Life Is An Open World Game
The Script:
Like many of you, I used to love playing video games as a kid.
I’m old enough that I started with the original Nintendo. As I grew up, I watched the evolution
through Gameboy, Super Nintendo, N64, Playstation, and beyond.
The games I started with were very simple.
Mario could only move in two dimensions. His objective was very simple: avoid pitfalls and
turtle shells, defeat Bowser, and rescue Princess Peach.
For a long time, video games were all quite similar.
Linear. You moved from one task to another in a pre-determined sequence.
Movement, abilities, and every other aspect of the game were all confined by a strict rule set.
You beat one stage and then moved to the next.
It was fun and simple...but very predictable, and lacked any degree of freedom.
But then...as technology improved, games started to get far, far more interesting.
Soon, there were games being developed that created open worlds for you to explore.
You could complete missions in any order you wanted, or even forgo the missions entirely.
There were still rules of course, but these were no longer the simple and straightforward games
of the 80s and 90s.
They were infinitely more sophisticated.
These were freedom-based games.
Open-world games.
And the possibilities seem to only grow every year as technology advances.
However, after a certain point in my life...I stopped playing video games.
It’s not because I don’t like them.
In fact I very much admire them as an art form and am constantly wowed by the new games my
younger brother plays.
I stopped playing video games because I came to a certain realization.
I wanted to spend all of my time and energy playing the ultimate game.
Real life.
Most people take life very seriously, and don’t think of life as a game at all.
In fact, most people actually view real life as a kind of drudgery to escape from, via virtual
games and entertainment.
But if you take a step back and look at the possibilities of life, you realize that in so many
ways...life is a kind of game.
And not just any game...it is the most beautiful, astounding, immersive, and limitless game ever
created.
You could load an adventure game on your PlayStation, or you could travel to new and exotic
lands for yourself, right here in our world.
Fighting games are fun, but there’s nothing stopping you from going to the gym to learn martial
arts in real life.
You could build an immense virtual empire in a strategy game, but you could also build a
powerful business empire here in this world as well.
Our world is a place of infinite possibility, the ultimate open-ended game for you to explore and
delight in.
The biggest lie ever perpetrated upon our society...is that life is a closed and linear game.
Most people live whole their lives based on this lie.
They live trapped in small loops, confined by the expectations of others.
They are afraid to the live the lives they truly desire, and instead shuffle through the same routine
day by day.
A monotonous job, commute, television, fast food, perhaps some drinks on the weekend, and
then rinse and repeat.
There are many who are happy with this type of life, and if so, that’s great.
But I think that there are also many people who are deeply dissatisfied with their lives.
And for those who are, I say this:
Life is not a linear game.
One stage after another, in strict progression.
Life is actually an open-ended, freedom-based game, with endless possibilities.
There is no right or wrong way to play.
You can play it any way you want.
Bored of where you live? You can travel to a new country to explore an exotic new environment.
Or you can stay put, but finally gather the courage to apply for your dream job.
You can pick up any new hobby or sport that interests you.
You can level up your own body and physique by starting a fitness routine.
You can level up your mind by reading and learning.
There are not even any set objectives in this life.
Society may define success as a stable job, house, family, two kids, two cars, and a white picket
fence.
If that’s your true desire, then you should definitely work towards it.
But if it isn’t, there are an infinite number of other ways to live, an infinite number of worthy
goals to strive for.
You are the player in this open game.
You are the one who must search inside yourself and define your own objectives, and choose
your own missions.
It is you who defines success for yourself in this game.
When you first come to realize how much freedom you really have, it can be daunting.
With freedom comes with much uncertainty. Boundless freedom can be very overwhelming.
But this fleeting feeling is but a small price to pay, to have the privilege to exist in a world so
vast, so abundant, and so beautiful.
To live in a game with infinite places to explore.
Infinite goals you could pursue.
Infinite skills you could learn.
Infinite new people to meet.
Infinite possibilities in every way.
How you play this game is entirely up to you.
There is no right or wrong way to play it.
The most important thing is that you just play, and not let this life pass you by.