Video gaming of today is a virtual experience that gives players the opportunity to adopt character personas and become involved in a storyline that follows a trajectory of different levels of advancement. It can seem so realistic that players can become immersed in the gaming world and lose sight of reality. The virtual gaming world is a world all its own. Characters seem realistic, graphics are state of the art, and storylines mirror that of real-world scenarios. Players can become connected to their characters and that of fellow characters within the video game storylines. Before long, players are sucked into the virtual world of gaming. They are driven to play the game to the point it becomes an obsession. Part of the draw to video gaming is players have to make split-second decisions and choices that help them advance through each level to new levels. Players can take on an alter ego of sorts through gaming where the proverbial angel/devil persona sits on players’ shoulders acting as their guide through the game. While players do get immersed into the world of gaming, there is still a clear difference between reality and the gaming except when there is no apparent difference between the two worlds.
Video gaming once consisted of cartoon-like, animated characters in make-believe worlds that players could clearly differentiate between reality and fantasy. Gaming of today has advanced to the point of creating a virtual world in which players can get lost in as an alternate reality of sorts. With games on the market such as World of Warcraft, Grand Theft Auto, and other War games, the lines between fantasy and reality have become greatly marred. These modern-day games depict realistic situations and scenarios that can be seen in movies, sung about in music, and even the subject of news headlines to create an virtual experience unlike anything found before in the world of gaming.
As video gaming continues to advance, everything within them will look more realistic; further creating the lines between reality and fantasy to become even more blurred. Gaming today offers non-player characters (NPCs) that have taken on a realistic human look and feel through their actions, emotions, and depth. Players may be able to look at an NPC in the future and believe they are seeing inside an NPC’s soul. The realistic feel of these characters will make it nearly impossible for players to separate fantasy from reality. In certain ways, it will connect players with characters, the storylines, and the game world more than ever before. Michael Nunez (2016) predicts that in the future everyone will be a gamer.
But have video games taken things too far? The vast body of research has shown the effects that excessive gaming has on individuals. It can cause depression, withdrawal from society, and social interactions with friends and family. According to Li, Liau, and Khoo (2011) “gamers spend over 20 hours on average per week” (535) gaming. I have personally found that when I play games that have simulated war scenes or torture scenes I am not normally affected by it due to my recognition of there being a disconnect between reality and the video game. However, the more realistic a war game is that mirrors a similar real-life scenario that requires my character to carry out immoral and unethical behaviors in order to progress through the game, tends to be somewhat traumatizing even though I know it is not real. In some instances, some players could be much traumatized due to being more immersed in the game, its realistic players and storylines and there is not a clear difference between reality and the video game world.
The other aspect that has and is continuing to change the video gaming world is virtual reality. This phenomenon has taking gaming to a whole new level because it uses controllers that enable players to feel even more immersed in the game. When players use controllers to guide outcomes, there are also things happening around the player as the game’s storyline is unfolding, this can feel like being grounded in reality. The use of accessories such as virtual reality goggles and headphones can enhance the gaming experience for players with 100% immersion into the gaming world causing a disconnect from reality.
Players who experience gaming in this way no longer have a reliance on an angel/devil motif guiding their every move. Instead, they adopt the persona of the character they are portraying in the game, creating the ability to become completely lost within the game through being connected to the story and characters in such a realistic way. Because players would be so immersed within the game, the effects of torture and war scenes would have greater impact. The rub is that unlike movies where viewers may not know what lingers around the corner, video gaming enables players to be in control of how a storyline will unfold.
As modern society continues to evolve and technology taps into things yet known to us, video game developers may stray from realism when it comes to designing new games. There will be shift in focus more on fantasy and fiction. The more realistic a video game is, the more players will have a sense of realistic moral responsibilities. This could potentially lend itself to players becoming even more traumatized from playing through graphic war or torture scenes which would enlist their real world morality in the mix. Further, players will have a more difficult time distinguishing the difference between reality and fantasy. Overall, video games are more about escaping reality into another world even if that world has realistic qualities of its own. The player in essence is making choices that do not carry the same weight since there is a major disconnect between the gaming world and the real world.
- Li, Dongdong, Albert Liau, and Angeline Khoo. “Examining the Influence of Actual-Ideal Self-Discrepancies, Depression, And Escapism, On Pathological Gaming Among Massively Multiplayer Online Adolescent Gamers.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking 14.9 (2011): 535-539. Business Source Complete. Web. 9 May 2016.
- Nunez, Michael. “Everyone Will Be A Gamer In The Future.” Popular Science 288.2 (2016): 20. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 9 May 2016.
