[extropy-chat] Gaming: ? re 2010 - 2030 "GameChangers"

[Mike Dougherty]

On 2/6/07, kevinfreels.com <kevin at kevinfreels.com> wrote:
> I disagree here. the "Choose your own adventure" stories never took over the
> literary world and I doubt that they will take over film either. Movies are
> a cultural thing. There's a certain bond there when I say to a total
> stranger "If she weighs as much as a duck...." and they finish with "she's a
> witch!", or when someone says to me "Surely you can't be serious" and I
> reply "I am serious....and don't call me Shirley."
> Linear stories present an opportunity for people to share fictitious
> experiences. Telling my daughter to remember what happened to the boy who
> cried wolf only allows me to pass down the message if the ending of the
> story were the same for me as it is for her.

Agreed.  Ever been to a Rocky Horror Picture Show?  'more than once?
I'm not saying that can or should replace linear media, but i think
something like it could become more popular.  (of course, any amount
of supposition is doomed to be laughably wrong, so I use the example
of the choose-your-adventure as an icon to represent a group media
experience)

> I expect that we will soon see this in theme parks or specialized theaters
> similar IMAX but I don't expect it to replace the traditional linear film.
> Interesting new inventions will come around and add to it making it a
> greater experience, but we live linear lives and linear stories are easiest
> for us to relate to.

How many applications are in your taskbar right now?  Are you also
listening to an iPod or radio, is the TV on in the room you are in?
We are evolving into less linear and single-tasking lives all the
time.  I agree with your point about needing commonality in order to
relate - however I think in the future we may directly realize classes
of memes regardless of what characters are used to deliver them.  "Oh,
it's that type of story" will have us looking for a new stream long
before we get to the happily ever after ending.  (Does anyone still
wait for websites' Flash Intro to even download, let alone play all
the way through?)