Search For Identity : A Virtual World

Have you ever wondered how so many people can play video games for hours? Or how gamers can connect to people in the “virtual world” and learn life lessons? In the book, Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World and the article “Becoming Part of Something Bigger Than ourselves” by Jane McGonigal says “the single best way to add meaning to our lives is to connect our daily actions to something bigger than ourselves and the bigger, the better” (446). In 2009, McGonigal’s best video game, SuperBetter, went viral. The popularity from the video game increased gamers to battle health challenges like depression and anxiety. Mcgonigal's video game also increased better communication skills between friends, family,

No matter how much a person desires to live according to their personal autonomy, he or she will never escape the influence of societal forces. Explicitly or subtlety, these forces shape our individuality. One intriguing manner that these societal forces manifests itself in is our name. As Ruth Graham writes, “It’s becoming increasingly clear today that names carry a wealth of information about the world around us, the family we arrived in, the moment we were born—and that they mark us as part of cultural currents bigger than we realize.” Names alone provide evidence that individuals are made by interactions with social institutions and groups. Ultimately, the inescapable nature of society’s influence demands individuals to ponder how much personal autonomy is actually autonomous and to what extent does the pursuit of personal autonomy lead to a life of emptiness and vanity.

When I was younger I wanted to belong. I wanted to belong to a group of girls who were considered as ‘cool’. I wanted to be as pretty as them and wanted to have the same nice clothes they had. Back then I considered myself as ugly and unlovable. Being beautiful or at least good looking meant to me that I could be happier and more successful in life. However, I realised that I would never be able to be someone else.

Now that technological companies all over the world have set most of the seven billion individuals in the world with a computer, smartphone or tablet, it is time for better software to use with them. This is where games come in. Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello stated in a recent interview that PC gaming is the ‘fastest growing platform’. This shows the growing interest in gaming bearing in mind that gamers also have the means to play on. The term ‘gamer’ refers to an individual that plays a game or games, typically a participant in a computer or role playing game. The gaming community has grown so wide in the last few years because of the shift from single player games to multiplayer games on the internet

Aside from becoming desensitized, video games cause players to step over from fantasy into real-ity. Video games allow for the player to participate actively. They have the option to create char-acters with different physical attributes within the game. “For example, the Nintendo Wii console enables its users to design their own “Mii”; a customizable game character whose physical attrib-utes (e.g., haircut, hair color, nose, mouth, physical stature, etc.) can be modified to match the player’s own” (Fischer). The player gets to create this fictional character that they may have al-ways wanted to be to excel in an imaginary world. Without a personalized character, the player is not emotionally attached as he/she would be if it was a personalized character. Adam Lanza, the shooter at Sandy Hook, was described to be skinny, socially awkward and was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. It was observed that “in the game, onscreen, he was able to create a differ-ent version of himself: a muscle-bound soldier wearing fatigues, goggles, and a black beret and carrying a military assault rifle” (McGrath). Lanza was able to become someone he was not in real life. By playing and being an active member, Lanza was able to control his life in the fantasy world. He completed

Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, is a novel set in a futuristic dystopian time. The world of the novel is filled with an ongoing energy crisis, climate change, poverty, and global famine. The light in the novel that makes life bearable is the OASIS. The OASIS is a virtual utopia that has a one-time cost of 25 cents and is entirely free to play. Along with the OASIS came an Easter egg hunt in which one avatar can win and have complete control over the OASIS network.

An individual possessing unique attributes and characteristics is what makes up that person's identity. In Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New World, citizens of a seemingly utopian society lack both an identity and individuality. Every person in this society was stripped of their individuality, in order to maintain and preserve the ideal community. Huxley’s novel emphasizes the importance or groups and communities as oppose to embracing the differences of what it means to be an individual.

A Lifeless Society by Joseph Heutel British Literature Period 6 January 30, 2017 Freedom and identity is something that we today never think of not having, it never comes to us. What would a life without our own freedom and identity be like, having no say in anything we, just be alive but not truly living. We have to think to ourselves how much do relay on our freedom and having our own identity. They make us who we are, having a choice of having a mind that you get to explore and be one of a kind. Aldous Huxley tries to show us what life would be with the loss of freedom and identity.

