PIB1011
BASIC INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY

CRITICAL REVIEW: “THE DIGITAL REALITY”

4 JANUARY 2021

Nur Farra Nabila binti Yusnizam

17206802

LECTURER:
Ts. Dr. Siti Hajar binti Halili
 The Digital Reality

One of the most significant technologies invented today is the media. When a barrier of time,

distance, or space exists between the sender and the receiver, communication becomes immobile.

Therefore, people in the olden days such as Native Americans would use smoke signals, drum beats, and

torches (Beutlich, 2016) as a medium of communication. As time goes by, the craze for media has led to

various new means of communication which includes social media. Today, entertainment is

predominantly sought after by this generation. According to Robinson (2020), social media applications

like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and many more are among the top platforms for entertainment in 2020

that are attracting millions of users all across the world. However, social media entertainment is becoming

more and more overrated nowadays, and so the majority of people have shifted to a new kind of media

that is video games. Video games consist of a wide scale of genres, ranging from total fantasy to real life

simulation, which can bring many advantages and disadvantages to their consumers and users. In this

critical review, we will look at the types of recent gaming technologies and their issues by evaluating how

new knowledge, experience and skills can be benefited from them.

Although video games have long existed since the first one invented in 1958 (Bellis, 2019), more

people are getting addicted to them as they have become more immersive and realistic over time. If

previously we had video games like Tetris that are completely detached from reality and only limited to

our visual senses, today we have games that would appeal to almost all of our senses—sight, hearing,

touch, movement, and recently even smell. Such gaming technology is called Virtual Reality (VR). One

of the very famous gaming companies using this technology is the Oculus Rift, which is a headset that is

worn over the eyes like a pair of goggles and has a wide screen as well as a surround sound system. It
provides users a close to realistic gaming experience like never before, where users can experience

three-dimensional visual and auditory stimulation. Although this may sound like a fun technology, it

certainly has the potential to alter a person’s reality through addiction. According to Dudkin (2019), when

a person depends more on virtual reality than the actual reality for social connections, it can possibly lead

to unusual expectations in real life social settings— ones that are typically unrealistic and impossible to

make happen depending on the person’s surrounding and circumstances. However, the question is, can

virtual reality ever be useful in other settings other than video games? Certainly, it has already been made

possible. Daley (2019) presents in an article a number of companies such as Proprio and Sentiar using this

technology for medical purposes, mainly by augmenting visuals when performing surgical procedures to

maximize efficiency and minimize risk. From these instances alone, we know that while virtual reality

can be a dangerous factor in the gaming scene, it can otherwise be benefited to save many lives today and

in the future generations.

When it comes to playing video games, especially multiplayer strategy games, communication is

a must in order to form good teamwork. Video games such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG),

Fortnite, and even recently, Among Us, are some of the most popular co-op games to date. If we put these

three games side by side, we will notice a similarity in the approach used to communicate with other

players, that is through a ‘team chat’ system. A team chat can be in two forms—written and

spoken—where spoken is ideal and preferable as it involves a much faster communication between

players. This form of communication is said to be beneficial because it helps “sharpen communication

skills” (Hulick, 2017) and undeniably promotes a healthier and smoother gaming experience for all users

as it is much easier to relay information among each other when engaging in a battle of some sort without

being misunderstood, which otherwise might cause failure. Not only that, communication in video games

is also important outside of the match. Almost every game today has its own social lobby for making

friends and forming connections. However, all that glitters is not gold. With the introduction of team chat

into the world of gaming, toxicity among players becomes a more irreparable issue, and the likelihood of
it happening in any video game ever is increasingly inevitable. An example of a recurring problem in the

gaming community is the discrimination against female players who are traditionally thought to be awful

at video games (Ashcroft, 2020), and are consequently bullied on team chats for it. Although game

developers have provided an in-game report function for such behaviour, does it really do the victims

justice when the complaint system itself is not properly administered and is constantly being abused by

players? There is no definite answer to this problem as developers are also struggling to patch this

problem up. Nevertheless, with applications like Discord at the very least, team chat systems can be

controlled and customized according to one’s personal preference. That way, problems such as in-game

harassment will be unlikely and the technology can continue to serve its actual purpose in enhancing

players’ gaming experience.

