What is Digg?158 Comments
- negativefx, on 10/12/2007, -19/+175i'm pretty sure that's not what blizzard had in mind when they made the game.....
- radsprack, on 10/12/2007, -6/+116@ DiscoLando
"You could replace his VR goggles with a beer in his hand and change the post to 'PICTURE: What an alcoholic will look like in 2030'."
More like "What an alcoholic will look like in... ah who are we kidding that's what they look like now." - SlappyMc, on 10/12/2007, -4/+112Why Doesnt that dude invest in a chair?
- DiscoLando, on 10/12/2007, -25/+132Wow, you're seriously over-analyzing. It's a fun game that some people happen to spend too much time playing, just like some people drink too much. You could replace his VR goggles with a beer in his hand and change the post to 'PICTURE: What an alcoholic will look like in 2030'.
- mtvkilledusall, on 10/12/2007, -1/+79The blogger does not even link to the artist's webpage. How *****.
- mtvkilledusall, on 10/12/2007, -2/+46Here is the artist's deviantART account.
http://pyxelated.deviantart.com/ - aaronlidman, on 10/12/2007, -6/+48I can't freakin wait.
- jus1haz2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+31Damn the still use the same wall plug in 2030.
- gizmogear, on 10/12/2007, -13/+40shutar.... it's a game. Damn, lighten up.
- glmory, on 10/12/2007, -8/+35instant gratification? have you played that game? A good raiding guild raids from 20-40 hours a week. That is border-line hard work. Instant gratification would be drugs, sex, or something fast. Not something you do all day everyday.
- JonRick, on 10/12/2007, -1/+27umm, if you know them, then why don't you ask them if the dude got their permission?
- altjeringa, on 10/12/2007, -6/+29I hate it when people bury other people just cause they disagree with what they are saying. Anyway, well articulated if not slightly over generalized comment.
WOW isn't any different than the early internet was in this regard and I remember people making the same type of images ( though most lacked this guys talent ), of early wireheads. Hold on, didn't Quake 3 leave people sleepless and strung out? Or how about Civ 3?
Those of us who are prone to alternate realities will always find ourselves heading down the rabbit hole. And most of us will find our way out. - dark_helmet, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/25788628/ -- 1920x1200 version
- gamedigger, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20Where's the pile of red bull cans, the hot pocket wrappers, and the pringles? Does Moore's Law apply to food and beverage? Hrm...
- dustko, on 10/12/2007, -3/+21I have overanalyzed it myself...here goes:
Firstly, the MMORPG was always going to happen. It's more of a evolution of gaming then a corporate conspiracy. We all were mind blown by GTA3 when it first came out, and mostly because we could walk around an expansive city. Each step towards creating a compelling cyberworld has always been met with strong sales.
For the gamer, the attraction as far as I see it is escapism. Escapism because it contrasts to how they see their real life, with all of its percieved limitations and rules. But it comes with an irony. As someone wrote earlier, its not really a game of instant gratification because of all the character building up that is required. In these games, you start out as an empty canvas, choose your skill sets based on what it is within you that you want to realise, and set about building them up. This is ironic because this is also how real life works -- you can learn skills in your First Life, build yourself up, and become whatever you want to be; using your dreams as your motivation. What WOW/Second Life provides is a safety net -- being in your own room, the player is no longer self concious and free to buy into the concept of a self created life. The player is also assured of an outcome -- one they don't believe can happen in Life #1. So this assurance makes the repetitive process actually fun, as they watch their character become better and better. It's fun, because the gamer can visualise the end result, and believe in it -- the rest is just a neccesary process in order to get there. This can also be true in real life.
However, as fun as it may be, the rewards and satisfaction of the cyberworld can't even touch the satisfaction of skilling up in Life #1. I've seen some of my friends younger brothers really get into the whole MMORPG thing, and sometimes I think of ways I could communicate to them that the things they learn in WOW -- the pleasure delay principals of having to go through repetitive tasks BECAUSE they know that in the end they will have acquired a skill -- that can be directly put into their own lives. As long as the hardcore MMORPG gamers can realise that and make that jump, they may even be better off then many other people, because they've witnessed first hand how it is possible to start as nothing, then build yourself up until you're respected and at the top of your game.
