“Critical Simulation”
The military, it seems, has always been a part of our virtual worlds. Many people learn bodily actions by its repetitive nature. After a while, it all seems natural. Video-games do much the same thing, but in the virtual world. The same exacting attack movements are repeated over, and over, and over again in game-play, becoming virtually second hand nature by the completion of the game. The military has intertwined itself in entertainment, and has become a vital part to any video-game. In the article the game Quake is mentioned. Anyone who has played it knows that the main point of the game is to complete the missions through the ways of violence. The more immersive a game is, the more successful it is. The rest of the article focused on how necessary it is for a game to be immersive in order to work. Antisocial people have a way to interact with others, through violence. Some people will clearly have problems with this, but it does raise some interesting questions. Is violence truly necessary for video-games?
“Disenchantment”
At first, this article made me very confused. I am unfamiliar with the traditions of the Hopis, and though he does explain them well, it still left me with more questions than answers. I could understand that the Hopis children had various rituals to go through in order to become an actively religious member of society, but the virtual part was a little confusing. It seemed to me that, acting out the parts of gods, is a form of play, and sometimes that form of play is virtual violence. No one is hurt, but the children act out the violence. That was what I could make of it, but I suppose further research is needed on the Hopis tribe for me to fully understand it.
“Violence and the Sacred”
Humans are naturally violent. I agree. Within society, people watch boxing, play video-games, and watch action movies. People need violence. The release of this from our systems is vital, otherwise we will explode. Ritualistic sacrifice is one way to do that. People find it savage nowadays, as virtual violence can now replace it. We no longer need the physical violence, as long as the virtual violence is immersive enough. Sacrifices are used to get a whole community’s violence out, which is rather difficult to do in a video-game. Everyone can attack the victim and hurt him/her, and expect no reprimand for it. This act of such violence frees a community of their inner struggle for some time.
