Caillois and Koster seem to understand how intrinsically games are connected to real life. Koster describes how games are used to simulate real life activities and skills. This is reinforced by how Caillois splits the majority of games into Agon, Alea, Mimicry and Ilinx. Competition, socially acceptable miming and reaching limits/exploring unknowns (my application of vertigo to life as a game) are all basal parts of the human experience. Not to mention chance is always thrown into the mix somewhere, depending on your spiritual view.

What really intrigued me is this idea of escaping reality in order to learn about life and, in essence, reality. Koster explains how minds like to chunk ideas. Perhaps games and videogames are just a physical manifestation of human’s chunking record from the beginning of time. While many games seem to teach primitive ideas, they are still concepts that all humans need to understand and be able to apply. As technology improves, our ability to convey these ideas through games also increases. Used as a medium for learning, games are an incredibly easy way to teach concepts to children. Could this be why what seven year olds now are learning seems so much more advanced in comparison to what I learned when I was seven? And what kind of effect will this have on children in the future? Are they just chunking already pre-chunked ideas by learning directly from games? Will this cause them to eventually not understand certain basic concepts or become even more advanced human beings?

And where do adults fall in this category? Assuming they have mastered these base reptilian concepts, is this why adults no longer like games? Is this why their games become the challenge of being able to manipulate social situations or compete through jobs and work? And what does that say for adults who still like games and videogames?