This BotRT prompt was interesting to read and think about to say the least. When I think of extended play I do not think of the game colliding into reality but more of a slow and subtle merge between fantasy and reality. Because of this subtleness it is harder to spot the merge, an example would be thinking about the objects in your backpack as “items” or even things you have to do during the day as quests instead of goals or errands. There are many ways a game can even influence our life by the story line and game play. A recent article on Kotaku on a game called Coming Out Simulator 2014 was about how the game made the writer understand the difficulties and hardships that one experiences when they “come out.” This is a more extreme example of the collision between game and reality as the player was influenced by the game rapidly and consciously. A more subtle merge would be like the game Pokémon. Speaking completely from personal experience I notice when I pick someone on my team, in games, or I volunteer someone in good nature I say “I choose you…” just like the game and the TV show. I did not notice I said that until my friend pointed it out. It was so natural to say that it was just a subtle merge between the Pokémon world and my reality which was unnoticeable until someone told me.

It really is just so interesting. I am sure I can find millions of examples in which a game influences a person outside of that game, not just video games as I am sure card games and sports are just as influential on people as well. The only problem I see is when a game influences a person too much. By influencing a person to much a game could not only negatively impact a person but the people around them. This is an occurrence in not just games but too much of anything is never good; examples would be alcohol, drugs, studying, sports, spoiling from parents, and the list can go on. The problem for most people is understanding that they have been influenced far too much and the people around them not understanding how to help them. Depending on the person is how out find not really a method of “treatment” but more of a method of acceptance and removal of these, for lack of a better term, habits they have obtained from the games merge into their life that are destructive to themselves and their relationship with the world outside of their games.