Poll: Gaming habits seeping in to the real world.

[chikusho]

I just woke up and went out for my morning smoke, and while doing that I had a look across the street outside my apartment.
Having played XCOM: Enemy Unknown for about 6-8 hours yesterday, the first thought that entered my head today was the Full Cover/Half Cover graphic that is marked across any old regular car while covering in an in city mission in XCOM. This led to a hypothetical scenario where I imagined how I would deploy my team if they landed here just outside my apartment.

Similiarly, after playing Half Life 1 for many hours when I was a lot younger, I got an almost reflexive/compulsive habit of imagining the possibilities of every day life if I could just Quick Save before attempting any kind of of action in a social situation (and subsequently load if things didn't turn out in my favor).

Have you had any similiar experiences, where the habits taught by game mechanics generated a real world reaction?

 

[Bernzz]

Similar to you in the Quick Save way, when I got Fallout 3, I really got into it. Eventually, I tried to Quick Save in my mind before attempting various things that could possibly go wrong, before realising that my mind doesn't have those sorts of powers.

It was kinda trippy at times, actually thinking like that.

 

[Voulan]

I'll go with the quicksave issue as well, although instead I'll often have strange panicky moments where I realize I can't save, and I wonder what will happen to my life's progress should something go wrong and then I can't reload. I have to remind myself that there is no need, nor any actual way to save.

Otherwise, I wouldn't say it has any other effect.

 

[Fieldy409_v1legacy]

Back when I was playing Oblivion tons, walking around the nature tracks at the gorge, I dunno, I kinda imagined the nice violin music playing and felt like I needed to keep an eye out for mudcrabs...

 

[Mullac]

When I was playing Half Life 1 I quick-saved in real life.

 

[poxyrom]

I had a 24 hour long halo bender with my friend. The next day, after no sleep, we went for a walk. I picked up a stick, and he walked up behind me, and my first thought was to hit him with my energy sword. I did so. He was on the ground for quite a while.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Lawd knows the gamer's tendency to blow everything out of proportion permeates the real world.

Well, it's hardly confined to gaming, but I certainly see a lot of it.

 

[Mojo]

Every once in a while Ill check and see where the best cover positions in a room are and make a hypothetical scenario in my head where Id hide, what Id do and where enemies might come from.

 

[Yopaz]

After playing Deus Ex Human Revolution I got into the habit of pulling people into ventilation shafts after killing them.

I don't really have any examples which I can think of. I guess I might have some, but if I do then they are too subtle for me to notice.

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

I get this quite occasionally after binging on a game or even tv show.

Usually it'll be simple stuff like, looking for sniping spots or hidden paths where the "devs" might have put hidden chests.

Also like a few have said already, quick saving in real life is a power I've tried to utilise =/

 

[Combustion Kevin]

putting my villagers to work to get me out of bed after an Age of Empires marathon.

took me a full minute to realise I was still half asleep. ^^'

 

[Mikkel421427]

Once, after a full day/half night bender on Metroid Prime Corruption, I woke up the next morning and didn't notice for a full twenty minutes that my right thumb moved accordingly to the direction that I was moving and that my left hand was pointing in the direction I was turning

 

[Kesimir]

I have definitely done the Jason Bourne thing after playing cover based shooters where I start seeing everyday things in terms of cover and lanes of fire. But more socially awkward is what I will hereby coin the 'elcor effect':

After playing MMOs for a while I got in the habit of speaking my emotions as if typing them. i.e. saying the word "grin" or "nod" instead of simply grinning or nodding.

Yeah it was shortly after realizing I was doing that when I toned down my MMO time, on a related topic did you know the sun is bright?

 

[Catfood220]

Playing a lot of Dishonored recently, I've been looking around looking for ledges that I could blink onto. Then I realise with more than a little disappointment that I can't do that shit.

Walking down the street after a few hours of playing Resident Evil 2, I noticed how dark and similar it was to the opening few minutes of the game, before you get to the Police Station and kept expecting zombies to be lurking around.

