*Previously published at Intellectual conservative
From ancient times to modern, we have seen the spirit of adventure in humankind; history is awash in tales of the exploits of great men such as John Smith, Sir Willaim Drake, Vasco Digama and many many others. The lure of the sea and exploration of strange and wildlands has always fascinated the minds of young men and women, it was American author Mark Twain who said
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
This has much been the attitude of humans and especially Americans for much of our history. The wild and untamed world beckons and calls to us, something in us that longs for adventure and to see that which has never been seen before by the eyes of man. Perhaps you have heard the term “Gentleman of Fortune”, it is an old term, which means according to the Dictionary “An adventurer” its origin is thought to be in the 1880s and referred to the pirates, explorers, sailors and adventurers who sailed and lived in the Golden Age of Piracy. A time when the world was still not fully explored and young men (and women) both poor and rich alike sought out adventure and excitement in wild and untamed lands.
For those who may not know the Blizzard corporation just ended its annual video game convention “Blizzcon“, in Anaheim California. For three days, one of the world’s leading-edge company released groundbreaking new technologies and showcased never-before-seen video games to a packed convention center, and to the tens of thousands watching online.
The video game market in 2020 will be worth over $90 billion dollars and video games are played by over 2.5 billion people worldwide, with 59% of “Gamers” being male.
Many ask why video games are so popular and many members of past generations may see them as a waste of time that could be used for “More productive” things (Please don’t think I am holding in contempt these older generations as I am not). A stereotype exists of a loner white male, in his parent’s basement hunched in front of a video game, eating chips and inhaling energy drinks who rarely ever sees the sun or friends.
While there are some who I am sure fit this description, the vast majority of “Gamers” are everyday people, married, single, with kids and without.
Why now more than ever are video games so popular? A clue exists when one looks at the type of game that sells the best. The game called “The Witcher III: Wild Hunt” is branded as a massive open world free for the player to explore and hunt in, and has sold almost 40 million copies, “Skyrim” a choice-based game that lets the player be whatever they want while exploring a continent-sized map sold 30 million copies. “Red Dead Redemption 2” sold 10 million copies in 3 days and lets a player-run free in a huge, and highly detailed map of the old west that is packed with hidden locations which beg one to explore it. Lastly, “No Man’s Sky” a VAST space simulator that procedurally generates a whole universe with millions of planets that players can land on and explore, newly discovered ones can even after the player who discovered it.
The one thing these games all have in common is that they value exploration over combat or violence; they ask the player to take time and wonder at the sights and sounds, to discover new places, to be an explorer. That drive has always been in the heart of man, it is what drives us to space, and what drove us to discover new worlds. In our modern-day, there is little left to discover and explore, our society is consumed with self-centeredness and politics, many are asking the same question that Jean Luc-Picard asked, “Do you remember when we used to be explorers?”
The desire to be explorers has not gone away just because there is nothing left to discover, and until space flight is cheap enough and open-sourced to allow anyone to go to space this will remain so. In an effort to sate this desire, video games have been created to allow these new Digital Gentlemen of fortune the means and opportunity to forge new worlds and discover new lands. To fully embrace our humanity and drive to be everything we want to be.
So next time you or someone you know pull up a chair and boot up the wild and distant digital lands to go on a voyage of exploration, remember the Gentleman of Fortune and the explorers of old and tip your hat that their legacy is being carried on.
[…] CHECK OUT: The Digital Gentlemen of Fortune: Video Games and Exploration In Society […]