"Gamers 'can't tell real world from fantasy'"
To think that millions upon millions of gamers could be wandering around in a trance, unable to tell if they're ploughing through real life or some virtual world where the only consequence is a 'Try Again?' screen.
What's even more harrowing, considering the average gamer is now somewhere in his late thirties, is that these maniacs could be our doctors, police officers and fire fighters. Heck, even politicians could have had a twiddle on the devil sticks.
Praise the heavens, then, for the latest study into the horrifically adverse affects gaming can have on the human mind. Now, with our eyes opened, perhaps we can work towards a cure.
Flick to page seven of today's Metro and you'll see just how many infected minds we're dealing with here. We've got a big task ahead of us because... Oh, hang on a second:
"A study of 42 gamers aged 15 to 21 who played for at least ten hours a week revealed that most have experienced 'games transfer phenomena'."
42.
The answer to life in the universe and everything and, apparently, a sample size large enough to draw damning absolutes like 'Gamers can't tell if they're in the real world or a fantasy world'.
We don't want to get all technical (clearly discussions of psychological studies is neither the time nor place) but surveys are generally considered worthy of drawing conclusions when they draw on a sample of just over 1000 people.
We've all seen the odd Loreal advert that spouts "97 percent of women said their hair felt 71 times silkier". It's hard not to snigger when you spot the tiny disclaimer at the bottom of the screen that confesses a sample size of 14 women.
Still, if it's good enough for Loreal...
Are these the wild claims of some reckless social scientist then? Of course not. Co-author Mark Griffiths himself responsibly points out that "more research was needed to examine possible negative consequences."
You wouldn't know that though, unless you managed to tear through all of negative hyperbole preceding the word of caution in the second to last paragraph. Well played Metro. Well played indeed.
Linus (aged 19) said that he once thought he could use a World of Warcraft-style search function when trying to find his older brother in a crowd. A bit odd we'll admit, but hardly something to be sectioned over. More likely a flash of absent mindedness or a whimsical pondering rather than a permanent reprogramming of the brain.
Then there's 15-year-old Simon who "admitted" wanting to use Half-Life's Gravity Gun to fetch something from the fridge.
We can say without doubt that, if we were to take our podium and megaphone to Trafalgar Square and pitch this to the general mid-day public right now (and that'd be more than 42 people by the way), the vast majority would "admit" they'd also like to do that.
Forget your 15-year-olds, chair-bound pensioners would go nuts for the idea.
But that's not the point. We'll admit that we've been 'thinking in portals' since the Valve puzzler first popped up, but we've also used a wrapping paper tube as a lightsaber, pushed-out our chest in a Ford Focus and pretended it was the Batmobile.
This isn't just a side-effect of video games. If you've left the cinema without even the embryo of a fantasy in the back of your mind, then you haven't been to the cinema. Let's not tell 15-year-old Simon it's wrong to dream.
More importantly it isn't unhealthy either, it's the keystone to creative development. While the Metro is able to point to a "few participants" who had "criminal thoughts" (and mentally exploring an idea is light-years way from actually acting upon that idea, remember) let's not lose sight of the fact that it's an overwhelming minority, even in that tiny 42 person sample size.
Phew. Panic over we think.
Just to make sure gamers definitely aren't going to eat each other like a flesh-hungry Pac Man army, we did a survey of our own. 100 percent of the five people we asked said everything's going to be A-Okay.
Comments
87 comments so far...
dannyhulse on 21 Sep '11 said:
Wait? I'm NOT Adam Jensen?
Th...then...what...am...I?
steve_2003 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Seriously, that has really put the fear of god into me - I'm scared and shall never look at the TV again!
Oh, sorry, just to clarify - I meant the picture of Ulrika Jonsson
the quote "Videogame" article is just pure nonsense. 
Blue Odeyssey on 21 Sep '11 said:
I don't understand, Metro's games offering is pretty good, particularly there website, why would they attack video games with such reckless disregard.
Lance Uppercunt on 21 Sep '11 said:
I know I suffer from this. Just yesterday I headbutted a breeze block. Bastard thing didn't even break, never mind eject a growth enhancing mushroom.