Again, walking down the road after a few hours playing Modern Warfare 2, my mind was still in game mode and I saw someone out of the corner of my eye and my first instinct was to turn and fire at that person.

 

[King of Asgaard]

After playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution, I started jumping on a lot of tables, rummaging through private stuff and speaking in a grizzled voice.
This is also relevant:

Spoiler

I haven't actually done any of that.
I've always been able to differentiate between reality and virtual worlds.

 

[chikusho]

I've always been able to differentiate between reality and virtual worlds.

Hey, this is a no-judgement zone of random impulses brought on by games.
Everyone here has a clear differentiation between real life and games, and I'd argue a naturally founded distanciation between said games and reality. However, let's not make this a "games = violence" thread. There are plenty to go around.

I get this quite occasionally after binging on a game or even tv show.

Usually it'll be simple stuff like, looking for sniping spots or hidden paths where the "devs" might have put hidden chests.

Also like a few have said already, quick saving in real life is a power I've tried to utilise =/

That was a new one. I can certainly relate to _dreaming_ of the world I've binged on, but being meta like looking for hidden chests is quite beyond me.

I have definitely done the Jason Bourne thing after playing cover based shooters where I start seeing everyday things in terms of cover and lanes of fire. But more socially awkward is what I will hereby coin the 'elcor effect':

After playing MMOs for a while I got in the habit of speaking my emotions as if typing them. i.e. saying the word "grin" or "nod" instead of simply grinning or nodding.

Yeah it was shortly after realizing I was doing that when I toned down my MMO time, on a related topic did you know the sun is bright?

This is a weird phenomenon. A few years ago I caught myself answering test questions in english by writing Diablo 2 lingo (I'm from Sweden).

Playing a lot of Dishonored recently, I've been looking around looking for ledges that I could blink onto. Then I realise with more than a little disappointment that I can't do that shit.

Walking down the street after a few hours of playing Resident Evil 2, I noticed how dark and similar it was to the opening few minutes of the game, before you get to the Police Station and kept expecting zombies to be lurking around.

Again, walking down the road after a few hours playing Modern Warfare 2, my mind was still in game mode and I saw someone out of the corner of my eye and my first instinct was to turn and fire at that person.

Nice to have a very recent example of this.
Although I think horror games are somewhat excempt from this. I've never been so pathetic as I was after finishing the first Condemned with a friend, walking home on dark empty streets. If only I could've found a fire axe somewhere along the way...

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

Countless hours spent playing the Thief series have conditioned me to notice when other people are looking towards me, and to take note of places to hide or escape through if necessary.

I also tend to dislike tile floors.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Not only does this apply to gaming, this applies to just about any visual media (potentially literature as well)...at least for me anyway. There have been times when I've walked out of a movie feeling like a Jedi or, Batman or, a really pissed off Mel Gibson looking for his family. The most powerful way this has effected me when it comes to gaming though came about after I played Deus Ex: Human Revolution and I swear to the Gods, I nearly got an erection saw the yellow highlighting every time I saw a vent cover.

Also every time I play Ken's Rage (or watch Fist of the North Star, excluding the live action film) I always stand a little taller, use the odd Japanese one-liner and, accuse people of 'already being dead'.

 

[King of Asgaard]

SNIP

No no, you misunderstand. I'm not judging anyone, I'm just stating how I 'tick', in that I can't get immersed to the degree where my behaviour changes because of a particular game.
I apologise if it came off sounding as me judging others, 'twas not my intent.

 

[an annoyed writer]

After playing Alan Wake and Max Payne back-to-back I occasionally found myself narrating my life in my head... and occasionally out-loud among my friends, to great comedic effect. I can also sympathize with Jackie Estacado with hating the light. That shit hurts my eyes, though that might have more to do with working third shift for two years and having bad eyes than having darkness powers of any sort.

Captcha says Half Empty. Yeah cap, sometimes I can't help but view the glass that way.