Game Over

1: Hana, Dul, Set!

"Bye Arabella, it was so great seeing you again! You've got to get out more, all you do is stay inside on that silly game all day. You are letting the world pass you by!" my best friend Rebecca shouts as she walks down the sidewalk from my apartment and waves goodbye to me with a glowing smile on her perfect face.

I've spent the past two hours at a local cafe with her, drinking coffee and listening to her mindless chatter about the latest celebrity drama. I quickly unlock the door to home and flick the light. I lock the door behind me and listen to the faint hum of the electricity as I kick my shoes off by the front door before making my way across the foyer.

With a quiet sigh I toss my bag onto my dining room table and flop down on the large gaming chair in my living room.

I lean forwards to flick on the sleek black gaming system that sits on the entertainments system in front of me. One I hear the soft click and the whirring of the electronic starting up I lean back in my chair and drop my head into the palms of my hands, letting my fingers rub my temples carefully.

I have a pounding headache from listening to Rebecca drone on and on about her latest obsession. It's some Korean music group that she found when she came across an ad for them a few weeks ago on the train to her school.

After all these years of friendship and I still do not really know why I hang out with her. She's nice enough, don't get me wrong. And she's what you would call traditionally pretty and quite kind. But she has absolutely nothing in common with me.

Like down to her perfectly manicured nails, we are fundamentally different. She likes fashion and gossip while I like games and gore.

The worst part is that the poor girl has literally nothing going though that pretty little head of hers at any given time. Her brain is full of whatever the latest tabloid news is, while I prefer to spend my spare time studying and playing the virtual reality game "Timeless Ages".

She is the epitome of a hollow human being that has fallen perfectly into the box that society has set for us. Without question she soaks up every meaningless song, every oversaturated visual and every photoshopped person like it's her life's purpose.

Me on the other hand...I am the type of person to question everything, to turn my back on everything that is expected of me and go against the grain. Not because I like to be different or to be a "rebel" but simply because the idea of expectations being set for me by a society that exploits me absolutely disgusts me.

I feel more boundless and free in a virtual game than I ever have in the real world. The real world confines me and holds me down like I have a ball and chain around my ankle.

I take a long swig of my water bottle as I settle into my welcoming and very cushioned gaming chair.

Once my headset is on my head I am welcomed back to the game by the framiliar main menu screen and the upbeat theme music of "Timeless Ages". My heart flutters in anticipation for the game as I lean back in my chair and select the bright red start button on the screen.

Hana...Dul...Set!

Go!

After speaking the required Korean startup phrase the game immediately loads up and I am almost immediately sucked into the virtual world of hyper realistic pixels as they begin take on distinct shapes all around me. Moments later I am fully submerged in the artificial world with a 360 degree view of the main town/hub of the game.

I am always completely immersed in the game every single time that I play, that's the only way to fully enjoy it. The best game sessions are the ones where you forget that you are even in a game. Every time I play I always forget how amazingly real it feels.