The book Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline is a book set in the future, where our world is in poverty and chaos. This is because we are almost out of oil, and so a massive power shortage has occurred. The only way people can escape this is too play a online game that has become the internet. This game is called OASIS.

Personal identity is essential in the human experience. Identity is complex and can be broken down into two main groups: introspective identity, and bodily identity. Introspective identity is based off of the groups, mentalities, or beliefs that you align yourself with, and bodily identity is based off of the physical side of yourself. Whether physical or introspective, your identity impacts every action you take. Whether choices ranging from what colors you prefer to which college you want to attend are primarily based off of your introspective identity, which is a combination of both memory and consciousness, physical identity impacts how others perceive you. Consciousness is mainly the awareness of bodily identity as well as continuous introspective identify, while memory is awareness of introspective identity. These two different facets of identity are imperative in the distinction between bodily identity and introspective identity. In means of personal identity introspective identity (which is evident in memory), is essential, while bodily identity (based partially in consciousness) has less credit.

After various writings by Richard Rodriguez and Octavio Paz, I have come across several realizations. Who am I? Should I be a part of a nation and a “system” that does not value me, or should I be a part of a nation that does not acknowledge my existence? The United States as a nation does not value me, and México does not even know that I exist. These are difficult matters to discuss. We are all in search of our own identity. However, some of us are placed in a situation that makes it very difficult and confusing to know or understand. I have always asked myself, “Who am I?” I should put it in more crude words, “Where do I belong?” After this specific question is asked, I begin to realize that

Imagine a world, that is anything and everything. Race a dream car. Meet a superstar. Go to Paris, New York, London, or even see the Great Pyramids. A virtual reality - an idea that is coming to life, an idea that will change the world, whether it be good or bad. Ernest Cline, the author of Ready Player One, warned us that virtual reality is going to change the world. Ready Player One is a story about a teen named Wade, in a world where video games are everything. A virtual reality world called the OASIS changed the world into a place where people are antisocial and don’t care about the world anymore. Change with VR can already be seen with the invention of the TV, the phone, the iPhone, and numerous other inventions, It’s already happening - the world is blowing up over Vive, Oculus, Hololens, and more, and VR is going to make things happen: such as solving problems. Is change happening? Are problems going to be solved? Yes, we can already see change.

“In video games, the category of “first person shooters” has been controversial with critics concerned about what that means to players who actually perform acts of violence within the games. Instead of merely watching a character perpetrate a violent act, the player is actively encouraged to participate. Gamers will often refer to their characters as “he” or even “I.” “This suggests some confusion is brought on by the intense identification players sometimes feel towards their avatars. Players typically remain attached to a single character they can control; thus they have a very strong following pattern. Game designer, Will Wright, has argued that games may have a unique ability to make players experience guilt for the choices their characters have made in the course of action. Because players are making choices, they feel some degree of responsibility” (242-243).

In cognitive science there is a growing theory that cognitive processes develop when bodies and their environment have real-time, goal-directed interactions (IEP). The human mind is stimulated and developed when the mind, body and environment conjointly interact and influence one another. Embodiment is comprehended as the distinctive way a body can effectively interact with its environment through the body’s sensorimotor capabilities. In today’s world, modern video games have presented a new form of embodiment that is now being studied. The study focuses on the relationship between players, avatars and 3D-virtual worlds. There is a wide debate about whether the embodiment of avatars in modern video games can have an effect on the human

Gaming has been such a huge part of nearly everyone’s life growing up as a kid and it’s only getting bigger and bigger every day. Growing up as a kid, online gaming wasn’t as popular as it is today. I started off with a Gameboy and Dreamcast console that later shifted to better consoles like the PlayStation, Xbox, Wii, and Nintendo. Nowadays, almost everyone, including myself, have shifted to the more popular gaming platforms in mobile games and online PC games. More specifically, certain types of online gaming styles like FPS, MOBA, and MMO are distinctly more popular than many others. Not only has the popularity for online gaming platforms evolved but the importance and relevance of