Editorial: Game vs. reality

It is true, as the demonstrators at Heritage Mall on Monday night said, that war is not a game. But neither is “Call of Duty,” the game they were protesting, anything like war. It’s a video game, that’s all.

Yes, judging from the snippets advertising the game you can find online, it features highly disturbing images and actions. And one wonders about the mental makeup of people who enjoy engaging in that sort of game, especially as a matter of habit instead of momentary curiosity. But after all the arguments against that sort of entertainment are made, it’s still just a game. No actual person is physically harmed.

The art and technical virtuosity of the producers of computerized video games such as this one are truly astonishing. They can create ... well, creatures that seem to be alive and scenes that look like what we imagine apocalypse to look like.

As advanced as it already is, the technology will progress with every passing year. So it is reasonable to assume that the virtual reality in these games will become ever more impressive, ever more seemingly real, as time goes on.

This assumption allows us to anticipate a time when people will be able to lead a virtual life that is as real to them as reality out here in the physical world.

But even then, what happens in those game consoles will still be just that, make-believe. Our communities might actually be safer and more peaceful if we can relegate most violence and crime to what people do on their screens. (hh)