Get 'Sucked' Into the Game

Have you ever wonder how you are so engrossed into something that you are being ‘sucked’ into that virtual reality?  It’s not about the Jumanji movie show or dreams but it is like you are being ‘taken’ into some out of this world reality, a phenomenon of being transported into other realm or reality. Here is a guy called Joel who experienced this kind of a phenomenon.

Since young Joel would like to play with computer games. He would spend long hours playing those games like counter strike shooting game, street fighters, snake or brick games, some mobile apps games like angry birds, candy crush, play station games like soccer and so on. His parents were all working and wouldn’t have the time to accompany him. He was pretty bored staying alone at home as he did not have any siblings to play with him and he was also anti-social, seldom mixed with his friends. He was and average achiever at school, his study was sub-par and dislike going to school. Sometimes he would just play truant and absent himself from school. His parents were very worried about his academic results and did not like him to spend more times playing with computer games as this could affect his future career. Joel was fed up with his mother for constantly nagging at him to study. It was a big headache to motivate Joel to study and this had caused frustrations on Joel.

Joel knew that he won’t make it in his study and his morale was down all the time. Initially, playing computer games was a way to vent his frustrations but as time passed by, he became addicted and so engrossed into the game that he would return home late to be scolded by his parents. A curfew was imposed onto Joel by his parents but he ignored it. Visiting the arcades in the mall and nearby cyber café was his favourite daily past times leisure activity. He hate outdoor games and sports as he didn’t like to sweat it all out with all the physical activity.

In school, he didn’t pay much attention in class lessons and would just daydream, when queried by his teacher about homework he would just done some of them. Punishments on Joel didn’t work either, he just got worse. The school councillor came to investigate into Joel’s lack of learning in school. That didn’t work out at all too as Joel rejected any help to coach him in his study. The school principle wanted to transfer him out to some special school for students with behavioural problems. However, his parents especially his mother broke into tears and begged the school principle to let Joel another chance to improve on his study. Joel was a bit moved by his mother’s appeal to the school principle, he agreed to improve on his study quite reluctantly.

For the next few week, Joel did study well and did well in his semester assessment. However, old habit die hard, after a couple of month it became back to square one again. This time round he would go to the arcades when his homework was completed with some coaching by his peers. At least he didn’t want to break his mother’s heart of not study at all. It took some times for Joel to learn how to balance his times in coping well in his study and spending his spare time playing computer games.  

Once in a while you would go to cyber café to play some on-line computer games. The computer shooting game was what he liked best, using machine guns to shoot at the enemies was so thrilling to him and it requires quick reflexes,  fast reactions of pushing those buttons to fire and kill all the enemies. One day while he was playing the shooting game, he was so engrossed into this game called The Commandos Battle. All of a sudden his mind sub-consciously got into that shooting game’s reality virtually. It was like you were suddenly being ‘transported’ into some form of a virtual reality or some other realm. Kar ..boomed you are into this shooting game, Joel touched his body and he was wearing some army combat uniform and carrying a machine gun with some firing rounds and hand bombs with him. He heard someone shouting:” enemies in front, attack! Fire, Fire, fire, take cover”, everyone started to take cover, Boom.. Joel couldn’t believe that he has entered into this shooting game, a warfare led by some evil empire Dark Forces to capture the territory of the Friendly Empire Forces. It was like a world war, a battle between enemies identified as the red-band camouflaged uniform armies and the friendly armies forces are in green-band. They were shooting at anther other everywhere, it was like a real war, he had never went into any war before only heard or read about it in history books! There wasn’t any time to lose or think, what Joel did was to take cover, shoot and run for his live or he be killed. He could see battalions of enemies’ troops coming, fighter planes above dropping bombs, the scene was bloody and it was like hell! On the other end of battlefield, he could see some of the friendly armies’ forces were killed in front of his him, there were many casualties and a terrible scene for a young guy to see.

Soon the friendly armies’ forces were able to gather some reinforcements and support artillery bombardment to shield off the enemies relentless attacks. He managed to shoot and killed some of the enemies, he got some bruises on his legs and body while running away to hide in the bunker during enemies attacks. He couldn’t believe that he felt like he became an Arnold Schwarzenegger or Rambo in this war shooting game. However, being in a battlefield wasn’t kind of a fun, Joel knew that one had to deal with life and death every now and then. He got to run, stay away and take cover from bombs and be alert to shoot at the enemies. He got to fight as a team with his army comrades. When on an attack or retaliation mission, strategizing the plan and executing it in unison were all critical to destroy enemies’ deceptive tactics and attacks. It was a do or die, fight or flight situation living no room for any miss steps or mistakes. Being bravado or gung-ho could even lose your live. Soon the enemy’s fire power got weaker and the friendly forces were able to recoup. Joel heard some noises coming from a mountain’s cave. He could see some glow, he walked towards it and saw path of light shining onto his face so glaringly. He travelled deep into this cave and saw a tunnel and went inside it. Out he went and all of a sudden he came back to the real world that he once live again.

He narrated what he been through and seen on the battlefield. He vowed not to create any war with anyone and discovered the importance of living with peace and harmony with people in this world. The lesson that he learnt was worthwhile the experiences gained much outweigh what he played in the shooting game.