Reading, Imagining and Games
by聽Wei Jing HO聽–聽Sunday, 27 October 2024, 2:03 AM
Number of replies: 1
I have been reading the forums and threads and gained a lot of new knowledge and perspectives from everyone. 馃槉 My reading list is also building up, I lack the foundation to reply most of the threads, but I definitely appreciate learning from everyone’s formulations. 馃檹
Regarding the argument from illusion and indirect realism, I wonder if our ability to read and then imagine provides evidence for indirect realism.
I read a lot when I was younger. I wasn’t the smartest, I don’t have the best results, but I could proudly claim to “read finish all” the science fiction and fantasy books in my neighborhood library when I was young. I can spend weekends with a book imagining different worlds, magic, technology just by reading off words.
I have never seen magic, flying saucers, aliens or orcs, but through textual descriptions I was able to infer and imagine them. Maybe not as exact as what the author has in mind (unless there is a picture of the narrative) but I was able to construct a concept that I then “learn” and “experience”.
From my point of view, it appears that with a basic level of real world knowledge and sensory experiences, one can then imagine new worlds and concepts just by reading words (sight), listening to narratives (audio), or immersing oneself in game worlds or game plays. So I am quite comfortable with the idea of indirect realism shaping our experiences.
The concept of Idealism mentioned in later part of Chapter 7 is also quite interesting. As I understand it, it is sort of in-between indirect realism and direct realism? – “… and that knowledge of the world is constitute by our perception of it” as well as “If idealism is not qualified in some way, then it will end up maintaining that the world ceases to exist when no one is perceiving it”.
I can’t help but associate the philosophical concept to game development, where due to compute limitations, game worlds are rendered scene by scene.
The narrative of characters inside a game world or simulated reality is also quite common:
- Star Ocean 3 (PS2 game): The protagonists eventually realised their reality are designed by higher dimensional beings.
- Matrix (Movie Series): Humans live in simulated reality.
- Sword Art Online (Anime): Humans are trapped in an MMORPG where they die in real life if they are killed in the game.
The narratives explores theme similar to idealism as they suggest that what is “real” is limited and shaped by a character’s perception, which may lead to questions if reality is an illusion or mental constructs.
Re: Reading, Imagining and Games
by聽David Laflamme聽–聽Monday, 28 October 2024, 5:03 AM
I love the way that you weave questions of illusions in games to a greater analogy of the question of illusion in our greater reality. Your comparison reminds me of the idea of data visualization or even beyond where the whole is reflected in each facet. Another thought that you provoke is the idea of death or afterlife where our senses would be no longer functioning because of the end of our physical selves and whether a game or, an illusion inside an illusion, could be the cause of that cessation. My brain is smoking!