Video Games, raaaaah

A new study posted on /. today (actually the link points to a blog talking about it) revolutionized my world. It says that video games can deliver an emotional impact. OMFG NO REALLY? I won't talk about how silly "studies" are nowadays. Instead, I'll say that gaming is the next big thing. Of course, games can make you feel something. Heck, why would people play if they didn't feel anything? Games are interactive, they make you plunge into a virtual world that is probably far more interesting than real life. Look at all those WoWers. I hope some people manage to get a strain of the "disease" again, and infects them. But what does it matter? In MMORPGs, you first start for the RPG feeling. Your growing powers, the delight of exploring new areas... And then you get hooked. Because you're lv60 with super l33t eq? Nah. Because of the social interactions. In other words, feelings. It's the same for every RPG, and unsurprisingly -except maybe for Bowen Research- you are not attracted the same way to a flight sim.

-Please excuse this interruption. Blogger is down for maintenance. Post deleted- Thanks Blogger.

Games do have the same power as books and movies. At least, if the story is well told -or well presented. When you play with a character for a while, you get attached to it. And yes, when Aeris died, it was freaking heartbreaking. Man, that was Aeris. You can't kill Aeris like that. You get emotionally involved with your character. Just like Pokemons. And 2 years later, if you see the pic or hear the music, it'll cast nostalgia on you. Let me tell you that feeling is stronger than remembrance for books or movies, because usually don't read/watch them 40 hours in a row. If you do, you are sick. But with games... games are so gripping, you might actually play one every hour of your weekend. You'd still be sick, but it might happen. Games just take you out of your reality. And when they'll be really immersive, then the world is gonna end. By the way, music compagnies... games are like drugs, they are addictive. Make games if you want to earn money.

It so happens that games are all-powerful. They can have uses, just like books and movies, but are much more time-consuming. The problem is you revel in them. If you are a hardcore gamer, you should realize that gaming is your God. Or Satan, if your name happens to be Jack Thompson. Games are going to dethrone movies as the best way to waste your time. If you ain't convinced, you should. Because even if some developers/publishers continue to produce crap games without innovation, they do it in conjunction with the Mighty Dollar. Power marketing -yea that's like power leveling, but it's marketing o_O- will make gaming mainstream. Soon.

The Bible doesn't promote killing innocent people, Grand Theft Auto does. Islam does.
Islam promotes the killing of innocent people. The Quran requires the infidel, whether Jew or Christian, to be killed. … That's a core essence of the religion. … Muhammad was a pirate who killed infidels and who advocated the killing of infidels.

~Jack Thompson, with much <3