Video Games, Escapism, and Leisure

But the problem is that gamer [sic] can easily fall into the belief that he is partaking in something greater, for he is ‘accomplishing’ things and producing something (albeit something more-or-less wholly limited by the structures built into the game). Thus a gamer achieves ‘success’ physiologically while not leaving any external success. If one is unreflective he is in grave danger of being overtaken by this illusory success, of lauding himself for something that is not. 

The end of gaming is then this pseudo-success, this creation of a character, a ranking, a profile of achievements. And this telos is unending, but also, essentially, unreal. The gamer is not fundamentally involved in becoming more human, nor in helping others become more human (it may be that one does become more human but that is almost certainly incidental to the game itself). Insofar as the gamer is using games for relaxation and legitimate leisure they are not problematic. But there is always a danger that the illusion of production will exert an unnatural influence on the gamer, resulting in a hobby that is fundamentally dishonest.

Source: gentlemantheologian, "The End of Gaming," A Gentleman Theologian Blog, April 5, 2013, accessed October 15, 2013, http://gentlemantheologian.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/the-end-of-gaming/

The author brings up a point that I've noticed in my self-reflection as well as the reflections of other gamers or ex-gamers, namely, the escapist function of the video game. This function is not limited to the video game; in fact, any reality, whether mind-independent or dependent, can take on a quality of unreality (ens rationis in the language of John of St. Thomas) through our own construction of a system of signifiers—e.g. "nature" becomes the "Mother Goddess" that I must defend by sitting in a tree in order to prevent this construction company from going forward with this building project; the "Mother Goddess" then becomes the cyclical victim of the cosmos, which I may partake in through ritualistic actions in the form of magic(k), and so forth.

And people are not oblivious to this escapist function nor are they silent on it. In fact, some deliberately seek escapism to avoid the brutality of reality. For example:

I used [this video game in order to] compensate the pressure and bullying that I had to deal with back [in high school], so no. But I'm happy other people were able to grow up like this.

Source: FutureJirachi, comment, [approx.] September 24, 2013, on "Pokemon Silver/Gold/Crystal - Ecruteak City/Cianwood City," YouTube, February 22, 2008, accessed October 15, 2013, http://www.youtube.com/comment?lc=0yV097T4qH0CP7c-AxZJmr-m6iDL_4zZbvh1eBZwTxM

But, interestingly, this comment is in response to this comment, which is also an expression of escapism:

Such beautiful nostalgia. Remember being a kid and this being just the best thing in the world to you? Nothing else mattered. There were no troubles, there were no worries, there were no responsibilities. Just being a kid, having fun with your Gameboy and Pokemon :)

Source: ilikemetroid, comment, [approx.] August 15, 2013, on "Pokemon Silver/Gold/Crystal - Ecruteak City/Cianwood City," YouTube, February 22, 2008, accessed October 15, 2013, http://www.youtube.com/comment?lc=0yV097T4qH3D_q-_XeFDYd4pJ8WCjBuUQOCKX8d_6xw

The similar comments are endless; one needs to go only to any similar videos on a cherished video game to find them.

But what is interesting is the contrast between the two comments, a contrast of circumstance. The first comment reveals an escapism from bullying and pain that was immediate to the person's experience. The second comment is reflexive and based in hindsight, i.e. given my current "troubles, worries, responsibilities," this game was the "best thing in the world." As a child, the commenter didn't seem to realize what he was escaping from even while in the act of escape. The first commenter, therefore, calls out the illusion of the second commenter's carefree childhood by reference to her own pain-plagued childhood by saying, "so no [things did matter, and I wanted to get away from them]."

But for the second commenter, who had a carefree childhood, the carefree quality wasn't an illusion but a reality, and the video game complemented it. It is only by way of comparison that the victim of bullying could call the other commenter's reflection as being based on an illusion.

But both comments fall under the same category: reflection on escapism. For some it is deliberate; for others, not so. Some realize what is going on as it is; others realize it in hindsight. The question we could turn to then is: does such escapism make us human, and in what ways might it do so?

The virtue of playfulness (eutrapelia) and the necessity of leisure carry a long tradition in Catholic thought. It in fact could be summarized in a witty saying that goes, "We don't talk about politics and religion in polite company. That's why God invented football."

Anyway, I simply intend to bring out some of these points for consideration here. What is the line between playfulness in its truest sense and escapism? Is escapism itself a good thing, and under what conditions? What are we escaping from, individually and collectively?