[lbo-talk] Liberate Doug from Old Fogeyism! - was/ videogames

[Miles Jackson]

W. Kiernan wrote:
> Bryan Atinsky wrote:
>  >
>  > Why isn't that also the case in heavy book readers? It is
>  > a solitary sport in which hours upon hours are spent in
>  > blocking out the world around you. Two people sitting next
>  > to each other reading may as well be in different worlds.
> 
> Instead of "two people sitting next to each other" it seems like two 
> separate, intimate conversations.  When I read a book, even crap fiction 
> or propaganda, I'm being spoken to by a human being in a human language. 
>  On the down side the communication is only one-way but on the other 
> hand an author is going to great lengths to present his thoughts to me, 
> human to human and in depth and detail unmatched in ordinary speech.

This happens in good video games too.  Moreover, I don't get this 
feeling of human connection with "crap" fiction: it's just mindless, 
recycled plots, cliched characterizations, dopey plot points.  With some 
particularly bad fiction, I get the feeling it's just being cranked out 
by a machine.  Judging all video games by taking a look at (say) Grand 
Theft Auto is like judging all books by reading a Harlequin romance.

Miles