It would seem that a deadly spore has afflicted a certain subculture of N.C. State students, and I feel a call of duty to shed some light on this spore.
I am talking, of course, about gamers at NCSU, the people who worship their Xbox, Play Station, Nintendo and custom-built computers.
But this new disease has had a mass effect upon those players, and thus has created a crisis for this civilization.
The problem is games are designed to be immersive.
But sometimes these second lives are so absorbing that they usurp our real lives, and this only serves to madden our friends. It is as though these games have engaged in a grand theft of our friendships, a crafty war against socializing.
Don’t get me wrong – even NCSU’s Distance Learning maintains a Second Life presence – but this is for a much better cause than selling furry animal-themed virtual costumes to other online avatars.
How many times has a friend said to us, “I’m sorry, I can’t go to the club with you. I’m fraggin’ tonight?” It’s like these people only have half of a life, as their other half is trapped in a city of villains.
How many people have spent Christmas Eve online, rather than with family?
I think, as gamers, this is a trend that we need to end.
We need to spend less time in simulated cities and more time with people who matter to us.
That transition, however, can be a difficult one, but I think the benefits of spending less time with video games far outweigh the cost of a lower skill set in a game.
Let us examine some facts.
The graphics in real life are amazing. Nature’s rendering engine is amazingly efficient, and nearly everyone has the hardware to enjoy such beauty.
Occasionally, the people one interacts with have a greater intelligence than any artificial intelligence of a game.
Immersion is also enhanced, and there are infinite branches in the storyline.
More importantly, as one develops their real life persona, they establish much stronger social links, which very much enhance the quality of life.
Instead of experiencing pixelated interactions with our loved ones, they become real and visceral.
People often think that video games let them do things that they cannot do in real life.
But the converse is also true – real life has a richness that current gaming technology cannot replicate.
If that is not enough, allow me to remind my audience of one big downside of gaming: aggravating other people, or aggro.
Our friends and significant others seem to have infinite aggro when we overplay video games, and unfortunately, their continual complaining and inability to understand our lifestyle is impossible to avoid.
Sometimes, it just isn’t worth the hassle.
E-mail Jay about how you left your game controller behind at [email protected].
