Pokemon Go has been launched in Japan.
This video made me think about the meanings of playing games.
I thought about the meanings of playing games.
I used to play Roll Playing Games like ‘Dragon Quest’ in Family Computer (I guess you may not know it) in my junior high school time, and dreamed to sail aboard all over the world. I think it grew my adventurous spirit.
After I got into high school, I “graduated” from TV games. Now I hardly play TV or computer games, but I know the joy of getting into games, especially a pleasure of the time to share our power to clear one same goal.
I think games have some points to attract young people.
One is obedience. In real world, you cannot control or make others to obey you at all. But in games, you can control the characters as you like. You can be the master of the world and let the characters move as you like. You can be the coach of the soccer or baseball team and manage players . It’s quite an awesome experience, isn’t it?
Second, Simpleness. In games, there is a rule and your mission is so simple. Mission is decided by the game company there, like bombing the enemy’s base, arranging the blocks in right order and erase out, driving fast and win the first prize, kill or get monsters, aliens or ghosts to save the Princess.
You don’t have to worry about what you have to do. Clearing missions give you a sense of big fulfillment in games. It’s a big factor that people get into games.
And next, imagination. You can have a journey going on a voyage all over the world, operate the airplane to fly to the sky even the space, use magic and have a great power to kill monsters, revive from the death, and marry with the princess. You can be a hero or even a king. Those are almost impossible things in real life. Those virtual experience gives you excitement.
The sympathy of chasing a same purpose with others. Especially these days a lot of internet games gives us an experience to connect many people on line.
Every people want to connect to someone, and it is a big relief to belong to a group, and be recognized by them.
And lastly, easiness to play.
Games don’t need any sacrifice of your life to play, except your time and money.
You will feel no pain even if your avatar would be injured. You don’t have to die even your avatar have to die for about 150 times until you clear the mission.
You don’t need to calculate the points you got, study new formula which you will use, clean up the room not to give a bad image to your guests, stitch the hole which was made in the last battle, grind the sword for the next battle, practice to drive your car or operate spaceship and to be scold by your teacher, load a gun with powder for shooting the enemy, be bothered by mosquitos in a countryside hotel over night, and bury your fellow who has died for your mistake.
Those are all computer’s job.
You don’t need/have to lose anything, cry or weep, because it’s all just in a virtual world. You can get coins on the road, from monsters, by the race, so easily.
You don’t have to be serious. That’s all just a game and a story, a virtual reality and just a fun.
But I think you have to be careful. It can rather limit your imagination. All the mission events in games is prepared by the game company.
Real world is so complex and complicated to solve any problem. Not only one devil is dominate the world. Arranging the blocks or puyopuyo characters is not your job to earn money or way to live.
No monster, no race, no magic, no blocks, no ship, no princess, no…
Who’s my enemy?
What helps me to resolve the issue?
What's the problem? Where is my lovely princess? Where is the goal?
First of all, what should I do in my life?
No one tell me what is the goal of one’s life, and how to find it.
There is no goal in a life. No enemy in the world. And no way to reset a life.
The world is so complicated, so hard to understand each other, but therefore it’s beautiful, and worthwhile to live.
You are the player of your life, and your life will change as you decide.
Everybody wants to go out for an adventure. But when I shut off the power of the machine, only I can find is a lonely and boring boy who have been holding controller with vacant eyes.
Games are the practice of the real life which has no practice time and reset button.
Watching this movie, I thought to myself.
I wonder if any great enemy hit the Earth even in a virtual world. And then we unite our power as one to overcome the crisis to survive. Even mutual enemies can unite as one if there are any other common enemies outside, that is threatening them both.
I think the environment crisis might possibly be a gift from the god to us, the common mission which we have to overcome, and all the human beings can unite as “us”.
I hope Pokemon Go will be a bridge between the virtual world and the real world.