Reality vs Adventure

I've just seen a very interesting article from BBC Culture exploring the idea of photo modes in video games being used as a tool to create artwork. Not specifically a game's aesthetic design itself, but the use of Photo Mode to create works of art individually.
 
I've said it before and, even though I'm sure it's not a popular opinion, I'll still stand by the idea that a video game cannot be a work of art itself. I say that because for something to be art it has to have no purpose other than itself, no function. A video game has a function. It's not just entertainment, it's a challenge. A test of reflexes, strategy, teamwork and so on. There's art to be found in a game's make up with writing, design art etc, but the game itself is not a form of art.
 
However, I can totally get behind this notion of a game's photo made being a legitimate tool to create works of art. It makes sense to me in the same way art photography does and I feel it has a lot of potential. I think the infamously pretentious art world isn't ready to start displaying gaming screenshots in galleries and you just know (at least some) game companies will make it difficult for anyone who tries by means of copyright law (although I would describe a screenshot as a transformative work). Still it's nice to see at least some consideration of the idea coming through and taken seriously.
 
What do you think?

For me it just depends on the company. I'm an introvert naturally, but in good company I'm an extrovert. But since I feel like an alien most of the time around people, most of the time I'm an introvert. But if I go to a festival or something where all kinds of interesting people come together, then I'm an extrovert. I'm very sensitive to the 'weather' of crowds. I can feel it when there is good energy and bad energy. Also, I tend to feel comfortable in high energy areas which tend to be the lower income communities with bustling crowds. But if I go to a wealthy suburb, the energy is way different as people are more hard nosed and glare a lot. They aren't free of character. So I shut down in an angry little bubble. 

The issue for me really isn’t a white male protagonist, it is the ‘generic boring white male protagonist.’ Or the ‘young Clint Eastwood type.’ It has really run its course and people are just tired of it. The protagonist in Metal Gear Solid or AC Valhalla simply utilizes the white male the right way. It isn’t a forced cliche type of a societal white male dominant 50’s era perfect well rounded boy that everyone loves. In MGS and AC Valhalla, they have character. Not some whitewash facade forced down our throats. It is highly repetitive and I am not alone being completely irritated by the facade of the perfect white male while other people types are always the villain, monster, side kick, or fodder. I wholeheartedly agree that its shit seeing the same thing over and over again. They have the right to do what they want and we have the right to backlash. We are tired of it. And it is not just a gander to a specific crowd why they want a ‘young Clint Eastwood type.’ In cultural psychology, it is known as another attempt to heroize one type and demonize another. And this has gone on for too long consciously and subconsciously in entertainment.

Amazon as we know is way bigger, and who is trying to get into the gaming environment pays zero taxes. 

I think subconsciously many of us actually do play games as some form of coping mechanism. It could get you away from your spouse, parents; aid in boredom, loneliness; and there is a broad spectrum of emotions we go through on a daily basis where who knows what nerve makes us want to sit down and play whichever game we decide to play. But it wouldn't be a healthy coping mechanism to play games every time your spouse wants you to do the dishes. lol. For me, it definitely fills a void that has been deprived of me such as venturing into cities and villages in beautiful open worlds and immerse in culture and exploration. Maybe I desire to live in another age in another culture. Actually, I do desire that. Well shit...

I would laugh at them and let them die in whatever was happening while I was safe in my bunker. Hopefully though I would have an apocalypse-proof security camera so I could watch them and their children melt from the radiation or whatever else was happening. That would be funny as hell to watch.

I know there is a whole sleuth of games out there where you have your own personal vehicle. I want talk about some of your favorites. I bring this up because I have a big ass smile on my face playing Mad Max. Sometimes a vehicle can become an extended part of you. Maybe your personality, expression, taste, or even...companion? I am really enjoying the use of the vehicle in Mad Max and the fact that you can collect all kinds of other vehicles to use to drive whenever you want is awesome and I'm pleasantly surprised. In a way I am reminded of Days Gone as he rides a motorcycle in a post apocalyptic world. I think where Days Gone lacked was that you really can't ride around as much without needing more gas. Cool customizations for the bike and all, but the variations in bike style wasn't as broad. If I were to drive my bike around and tear things up as much as Mad Max, that would be pretty great. 
Another game I recently got is the latest Batman Arkham Knight. I'm not really a fan, but I wanted to try the game since it has really good reviews. I just started and I think driving the Batmobile is fun and there is lots of cool action. The controls are a bit weird to me. 
What other games do you know that you drive your personal vehicle and is always available, not just on a mission. Any things you like or dislike? Which vehicles will be a good match in a dual? Which ones look the coolest? Which ones would you make your extended self? For me, so far I have to say I'm sure I'll find it in Mad Max. If you haven't played it, it is highly recommended. 

