Gaming made a name for itself by inducing thrills through its ability to give you the chance to be the hero, achieve beyond your means, or place you in a completely alien landscape. Whether it’s in the early forms of gaming like classic card games or the video games that rose to prominence before the entertainment medium became mainstream, they’d all offer a shot at greatness in a format that doesn’t abide by the standardized rules of real-life.
However, while these kinds of games have been around for a while, titles that essentially gamify the real world and real-life experiences have become ever more prominent. From games that have taken real-life living and made it into a game to ones that blend the real world with the game itself, gamifying reality is very popular right now. So, how are these leading digital creations turning real-life into a game, and why are these genres so popular?
Putting real life into the game itself
In an age where you can battle dragons in a fantasy world, cross space to find new worlds, or even play as the world’s greatest sports stars, the somewhat mundane-looking real-life simulation games seem very out of place. Why would someone pay and put their time into a game which effectively just lets them do the things that they do day-to-day? These games offer a very different approach to gaming, with the emphasis being on a more relaxing experience in which the goals and controls are as familiar as your everyday life.
The online game Second Life was huge in the 00s, reaching the scale of pop-culture icon and subsequently being cited in other media creations like The Office: An American Workplace, Hot Tub Time Machine, and CSI: NY. The biggest of the bunch, though, has to be the franchise The Sims. Launched in 2000, its many sequels and DLC packages have allowed people to simulate the life of their created humans for over two decades.
That said, right now, it’s all about Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The long-awaited latest installment to the cutesy franchise delivered everything that fans wanted, combining island, home, and character customizations with ongoing, clear-cut tasks to allow for further creativity in the game. It’s the level of freedom, changing seasons, and time-lapse that runs with the Nintendo Switch’s internal clock that gives a sense of real-time living and progress on the initially-deserted island.
Altering the real world to create a digital game
The Pokémon franchise is huge, with downloads of even the franchise’s oldest games still being very popular here. The company behind the games has never been afraid to try a new genre or setting, but none of its non-mainline series exploits have quite been as game-changing as Pokémon Go. It put augmented reality gaming on the map, and while there have been many imitators to Pokémon Go, the true revolution comes via other creations.
Back in the 00s, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters cards and the TV series worked as a one-two punch, with the series effectively bringing the card game to life while also being its tutorial. Genesis Augmented Reality decided to make this the basis of its card game. Standing as one of the most successful Kickstarters ever, the game’s companion app allows you to see the card’s heroes come to life and perform the physical card game’s moves.
Going another step further to really push the capacity of mobile-based augmented reality, Neyon Clash is effectively removing the boundaries of laser tag and paintball. Through the app, you can set-up any location as your game area via location and map services, and then use its range of game modes to get the play underway. You’ll run around your real-world game arena seeking to tag others and complete objectives, effectively gamifying any given space.
Allowing you to play live, in-person, with others
Going live has become a big part of gaming and the primary pillar underpinning the surging eSports industry. Platforms like Twitch, HitBox, and Beam are tailored to gamers who want to live stream their content and interact with their communities. However, at this stage, live game streaming is a rather one-way affair, with the streamer doing the gaming and everyone else tuning in to watch and follow the action.
While Stadia’s Crowd Play may eventually make this experience more interactive, a classic form of gaming has already cracked the code to offer a true live gaming experience. The table and game show games at live casinos offer an enhanced experience to their predecessors, online video card games, by streaming a real dealer to the player’s screen for them to play in real-time. These tables seat many virtual players, all of whom are playing at a real table just via their smartphone or computer, and can be played whenever and wherever you want.
Through 2020, several gamers around the world sought to combine these live, in-person elements with other games that they’d usually play with others. The selection of Jackbox.tv games have been arty favorites for many years, with the one hub game on console or PC allowing for anyone with a code to link in via their smartphones. A huge trend now is to make it more communal by running the games on PC through a shared screen on Zoom or Google Meet to a more vivid live gaming experience with others.
So, it seems as though the real world and real-life experiences can be just as fun as those crafted by creative game studios. The sales figures and player counts of those titles discussed above certainly indicate that people want real-life to be gamified.