My Affected Mass... 2
By libidinous 1 Comments
Well, now I've done it, I've fallen into something so fully that being among you folks in this world was odd. I've noted this perspective while reading books like House of Leaves, and have surely been there in other media, but I've never been so acutely aware of it than I was for Mass Effect 2.
Mass Effect 2
I don't know how others handle experience, but I don't do a lot of questioning of the world itself. My methods seems to be that I recognize where I am and my potential and accepted roll in the space and the mode in which I may conduct or be conducted.
Arthur C. Clarke
AC Clarke and his remark on advanced tech being indistinguishable from magic to a certain mind is a relevant idea to bring out perspective from what I indent to suggest. I've also seen versions of this quote refer to primitive minds, which I'd like to use to expand the idea. Most might think of a primitive mind as an animal mind, a mind that may reflect on the world in such a way to act within it and preserve itself. On the other hand, a modern mind may reflect upon that reflection and really get caught up with all kinds of mess.
The world of the primitive mind is one of magic, but this is not a necessary suggestion as it is also one of keeping from its own way. It is there and does, but that does not include obstruction of its observation. I run the risk of really getting off the rail here, so this segment will end with the admission that I role play with a primitive mind.
There are many aspects of Mass Effect 2 that, when broken apart at even the most glaring seams, reveals it to be very rigid and unrealistic. You can say the same things to people and, most of the time, guide their opinions with one or two dialogue choices. That is to say, that relationships, platonic or otherwise, take a lot longer to build than half an hour.
The last segment is more of a preface to show that I'm not delusional about the experience of the game. It is an extremely rudimentary view on social interaction. But, I will say, progress is progress and this game has made these interaction vastly more reasonable than others that attempt the same.
Saren from Mass Effect 1
The areas of this game that really do come close to an authentic, though still one-sided, relationship is with the game's returning characters. If you played the first game, and went through the twenty or so hours with one of these characters and then through thirty or so for this one, one's acceptance of the talk of friendship really does open up.
Mass Effect 2
There were a lot of deeply affective psychological events, though I will only describe one. In the first game, there was a female alien character named Tali who you meet very early on and who is valuable if your character lacks the tech side of things since she is all about it. At the beginning of the second game, you are informed that two years have gone by since you've seen any of these characters. The significance of this comes in when noting that the time between the first and second game is two years. So, when you wait for two years for the sequel to this game, and when you play you're constantly reminded by the returning folk that they haven't seen you for two years, there is opportunity for some significant recollection there. In many ways, it is designed to seem that they're welcoming the non-game you back after two years; they begin to seem like real people who the players abandoned when they stopped playing the first game.
Tali
Where this design culminates is when Tali admits to having a romantic inclination to the main character (if your character is a male, that is.). To relay again, you meet Tali in the first game and go through the events of the game. Then you don't play for two years only to return and have her admit to having missed you. Then, after twenty or so more hours, she expresses the wish to bound out of the friend zone. It is in this way that it almost feels like someone is admitting grave feelings for you. What serves to push the point further is that Tali is an alien and her race has no immune system and so she must always reside in a suit for fear of death. That detail further implies the insanity that comes from genuine affection in that she is risking her like. Though these details are vivid, they are still mere bullet points in a check list of what may constitute authentic feeling. It suggests an essence but still lacks the modest pace and realized devotion of the life that is our life.
I picked up Mass Effect 2 at the midnight launch, slept for a few hours, and played from eight (am) to four (pm) and then again from eight (pm) to five (am). The next several days were not that intense, but I beat the game on the fourth day of it being available in the a-m of the following morning. The world of ME2 and my primitive mental approach to it really became my world for those four days. This is something I don't want to do very often, as it put significant short term strain on my relation to other people. Over the past day its been better, I've been wanting to talk about the game rather than wanting to retreat to it. Honestly, while I was there, in my mindset of being and method of being within it, I wanted nothing more than to return to it and remain.
House of Leaves
It was in this way that I very nearly brainwashed myself. In an effort to not seem so near to madness, I would like to remind myself of a conversation between Amanda and I regarding the book House of Leaves. The structure of the book is set up to get the reader in a mode which accepts the events as true and that the events may even be happening to them. This, in effect, can serve to get one aware of how easily their psychology can be affected - of how easily reality can be replaced. This discussion was held several days before I began my initial play through of ME2 and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. With this mode of mind, I felt more aware of my brief transition of reality. I'm sorry Amanda and to my friends for being out for those days, but the experience was an invaluable one. The experience was vastly more like watching a movie than living a life, where video games still reside in their majority.
Based on what I've relayed, I feel compelled to inform that I'm cutting of games for the week to get my head back into the world that I more strongly associate with and feel vastly more accountable to. For me, Mass Effect 2 pushed my psyche into boundaries of which I had thought prior to be a realm of theory.
Mass Effect 2
I hope this has been an interesting account. Having come out the other side, I can't say it was particularly pleasant at the time, but the experience brings floods of light to the common experience. It can be like being in a dream, though the narcissistic indulgence is vivid beyond magnitudes.
In conclusion, ME2 is a good game. The best way to enjoy it, as with everything really, is to do nothing else and really, I mean really, lose yourself in it. But also like most things, it is uncommon to be able to afford it. Hopefully without sounding to up on myself, my experience determined significantly on my attitude coming in and the thoughts I had entertained prior. Here's my recipe for success. Read house of leaves in as few sittings as possible and then ME2 in the same manner. Good game, 9/10.
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