NEO_SUPERMAN on 21 Sep '11 said:
Haha! This gave me a laugh on the way to work this morning.
I knew it'd be a story on cvg.
Kinda reminds me of the film, the beach, where leonardi di caprio is running round the jungle, pretending he's in a game. Genius.
MD1500 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Why isn't this part of CVG's W.R.O.N.G. campaign?
Moorpheus on 21 Sep '11 said:
It's amazing how we get story after story about how games are pretty much the spawn of the devil...
Then I see this...
http://news.yahoo.com/online-gamers-cra ... 27367.html
I bet this doesn't get reported in the Fail!
STE MO on 21 Sep '11 said:
LMFAO. I was just having illicit thoughts about getting it on with Jennifer Aniston and doing some terrible things to her that should would probably enjoy. Lock me up in a mental institute for dreaming. I must have friends transferance
STE MO on 21 Sep '11 said:
Just heard the story on Radio 1 they are doing something later on it.
creamerybutter on 21 Sep '11 said:
How stupid. For a start I did studies with larger sample sizes for my psychology a level, they weren't reported on in national papers....
And who hasn't fantisised about something in a game/film/book/tv show. Shawn of the Dead caused a discussion between my mates and I about where we hold up during a zombie attack, recently Falling Skies had me wondering about Alien Attacks and sure I have wondered what exploring the Capital Wastes would really be like. It doesn't make me trapped in a virtual word.....just a boring one.. I don't have a book example as I can't read.
Willypiggy on 21 Sep '11 said:
this article gave me a good chuckle
I'll admit I've once caught myself pressing my thumb in the hopes of pressing a push to talk key whilst not even at a computer but its nothing more than being absent minded, if you get used to something like that (the person saying he wanted to search for his brother in a crowd) then its just normal to think of the first solution that comes to mind. Did he go and stick a pole into his brothers head with his name on it? No, he didn't so I'm not seeing any harm from his one time accidental mix up. The amount of crap tabloids pedal is crazy, the only paper I've ever read without any nonsense is the Guardian which is why it's what I read.
TheLastDodo on 21 Sep '11 said:
A waste of a tree and two minutes of my life.
Marvin1198 on 21 Sep '11 said:
What a load of crap, bet most of them were using it as an excuse to get let off robbing etc. Ive been playing games all my life pretty much and I can tell the difference between both worlds. Now I must go and finish counting my rings ive been collecting today here and their think I only need a couple more then I can go yellow and all super...........
ladycroft142 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Is this article even real or just part of the game?! I just don't know
wrightandrewjame on 21 Sep '11 said:
'Gamers are trapped in virtual worlds'
Tron is a documentary?
360365 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Imagination is a wonderful thing, its only human to wonder "what if" and imo games, movies, books even music helps to enhance your imagination. A bit of escapism helps to keep you sane, i reckon.. Jog on Metro..
Kroll_GB on 21 Sep '11 said:
I do remember playing through Halo 1 on legendary co-op for about 5 hours straight with my flatmate at the time and then going down to the supermarket to get dinner and losing him in the aisles.
I spent about 5 seconds looking for the helpful upside down green triangle until I realised it was real life. Disappointment has never been so crushing (until I later found him sleeping with my ex girlfriend). Bastard.
darry on 21 Sep '11 said:
So basically, it's bad to have an imagination.
JakeyBaby on 21 Sep '11 said:
That's a load of crap - Now if you'll excuse me, I left a chicken in a bin near those punks over there >.>
ZeroTime on 21 Sep '11 said:
The author of the article probably fantasizes about being a successful columnist.
GTCzeero on 21 Sep '11 said:
I would come up with a counter-argument, but for some reason my Paragon/ Renegade conversation options aren't appearing on the periphery of my vision like they usually do. Weird.
woodins on 21 Sep '11 said:
Oh please . . . . . . . .