So to sum it up, I'd say... Life is a game. It's one we're all geared for, and I'd even propose that it comes from the exact same place that making gaming so fun. Your first life is the best MMORPG in the world -- unlimited possibilities, best graphics, and real satisfaction. In my opinion, it's the only one worth playing. - shutar, on 10/12/2007, -115/+134WOW is a manifestation of our culture’s love affair with instant gratification. It sucks gamers in with this promise: as long as you pay £8.99 a month and play 8 hours a day, you’re guaranteed to become a living legend in the world of Azeroth, rich, powerful, adored. Unfortunately in real life, there is no deal that even comes close. Rising up and progressing in life takes blood, sweat, tears, perseverance, money and a lotta luck. It’s a brutally hard road which is why Blizzard (producer of WOW) is making billions betting that if they provide a much easier, alternative road, many people will take it.
- PathDaemon, on 10/12/2007, -14/+30Ha — your screen is 1024x768??
- TheNik, on 10/12/2007, -13/+29So, they turn into Sam Fisher?
- Boor, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16That isn't WoW! The image thats being shown in those goggles looks something like candy land, or Kirby's dreamland level in super smash.
On a more serious note its a nice piece of art. - Casestheorm, on 10/12/2007, -8/+21You're right.
Of course, so are the people below you: it IS just a game. But that doesn't mean that the lure of near-instant accomplishment isn't ridiculously addictive.
Dugg up. - pixelmixer, on 10/12/2007, -6/+18But can you really blame Blizzard for following the classic MMORPG model?
MMORPG's are built on Instant Gratification, thats one of the underlying principals when creating one. You have to have some instant gratification or else the player will play for a couple hours, get bored, and quit. - billymachine, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15You can keep your WoW, I choose sex, drugs, and rock n roll!
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Ze Goggles, they do nothing!!
- Tochi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Psh, I intend to drop my physical body so my ghost can play world of warcraft all day long.
- jmknx01, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14It's Hello Kitty Island Adventure.
- Otto, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14>>>"The picture is a display of our culture's progression away from socialization. In 2030, we will have absolutely no regard for reality; whereas right now most people still have a good sense of reality. We are gradually becoming a world of virtual interaction."
*****. I see this nonsense said a lot, mostly about Second Life, but the fact of the matter is that most people a) don't play games, b) don't get the hype about virtual realities, and c) don't care to join even for free.
Yes, a lot of people play WOW or other MMOs. But it's still like what, less than 2% of the population? Wake up and realize that when you play, you're playing by yourself. The rest of us have lives. - Taedirk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11@matri: And the fact you don't get the joke doesn't?
- pixelmixer, on 10/12/2007, -3/+13Instant gratification doesn't apply to those veterans spending 20+ hours in the game.
It targets the new user with short-quests and usually better more appealing graphics in the beginning areas. This is generally speaking, but by no means does it disprove the fact that these games are built to get harder and take more time to play like they do.
If you do play this game, or any other MMORPG, you might notice that time seems to go faster in the real world because you're used to something taking a shorter period of time, but it gradually takes longer and longer and before you know it, you're stuck in the game for 20+ hours at a time trying to accomplish 1 level, while when you started that 1 level would take 10 minutes.
Those first few levels that take 10-20 minutes each are whats known as "Instant Gratification", people seem to be confused by what it really means. - PathDaemon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9At least give him a comfortable place to lie and a sweet gaming suit instead of those ratty old clothes.
- SilverSpoon, on 10/12/2007, -6/+14Wow...for the year 2030, those goggles look pretty old school...
- everfalling, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8and you know this how? from a single picture? ever heard of concept?
- 0x0000ff, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8You total ***** moron
- golhra, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Sweet, no Ethernet! Must be that google wifi.
- Insert31990, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9I Dugg this story because of that incredibly thought provoking piece of work alone, not really the humor that was supposed to ensue.
- neko, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9No, goggle wifi.
- nixonrichard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I like the goggles, but they look heavy. "Are they heavy? Yeah. Then they're expensive. Put 'em back."
- Falldog, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9Buried for… bad blog/not giving credit where credit is due/stupid idea/etc. (pic your reason)
- markperia, on 10/12/2007, -6/+12thats a really old deviantart pic.
- Beerduck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Ignoring the fact that this just happens to involve WoW...
That is one nice drawing. It makes me a really sad but at the same time I can't stop looking at it.
Perhaps it's the scary feeling that I could see myself in that position. - dagonweb, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9Notice the standard reaction of people - if a small minority joins up in something en masse and spends a lot of time in it, whether or not is drugs, a game, a hobby or a religion, the monkeys who don't freak out and start persecuting them agressively. This must be a primate instinct to ward against branching off of bloodlines and tribes and the formation of competing groups.
