A Future Beckons

This, from the Guardian’s eloquent, passionate and positive review of GTA V Online, is a two-paragraph précis of what I want from an online, open-world game:

“What the game definitely realises though, is the chaotic thrill of life in an urban sprawl entirely populated by gun-toting ne'er-do-wells. You can be cruising the streets looking for a convenience store to turn over (sorry mum) when in a flash, two other players in roaring muscle cars scorch past pursued by half the LSPD. At other times, there are weird moments of unspoken camaraderie – like Journey re-imagined by a 14-year-old action movie fanatic with attention deficit issues.

On Sunday night my female character was waiting at an ATM to cash in about seven grand's worth of stolen car funds; when I turned round there was a male player character waiting for me beside a motorbike – he sounded the horn and waited some more. So I got on. We spent the next half-hour riding around the city and ridiculous speedlike Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis in Top Gun, zipping in and out of the traffic as the giant sun sunk behind the skyscrapers. Then some other player took a shot at us as we passed. We followed him to a tattoo parlour, where he got out of his car and walked in for some new ink. My new friend calmly stopped, got off his bike, pulled out a can of gasoline and poured it all over the car. He then poured a line all the way up to the door of the tattoo parlour. When the guy came out, my pal ignited the line and rode off; I looked back to see our victim attempting to get into his vehicle as it exploded. We just kept riding. ”

Sure, the servers are broken, and people are, in the words of John Connor, doing a whole lot of ‘running around in helicopters, learning how to blow stuff up’. But imagine a world beyond that. In a future world where servers don’t lag, and rank idiocy/mindless violence is an option, but not a massively profitable one, lots and lots of players will go straight and therefore coexist in a – largely – peaceful ‘online economy’ of new friendships, businesses and busty avatars. That’s what I want.

Unfortunately, this in turn will be fed by real-world cash in the form of seamless integration with our real-world bank accounts, and social interaction between NPCs and the real world will be arbitrated through Facebook or whatever follows it.

The immersiveness, the dreamlike omnipotence, the endless opportunity for - albeit virtual – self-expression will be utterly compelling for a while. Film, as a medium, is fucked once this goes properly mainstream, and massive, immersive adventures are mainstream enough to be downloaded in three seconds and enjoyed by your parents. Film is something you watch. This – whatever this is – is something you do, with friends, strangers, whatever. This therefore wins, long-term.

It is becoming an industry and a lifestyle all its own. This game (and others like it, let’s be honest) is a stepping stone on that road. How thrilling it could be. I don’t want to be living my life vicariously through a screen full of made-up people at any point in my future, but this stage, where it’s literally somewhere else to go, and virtual tourism is a real thing, is fascinating.