Many a night as an 18yr-old I would stagger out of my local boozer p**sed-up, pretending I was Solid Snake. Taking cover behind bus shelters, having fictional, existential conversations with Otacon about the universe, pretending the army of fat-birds that inhabit South london were the legions of Genome soldiers that I had to avoid. Alright, so I didn't get laid much until I went Uni, but I was the only one out of my circle of friends who wasn't beaten/mugged/coerced into appearing on a reality TV show, due to most people thinking I needed medication.
No harm in it. I mean we've all done that at one point in our lives right? . . . . . .
Besides, most single women I know (particularly those in thier late 20's/early 30's) have this fantasy where they meet that bloke like the one off of Sex in the City, and then have this party where they wear a white dress and everyone tells them how amazing and pretty they are and that they get more and more beautiful as they get older. The papers don't talk about that little flight of fancy, or the repercussions for when it (often) goes wrong.
As a 31yr old male who pays his bills, taxes etc. who happens to occasionally slip off into a daydream as to whether or not his local supermarket would make a good map in Counterstrike as I'm pushing a trolley around, or pretending to be "Magneto for a day" and what I would do to my local high street, I think I'm the safer bet.
dannyhulse on 21 Sep '11 said:
Yeah seriously, for my GCSE Psychology coursework I had a sample size of around 70.
buffig on 21 Sep '11 said:
Better Headline: "Tabloid Editors trapped in world of sensationalist bulls**t - Unable to distinguish fact from b*****ks!!!!"
Gamer4LIFE2011 on 21 Sep '11 said:
EVERYONE is trapped in their own little worlds anyway LoL
Headsrinker on 21 Sep '11 said:
Very well written article. There are many comparisons and examples of instances where the general public (not just gamers) live in their own fantasy worlds. RELIGION been the biggest of them all. And how many people have died over that little fantasy?? MILLIONS
Barry316 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Some more than others eh Mr Hate Microsoft.
TheDragonDoji on 21 Sep '11 said:
What I don't understand is that the Metro is a FREE morning paper. They don't need to pander to the right-wing hysterics to shift copies...no sales...who cares!?
I suppose you can now charge more for advertising space eh!?
Sorry for the rant lads, I've just realised I've gotta stop a demented Russian with a scarred face from finding the Jintomani stone and taking over the world.
Work, work, work!
TroubleMaker411 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Holy jesus!
A whole 42 people.
How ever did you get that amount of people into a room
shaolinsword on 21 Sep '11 said:
I've always wondered why I've tried jumping on people's heads and why I'm constantly trying to fit down pipes hoping that I'll find a secret warp room but now I know
Regardless of the stupid headline, The Metro is still a fantastic commuter paper. Nemi and the sports make that paper great
freds1 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Never playing Silent Hill again.
VampiricPadraig on 21 Sep '11 said:
I swear, the next article that is written by a 60-year-old person is GOING TO GET SHOT!!!
Video Gaming is "MAINSTREAM MEDIA" like Music, Books, TV, etc.
People need to wise up and look at the Good Side of Gaming.
Way to turn the public into haters of video games.
Me: Now if you excuse me, I want to go and play a couple of games
Person: OMG. He has no life because he plays video games and doesn't get out and then he will get unhealthy because he is lazy and then he will die.
(That's how I imagine every coloumnist is to every gamer)
MrPirtniw on 21 Sep '11 said:
Don't worry people, thanks to this fancy dagger ihave here I can actually rewind time and stop this silly article ever being written. Just need some sand...
Oh.
CrimsonOrchid on 21 Sep '11 said:
frankly what a load of crap i play games for a bit of fun and relaxation i know when i go out in the real world i'm not going to hack zombies to death run round blowing up every building it's another way to just say games are "BAD" just like programes on tv or flims then we know they not real it's just a bit of fun from the dross of real life
sjholland87 on 21 Sep '11 said:
I stand by this...
If people can not recognise fantasy from reality, they need serious help.
End of story.
lonewolf2002 on 21 Sep '11 said:
What is this Metro publication that you mention? Does not exist in my world/worlds, is it something written by story tellers who were turned down by real publications?
