"The Game You're Playing"

[Goman Fox]

_{[Snagged from: http://kentonwhitman.com/2006/11/30/the-game-youre-playing/comment-page-2/ ]}

The year is 2267. This is not for pretend. Consider, for a moment, that I might be telling the truth.

You think you’re in the early 21st century. Very quaint back then. The early 21st century was the beginning of the Game Age, when what you call ‘video games’ became the meaning of life. By 2030, games had advanced to the point where you could enter into a perfectly realistic world, via a direct feed to your Consciousness, and live out your entire life in any of the various worlds you chose to participate in. Now, in the 2200’s, we’ve advanced far beyond this. Our entire culture and lives are ‘virtual’.

In the same way that someone from 2006 might have been interested in the Renaissance or Medieval times, you are interested in the early 21st century. Very exciting time, full of wars and big technological breakthroughs. So you decided to play a game called The Age of Change.

You paid 410 credits to enter the game. You started playing last week. We plugged into your Consciousness, and entered in an entire set of memories so that you ‘remember’ everything that happened prior to last week. But of course, nothing did. It’s all just memory implants.

We also did a character change for you, so that you think you’re another person (you’re actually a 19 year old girl). Then, as you requested, we temporarily wiped out all memories that tell you you’re actually a 19 year old girl in the year 2267. This is a full immersion game. The game will last for two hours, but for you it will seem like 28 years.

Nothing around you is real. The computer you’re reading this on. The clothes you’re wearing. The people you think you know. Even your own body. It’s all just sensory feed from the game The Age of Change. Pretty cool, huh?

You did request that we leave you this one clue as to the true nature of the game. This is it, and you will receive no other. You thought it might be fun if you had a chance to ‘wake up’ in the game — realize you were just playing, so you wouldn’t take it all so seriously. Oh yes – Bianca tells you that she says ‘hi’, and she can’t wait to take you for a ride in her new Tricat Moonjumper, as soon as you unplug. She’s getting lunch with Cassie down at that nice little café next to the space elevator, and she’ll meet you there.

Finally, here’s the message you left for yourself –

How do you know this isn’t true?

I always thought stuff like this was kinda cool, the idea that what we perceive as reality isn't really true.  I'm curious what other people think about this.  What do you think about the idea that your life is just a simulation, or a dream, or something similar?

[Catwiesel]

philosophy always is a interesting topic, 2000 years ago, today and in 2200... so i enjoyed your post, and i enjoy discussions about what we perceive as reality. one of the more intreaging ideas i ever read was that everything that was, is, will be is existent, only our brain "moves" through that "room" and we perceive that as "our live/reality" - hence time/space exists because we perceive them that way.

anyway... its all fun and games when "playing" with such thoughts and playing "what if games" or "try to imagine". still, for some people this is a slippery slope. the human mind can be fragile in that regard. once the door is open it is hard to shut it - if not impossible. and once you lose grip on "reality" you might always struggle to find it again.
so my take on it all (and i can only recommend it to you all as well) is to look at reality like this... if it feels, smells and taste real. it is! even if it can be proven that it is not (and in fact might be a computer sim). so the day where you can "log your mind" into a "game" that feels, tastes and smells real the game becomes actual reality by definition. of course we might need a new defition for the "real" reality then, but that's  something my grand-grand-children can break their heads over...

edit: right, check out that movie, i bet youll love it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139809/
 

[Eternimus]

So, is it my dream is your reality, or is your dream is my reality?

Life being just a simulation, honestly, wouldn't surprise me. Who knows why we're here, or who put us here, really. I have my beliefs, others have theirs. Given the fact all life on this planet has come close to oblivion repeatedly, if it gets to some point where someone goes "Surprise! It was all in your head! You were playing our software." I'll simply say "Do you have a chapter autosave? because there were some points I'd love to go back and relive." and besides, most of the time I live my life like I can simply reload at any time anyhow. So much so I've been seen throwing dice or flipping coins to make a decision. Who cares on the outcome? I'll make the best out of whatever situation I can. Life it meant to be enjoyed. If I died tomorrow, I'd be able to look back and say I had fun. And that's all that matters. Reality is like beauty, it's in the eye of the beholder. Some people find their reality jumping out of planes. Some find it in the monitor they never leave.

But your post reminded me of this. http://www.theonion.com/content/video/warcraft_sequel_lets_gamers_play