After reading through most of the reading for Tuesday, I came to the realization that I've heard a lot of this before - just in less complicated terms. It reminds me of my film classes and when we discussed the film's merits based on the suspension of disbelief. The same applies to technology. Anymore, the more we can forget we're watching something on a screen, the better it's supposed to be. The more realistic movies that draw the audience in so that for the hour or three that they're watching, they forget that they're watching. When we leave the theatre, we know that the past amount of time was spent watching something, but what happens when we forget that we are outside of that world?
What I mean by that is with all the new technology to make things more believable and more realistic, the less we're getting experience. I must admit, playing games that promote the suspension of disbelief are a lot of fun and I can spend hours involved with that whole experience. However, if something similar is used that mimics real life, are we really any better off?
While perusing the videogame store this weekend, I wanted to buy the game Horse Trainer. It's a game based around training horses (surprising, I'm sure). I haven't been able to ride in a few years because of a back injury, so the game might give me a little bit of what I miss about actually being on the back of a horse. At the same time, it's not the same. I can play the game for hours and get wrapped up in all the details of how to ride and how to train for an event. And that is fine for some people who don't have the opportunity to physically experience something like being a successful trainer. But after knowing what it's like to be on the horse and to make a connection with that 1200 pound animal, the game can't replace that. No matter how much programming and technological advances come about, that can not replace the physical experience.
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I can differently relate to what you are saying. I have two horses myself and was thinking about buy that game as well for the DS, but its not the same thing as standing next to a real horse and brushing him out to get him reading to tack up. It is great that they offer these kinds of games to those who can't experience first hand, but as you said it is just no comparison to the real deal.
ReplyDeleteI can suspend my disbelief when I play some video games. For example, back when there was Super Nintendo and everybody else, I played way too much Mario Cart. Oddly enough, I was sucked into the game the most when I was sick with the flu. I'd play and play and play, and then dream I was in the race, but crashing and wishing my head wasn't too large to go with my body. Do you think children have difficulty in figuring out what is and is not reality? I knew cartoons weren't real because people in real life don't have black ink outlining them, and I've never seen a talking rabbit like Bugs Bunny.
ReplyDeleteI think that some children can have trouble without parental guidance. It seems like parents are playing a less significant role in their childrens' lives and that can cause problems. I'm not saying that children think that the game is real, but that their actions can have similar outcomes.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, my cousins are younger and my aunt had to explain that if you do a certain move like in the fighting games, it can really hurt someone. Fighters in the game don't show blood or broken limbs, and the kids don't necessarily realize that those can be consequences.
Although I've had a hard time getting into videogames, I can relate to going to a movie and getting so consumed with the whole experience that I almost forget I'm in a theater. Part of the reason that experience is so consuming for me is that everything else is blocked out. The lights are turned down, there are no other distractions. Everything looks real (just bigger maybe!). I don't get that feeling so much with videogames because there is usually a lot of other things going on in the house--laundry needs to be done, dog needs to be walked, plants need to be watered--but kids seem to be able to block all of those things out and concentrate on the game. Maybe that's why my kids (or at least my son) isn't as stressed out as I am. He can get lost in the game. Maybe I need to rethink how I view videogames; as more of an escape or therapy not just pure entertainment.
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