While I could take an easy way out of Purposetown with the Gloomtrain, I have some thoughts on the "gamer face" principle and what surrounds it. I was hardcore when I was little. Hell, who was not? The main thing I remember putting me into the very trance we are talking about was immersion and, to some extent, fascination with the world I delved in. The first game I got was <url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Pond_III>James Pond III, and for those who know of its design, you know it is not exactly gloomy. It was, however, utterly mysterious and captivating in its unfamiliarity. This might have been what got me hooked on gaming, and what enabled me unrivaled focus at what I was playing. Back then, doom and gloom was definitely even more captivating, as everything was, because there was an unfamiliar psychology behind it. I was already back then interested in psychology, and when I got my hands on <url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shining_in_the_Darkness>Shining in the Darkness from some backwater (probably unauthorized) salesperson, I was sold for life.Christina Jen-Chia Hsieh said:
Growing "old" has unfortunately abated a lot of the joy I could feel from gaming, and perhaps most of this fact should be chalked up to experience. I might be a bit world-weary right now, but I have every hope that it will wear off and I will become that gaming middle-aged uncle (I think I already am an uncle, but you get my point), like my own uncle is, and later the gaming grandpa who can truly enjoy not only simply fun games like Paper Mario 2: The Thousand Year Door, but also immersing and serious games like Mass Effect.
Gamers' seriousness from exactly the kind of responsibility you speak of is indeed quite natural, in that they can not only affect the world they have delved into so deeply (as you can not with books or films), but also know that there is experience and learning in exploring the different possibilities. This kept me going for a very long time with Mass Effect, and, in truth, enables you to live even deeper in the world you play and observe. From experience, we know there are things to be learned about the world in the massive creativity that is possible, and about ourselves in how the human consciousness is explored. This makes virtual experiences both an art and a science.
This very same effect of learning can naturally be achieved in, exempli gratia, Paper Mario, in that when I played it, I found myself sympathizing with some of the various characters and feeling strongly for them, learning about myself. The task ahead of me was just as grim because they mattered to me, and no doom or gloom was needed.
tl;dr: I agree on most points, and doom and gloom is just a simple way of producing seriousness for the sake of conjuring interest and immersion. Many times, other methods would be more effective. Excellent writing! I enjoyed it greatly as it reflected many of my own contemplations throughout the years.
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