Personally I applaud the formation of virtual realities. Though games like Second Life and WoW will prove to be highly addictive, especially after 2020 (and the picture is more something you'd see after 2015 rather than 2030 - in 2030 you won't even see the gaming interface devices!) but it will also be a means of educating our young through personalized VR tutoring pograms.
I am in a group of people who play a lot of wow and SL. We fitness IRL to compensate, we eat real healthy and we have activities outside this environment, primarily to make the time inside VR as enjoyable as possible. For me this works real good: without the constant stimulation of VR games I tend to slip in depression - the real world is just not interesting enough for me. - bola, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Hi All, This is Shutar.
Firstly, i would like to say that i did have the following text under the picture, clearly stating who made it:
(All credit to Pyxelated from Deviantart for the pic)
But i do apologise for not having a link to his gallery.
I felt really sad when I looked at the picture as all the WoW players I knew were so sucked in the game they had disconnected from reality. Everything they did revolved around WoW. Even when they were not playing, they were planning what they would do when they finally log in.
Thank you for your responses. - duality, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The interesting thing about trying to predict the future is that it tends to go in a direction that NOBODY expects. Naturally, you can set a few general parameters here and there, but the more specific traits that the future will be defined by are beyond the imaginations of us all. The future is a fickle thing; I personally feel like it's a living being that twists against us and shows us how small we are in the grand scheme of things.
Abraham Lincoln could not have imagined our world; Leonardo da Vinci could not have imagined Abraham Lincoln's world; Julius Caesar could not have imagined Leonardo da Vinci's world; the Neanderthal men could not have imagined Julius Caesar's world. I wonder about all the worlds we aren't able to imagine.
But yes, we all have our part to play, as the future is not yet written. We create a future for our children, and so they must look back at us from it. Sometimes, the best we can do is feel our way blindly forward and hope our children don't spit on our graves for being so naive.
Perhaps this picture is the future for some people, but I personally think that the mere act of saying so is likely to make it false. - kelbear, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4In response to Dustko's post:
I can agree with most of what he's saying until the end.
Life isn't a game. The gameplay mechanics are not designed to be fun, and the reward mechanisms are flawed. Risk and reward are still positively correlated, but not nearly as tightly as in games. Investment into life can be spoiled by medical problems(and the bills involved), the business cycle, lawsuits, war, crime, etc. You may not reap what you sow, because life just isn't fair. Life's not meant to be fun.
And again, Life isn't fair. I was born in a wealthy New Jersey suburb. The same cannot be said for the poor of the world. I have advantages that they do not have.
However, in the tightly controlled game environment, uncontrollable circumstances like act-of-god catastrophes are recognized as not being fun, and thus are controlled or removed. The result is that games deliver a relatively guarenteed risk-to-return ratio. This sort of safety is part of what contributes to the fascination with MMOs. - gboodhoo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@Tradgedy12:
>> am i the only one who realizes how awesome that would be?
You are not the only one! Looks just like the future I've been dreaming of for 20 years. Put another way - I wouldn't want to live in a world where that scenario didn't happen. Sure our posthuman friend looks a bit strung out, but that's just meat. Inside, there's where Reality is - the kind of world that makes ours look like some kind of backwater ontological trailer park ;) - Ifligus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a f***ing big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisure wear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire purchase in a range of f***ing fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the f*** you are on a Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing f***ing junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, f***ed up brats you've spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life.
But why would I want to do a thing like that?
I chose not to choose life. I chose something else.
And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got World of Warcraft? - wotcher, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8The picture is a display of our culture's progression away from socialization. In 2030, we will have absolutely no regard for reality; whereas right now most people still have a good sense of reality. We are gradually becoming a world of virtual interaction.
It may be an extreme portrayal, but by no means inaccurate or meaningless. - portwojc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3At least he's not overweight.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -21/+25This is what a real Orc Shaman player in WoW looks like with goggles,
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/3862/obgogglesva9.jpg - pbjorge12, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Unless we get some Ghost in the Shell ***** happening...
In theory they could take our brains and shoot 'em into the net...Obviously not many could do that - We would need people to procreate...
Unless we could have cyber-sex... - dblood, on 10/12/2007, -5/+9Well it isn't hard to sit in your chair and click a mouse and make $20 an hour, or even $40 an hour. Does that make it hard work? Who are you to tell someone else what is hard? Life isn't hard, you can go work at McDonald's and live your life with virtually no effort (at least that is my guess as I have never done it)
Blizzard designed a game to be challenging for everyone. Does that make it bad? -
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