El Mag on 21 Sep '11 said:
Separated at birth?
http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01378/05b9f57d-280_1378990a.jpg
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_o7MytQa2CRA/TQlVE9aOohI/AAAAAAAAAQk/WjG7yltzd2s/s1600/emuface.jpg
BeccaBee90 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Well I have the powers of Alex Mercer from Prototype. I think that where they got their idea for the game from.
But you are right. Im pretty sure everyone has the odd fantasy of being really powerful or being on a quest to find the broccoli. If I go to see a film thats superhero/action related then I will have that in my mind. There was even a group on facebook about leaving the cinema after watching James Bond and thinking you're a super spy.
Its a good thing. It means our imaginations are working. The few of us who really love those fantasies will take them and make them into a film or a game which will lead to more people doing it. If no one let their imagination wander a little we would be stuck with a pretty poor bunch of games and films.
richomack360 on 21 Sep '11 said:
I have to admit, this is completely 100% true
Only the other day I was driving towards Basildon when some buffoon cut me up. Naturally I threw a red turtle shell out of my car window, resulting in the driver of the offending vehicle being hit, spinning several times and myself overtaking.
Next thing they will be telling me is that Syndicate is being remade as an FPS...
humanhand on 21 Sep '11 said:
Ridiculous.
NEO_SUPERMAN on 21 Sep '11 said:
Why won't my great grand mother respawn?
markyR on 21 Sep '11 said:
I wish I could make myself invisible when I want and imagine I'm in an Aston Martin One-77 when driving. s**t, I'm of to get myself sanctioned.
nickskfman on 21 Sep '11 said:
That explains why noclip is not working
TheLastDodo on 21 Sep '11 said:
I'll be honest I'd rather shag the emu but after a few pint's Ulrika might stand a chance.
Black Mantis on 21 Sep '11 said:
The only reason I touch the Metro is for the McDonald's vouchers. So much crap in that paper.
adgr19 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Nothing would give me more pleasure than reading a well researched and grounded article about the perils of gaming. Why do these trashy rags insist on following the same old knee-jerk, lazy, copy and paste journalism? It's mundane and predictable every-day rubbish like this that pushes people towards something that breaks the monotony of life, like video games. It'd be brilliant if 1 journalist would use thier initiative and do something different.
Metro you're not worth trees it takes or the polution it makes to get you into peoples hands.
MrPirtniw on 21 Sep '11 said:
There's a lot of crap in McDonalds food too to be fair.
MrMoobs on 21 Sep '11 said:
I always travel by green pipe to work in the morning so I've never seen a copy of the metro.
Bryanee1983 on 21 Sep '11 said:
Who wouldnt want to use a gravity gun to get something from the fridge?
Laughlyn on 21 Sep '11 said:
Trust me! if i was in a fantsay world i wouldnt be unemployed stuck in my house day in day out cos i cant afford to go anywhere. I'd be happily tooting around as some hot shot f-zero racer with pleeeenty of ladys that are a lot hotter than my missus. if this is my fantay world am in then.... DAMN!!
silent moose on 21 Sep '11 said:
I resent that on another note I leveled up after reading this article and unlocked the dissapointing frown perk
dragonjim on 21 Sep '11 said:
I wish life had difficulty levels!
Itsacrysis on 21 Sep '11 said:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/15002820
This happened to me once, got in a fight, thought I was invincible due to my brotherhood of steel power armour. This didn't help, so I called in an aistrike and UAV, again nothing. The only reason I escaped was because of my mario kart.
Kroll_GB on 21 Sep '11 said:
So not true. Nemi, I love Nemi. One day she will be my wi....
Oh.
bennyt on 21 Sep '11 said:
Never mind that, the biggest culprit has to be Wanye Rooney-he runs around thinking he's mr.potato head from toy story...poor guy
DrGR on 21 Sep '11 said:
As a doctor and gamer I hope the dull day I just had at work was not a game (duller than the first hour of GTA IV I played)... I want my money back otherwise!
