Regret- romance, death, love – video games are able to inform us about all of those things and much more. The following are some of our favorite examples of this.
We don’t frequently think to turn to video games whenever we are confused about life, or the overall universe or any other important matters. Video games are usually viewed as a form of escape, a place where you can forget about everything that is happening in the world and your problems and spend a couple of minutes blowing stuff up. However, it isn’t always like that. Since the very beginning, video games have been a way to explore various meanings and ways of being human. It is very obvious if you think about it: there isn’t any other medium that allows you to explore and interact with various possible means of existence the way that games do., all word cookies strawberry cheats and the following are 10 video games that tell us something about what life is like – often in very comforting ways.
Alter Ego (Spectrum, C64, Apple II, 1986)
This early simulation game was created by the psychologist Peter Favaro and gives the player control over his or her entire life starting with infancy and all the way to death, via answer a long set of multiple choice questions. There is a version that is available for smartphones now. Life lesson: each decision that you make has meaning – particularly those that involve you getting into a car with someone you don’t know.
Animal Crossing (Wii, 3DS, DS, Game Cube, N64, 2001)
This classic Nintendo series has you move into a small village and living with cute anthropomorphic animals. You do basic chores for neighbors, collect things, and do lots of gardening and fishing. This game is about the joys that community brings, the rhythms of life that bond us together with nature, as well as comfort. This game is a beautiful thing to unwind and relax with. Life lessons: Always be looking for the money rock and be nice to others.
Braid (PC, PSN, Xbox 360, 2008)
This groundbreaking indie platform from Jonathan Blow is supposedly about Tim, who is a character who goes forth to save a princess from an evil monster. However, instead, that archetypal premised is combined with a brilliant rewind mechanic for exploring the fallibilities of memory along with the subjective (and even semi-delusion at times) way that we view our motivations and ourselves. There are great puzzles as well. Life lesson: Sometimes you are the princess who needs to be saved.
Civilization (various platforms, 1991)
The Civilization strategy game series takes a macro approach to human life. It has a lot to say about our motivations as well as why things work out in the ways that they do out in the world. Although the main goal is minecraft book recipe to guide a tribe out of the stone age and into the space age, each decision that you make has to be weight against your people’s happiness, who basically are your captives. Dostoyevsky said that a society can be judged by how well its prisoners are treated. In this case, the society is you. Life lesson: Everyone wants to be happy.
Journey (PS4, PS3, 2012)
This amazing short game from Thatgamecompany is soulful, beautiful and practically elegiac in tone. It involves traveling over a barren land to get to a towering mounting. Really it is a basic metaphor for life. The game is a cooperative one through an online connection. However, the other person that you are playing with throughout the game remains a stranger. You must rely on one another’s goodwill, with just basic forms of communication. However, through those tools and the amazing Austin Wintory soundtrack, it is possible to have incredible experiences. Life lesson: Life is all about the journey rather than the destination. And be nice to people online.