Gamer: Is It Really a Game?

               I find it ironic that this movie begins with the song Sweet Dreams, as the future presented in Gamer seems much more like a nightmare.  In the movie, the future of videogames has arrived with gamers controlling real people instead of virtual characters.  Every movement or command of the gamer must be obeyed by his or her character because of mind controlling nano-cells implanted in the person’s brain.  There are two different types of games, Society and Slayers.

                       In Society, players can pay to control someone else or get paid to be controlled by someone else.  It’s basically a much lewder version of Second Life with real people.  Gamers can make their avatars socialize, go to raves, or engage in some kinky sex.  The movie also shows how the gamers use Society to take on new identities.  For example, a morbidly obese pervert uses a woman in racy attire as his avatar.  Of course, he doesn’t care because his fake identity hides the real him. 

                      

Society looks a lot like a Lady Gaga music video

                         In Slayers, gamers control death row inmates in Modern Warfare like death matches.  When a player dies, it is a real person getting killed.  Slayers’ creator defends the ‘game’ by arguing that the convicts volunteer willingly because they will be released if they can survive thirty matches.  So is it really a game?  Certainly not for the convicts themselves.  They may volunteer, but within the arena or ‘the magic circle’ they are little more than puppets. 

 My finally question is: can anything designed to take a human life really be considered a game?  What about games that can put human life at serious risk, such as mountain climbing or bull fighting?  What about Society, in which the gamers force their avatars to do terribly demeaning things?  Don’t games ultimately require fun and harmlessness as a fundamental part of their nature?

Do you have a Second Life?

For those of you who are not familiar with the virtual game, Second Life, let me explain. Second Life is a game that has introduced a unique virtual world. In this game, users have the ability to create an avatar of anything they can imagine, regardless of who they are in reality. According to its developers, Second Life is, "A place to connect, a place to shop, a place to work, a place to love, a place to explore, a place to be different, a be yourself...and a place to love your life." Second Life is a game that facilitates a world away from reality in which users explore a world unlike that of our own. By creating their own fantasies, hundreds-of-thousands of Second Life users have the ability to interact with individuals throughout the world and connect with them via their avatars. 

Boston's Financial District *E#494

Avatars Interacting Via Second Life

The first time I heard about Second Life was in 2010, when I watched the Sundance Film Festival documentary, Life 2.0. Made by documentary filmmaker, Jason Springarn-Koff, Life 2.0, explores the world of Second Life, and how it has transformed the lives of its users—not just in the virtual world, but in the real world as well. It is a game that is truly unlike any other I've ever seen. I, myself, have yet to play Second Life, but I am fully aware of the potential effects the game can have on its highly active users. I am curious as to how players perceive this game, and why they have become so entranced. 

We all have passions in life (real life); ambitions we seek and hope to achieve sooner rather than later. In Second Life, users have objectives as well. In both lifestyles, there are various paths for individuals (or avatars) to take. If a person (or avatar) is on the right course, he or she should pursue it. However, when it comes to direction, it is never too late for anyone (or anything) to change. Why spend so much time organizing your Second Life, when you have the potential to change your real life? Second Life is a game, and so is life—you can play it however you want.