There are times when things get tough and we want to get away, retreat to another world for an hour or so to clear our heads. For some, it’s reading a book. For others, it’s watching a movie or a TV show. However, for certified nerds like myself, getting away means immersing oneself in a good video game.
When hearing in class Tuesday that people worldwide spend over three billion hours a week playing video games, I was shocked. It made me think to my own video game habits. My favorite video game of all time is NCAA 08, a football game for PlayStation 2. I commonly play the game’s Dynasty Mode feature, where the user takes on the role of the coach and plays through the 12-plus game season of college football. I have played my dynasty so much that I currently in the 2050 season.
To put that into perspective, in a list of young college football coaches in an article by the USA today, the youngest was 36. If I were actually the coach in the game, I would be 72. The game’s commentators are Brad Nessler, Kirk Herbstriet, and Lee Corso. If the game were real they would be 93, 81, and 115-years-old respectively.
It is insane the kind of hold a video game can have on a person. You can escape to a whole different universe. When I pick up the controller, I am transformed from a stressed college student to 11-time national champion Craig Collins, a coaching legend. I find myself yelling at the game as if they players and referees can hear me. Oh, the controllers I’ve broken. Heck, I even stand up while I play to make it more realistic, as if I were an actual coach. Often times, no matter what kind of workload I have, if I lose, I play again. I mean after all, this is my virtual world. If I can’t win in the real world I should at least be able to win in the virtual world.
It is that kind of dedication that I think drives McGonigal to think that video games can change the world. People become so involved, it becomes a part of their life, and they will do everything they can to smell victory. I believe her. Games can quickly become addicting, and once your addicted, you can’t get out until you’ve accomplished the goal at hand. Photo courtesy of techdigest.tv
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