Games Vs Reality

It's the mocks exams are coming, and finals are only around the corner. There's little left and my head is buried in books (or, to modernise the term, my head is buried in my computer. In hindsight, this makes little sense, although more applicable to real life). However, happiness is still in my life, and I try to find meaning in my life through developing my skills at something. From time to time its the piano, but more often than not its a new game that I suddenly took interest to, Hearthstone. 

As the image suggests, it's an online card game and I considered one of Blizzard's biggest comebacks into my life since Warcraft 3 as an eight year old boy (who until today is still really bad at the game). The convenient thing about this game is that the game is simple yet highly strategic, as sequence is everything in this game. A game, like any card game, last 10 minutes maximum and is playable on IOS and Android, therefore filling up my bus rides. My best use for it is keeping me entertained when I'm queuing for food at the canteen. Lastly, this game has finally brought me off my addiction to League of Legends. 

Our society still views gamers and games as something weird to avoid at all costs, and I must admit that even today I wouldn't want anyone to catch me playing games. If I go to gaming conventions, nobody will find out, and I want to keep it that way. Like it or not, games are a waste of time, no matter what random 'scientific research' may show. I am not proud that I play games, nor do I call my self a "gamer". I study hard and I find the joys in life in knowledge. But the difference between me and any other person is that I don't care where the knowledge from, only that I can use it. Games give vast and fast knowledge, whether useful or not in real life, and I can use it immediately in games and get good at it. But that's just for me, as exclaimed by my brother who plays games just for the fun of it. 

What games provide that reality can never provide is the idea that the amount of work you put in is proportional to the skill that you have in the game. You can spend an hour in the game every week and spot improvement. Spend an hour on the piano every day and you may not get anywhere if that is not your affinity. Games have achievements that are easily reached and small in-game rewards are given. Achievements in life (a diploma, a degree or even a certificate) take years to achieve and may not require any skill whatsoever.I could do well in an exam or badly, and I would still receive the same certificate or participation. Games are clean and simple, life is complicated. You are not competing with someone for a job years ahead of you, you are just trying to beat the team or person you are matched up with. 

I'm not saying that games are better than reality, I'm just saying that game developers have figured out the key to giving someone the rush of excitement, whether it is drawing the game-winning card or opening a new card pack in Heartstone, without spending a single cent. I'm just saying that if we could view life the same way that games want us to look at them, perhaps life would be a much more enjoyable place to live in, where we get a rush of excitement whenever we step out that door. 

Cheers,

Matthew Tan