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| What I think about when it comes to Mario, too. Wardrobe. |
Meet Nikki. Nikki hates her boyfriend's Xbox...
Story of my life. *sighs*
Yes, people are suggesting that she stop dating losers and stop being co-dependent in the comment section and others are crying over a destroyed Xbox, but I'm actually with her on this one; and I'm definitely NOT co-dependent, and I wouldn't go as far as to say my boyfriend is a loser, well, not on the Internet, because that means I can't take it back. Nevertheless, I am so unbelievably sick of video games, it is not even funny. What I am even more sick of? My boyfriend's brain being completely hypnotized by video games; in his defense, he definitely doesn't play for 10 hours, maybe two. That's still too long, in my opinion. The slogan "EA SPORTS - It's in The Game" forever haunts me in my sleep. Oh, and don't let my boyfriend and father be in the same room as an Xbox! This only means one thing- an intense match of 2K11 will ensue. That being said, I cannot bring myself to test-drive Second Life for more than five minutes. Actually, I refuse.
I won't deny that I've heard a lot about Second Life; there was a time I wanted to sign up just to play dress up in the virtual mall and purchase anything and everything. What girl doesn't want to play dress up? Eh, a lot. But I'd much rather window-shop instead of play within the virtual closets of Second Life because window shopping is free, and I'd have to pay to pretend to shop on Second Life? Key word- pretend. That just confuses me even further. Window-shopping is pretending! And I certainly don't care about Linden dollars, I care about Benjamins. Something I am severely lacking. Thank you, Georgetown!
This idea of adult gaming really triggers my brain cells in all the wrong ways. From my boyfriend to my father, I just don't get it. Now, I'll admit I was completely transfixed by Sonic, Pacwoman, even Mario growing up, oh, and the ducks, but I would never sit down and play a game of Sonic or Mario in front of my TV or computer for hours on end. Not as as adult. I could never sit at my computer for hours and play within the virtual realm of Second Life. Frankly, I don't want a second life, this first one is enough.
However, as hard as it is for me to say this, the idea of Second Life is strangely fascinating. They plaster on their homepage- "Escape to the Internet's largest user-created, 3D virtual community." For the sake of this blog post, talk about crowd-sourcing! This community entirely functions off of its users. Not only that, Second Life is literally offering you a chance at a second life. The life you've always dreamed of, or not. That is what I find the most strange. It can seem so real with its 3D images and life-like people, but it's clearly not.
Although Second Life's promise that you can do anything, buy anything, socialize, etc. within a virtual world, a fake world, is not something I necessarily identify with, millions of people are more than loving it. Kind of like Washington loves its Redskins. Why? I don't know, and I'm a Redskins fan! Last night was just painful. With its popularity increasing, MMOG's are proving to be more than an entertainment source, but a way to recruit and woo a crowd. Garrett referenced in a class earlier in the semester that Barack Obama's presidential campaign had taken out ads within gaming sites simply because they could. Now, everyone knows that Barack Obama had more than enough money to spend, but I'd like to think that this was a valiant concentrated effort and not just a way to spend money, but a way to target an untapped crowd in a new way. Or maybe it was just another way to spend money. I'm going with the latter.
What I find even more fascinating, rather confusing, is the usage of MMOG's as a recruiting tactic for the United States military. I just find that really odd. I can't help but think that the usage of such tools is an invasive and manipulative way to tap into our minds. Psychologically, people's minds must be somewhere else when engaging in such games. I know my boyfriend's mind is at least!
As I'm sitting here writing this post, I'm starting to think that gaming is all about living a second life. The people at Second Life are clearly on to something. Do my boyfriend and father feel like they have a second life, a better life, when they play Madden and 2k11? My father was an all-star athlete, and my boyfriend swears he's LeBron James. Maybe he really feels like LeBron James when he's playing? It will certainly be interesting to see how advertisers and marketers, even politicians, tap into gamers going forward. Some people's first lives are so different than their second. Will they attempt to channel an individual through their first/real life? Or will they attempt to channel them through their second/gaming-virtual life? Which one will be more effective and provide the results they seek?
In closing, meet John. Witness his retaliation on Nikki:
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