Poll: So, SAO...

[MiskWisk]

Okay, I just watched the season 1 ending of SAO (this is in no way a review of it) and for those of you who don't know about it, here is a quick bit of info for context.

In the near future, Virtual reality systems have been made and games for those systems. SAO (Sword Art Online) is the first VRMMORPG and features extremely high detail environments in line with the Matrix VR (for the sake of comparison). On the first day, 10000 players log in and find they cannot log out. They are then told the only way to free themselves is to climb all 100 floors of the giant floating castle they are on (each floor is 100 metres tall and the base is 10 km in diameter) defeating each boss in turn. Should they die at any point, in any way, in the game, they die in real life. Similarly, they cannot simply be unplugged as they will be killed by the hardware. Should they disconnect, they get two hours before being killed and tampering with the hardware will also kill them. Basically, unless they beat the game, they can not get out.

Now, when I first saw this premise, I thought, "I would never agree to those terms," although I would never have had a choice. However, after watching the series and seeing the mechanics of the game, I can't honestly say no to signing up, I would probably go in anyway.

Spoiler: My reasoning

In all honesty, the game itself is actually rather reasonable. Nothing in the game will kill you if it wouldn't kill you in real life, while the lack of magic means there wouldn't be too many insta-death scenarios. Maybe this is because the designer always intended on making the game beatable, so making unreasonable situations that would require a respawn system to complete would be extremely cruel

So, my question to you is, would you, if given the details before logging in, still do it? As I said, I just might anyway.

 

[DrRockor]

I also just finished watching it and without spoiling, the beginning of the last episode is an enormous emotional release.

OT: I'd probably join up. Once I got out I'd probably never join another for fear of getting stuck inside again. When I watched the first episode I thought I would probably play this game, seems awesome

 

[TehCookie]

No, I wouldn't want my unconscious body rotting in a hospital on life support for two years.

 

[niknar266]

I probably wouldn't do it but if it was a forced choice over a real death game like battle royale, mirai nikki or Btooom I'd choose SAO as I'd have a much better chance of surviving it since a virtual body that levels up RPG style would be a lot better than my unfit real body.

 

[Shinsei-J]

I'd go in, just to live inside a world that was made a game.
Or maybe it's because I'm just a insane bastard who wants to live in a more risky reality.

 

[FalloutJack]

As a .hack fan, I'm in automatically. No questions asked.

 

[V8 Ninja]

Aaaah, Sword Art Online. I REALLY want to punch that anime series in the face.

[RANT]

What really pisses me off about Sword Art Online is that the series had potential...and then decides to be a generic, almost degrading shounen love story. The first half of season 1 was on the rim of being something great, with tons of interesting ideas being introduced and lots of good stories coming from those ideas. At that time, it also felt like it understood the nature of video games rather than just kept everything vague and hand-wave extremely important details. And then the second half of season 1 became a boring love story. Which was...Okay, I guess. It did feel a bit out of nowhere, but there are a handful of arguments that can be put forth to explain that. And then the Alfheim Online arc kicks in, which is just a shounen-empowerment love fantasy storyline that is also a tad bit creepy. The scene that really pissed me off in the second season is...

Spoiler

...the scene where Asuna almost gets tentacle-raped by an scientist.

That scene really showed me that Sword Art Online does not care about having a slightly believable world, does not want to be more than a generic shounen love story, and does not want to contain any sort of quality.

[/RANT]

Anyways, about the main question; ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I really like living in the real word despite its boring nature. Now, I would not be opposed to buying and owning Sword Art Online-esque game (in the words of all of the internet, "Shut up and take my money!"), but I do like the sensation of eating real food and sleeping in a real bed.

 

[MiskWisk]

Interesting response coming in so far. I'm a little surprised that the poll is remaining fairly even, I thought it would swing quickly to the no side.

 

[Smeggs]

Probably not. On the cool plus side, it's a virtual reality that you can literally interact with, with all of your senses. However, I'd not want to be trapped there, not because it wouldn't still be enjoyable (there's a couple episodes where we see that players are living quite content lives inside the game world) but because of the fact that death will come at you not only from in-game factors, but from factors in the outside world that you cannot in any way control.

One of the few things that bothered me about SAO is that the series never addresses the ludicrous medical costs that would be required to keep thousands of players around the world on life support for the two years they were trapped in the game. I would imagine that a large number who died were actually killed because the hospital had to pull the plug as the families could no longer pay for them.

I would also assume a lot of the people who voted YES and PROBABLY with no hesitation did not think of this simple fact. How long could your parents support you when the medical bills are piling to the tens of thousands in a matter of months?

I mean, once Kirito escapes the game, you see how weak and malnourished he is; those are the effects of two years of being fed nutrient-rich paste through a straw as your body does nothing but lie there ans slowly begin to rot away.

Life goes on in the real world as well. There will be other people who can still contribute to society who will need those life support systems at some point. How long before the government decides that it's more important to save those still here rather than keep a bunch of vegetables alive and begin to pass Big Brother laws that unhook you from life support?


Now, if we're going to assume that there's some kind of magical bullshit going on where the life support is free for those stuck in the game (in the realistic world economy, that has about as much chance of happening as I do of sprouting wings and flying to Narnia), the government wouldn't interfere with life support, and you could stay hooked up to it for as long as the system could sustain you (proven to work for decades upon decades) then maybe. I'm 20 with not many aspirations in life. My country's future, I can't really tell, but it's not looking quite up at the moment. The only thing that would keep me from doing it would be my family. If my family decided to join the game with me, then I'd have no qualms about being stuck there.

And, chances are, someone would eventually reach the top floor in a few years anyway.

