Video games are not escapism. Show me another art medium that confronts me with moral quandaries and choice, with personal, unique moments of defeat or victory. Video games allow me to be an active participant in the arguably-beautiful human experience, and there’s nothing avoidant about it.
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Sounds pretty escapist to me ☺️
I'm currently trying to play an old RPG in French to re-learn the language again. I may be able to understand only 50% of it right now but it's improving each day!
So then I tried WOTR but it was text only.
So, now I'm playing Mass Effect Andromeda :D.
The escapism-argument can be used against any kind of hobby, really.
Sincerely,
A Rando
I don't get to decide things irl man. Things just happen to me and I react.
I did the same in most big Bethesda games.
I'm walking around because I needed the stroll outside in virtual space to clear my head.
"But what are you doing?"
No no, the stroll IS the quest 😂👍
There are close analogies in board games. In "Settlers of Catan" and many others, building great public architecture such as a temple can earn the last point for victory. IMO that's roughly equivalent to producing art.
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If I'm playing seven-player Diplomacy, and there's no way I can win, but...
...but I can affect who wins: then I will tip victory towards the player who was a reliable ally, rather than the player who broke a deal or betrayed me.
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Civ 5 is a great game! At the same time, some board games go deeper than you know. Two simultaneous truths!
As a former game-addict that threw his life into games to escape the world and started reading up on what game addiction is (which is more akin to gambling as a behavioural addiction and not a substance addiction), it's real.
It doesn't mean all gaming is bad tho!!!
More people have seen and known it. It makes it easier to explain! The same industry techniques are also applied in gaming (the sound effects of a slot machine are very well chosen indeed)
And people treat like gaming addiction/social media or whatever in an normalized way, like so what if I spent 6 hour scrolling IG today, i still function. But people have no idea their reward circuits are absolutely fried by the constant bombardment.
Excellent take! ❤️
To escape is to be aware of what it is we are running away from.
I don’t know how you handle all of your engagement on a daily basis
I just comment back mutuals and people I recognize that comment a lot on my post. Randos don’t get any attention
Some escapism is just more complex.
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If a middle schooler learns a hard lesson from a game before encountering same the situation in real life, then maybe distanced tension can have good outcomes!
- A Rando
A: From a well, actually...
Now here are the FACTS 😡
how about a game with static images, no animation?
And if you personally manage to change all that, then you're a social outcast. Which is pretty much every autist like me anyway.
This world is so scary that a bit of escapism helps.
There is a side. Choose it and carry your version of it to the end.