I've been playing "Stardew Valley" recently. For those who are not familiar with the title, it is a farming simulator set in the fictional Pelican Town. You inherited a farm just outside of town from your grandfather, and what happens next is up to you. The game offers a sprawling environment to explore, a variety of activities to engage in, and a wide cast of characters to interact with. For the record, I have put in over 200 hours into playing this game, and HIGHLY recommend it.
Recently, I was going after an achievement available on Steam. It requires the player to complete the Joja Community Development Form, pursuing this route in the game results in the Community Center being converted into a storage warehouse, and JojaMart completing the various tasks in and around town that would be done by the Junimos. I completed the task and got the achievement, but I don't feel any particular sense of accomplishment. I feel like a sell-out, like I've betrayed the good people of Pelican Town with my actions.
Taking a step back, I find myself curious about this. These people are characters in a video game, at their most basic a collection of ones and zeros, and yet I feel a connection to them. Their stories are detailed, vivid, and have a strong sense of realism, to the point that most players likely know someone who exhibits these traits. These are fictional people, and yet their stories mirror reality, making them seem real (or at least real enough).
Media provides us with all manner of stories, across all manners of presentation (television, books, movies, video games). We get drawn in and caught up in these stories, experiencing joy and sorrow and everything in between. They allow us to experience actions and environments that we likely will never know in our regular lives. They provide us with a sense of novelty, something that the human brain is literally wired to crave, letting us forget our own lives for a brief time, and replace them with something else.
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