Watching Travis Scott’s Concert Live at Home
At one point in our life as gamer (if you were not, i bet you are now), there must be a time where we think what if we can actually live inside the game. If you are a fans of isekai type of anime just like Sword Art Online or Log Horizon or maybe you are veteran anime lovers growing up watching Digimon, i bet you are wondering the same thing. How does it feel to log in and then do stuff that your character or your avatar does but you can feel with your own body.
This thought came to me once again this morning after watching performance by Travis Scott inside Fortnite game. If you are wondering what is happening here, check out this video provided by Aussie Antics
Yes, it is a Visually stunning and aesthetically pleasuring performance that you can experience inside the game. Somehow, it reminds me the time i did my first haystack jump in Assassin’s Creed or the time i made a jump i think i could make as Nathan Drake in Uncharted and Ended up dead (Honestly at that time i died a little). That immersive feeling, that same feeling when you thought you still have one more step when walking down the stairs and ended up feeling like you are falling off the cliff to an endless hole. It’s like a thin blur line between reality and game.
Look i am no fans of Travis Scott nor a Fortnite player and i don’t even remember any song from the artist himself but this Collaboration is an artwork you don’t want to miss.
It begs another questions of what the future possible of gaming world that could provide the world. Product placement for promotion, Music concert, Art creating media, Item transaction, Online matchmaking, Learning and teaching or just places for chilling and having some fun are just some of the things that could probably be improved for years to come by game developers.
One may asked questions that all of that things in fact already existed currently so why we need to integrate all of this things inside a game. One of the reason is the case of Individuality.
It is known fact that FPS games like Fortnite, PUBG, and Counter Strike are following the path of any any RPG games in existence. Traditional FPS games in the past Like Counter Strike and Point Blank used to only focus on improving gameplay or maybe creating new mode like zombie mode, or Dinosaurs Mode to attract more players. These days developers go to a deeper level by providing each player way to show their individuality and uniqueness. They provide them with cosmetic items that can be customized. Players can blend colors of their weapon, write something on it. Players can also choose different clothes, pants, gears that their character can mix and match. They get to used different vehicles, surfboard and many other things. While these cosmetic items might look really good, they don’t improve or making you or your character be better when playing the game. So, it turns out players are willing to pay big bucks to be different than others.
Sounds familiar? Yes that is human traits represented by avatar inside the game. This immersion of our individuality which can be represented inside the game creates illusion that our avatar is the same as us. It is still too early to say that we have gone that far but we are going to that direction. It is very common for Pro Players or those who have enough money to purchase a rare cosmetic item that only small amount of people has just like how people purchase limited edition of Shoes. The feeling of wanted to be unique is not uncommon.
From this point, online games could become a place where people can actually be themselves and do activities with other people. in the video we have just witnessed a concert conducted and attended by people online (their Fortnite avatar). The feeling of i can still be myself and meet my friends who also happen to be themselves and do activities together is blurring the line of what is actually the definition of “meeting”. In time of quarantine, i mostly “meet” my friends online in a group chat, zoom apps, or in the game. We play game together while swearing at each other like how we do it outside of the game. Sometimes it is very crowded and some other times only several people show up but it’s nonetheless fun.
Then if you can actually socialize and create communities inside a game, its only natural that all of human activities that is inherently social and transactional will also follow.
Right after watching that 10 minutes concert i imagine how would Coldplay perform paradise had they got opportunity to do that inside Fortnite.
dream of para… para… paradise~
