Videogames blurring the line between fantasy, reality

Who remembers “Tetris?” It’s the Russian-made puzzle game that has the gamer fit different… Who remembers “Tetris?” It’s the Russian-made puzzle game that has the gamer fit different movable blocks into lines. The key to the game is its simplicity. No expansive 3-D worlds or complex storylines, just falling blocks.

But sadly, for fans of simplicity, this game seems prehistoric in the face of today’s popular virtual realities. The first video game ever created was “Pong.” As simple as it gets, a ball was paddled back and forth like in a game of ping-pong. Games like “Pac-Man” and “Asteroids” followed and became some of the most popular in the world. But looking at the games of today, you would never know it.

At first, there was no real problem with these character-based games built on a hierarchical level system. Hell, “Mario Brothers 3” is, in my opinion, the greatest game of all time. But in the past few years, huge technological advances have been made, altering the scope of what video games are capable of achieving and causing some trends in the video game world that make traditionalist controller-junkies like myself a little uneasy.

Take the newest release from EA. It is a video game version of “The Godfather.” The game aims to recreate all the classic moments from the first Godfather film, allowing the gamer to build mafia street cred within the family. This trend of creating games from movies used to affect only the largest popcorn-film blockbusters. But with this game, EA has taken off the gloves and declared that no film, no matter how well-respected, is safe from being transformed into a game.

From what I understand, “The Godfather” is simply a framework for a more generic mafia-style game. But this is not really the point. Of course many people in the main demographic for videogame producers love “The Godfather.” Of course shoot-em-up, open-world games are extremely profitable right now. But just because there is a viable market for something, is that enough of a reason to release a game that dumbs down a classic piece of cinema to the rather unenlightened level of a video game?

“The Godfather: The Game’s” sprawling digital world is child’s play compared to some of the role-playing games that have been released over the past three years. The makers of games like “World of Warcraft” and “Everquest” are pushing the limits of how big and how detailed a video game world can get. Some of the digital realms that companies like Diablo Technologies have released are played in real time and have to-scale city models that can take the gamer up to three days to get across. What this level of believability creates is a blurring of the lines between fantasy and reality.

In a story published by CNet News, a popular technology news page, Dennis Bennett, a network engineer from Indiana, claimed that “Everquest” nearly ruined his life. “After a while, I ceased being me,” he said. “I became Madrid, the great Shaman of the North. Thinking of it now, I cringe.”

Bennett is not alone. One couple in Tampa, Fla., was incarcerated for wrongful death after they neglected their 1-year-old son because they were addicted to “Everquest.” The same happened when a couple in Korea left their child to suffocate when they went to play “World of Warcraft” at an Internet cafe. While these games can hardly be blamed for bad parenting, the games are so complicated and lifelike that playing them involves more commitment than any human with a life outside of his home can afford to make.

Dr. Timothy Miller, a clinical psychologist, said that these addictions are serious business. He spoke with a man who filed a claim with Social Security to get on disability for agoraphobia, or the fear of open spaces. The man was not legitimately ill; he just did not want to leave “Everquest.”

What are we to expect next, a computerized John Wayne? A video game version of “The Shining?” “Gone With The Wind” on Xbox? Should game designers simply seek a way to make our entire world digitally reproduced for gameplay? Sure, there would be a market for a digital fantasy world with no boundaries, but should they satisfy that demand? Do we draw the line only at the last gasp of what the public will accept and, more importantly, pay for?

I believe there is a line that technology and media manufacturers should not cross in order to keep our society inside the bounds of normalcy. When companies begin to disrespect great works of art by making them video games, we cross that line. And when people lose track of the real world because they are addicted to the realm of fantasy, we lose track of where the line is.

E-mail John at jrs26@pitt.edu.