IMO video games will be an especially important activity in the future, because they can be about almost any topic, use up barely any real world resources, allow multiplayer across a large distance, and do not place real-world players in physical danger.
Even in a transhumanist future where there are nanobots able to build ~virtually anything IRL for ~free, there will be certain kinds of IRL games (think far future versions of escape rooms) that you can't safely do, and even if you can, you still have to travel to the venue.
But with an immersive video game you can get almost the same experience safely and instantly, and even across the planet with other players if you're willing to deal with some ping (ironically the one thing we'll never be able to solve in video games).
But many other human activities can in some senses be seen as being forms of gaming - in the sense that they are activities that lead to dubious material benefits, but allow people to gain status and feel accomplished.
Not all gaming is for the purpose of allowing people to gain status and feel accomplished. There are competitive players and casual players; gaming is similar to other hobbies in that regard. Some people want to "climb the ranks" in that hobby per se, whereas others just want the experience.
Some people even believe superintelligence actually happened a long time ago, and what we experience now is actually a simulated video game reality, designed to keep us entertained.
If that were true, I'd be really curious about what the moral views of these game developers are, because IRL would be one heck of a cruel video game.
IMO video games will be an especially important activity in the future, because they can be about almost any topic, use up barely any real world resources, allow multiplayer across a large distance, and do not place real-world players in physical danger.
Even in a transhumanist future where there are nanobots able to build ~virtually anything IRL for ~free, there will be certain kinds of IRL games (think far future versions of escape rooms) that you can't safely do, and even if you can, you still have to travel to the venue.
But with an immersive video game you can get almost the same experience safely and instantly, and even across the planet with other players if you're willing to deal with some ping (ironically the one thing we'll never be able to solve in video games).
Not all gaming is for the purpose of allowing people to gain status and feel accomplished. There are competitive players and casual players; gaming is similar to other hobbies in that regard. Some people want to "climb the ranks" in that hobby per se, whereas others just want the experience.
If that were true, I'd be really curious about what the moral views of these game developers are, because IRL would be one heck of a cruel video game.