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Real Lives 2004 - Living Other People's Normal Lives?
Thanks to USA Today for its article discussing an educational videogame which allows players to live the life of another person. The piece explains: "Real Lives 2004 starts by automatically generating a life based on current population and birth rate statistics", before explaining possible outcomes: "Our teen-testers were able to experience many different lives in just a few hours. One was a boy born into a poor family in Zhangzhou, China, who did not attend college or vocational school. As a mail clerk, our teen-tester faced decisions about gambling, alcohol and drinking... He found romance but had no children and he died at age 84 from cancer."
I could live out the life of a /. troller without all of the associated social stigmas!
I remember playing something similar, although really archaic. It was a game in grade school in the late 80's on UNISYS machines called "A Day In The Life Of".
I cant really remember much about it other than going to the mall and hanging out, what a blast... Ahh i miss those days of the giant trackball..
I got to be Commander Tacho andpost duplicate stories!
Man that was awesome...
Brocklesby Park Cricket Club
"I wanted to meet stimulating and interesting people of an ancient culture, and kill them."
Too bad they don't have a native Mac version. =(
I used to have a game for my C-64 called 'Alter Ego' that allowed you to live out the life of another person. Different events would occur based on the choices you made. A pretty neat game for the time.....
The problem is, real life is boring for a lot of people. That's the whole reason they turn to games in the first place.
What until Maxis buys these folks. We'll have even more releastic sims!
... my life isn't depressing enough...
If a man speaks in a forest, and there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?
http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?name=Alter+
http://www.the-underdogs.org/game.php?name=Alter+
The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
Here
Mmmm.. Karma whoring.
Bot Assisted Blogging
So... we go from playing games as an escape from real life to playing games ABOUT real life. Funny how that works.
Then again, given The Sims, this isn't exactly a new development.
This is my sig. There are many others like it, but this one is mine.
Can you upload your own life and let it run a simulation to see how you will end up in life? This would be interesting to see when your 40, 60, or 80 years old.
Subzerorz
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- Statistically predict future events for people based on a series of questions ("Are you married?", "Do you drink every day?"
... )
- Randomly generate backgrounds for people in the Witness Protection Program or for people using other fake identites
One character claimed to have been on the Phil Donohue Show, but the main character figured that he may have been qouting from his randomly generated GRIOT background. Statistically, every once in a while, GRIOT would have to say that a person had been on a TV show.The world will not get better through technology. We must seek to be better people.
about 40 times and seeing the results, I've developed a strange bond with my family. The makers of this game are definitely onto something.
Alter Ego
The game is very well made -- try it out!
This is how it seems to be ....... ... bowlegged walk ...
Other people's lives seem more interesting cuz they ain't mine
Well I'm fed up and I need to go
Out of existance or just down the road forever..
Later that night on the side of the road
I'm outta gas and I should have known better
Well a guy shows up he's 25 years old
Always stealing kisses, such a mama's boy
He said, and that's what he said
He's been in the army and he did some speed
He went down to thailand, and he did the did the deed
Oh yeah, he did it for the boys
A cop shows up, way damn late
I was excited, but usually I hate to see them
Other people's lives
Seem more interesting
Cuz they ain't mine
Other people's lives
Seem more innocent
Cuz they ain't mine
Later that night on the side of the road
I'm out of gas and I should have known better.. yeah
I'm fed up and I need to go
Out of existance or just down the road forever.. oh yeah
Well a guy shows up he's 25 years old
Always steals kisses, such a mama's boy
He said, and that's what he said
Palm tree houses...
I was excited but usually I hate to see them.. yeah
(isaac mumbling)
On the road
Out of road
Going out
Out of gas
Out of road
Out of car
Out of everything at last
Out, out rent a car
Got yourself a crazy walk
Said
Late at night on the side of the road
I'm out of gas and I should have known better.. oh yeah
Palm tree houses, way down lane
I was excited but usually I hate to see them.. yeah
(isaac mumbling)
Out of gas
And nothing left
One of the things I'm REALLY looking forward to is once people become "gargoyles" and start wearing small video cams almost 100% of the time to record their lives.
Then you will have a much better way to live someone elses life. In fact, I think it could offer up a whole new genre.
It could be quite cool to have enough video footage to be able to live someone elses life with the video acting out your choices in a much more advanced way than is possible today.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
You may want to check graal online http://www.graalonline.com is basically zelda online in the style of an mmorpg of sorts is cool and to certain extent is free.
A comment about the game, Im sorry but I really cant vouche for nintendo on their decision to require 4 gbas to play a 4 player game, it sounds more like a scare tactic than a product feature. And come on? 4 friends with 4 gba'S? I have 2 brothers a neighbor and between all of us we have 4 friends one gba and one gamecube. In which alternate reality every brother in the same household and every neighbor friend has a gba?
Go ahead MOD my day!
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There are a number of errors with this program, most of which I think have to do with it rather than wine.
It's interesting that the 4 times I set myself up as a gifted student in america 3 out of 4 times I was pulled from school and ended dying of starvation... Doesn't really seem to fit the statistics.
The one time I actually made it through graduating with a phd in medicine the best job I could find was as a pottery maker.... Sigh
If it's that inaccurate for the united states my assumption that the other places I played, where by the way I did not die of starvation, might not be as bad as they are portrayed.
/* TODO: Spawn child process, interest child in technology, have child write a new sig */
Finally! A game to make me "feel empathy for people in other parts of the world." Its about time! I was starting to believe that video games were for entertainment. From now on, I'm only buying titles from my new favorite publishers: United Nations, the World Health Organization, Amnesty International.
Oh, but "photos and graphics would make this simulation more intriguing."
Along with a couple bitchin guns.
More than an hour late.
Who would want to play a game like this? Aren't the whole purpose of games for people to "enjoy" playing? (to some level or degree?).
I don't know, I don't think that people would want to play this game... looks to me more like something you'll watch in a presentation hall.
I'm f#$king magic!
There was an interesting comment made at the recent Game Developers Conference in the Serious Games Summit. Someone was asked what would be the equivalent of the DARPA Grand Challenge as it related to game technology? The answer described a scenario that went something like this...
"You and your team walk into the DARPA director's office with a globe. You give it a spin and ask him to randomly choose a place - some country/location. You go back to your office and get working. A week later, you give him a 'game'. He runs it and finds himself 'in' that location he picked. He hears the language, sees the sites, hears the sounds, etc. He plays this for a week. Then he actually goes to that place. When he gets there, he 'knows' it already because you've really taught him."
Neat challenge idea.
It's an educational product. It's for educating people about what it's like to try to live in different places in the world. I can't believe you got modded +5 Inightful.
I have a lot of opinions about Cyborgs and Architects
I took the tour of the game on the website, showing a series of screenshots; the game comes across as a cross between Yahoo! Weather and Microsoft Excel.
Some bits struck me as pointless; for example, a map of your continent by night showing you how urban centers are scattered; most people in the world don't instinctively have this knowledge and I'm not sure why they feel they should show it.
It'd be far more interesting for such a game to be immersive, preferably first-person, where you can see through the eyes of the characters, perform their daily tasks, see the world as they see it.
P.