6 Things In Online Games That Mirror Real Life

Updated on July 2nd, 2018 by Quertime Writer in Gaming

From money management to stumbling, there are a few aspects of online gaming that reflect reality. Whether you are a casual player or an avid gamer, you should read this interesting piece about the 6 things in online games that mirror real life.

Online games are quite similar to the real life in a lot of different ways. As an online gamer, there are a number of things that you can apply for your online game into your real life. As a matter of fact, there are lessons in online games that can greatly help your career and life.

According to Jane McGonigal, a renowned game designer, spending more time in playing online games can help mend the real world. This idea might sound absurd, but she’s DEFINITELY correct.

I guess you’re wondering by now how installing the latest version of StarCraft or getting Minecraft to work on your PC is going help you with your real life just like Jane said. If you’re dying to know… Here are the 6 things that point that out:

Investments

Online games, for the most part, feature auction houses. Basically, the main function of an auction house is to enable gamers to sell or buy game items. In online games, the best in-game items typically require a fairly significant amount of time and investment, which is pretty similar in real life.

In the real world, you no need to excel in your profession in order to enjoy the finer things in life, such as owning a top-notch car and sleeping in a luxurious home. Just like building a character in an online game, you need to spend a tremendous amount of time and effort in establishing a successful career or profession, so you can buy the things that your heart desires.

Friends and Allies

To conquer digital alien planets or search for troll spells, online gamers would typically collaborate and help one another. In online games, players don’t easily give up, and they always feel they have a better chance of winning, when they are working together.

This is one of the reasons why online games can be VERY addictive. They usually promote teamwork, or building relationships with other gamers for you to succeed or to have an unfair advantage in the game.
The same concept can be applied to the real world. If you want to get things done quickly and more efficiently, you need a few other people to help you. When moving a grand piano, for instance, you would need more than a couple of people to help you with it otherwise you’ll end up taking hours (let alone days) to get it done.

With the right team/friends in mind, not only will you be able to complete moving it in record breaking time, you can also have fun and grab a couple of bottles of beers while you’re at it!

Character Building

In the real world, you need to build up your character in order to face all the adversities in your life. It’s for this reason that you need to go to school and develop your skills and knowledge, so you can survive in this world. Without a well build character, chances are slim that you’ll succeed in life!

Just like in the real world, your character in your online games also needs to be upgraded or improved. This usually translates to better statistics, items, or power-ups.

Whatever it is, it’s quite obvious that your character won’t be able to handle the damage or the requirements needed to succeed in the different levels if it isn’t built/improved accordingly.

Horrible Bosses

Well, horrible bosses are a part of every online game, specifically in MMORPG games.

In real life, you also have to deal with horrible bosses at work. Some of these bosses look like trolls (and maybe they really are) and boy can they be more TERRIBLE than the bosses in online games.

What’s the major difference you ask..? Well. You can’t kill your bosses in real life.

Different Levels

There are tons of things in life that you can consider to have different levels. A good example of this would be our educational system. You need to be an elementary student first, you then become a high school student then a college student.

This also works on relationships with other people and not to mention your career path. Chances are, if you start working for a company, you won’t start as a manager if you don’t have any prior work experience. You usually start as a clerk, supervisor, (etc.) until you become a manger.

The same can also be said in the gaming world (especially in the gaming world!).

It’s pretty typical for these game designers/creators to create games with different levels. They usually make the difficulty level harder as the game progresses, so as to give the gamers a good feel of how the game works.

Of course… the “neat items” that you can obtain in games can also be acquired at these higher levels to make the game worth finishing till the end.

Enemies and Rivalries

These online gamers have a swagger within them that kind of sets them apart from the crowd. They usually walk with their head up high as if they’re the best out there! True enough, they may be the best out there!

The thing is, these online gamers are very competitive at what they do. They aren’t contented with achieving mediocre success or simply being second best. That said, this characteristic creates a strong sense of rivalry between online gamers.

It’s also the same with the real world. We have people competing for the same job position, for the same woman, even for the same taxi cab! The taxi cab bit is so DISTURBINGLY true! Rivalries are in fact a part of our day to day lives!

These are things that the reality and the virtual world have in common. Take note of these tips, and you will surely have a very fruitful and productive life.

It’s your turn!

If you have questions, tips and ideas that you want to share, please share it in the comments section below. We would be glad and honored to hear anything from you. Enjoy playing your favorite online game!

Author: Jimmy Richards

Jimmy R. is an avid gamer and an enthusiastic writer who loves to write about anything and everything under the sun! If you’ll ask him to choose between sleeping or playing games, he’ll surely choose the latter.