Video Games and the Allegory of the Cave

re: Video Games and the Allegory of the Cave

Damocles — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:50:08 GMT

Truth be told, some of us already find 2-D financial graphics boring....and we are from the Boomer Generation that was reared on black and white television and Swanson TV dinners.
I too have noticed that the video games are "real" for my children, but perhaps that is also due to the fact that the graphic packages are so REALISTIC. There has been more than one occasion when I have had to do a double-take to see if my children were playing a game or watching a movie. The cyber-people are among us!
In an interesting nod to de-evolution, it is interesting to note that some advertisers are blending "real" people with cyber-folks in their latest ad campaigns. Has anyone out there noted the lates crop of commericals from Charles Schwab? The characters have human voices but are a pastel blend of cartoon character and homo erectus.
Against that backdrop, no wonder the little green (or white) numbers on a Bloomberg screen seem passe'. The warning to purveyors of information is that if your delivery seems time-worn, the inference may be that so to is your content.

Damocles 3/26/08

re: Video Games and the Allegory of the Cave

mikemacman — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:27:00 GMT

It's funny- I've been playing a new baseball game called MLB 08: The Show. It's the most realistic baseball video game I've ever played, and believe it or not, has enhanced my understanding of pitching and hitting. The effect is that I now, as a fan, have a better appreciation for the game. We're getting to the point where the level of realism in today's video games is qualitatively different from those that came before.

I think we're beginning to see the same shift in business applications, with new technologies like Silverlight and Adobe Flex. More than just offering eye candy, these rich UI platforms may transform how a user interacts with data. That's the hope, anyway!

re: Video Games and the Allegory of the Cave

tralvex — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:36:20 GMT

May want to consider expanding the 2.5D information visualization technology from Themescape to other TRI products. See weblink for the animated Themescape technology.
[img src=http://tinyurl.com/54vfl4]

re: Video Games and the Allegory of the Cave

dave0875 — Fri, 16 May 2008 02:53:00 GMT

It does seem real. I have known the rush of destroying that last foe or scoring the winning goal. But my body had not moved significantly to attain this rush, my limbs remained immobile. My fingers moved rapidly pushing, pressing on knobs and buttons to the point of numbness. I have not felt this recently, but there was a time in my past when I had all but checked out on my outside life, because my simulated world seemed so perfect. This culminated in personal injury forcing me to step out and re-engage with the outside world. I joined the military, I traveled across the world, I engaged with members of the opposite sex. I married, procreated. These are things that can only be experienced. No computer can ever replace the fullness of real world experiences. I am no longer drawn to the simulations, no matter how great the graphics may be.

But are those who still feel these simulations are their reality truly deluded? Now battles are fought by drones that are piloted at a comfortable distance by a person pushing on knobs and buttons. Delicate surgeries are accomplished by doctors staring at screens instead of their patients. Great projects are accomplished by people separated by time and space, but connected by a chat session on the computer screen.

I appreciate your blog, your interesting thoughts have sparked these of my own. The branch I am interested in is where the actions viewed on the screen seem like reality because in fact they are. Are the simulations a valid preparation for what will some day look and feel the same but in fact be real? Are there consoles where simulation versus reality can not be determined by the person seated in front of the screen pushing the knobs and buttons? The line between an escape from real life and the digitally enhanced superior engagement in it may be already as well as further become very thin indeed!