There is just so much for humans to explore in this world and it is impossible to experience

everything in the span of a lifetime. For that reason, the internet was invented to store as much

information about the world as possible so that humans do not have to spend too much time flipping

through pages on the floor of the library just to look for a piece of information, but instead they can search

for the same information online almost instantly. Similarly, simulation video games were invented to let

players instantly experience what they cannot experience in real life. An example of a famous simulation

game is The Sims by Electronic Arts (EA). The game is designed to realistically imitate humans’

lifestyle; ranging from environment to personal life. It is equipped with resources such as furniture to

design buildings, articles of clothing to style your characters, as well as in-game currency. This life

simulation may not appeal to all of our senses, let alone be as realistic, but it certainly gives players the

freedom to roam the digital open world to their heart’s content. Whether the character has a family, a pet,

or a hobby, the characters’ actions and decisions are totally up to the player. Apart from that, simulation

games are also a form of escapism, which is defined as a way of seeking distraction to avoid the

unpleasant and stressful reality that is real life. Games like Flight Simulator are among the most popular

simulation games that people play because realistically, not everyone can easily earn a pilot license.
Hence, players choose to play this kind of simulation video game in order to realize their fantasies and

dreams that they think are impossible to accomplish in real life. Not only that, through games like Flight

Simulator where the simulation is created to be as realistic as possible, players also get to feel the true

experience of manoeuvring vehicles, machineries, and other complex technologies. In one way or another,

this experience gives players real knowledge which someday may come in handy. Therefore, it is

important for educators to note that simulation games can also be used in classrooms as it may function as

a medium of effective teaching.

Virtual Reality (VR), team chat system, simulation video games— these are the gaming

technologies that are often integrated in recent video games to create unique genres. If we look carefully,

there is a pattern of demand in these games, that is the need to create more games that allow players to

connect with a reality that is not real life. At the end of the day, as much as we deny face-to-face human

connection and experience, we certainly cannot dismiss the fact that we still need them even in man-made

realities such as video games. That is because as humans, we want our basic needs like food, sleep, and

love met regardless of where we exist. Therefore, with the technology of new media like video games,

humans make the most out of them to compensate for the loss of those needs in the actual world. The

question is: is it selfish of humans to do so? As a user of the internet who plays video games on the daily

myself, I must say that it is rather sad than selfish that humans have to seek for their needs and personal

experience virtually. Everyone wishes to have hands-on experience with everything. Therefore, in

conclusion, I personally believe that even though video games are harmful for the society in terms of

social connections and personal development, they are one of the most helpful and practical technologies

out there for both entertainment and educational purposes. With that, it is expected of the gaming scene to

flourish and work towards developing more useful technologies for the future of the world.

(1503 words)
 REFERENCES

Ashcroft, H. (2020, May 15). ​Does Voice Chat Give Players An Unfair Advantage? ​TheGamer.

https://www.thegamer.com/does-voice-chat-give-players-an-unfair-advantage/

​ houghtCo.
Bellis, M. (2019, August 23). ​The History of Early Computer and Video Games. T

https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-computer-and-video-games-4066246

Beutlich, J. (2018, January 2). ​How did people send messages in olden days? ​eNotes Editorial.

https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/how-did-people-send-messages-olden-days-631344​.

Daley, S. (2019, July 15). ​The Cutting Edge: 10 Companies Bringing Virtual Reality & AR to the OR.

Built In. https://builtin.com/healthcare-technology/augmented-virtual-reality-surgery

Dudkin, I. (2019, March 22). ​The Pros and Cons of Virtual Reality. ​Skywell Software.

https://skywell.software/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-virtual-reality/

Hulick, K. (2017, September 27). ​Video games level up life skills. ​Science News for Students.

https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/video-games-level-life-skills

Robinson, R. (2020). ​The 7 Top Social Media Sites You Need to Care About in 2020. ​Adobe Spark.

https://spark.adobe.com/make/learn/top-social-media-sites/