Open world gaming: Playing a reality and escaping another?

Open world gaming: Playing a reality and escaping another?

Open world gaming is considered one of the most popular types of gameplay and is becoming available in almost every form. Whether the world is circling around an apocalypse, thugs or just the life of the average citizen, it is a big deal in the world of gaming but is the open world idea reaching it’s full potential? I do not believe so.

Players are given the opportunity to walk in the shoes of people in a great variety of situations just for a moment, as they play. Taking a break from your everyday life is healthy, we all know this, but can this escape come too close the average gamers life and change the mentality of the person in question? I personally believe this type of gaming could have a therapeutic effect if it’s done in a certain way. 

We are all familiar with open-world games like Grand Theft Auto and Watchdogs where the player is presented to a universe just as the one we are living in today down to every last little detail. Almost. Players are free to move around in big cities and act, as they like. People are living with restraints every day but the open world gaming is offering a time out allowing them to act as they please which is all good and fun. As players, we are given the opportunity to be whoever and act however which often ends with terrorizing the streets and getting shot dead or arrested.

What each player decides to do in the specific open world is not harming anyone and maybe this could be the future treatment of anger patient management, rehabilitation programs and who knows, maybe education. Developing realistic universes is a way to stop imagining certain situations and living them instead. What if it was made possible to stop living fictional characters’ lives in universes that are realistic, but instead play your very own life with familiar people and familiar situations?
What if people could one day be able to rehearse their own lives and the various situations that might occur?

Whether it’s about restraining oneself or release oneself, the possibilities could be endless in terms of treatment. Tailored to the individual, one would have the chance to reinvent themselves to the better.

The first specific example I could think of would be people in prison who are struggling with personal issues, which prevents them from achieving freedom. The world has seen people released from jail to go back to their old ways just to be put behind bars once again. Many prisoners find religion in their darkest hours, but the radicalization that often follows is usually more damaging than helpful. Some prisoners have been incarcerated for long and are challenged in adapting to today’s society. This often ends out in a return to the prison from once they came. I do not see a single side gaining from this. Do you?

What if it was possible to rehearse ones release without actually leaving, instead of setting unprepared people free?

Extremely complex extended virtual reality programs could perhaps be a risk free alternative to probation. There would be a lot of financial, technical and structural challenges in this idea, obviously, but perhaps gaming could be more than entertainment and spread across sectors like treatment or rehabilitation.

The gaming sector is an enormous influence in today’s world but I believe that the best is yet to come. 

Please leave a comment with your personal take on this wicked vision on the future use of gaming, or read more on our website where we write reviews of online gaming.