In 2008, Metafilter member aeschenkarnos wrote [a review of the outside world as if it were a video game](http://www.metafilter.com/70365/The-Myth-of-the-Media-Myth-Games-and-NonGamers#2063862):
> The physics system is note-perfect (often at the expense of playability), the graphics are beyond comparison, the rendering of objects is absolutely beautiful at any distance, and the player’s ability to interact with objects is really limited only by other players’ tolerance. The real fundamental problem with the game is that there is nothing to do.
It received a score of 7/10.
Since then, a few people have written about how treating your real life like a video game can improve your [productivity](https://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-01/can-treating-your-life-game-make-you-better-person#page-4) and [personal development](https://oliveremberton.com/2014/life-is-a-game-this-is-your-strategy-guide/). [Jane McGonigal](https://janemcgonigal.com/), one of [my design heroes](http://bob.ryskamp.org/brain/?p=41500), developed [a game to make people happier and healthier in real life](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfBpsV1Hwqs). And many “games” have been created to [teach meditation](https://www.headspace.com/headspace-meditation-app), [calm the mind](https://www.calm.com/), and even [“promote compassion, altruism and teamwork”](http://thatgamecompany.com/clouds-new-sky-game-details-revealed/).
There are clear parallels between the activities shown and taught in these “games” and the ones that multiple religions point to as leading to truth and enlightenment. Video games let you build a character, developing their “experience points” along the way; religions provide paths of growth toward holiness. Video games let you explore alternative realities; Buddhism and Christianity both explain that this world is not the “true” reality; the promised kingdom.
But piloting a character in a video game, and recognizing their false nature, is different than believing you yourself are a character in a game. [Nick Bostrom’s Simulation Argument](https://www.simulation-argument.com/) is the most well-known explanation of how we might actually be living inside a simulation, while Robin Sloan wrote a fascinating piece about [how to best succeed–and not get turned off–if that were true](http://www.jetpress.org/volume7/simulation.htm):
> If you might be living in a simulation then all else equal you should care less about others, live more for today, make your world look more likely to become rich, expect to and try more to participate in pivotal events, be more entertaining and praiseworthy, and keep the famous people around you happier and more interested in you.
However, I had almost the opposite reaction. Instead of making me strive for simulated immortality, taking such a perspective mostly changes how I view everyday things. When I imagine I’m a character in a game, a few things change:
– I pay more attention to the present moment: the people I’m with, the sights and sounds and feelings. It really is a well-designed game (“the graphics are beyond comparison”), but you only appreciate that by paying attention. And why play a game if you’re not going to pay attention to it?
– My phone, the internet, and TV are less tempting. Who logs into a video game just to have their character watch TV?
– In general I’m less swayed by indulgences. Drinking alcohol and eating junk food aren’t going to help with that leveling up, and being tired is something I can fix by simply clicking on a few more hours of sleep.
– It’s easier to do the chores and tasks I know I need to do. Somehow viewing myself as a character makes it easier for me to tell him to get to work.
– I feel braver and more willing to take risks, and try new things. Games reward exploration.
Interestingly, all these are also benefits I’ve found from prayer and meditation. Games and religious practices share the desire to reduce the ego and the identification with the “self”. If you don’t believe that this is your true self–your intended form–you can handle setbacks and struggles better (after all, they’re not about *you*). And you can still invest in and grow your “self”, but the stress of that and fear of failure goes away when you believe the true consequences and rewards are separate from this reality.
The danger in this perspective is descending into nihilism, where you believe that this life has no purpose. Reminding myself of the personal benefits of growth helps avoid that, but also looking deeply at the beauty of nature and society all around shows me the value of simply being there to experience it.
So if you see me moving a bit awkwardly around the world, gazing intently at every little thing, and trying weird new practices every day, cut me some slack–I’m still learning how to play this game.