I know there is a whole sleuth of games out there where you have your own personal vehicle. I want talk about some of your favorites. I bring this up because I have a big ass smile on my face playing Mad Max. Sometimes a vehicle can become an extended part of you. Maybe your personality, expression, taste, or even...companion? I am really enjoying the use of the vehicle in Mad Max and the fact that you can collect all kinds of other vehicles to use to drive whenever you want is awesome and I'm pleasantly surprised. In a way I am reminded of Days Gone as he rides a motorcycle in a post apocalyptic world. I think where Days Gone lacked was that you really can't ride around as much without needing more gas. Cool customizations for the bike and all, but the variations in bike style wasn't as broad. If I were to drive my bike around and tear things up as much as Mad Max, that would be pretty great. 
Another game I recently got is the latest Batman Arkham Knight. I'm not really a fan, but I wanted to try the game since it has really good reviews. I just started and I think driving the Batmobile is fun and there is lots of cool action. The controls are a bit weird to me. 
What other games do you know that you drive your personal vehicle and is always available, not just on a mission. Any things you like or dislike? Which vehicles will be a good match in a dual? Which ones look the coolest? Which ones would you make your extended self? For me, so far I have to say I'm sure I'll find it in Mad Max. If you haven't played it, it is highly recommended. 

Alcohol is accepted by the populace because it is legal. With the exception of the prohibition era, alcohol has been the go-to intoxicant for centuries. People are only opposed to other intoxicants like marijuana, cocaine, and heroin because they are designated as illegal. What people won't accept is that marijuana actually is much less dangerous than alcohol. They won't accept that hospitals use cocaine as a numbing agent. They won't accept that heroin was successfully used by 19th century doctors the way methadone is used today. To get people off drugs like laudanum. Something people don't know is that "heroin" is actually a brand name, like Pepsi, Sony, Zippo etc. But it's used generically today.
People accept alcohol because it's legal, and reject other substances because they are designated illegal. Even though alcohol is by far one of the most dangerous and destructive drugs known to man. I won't lie. I enjoy a drink from time to time. But I keep it in check. I'm predisposed to alcoholism as it runs in my family. So I am very careful about it. I don't have an issue with alcohol, but I think my past as a drug addict helps me keep it in check. I have a medical marijuana card. But I only use it as a last resort, even though I smoked it off and on recreationally since I was 16. From the years of 18-22 I have no memory because I was drugged out the entire time. I did anything and everything. If someone passed me something and I was either too high to recognize it or was unfamiliar with it, I only had 2 questions.
How do I take it?
How long until it kicks in?
It's an internal war that no one will understand unless they've been there to stay clean/sober. I know where to get these things. Every day I want to go out and get some blow, angel dust, acid, rock, or tar. I've even gone so far as to hit an ATM and drive over to a pharmacist. But I changed my mind as I was looking at him.
@Reality vs Adventure knows what that urge and fight is when he drives by liquor stores and bars. He has to fight a war so violent that it would scare the shit out of the average person.
And those who have dealt with addiction are 100 times more likely to fall back into the addiction. It is harder for us to stay clean/sober than the average person. We have to find strength we didn't know we had to say No.

The boy has no room to talk when his father is a demagogue. 
 

He can eat all the shit he wants from me, and I'm sure every other Democrat will be right there in line with me to shit on his face.

They haven't helped me from the trauma I went through in the Marines. They haven't made a damn bit of difference. So I'll tell you right now that that study is severely flawed, or purely bullshit.
Besides, they only publish the results they want from studies like that anyway. They don't publish the numbers of soldiers that violent games either didn't help or made their PTSD worse. Those are the numbers you're looking for.

This is such a bizarre and ironic one - while your disassociation theory does sound plausible but this study seems to still lack a lot of substantial evidence that it actually works. As we know, a new study can also come out tomorrow disproving this new finding so I'll just wait for more evidence before I can conclude that it can actually help.

