CMU School of Drama


Saturday, April 17, 2010

Why games will take over our lives

CNN.com: "If you think an electric toothbrush is high-tech, wait until you hear about the Internet-enabled version.
Jesse Schell, a game designer and Carnegie Mellon University professor, says toothbrushes will be hooked-up with Wi-Fi Internet connections within five years."

9 comments:

Sylvianne said...

This is unbelievably disturbing. One reads those science fiction books and kind of shudders at the idea of technology playing into our lives to such an extent, but one never thinks that it would happen. The article says that its all a game, but when everyone uses GPS to track everywhere they go, and even has their toothbrush hooked up to the internet, its no longer a game. Not only could the government hack into the program, but really anyone with enough ability to crack the databases can access the information. I hope that society does not go down this path, but from the examples stated in the article, it seems that it is used already.

Hjohnson said...

I'm not a particularly competitive person, so I always find it really amusing how making anything into a competition or a game is an instant incentive for so many people. Of course, everything can be taken to an undesirable extreme, but I think that the example with the toothbrush actually sounds like a pretty good idea, since it could possibly serve to increase dental hygiene. However, it is kind of weird that something as mundane and personal as someone's teethbrushing habits can be recorded online.

Bryce Cutler said...

I have to agree with this article. The Gameapocolypse is coming soon and you can already see it starting to build. I didn't realize it till now but relly everything is a game or is treated like a game in some sense. Others just play it better then those who don't even knwo what the game is.

It will be exciting to see where all this goes. I am sure the Gameapaocolypse is coming and will dawn soon enough but when it does how will we be ready? I don't think my mother and the older generations will be unless they embrace technology, but I doubt many will. Who knows? We'll just have to wait and see.

Unknown said...

Although there is a valid argument saying that since we know a game can be won which is part of the reason why this game-opolyspe is taking place but, it seems like if everything became like this that the fun that currently lives in these games would soon perish as it would become something all too abundant. Also, if they do continue and try to hook all of these things up to the internet, wouldn't people just find new ways to hack that as well?

Timothy Sutter said...

While I feel that each of these thins in themselves is very interesting, when added together the results are horrifying. The idea of having a toothbrush monitor your time bruhsing is facsinating, but its also creepy. When cobmined with the rest of the things in modern society, every part of our lives is monitered and we can't go anywhere or do anything without it being recorded. In th end, the overall effect of this "Gamepocolypse" is scary....

Devrie Guerrero said...

this disturbs me a little. i dont want technology and gaming to be that big of a presence in my life, and personally i dont want a toothbrush that has internet in my mouth. why would someone pay money for that?
i think that having all this technology creates a new way of hacking and spying on people. thinking of that makes me uneasy. it doesn't feel right to depend on technology as mush as we are and as it seems we're about to.

Allegra Scheinblum said...

All of this seems really creepy and well, overly ridiculous. I hate that it seems like our generation is making everyone seem so childish. I feel like 1984 is right around the corner, with cameras popping up everywhere and companies tracking our every move. I don't think that people should need an incentive to brush their teeth, if they don't, that's their problem. We're adults, and we don't need to internet tracking our every move. There's going to be a point where we're no longer self sufficient, and that's a little crazy.

Brooke said...

I think the beginning of this article is hilarious. It's probably a little bit sad that I can easily see society getting really into the idea of computer-monitored tooth brushing and creating a game out of it. On the one hand, this would definitely promote good hygiene, but there is also the obsessive tendencies that some will acquire with something like this. I wouldn't even be surprised if people had contests to see how long they could brush their teeth for, if something like that hasn't happened already.

Liz Willett said...

Why must everything be a game? I understand that it makes things fun, and that it's cool to have these technological leaps, but it can get sort of ridiculous. Why must toothbrushes be electric, for one, and why must they be hooked up to the internet? It makes no sense...maybe I don't understand this "Gamepocalypse" as much as I should, but I don't understand why I should when I need a game to brush my teeth. It seems a little excessive.