Wait a minute...Maybe I never qualified...Maybe I've been entranced by a 5year long game of Trauma Centre all along!!!
wuntuwuntu on 21 Sep '11 said:
I have often thought about life in Middle earth and what a nice life it would be to be a hobbit, drinking home brew ale and smoking pipe weed all day!! But hey that's just a fictional world and the reality is... I don't have hairy feet.
mental_mick on 21 Sep '11 said:
Ulrika Jonsson!? My god, though E.T. had got lost again. That really is a bad pic lol
I find these kind of articles offensive. We're not idiots, you know! I have a good grip on reality, I know what's real and what isn't. I know you can't go around shooting people in the head and then tea-bagging their still twitching corpse as well as the next person.
I personally don't want to live in a world where we don't ponder the 'What ifs?'. It just means you have a healthy imagination, in my opinion.
gmcb007 on 21 Sep '11 said:
To think people get paid to carry out this 'research'.
k-mysta on 21 Sep '11 said:
well i kind of take the world as a hub that i use to access other worlds through games. I admit, i do give my dumps scores and sometimes give myself experience points when i do something cool (jumping off a wall at night like a ninja=50 xp) and occassionally stalk random people off the bus until i follow them home, at which point i look at how long it took to get there, amount of suspicion aroused and value of the targ...person that i follow before judging the success of my mission and retreating to the tree...safehouse for debriefing and allocating it a spot on my high score list. its all fun and games though
.everyone's done that before.right?right guys?i'm not crazy haha.i'm not.hahaha.guys?
k-mysta on 21 Sep '11 said:
to be fair, how do we know we don't actually exist in a virtual world?we can't prove this is reality.questioned by brilliant minds from plato/socrates to descartes.brain in a vat,matrix...life might just be a game with no HUD,super graphics and extreme 3D with the added experience of the fourth dimension, time.with no bloody cheats.to be honest, if had to give my life a score, it would be a 4/10.not enough explosions.not enough set pieces.npc's are horribly cliche and lack any real worthwile interaction apart the act of reproduction.frame rate is terrible when you resume play (wake up as they call it here).from what i hear, the sequel is worse too.but seeing as we get it for free...game on
Swashy on 21 Sep '11 said:
Rubbish games are just way to relax have a bit fun with some friends or online we all know were not going to go out slaying zombies or flying on dragons just another way of saying games are "EVIL"
silly fossil on 21 Sep '11 said:
None of you read the "real" article. You just read the fantasy that your gamer brain constructed for you, with hallucinatory word "Metro" hanging over it. Also, you have no reason to get defensive, since you only imagined that you are gamers anyway. Wait.
SeanS22 on 21 Sep '11 said:
An article from Metro?
I never asked for this.
Sleepaphobic on 21 Sep '11 said:
If people weren't retarded then stories like this would just be there for a good laugh but the problem is that most people are pretty retarded and believe most of the crap they read or watch.
RandyChimp on 21 Sep '11 said:
Whatever! Earlier today when I was eating cheerios, and this big f**kin wolf just bursts through my front door, being ridden by a mage. This guy starts throwing fire at me, I'm like "Woah, I haven't even had my morning s**t yet!" So I threw the bowl at him, yelled "FOR AKAZUTHAR!" and pulled out my blade of glangthon. Needless to say, this mage was pretty terrified at the sight of my mighty weapon (insert cock joke here), so he turned and ran out of the house, leaving behind only todays issue of The Metro. When I saw this story, I was so angry, I jumped in my pimped out ride, mowed down some bitches and popped a cap in the ass of several armed forces commanders without breaking a sweat (which is impressive considering the amount of guns I was carrying). Obviously, I had to vent, so I used my epic parkour skills to catch a ride on the nearest train, managing to dodge various signs and fight off a group of gay ninjas. When I eventually got home, I came here and wrote this.
What the hell did YOU do today?
sepewrath on 21 Sep '11 said:
They wont let me in the aquarium anymore because I keep stepping on turtles
mideonphish on 21 Sep '11 said:
Where did these people get their qualifications from exactly? I'm guessing the back side of a cornflake packet from the looks of things. Journalistic integrity my a**.