Maybe in the game they develop a sense of control which carries on in their dreams. Maybe it helps detach them from something personal as killing in video games tends to be impersonal, which would mean that impersonal violence carries on in their dreams so that instead of seeing the eyes of someone you killed or saw die, it becomes a blur and they see many blurry enemies or allies instead of that one defined one that haunts them. Or maybe it helps them see things clearly and develop battlefield awareness playing video games that helps them see what is going on in the dreams and gives them security that they can find safety. 
If aggressive video games help soldiers with ptsd, should a woman who was raped play a video game where there is a lot of rape in order to cope with it better in her dreams?  So there is some irony there. But hell, maybe so. 

They won't do it. They all supported Adolf, and fought against democracy. They're just making this claim to give the impression that their party matters. It doesn't. Even if they did form a new party, their actions and ideals wouldn't change. There would be no difference from how they are now except what they call themselves. The appropriate name for them would be Fucking Retards if you want to put it mildly. No offense to anyone with mental and cognitive difficulties. I have several of those issues myself.
If they really want to get behind this country there already is a party they need to join. The people already in that party are called Democrats.
And for those who try to use the "Democrat ends in rat" as an insult, I say thank you!
Because if you knew anything about rats, you would know that they live in colonies in a nest. And there's a patriarch and a matriarch. They run the show. But all the other rats are finding food, defending the colony, and maintaining the nest. They work together to survive. They all take care of their young. They support each other and live together mostly peacefully.
So to call us rats, is actually a huge compliment.

That's true too, but people get killed for wearing a protective face mask during a pandemic. So we should be more concerned about the mental health pandemic more than an innocent action that can get you killed. Cause to me, that real life violence actually should be the video game. 
But to intensely listen to a conversation you are having with someone as much as a dialogue, that may be a workable approach to curb attention issues. I can see that being a real strategy. Just don't accidentally punch the MF when you meant to check your phone. LOL

That's an interesting question. I've had socialization problems and tend to live as a hermit. But I think I am fairly a social being when in the right crowds. Living in klanville, I don't want to have anything to do with anyone around here. Not at the store, not with neighbors, not anytime, no matter the mood. I have felt the difference in crowds and how my anxiety can completely break off me like a shell when around diverse people. For me, it would still be hard to imagine being in a game and be carefree, while knowing I may have to go to war against my neighbors. It is there in our minds now. But let's go back to a different time. A time when things weren't this bad. Back then I was still the asocial type. And I was still the social type among certain people. I was raised in a diverse and poor area in Vegas. Then we moved to Houston in a very wealthy and one of the most dominantly white areas of the 4th largest city. So I believe my anxiety and asocial tendencies developed there by force. Because I didn't fit in. I wasn't like the rich white kid. So for me, to completely erase that cement of the mind by trying to be carefree like a video game seems far fetched to me. But not impossible. And this may actually be a very real therapy if I wasn't scared to try it. Or I should add, if I wasn't so angry to try it. Maybe I will in another place sometime. I will keep that in my mind to just think about it being a video game. And I'm in a village admiring the people; willing to talk; willing to learn; take things in; share ideas; make small talk; compliment someone. Oh wait...I do do that. Just never here in klanville. And why the hell should I? Why does everyone have to change themselves; to work on themselves to please the haters. My anxiety is here to stay as long as racism is here to stay. 

Maybe if a person has a fear of something, they can play that scenario in games and maybe help cope through it by gaining confidence and experience to overcome. Or playing something that relaxes and puts the mind in a better existence has a natural anti anxiety effect. And even playing a game that you can relate personally with the story, can relieve some stagnant emotions. 

Literally. Hitler's Gestapo literally went door to door, forced themselves into homes, and looked for Jews. The public didn't have the option of telling them to fuck off. We're descending into Nazi era Germany, and it's all the fault of the republiKKKlan's. They want authoritarian rule that bows to their whim. Or maybe it should be authoritARYAN rule. If they somehow get any form of power, we're fucked.

The Medium isn't even available on ps4. Thats messed up cause it's made by Bloober Team, who made Layers of Fear and Observer. And I'm craaaaazy about Layers of Fear. 
 

The white Arabian is up by lake Isabella. The warped brindle is near the Wapiti reservation. The red chestnut is by Owanjla lake.

People would still shoot each other, but the politicians would have one less thing they could use as a scapegoat.

I would read more

Yeah I'm probably gonna get. I've got that urge to play it; you know like that feeling when you want a little something special at the grocery store.