Endgame

[Cognisant]

So I was watching an abridged version of Sword Art Online (I haven't seen the normal version) and it turns out they're trapped in the game which I think is canon in the actual show, I dunno, but anyway interesting plot hook.

After watching it I was left feeling a bit disturbed and it took a while before I was able to figure out why, I can see this happening in real life, not people having their brains hijacked by their gaming peripherals but rather virtual reality becoming a legitimate alternative to actual reality.

There's the whole brain in a jar thing I aspire to and when that becomes available to more people (and it will) why would they deal with the latency of using tele-operated robots when virtual reality is so much more accessible and experientially real?

Basically I had an old fuddy-duddy moment, I don't play MMOs because I suspect if I did I'd become addicted and it's that sentiment that turns me off living a virtual life in a virtual world, I don't want it precisely because I know I'd enjoy it.

A virtual world could be paradise but it would make me stagnate, without unhappiness I'd lose the willpower to resist and be unable to escape, it would be an embrace of death, I think I'd rather go down kicking and screaming than lulled gently to sleep

How about you?

 

[Teffnology]

The fact that my potential offspring are going to grow up in a world where virtual reality is even more real looking than actual reality is making me consider not having offspring at all.

I don't know if I want to subject a human being to that kind of moral dilemma because I personally would go with living in a virtual world if possible but there is a part of me that wants no part of it at all because I may lose touch with my human instincts.

That is what trips me out about all of the singularity talk, how is that going to affect humans in the long run? Is it a good or bad thing? Do the pros outweigh the cons? All rhetorical questions but ones that should be considered when technology is integrated into humanity on a grand scale.

Watching Black Mirror- 15 Million Merits is what made me stop and think about this topic hardcore.

 

[Black Rose]

becoming addicted to certain worlds may be how it turns out but i myself am more concerned with why i choose a world among others. my physical body is one place i may need to keep mobile when the trust between groups is not set yet but there can be a duel aspect as i no longer need a house or car or computer. i can go anywhere and be serviced. with extra sensory perception i could be in three worlds at the same time.

 

[Cheeseumpuffs]

Ooh I really liked Sword Art Online. I'm not usually a big fan of anime but I really got invested in that one. I watched it with my roommate and we kind of talked about this (not super in-depth, though).

I think the virtual reality of the game would be pretty awesome. Running around and slicing shit up with awesome sword skills would be great (especially if there are no repercussions for death, which actually isn't the case in that first half *coughcoughbesthalfcough* of SAO). That said, I don't think I could actually replace my reality completely. I'd need to come up for air once in a while, as it were. I don't think I could get comfortable with that. I think I'm basing this conjecture off of my gaming style, though. I also don't really play MMOs, and the few times I have I don't do the MMO thing people do where they talk to people and form guilds or whatever. I literally haven't used a game to talk to people since the good ol' runescape days, and even then my parents' trademark suspicion of all things internet seeped into my brain and made me reticent to say much.

You say you don't do MMOs because you'd like them too much -- why? I don't really understand the appeal. I understand getting addicted to the virtual reality aspect, but I'm pretty curious what other people see in MMOs.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

I think a near-perfect virtual reality is not distinguishable from physical reality and has numerous advantages, including the required setup space (universe vs a single modular network), cost, freedom (yes I think there may be a time when people can become more free, but it will happen in a virtual setting).

Simply put, VR offers the god package in a box, but it can be easily exploited to control the physical world via the distribution and addiction to the freedom of the unreal.

Regarding SAO:

Spoiler

You could think of non-abstract anime as being separate virtual realities that you engage in, no need to focus on the aspect specifically. If you were interested in SAO, there are more mature animes that explore the same theme. (Virtual reality). Examples include ".hack" and Tsubasa Chronicle.

 

[TimeAsylums]

I don't want it precisely because I know I'd enjoy it.

I feel like there's a word for this...

 

[Cognisant]

You say you don't do MMOs because you'd like them too much -- why?

Because life is hard and games are easy, because my willpower comes from difficulty and opposition, to me such games are both incredibly tempting and insidiously perverse.

I finished Dark Souls and I've not bought the second because I'm more put off by the time investment than the cost, if I bought Dark Souls 2 I'd play it obsessively until I finished it, but you can't just finish an MMO.