is kind of like the answer to "who's the sucker in this poker game?"*

 

*If you can't tell, it's you. ;)

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You get to experiment with stuff. It's somehow like a "What if..." scenario and humans are curious beings, they like experimenting with stuff and what safer way than a video game? I even heard that back in the 90's some police forces used a modded version of DOOM for room clearing training and such.

There used to be a signature here, a really cool one...and now it's gone.  

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Not my thing. Never felt compelled to play Sims or the like. I don't get things like Eurotruck Simulator either.

 

I had the same sentiment until I watched a good friend of mine, who likes realistic driving games and has a gaming wheel+pedals set up, play ETS 2 for about an hour. I still don't enjoy the game (I tried it after he was finished), but now I understand why he enjoys it. For him, it's the perfect way to unwind after a day's work. Not as demanding as a racing sim, an action game or a thinking game, but still needs attention. It's optimal arousal level or Csíkszentmihányi's flow experience in practice.

The Seven Blunders/Roots of Violence: Wealth without work. Pleasure without conscience. Knowledge without character. Commerce without morality. Science without humanity. Worship without sacrifice. Politics without principle. (Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi)

 

Let's Play the Pools Saga (SSI Gold Box Classics)

Pillows of Enamored Warfare -- The Zen of Nodding

 

 

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So I'm browsing my favorite gaming news meme site today, and this kickstarter game comes up:

 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/asylum/identity

 

To copy a little from their kickstarter page:

 

"Identity is a modern-day open-world MMORPG for PC and Mac with complete freedom to do almost anything you can imagine at any time in first or third person views.  Live as an honest civilian, a criminal, police officer, paramedic and many more."

 

So... The Sims in 1st person?

 

Firstly, I don't think a game that promises the ability to do "anything you can imagine" is even possible to make (especially on that budget) But let's say it is. What's the point? Is gaming not about escapism? Real-life is pretty dull, which is why I like fantasy games and books.

 

Why would I want to role-play something I already am? (honest civilian) Why would I want an "orindary" job in a game?  

 

Why would you play your own life in this game?

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There is no save or reload button in real-life even though I have dreamt it sometimes early in the morning.. Like making a mental save, before I need to wake up and if I miss the alarm I just can reload. Didn't work.

(Signatures: disabled) 

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Yeah, life is played in "Iron Man" mode ;)

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“He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein

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Why would you play your own life in this game?

 

 

Because my life is that awesome.

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Why has elegance found so little following? Elegance has the disadvantage that hard work is needed to achieve it and a good education to appreciate it. - Edsger Wybe Dijkstra

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