 

[Angie7F]

Ok, I googled it. It is a light novel?
Hmm.... Horizon in the middle of no where is about as far as I have kept up with.
Now I have something I have to read over the holidays...

 

[MiskWisk]

Ok, I googled it. It is a light novel?
Hmm.... Horizon in the middle of no where is about as far as I have kept up with.
Now I have something I have to read over the holidays...

The original was a light novel that was made into manga and anime

 

[Candidus]

I'm a violent man, violence is very important to me- a defining characteristic of me. I have no vocation in the labour market- nothing calls to me- and I'm often not in employment for that reason. I think the labour exchange is a hideous waste of life; a soul scarring experience that I don't want anything to do with, and I'm often unemployed because I don't make any effort to hide this opinion, not even in interviews.

The line, in the first episode: "In this world, a single blade can take you wherever you want to go", is the summary of a world that would be heaven for me.

I'd take that ticket right now. I'd take it eight days a week, from Monday to Fblasday. Really, I think I was born five hundred years too late or a hundred years too early.

 

[Ninjasander]

Aaaah, Sword Art Online. I REALLY want to punch that anime series in the face.

[RANT]

What really pisses me off about Sword Art Online is that the series had potential...and then decides to be a generic, almost degrading shounen love story. The first half of season 1 was on the rim of being something great, with tons of interesting ideas being introduced and lots of good stories coming from those ideas. At that time, it also felt like it understood the nature of video games rather than just kept everything vague and hand-wave extremely important details. And then the second half of season 1 became a boring love story. Which was...Okay, I guess. It did feel a bit out of nowhere, but there are a handful of arguments that can be put forth to explain that. And then the Alfheim Online arc kicks in, which is just a shounen-empowerment love fantasy storyline that is also a tad bit creepy. The scene that really pissed me off in the second season is...

Spoiler

...the scene where Asuna almost gets tentacle-raped by an scientist.

That scene really showed me that Sword Art Online does not care about having a slightly believable world, does not want to be more than a generic shounen love story, and does not want to contain any sort of quality.

[/RANT]

Anyways, about the main question; ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I really like living in the real word despite its boring nature. Now, I would not be opposed to buying and owning Sword Art Online-esque game (in the words of all of the internet, "Shut up and take my money!"), but I do like the sensation of eating real food and sleeping in a real bed.

As much as I enjoyed SAO, I really agree with what you're saying here. It could've been so good.

And just to be a bit nitpicky, the SAO and Alfheim arc are both season one. Season two has not been announced yet.

OT:
I don't think I would accept those terms.

I like my real body and life.

 

[V8 Ninja]

snip

As much as I enjoyed SAO, I really agree with what you're saying here. It could've been so good.

And just to be a bit nitpicky, the SAO and Alfheim arc are both season one. Season two has not been announced yet.

Ah, my bad then. I am always confused when it comes to the difference between seasons. I should just refer to certain plotlines as arcs instead.

 

[Smolderin]

Oh hell to the yes. I got nothing going for me over here and I certainly am not a very happy individual...however I do love video games, and if given the choice to live out the rest of my life in a believable, virtual reality world...I would take that chance. Would be pretty fun I would guess, despite the...you know...the chance of dying permanently...then again nothing much would change eh? Just more things with the chance to kill ya I guess.

 

[Dr. Cakey]

As I recall, by halfway to the top of whatever SAO's castle was called, 20% of its population had died. That's 1 in 5 people. Then the difficulty spiked. Have fun, losers.

Ok, I googled it. It is a light novel?
Hmm.... Horizon in the middle of no where is about as far as I have kept up with.
Now I have something I have to read over the holidays...

The original was a visual novel that was made into manga and anime

Light novel, not visual novel.

I feel obligated to mention that no, I don't like Sword Art Online at all because I'm not a sheep, the writer is a hack, etc. etc. etc. I hated it before it was cool etc. etc. etc. end post.

 

[MetalGenocide]

One of the old doom jokes comes to mind.

You die, and an angel meets you.
"Where do you choose to go? Heaven or Hell?
"Can I have a very detailed tour of the two?"
You get one. Then the angel asks you again. You answer:
"Hell. Just give me 200hp and a shotgun."


With some like-minded fellow players, I'd burn that game so fast, the weaker people won't have time for a nervous breakdown. It will be like watching fully upgraded cracklings easing through a defenseless base.

 

[thesilentman]

No. I don't want to endanger myself. As much as I have no (real life) friends that truly care for me, I feel that I'm still needed up here on Mother Earth.

I might reconsider it if I could log out at will and such, but not at the price of taking away two years of my life that I could have used elsewhere, like writing a book or going to university.

[sub]I hate to be a fuddy-duddy at times like this when I could be having fun...[/sub]

 

[MiskWisk]

As I recall, by halfway to the top of whatever SAO's castle was called, 20% of its population had died. That's 1 in 5 people. Then the difficulty spiked. Have fun, losers.

Ok, I googled it. It is a light novel?
Hmm.... Horizon in the middle of no where is about as far as I have kept up with.
Now I have something I have to read over the holidays...

The original was a visual novel that was made into manga and anime

Light novel, not visual novel.

I feel obligated to mention that no, I don't like Sword Art Online at all because I'm not a sheep, the writer is a hack, etc. etc. etc. I hated it before it was cool etc. etc. etc. end post.

Thank you for correcting me, I'll change that now.

 

[Esotera]

I imagine that most people would just blindly select "Click here to accept this EULA" and immediately regret it.

I might play it if it gave you some sort of electrical shock for not doing well at the game (after a few hours so you can learn how to play) and to stop trolling. But not if there's a chance of death or serious injury.