These press gangers get on my nerves with their anti-gaming rhetoric, I'm guessing that maybe they are angry that some gamers like my self don't bother with newspapers anymore.
Well not unless I happen to be stuck for something to hold my chips or wipe my posterior with anyway.
alan666 on 22 Sep '11 said:
hmmm all i can smell is BS
Emoticons Only on 22 Sep '11 said:
Emoticons Only on 22 Sep '11 said:
xabi on 22 Sep '11 said:
since i can not differentiate between the real world and the fantasy so i can definitely nail my boss and spank her
D
Rite??????
budge on 22 Sep '11 said:
Of course. I mean, i often end up smashing garden gnomes for shouting obscenities every time i walk my dog!!
stickyfiddle on 22 Sep '11 said:
Let's be honest- we've all had block-falling dreams after a long session on Tetris, or imagined climbing routes across pathways & buildings after Mirror's Edge, but that's the extent of it for anyone who doesn't have underlying mental issues.
Sadly rational, level-headed news items from non-stories generally don't make for interesting news articles.
As for Metro as a whole, their games pages online are written by a couple of great guys. Their news, of course, is not written by the same guys...
thirdwatch on 22 Sep '11 said:
This argument has been going on for decades. Back in the fifties it was horror comics, then it was rock and roll music, video nasties, acid house etc, etc. Whenever something new comes along the older generation always decry it and say nay its affecting our children in a negative manner and things were better in our day...snore
I work in an industry where people are paid to spout crap in the media all the time and most of the time it is so they can prove they are still relevant, they usually aren't it's just about ego's and trying to stay on the telly.
But anyway in short people are idiots and the media love to shove these weirdos in our faces.
jackimo on 22 Sep '11 said:
I like walking around the city center on a Friday night because they stage the qualifying round to the King of Iron Fist Tournament outside some of the clubs. Usually the winner gets dragged off by Heihachi's Tekken Force disguised as the Police. They're really convincing. They're got the badges, the vans... everything!
TimHotston on 22 Sep '11 said:
Last to the finish but I'd like to bring attention to this brilliant feature from GamesRadar:
http://www.gamesradar.com/videogames-saved-my-life/
It tells the stories of several people used what they had learned/experienced in games to help them in real life, most of which used in-game driving techniques but others involve tactics learned from games.
I must say though, I find it much easier to lift a heavy cupboard when imagining I'm hammering down circle on a quick time event
allmadeup on 22 Sep '11 said:
http://www.butireaditinthepaper.co.uk/2 ... mer-study/
An analysis of this rubbish, including a rebuke from the author of the study.
rbt2 on 22 Sep '11 said:
What's up with being trapped in a virtual world?
It's a lot better than the real thing!
MD1500 on 23 Sep '11 said:
Wait! You mean a newspaper made a story up?!?!
WorldGames on 23 Sep '11 said:
In my reality i get up for work every day do my job then go home and put my ps3 on and play the pro evo demo thinking im the greatest player in the GALAXY just for inspiration LOL,Without imagination you have NO creativity! FACT
Yellow6 on 23 Sep '11 said:
Edit
I fixed the article for you CVG
Dajmin on 23 Sep '11 said:
If these people can't tell real from virtual, I say we put them in an arena and let them kill themselves off. They're clearly not worth keeping around as human beings and will never add anything worthwhile to the world. Tell them they can respawn by clapping their hands and let them get on with it.
liveswired on 24 Sep '11 said:
OMG - I'VE JUST REALISED I'M NOT SUPER MARIO AND I HAVE TO STOP THROWING AND JUMPING ON ALL THE MUSHROOMS IN MY LOCAL ASDA STORE!!!
TOKEN on 24 Sep '11 said:
Everything in games is a reflection of the real world or system,maybe everythings crap and im trapped in both.
wishface on 27 Sep '11 said:
Why the hell would you ever want to read the Metro to begin with? That's a more relevant question. I wouldn't use that right wing s**trag to wipe my arse.
Mandatory Grape on 27 Sep '11 said:
when the PlayStation home (i think its called that? the virtual playstation world thing?) is down, or updating. I just don't know what to do with myself...