Spending a lot of time these days in the virtual world. Watching many videos about the newest game releases because me and Greg are thinking of building a new computer - well, to be exact, he's thinking of building it and asking me to invest in it. And listening to him talk about the latest technological leaps, about processors that have shrunk yet again to an almost quantum level, or quad cores and dual graphics cards, or seventeen-inch screens, it makes me almost want to build a machine too. Almost - I'm really not much of a hardware person. If my machines start to fail me, I'm more likely to adapt to the failure and learn to live with it than to repair it. Software, though, is a different cup of tea.
Anyway, we've been looking at computer games, and it strikes me how much effort is put into games artistically. It's the next big innovation after the cinema. Spent an afternoon happily watching all the cut-scenes from the Halo games, and it's a really detailed and immersive storyline, stuff right out of the movies. And some of it is really emotive, on a fundamental, low-level way. Not exactly poetry, it doesn't pull any punches in the plot, but even if it doesn't do it delicately or with much finesse, it pulls at heartstrings.
And then there's Mass Effect. The most beautiful sci-fi game that I've ever seen, and it's amazing in the amount of customisable content that is in the game. Many games, especially RTS, boast non-linear gameplay, as in every time you play is a different experience, and you have many means to achieve a goal. But when it comes to FPS games, a lot of the choices you make are really obvious binary choices, and plot flows are predictable. The amount of freedom you have always felt like part of a mechanical predetermined system. But with Mass Effect, they created a really immersive galaxy, where every detail matters, and they simulated conversations really precisely, right up to animating body language. So you really have to pay attention, and nuances and details really matter.
And look at this:
In this video, every scene with a human in it is generated in-game. If you change the look of your character (right down to the amount of blush on her cheeks, or the height of his cheekbones, depending of your fancy) before starting, the appearance of the character in the opening cinematic will change too. And look at the textures, and the naturalistic movements, and most stunningly, the completely believable banter! It's breathtaking in its imaginative investment, and mesmerising in its capability to catalyse the player's own imaginative scope.
Anyway, like I was saying, been spending a lot of time in the virtual world, and not just online and in computers. Also been watching a lot of movies (as those of you who've had the patience to read will have noticed), reading a lot (both fiction and TIME), keeping up with the news, and attending a play. Doing a lot of observing, absorbing information, enjoying, appreciating. And I have to say that it feels really good, all this enrichment and expansion. But I think I'm fast approaching the point where I'll be wanting something concrete to do. To go from passive observation to active application. To make time scarce again, and make actions matter.
Was down at school today grabbing a set of school graduation certs to vet through. Giving our old teachers a hand, considering the mountain of certs that await checking and their sheer lack of manpower. And it's something to do, you know, but not exactly glamorous stuff that you'd want to put on your CV. Was talking to Kats after getting the certs, and discussing how long the enjoyment of the vacuity of time can last. And the danger, isn't it, is that you grow too comfortable with this state of mind, and can't let go of it when time ultimately runs out. But the paradox is that once you start working again, you'll look back at these times of emptiness wistfully - no matter how much you tell yourself not to. And this time, when we start working again, we probably won't have the chance to be so carefree until we retire, which is an unimaginably long time away, like life in a different galaxy.
The way to appreciate this fully is to take a philosophical, metaphysical perspective, and realise that even the pining for work in a time of emptiness is a luxury, and the pining for freedom in the midst of temporal commitments is a privilege.
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