Age of braindance decadence: We didn’t get rid of our problems, we multiplied them

[darcler]

I think the parallel would be something on the note of a videogame player trying to become someone else - a hero, a badass, whatnot - even if in virtual reality. It's about escapism, really. But the illusion is never perfect. Braindancing would be something else entirely, something tangible, and as close to authentic as possible without one moving from his couch. Because braindances would be recordings of real, not virtual events, as perceived by the one who's being recorded.

But I agree that it's but one facet of the whole thing.

 

[Sardukhar]

Braindance, depending on how it's depicted, isn't like either TV or videogames, really. The escapism is there, sure, but not just escapism. It's also about adventure,as many forms of media are about. Even if you have a good, happy life, you may desire entertainment - it's a different flavour, after all.

The braindance is a different creature and that goes a long way to explaining it's addictive qualities. When you are in the 'dance, you aren't just watching someone else or even moving that character around. You -are- that person. It's -you- that decides to bounce the cyberbike over the curb and into the ice cream shop for laughs. It's -your- decision to chase after the beautiful Swedish model and it's -your- combination of snappy dialogue and charm that wins her over. You.

Because you are -in- someone else's head, after all, but it feels like it's yours.

The potence of this effect, the singular sensorium provided may vary depending on quality, but the sense of total immersion doesn't. That's the addictive nature. Truly Better Than Life. Because it feels like it's you.

 

[darcler]

And everything you just wrote falls right into the term of escapism. The ultimate form, though.

 

[Sardukhar]

Escapism presumes you need to leave your current space. That you are escaping from something. That's too simplistic, i think. A desire to see new things and feel new things isn't escapism - it's adventure as much as anything. It's when you are tryig to blot out the real world it becomes escapism.

Many addictions begin not as escapism, but as experimentation, as part of growth. Trying new things is quite healthy, after all.

It's not too relevant, really. Whether you are addicted because you were originally trying to get away from your life or because you wanted to see something new, once you're addicted it rapidly becomes something much more complex than entertainment.

 

[darcler]

Well, it depends on the person, does it not? The question is, what would be the main motivation for people to get into braindancing: do they want to try something new, or do they want to experience someone else's life, because their own sucks? Considering the nature of braindancing, and all its moral and social implications, I'd say that the latter would be the most common braindancers.

 

[Sardukhar]

I'd agree that the latter would make up the most likely braindance addicts, but for the technology to really take off, it would likely be sold as much as an adventure as an escape. Take video games, for example - being an active rather than passive entertainment form, the marketing is fairly "explore this!" and "do this!" and somewhat less, "forget your woes!" or "take a load off!"

The wealthy clientele that can afford top-line dance have little to escape from, so I could see it very much as adventure marketing.

Now the lower-rung wage slaves, wih their inexpensie trodes and cheap 'dance chips, yeah, that sounds like escapist marketing to me.

Here's a good question though: would the addiction rate vary depending on life circumstances with the 'dance? How much of it's highly-addictive nature is dependent on the base experience vs the user? Is it -always- at least 20% addictive or something?

Or would their, secretly, be an even higher addiction rate among the wealthy, because their experience is so much more intense? What do you think? Could be a cool sub-plot for 2077, too.

 

[darcler]

From strictly marketing point of view, illusion is a commodity all by itself. A value, if you prefer. Games and movie industries are obviously heavily invested in creating and selling illusions (that's why Hollywood has been dubbed Dream Factory), but it's also being used in a much simpler form. A simple restaurant that serves Italian cousine will also try to mimic the experience of actually sitting in a genuine trattoria somewhere in Venice. It's not only about eating, it's about experiencing, about adventure. Shopping malls, theme parks, hell, even grocery shops tend to try this kind of stuff. So nothing new here. Braindances are only another brick in the wall.

The wealthy clientele that can afford top-line dance have little to escape from, so I could see it very much as adventure marketing.

That I don't agree with. Money obviously is a factor when making yourself a comfortable life, but there's also the other side of the coin: more stressfull job, more responsibility, more expectations, more stepped-on toes or outward enemies, more worries. Sometimes people make a lot of money trying to compensate for something else. Maybe they lost someone and buried themselves in work. Perhaps they grew up with low self esteem and were striving for perfection in every single thing they did, because only this way they could prove to themselves that they aren't losers. And so on, and so forth; there could be many stories behind having wealth, stories that would go well with trying to escape in braindancing, rather embracing it as a way to further enrich happy lives.

Having said that, I'm not entirely sure addiction rate (as in percent of population) would be higher in wealthier or poorer parts of society. It would depend on what an individual can have from 'dancing. Stressed-out CEO would probably more likely use 'dancing as a form of entertainment, but a perfectionist with low self-esteem - that's a different story.

I think, however, that addiction of rich and famous would be far less visible that addiction of some poor sod in a gutter.

And another thing. You've just finished reliving an amazing 'dance made from experiences of someone truly, truly great. You've been that person, you've been that great, had respect and did not fear the world. But the 'dance ended, and you've been demoted to your lousy self, a nobody that no one cares for. Where could that lead to?

 

[blackcat13]

....

 

[Ossirian]

Possible drawback to too much braindancing, your memories get replaced with the ones from others.

http://io9.com/watch-this-disturbing-cyberpunk-movie-about-turning-mem-453474433

 

[Sardukhar]

Heh. Two or more years to go. At this rate, we're going to speculate our way into the actual braindance plotline and right on through it.

My old Ref used to listen to our paranoid musings and write them down for later plot lines. He said our fears were better than whatever he'd dreamed up. I wonder if CDPR is taking notes smiling evilly as he used to.

 

[blackcat13]

....

 

[fchopin]

The metropolis of Night City is a stage set to tell the tale of one individual, raised on the streets, who tries to lift himself up from the gutter and find a way to survive amongst boostergangs and megacorporations in a city of filth and sin.

What does one individual mean?
Will we be able to experience the city as different individuals with different backgrounds and as male and female?

 

[Garrison72]

Gender selection and classes are confirmed.

 

[ZeSpecter]

Sounds so awesome. Right now, this is one of the few games I'm really excited for!

 

[chriswebb2020.736]

Gangnam Style - Top braindance.

Psi-ber psychosis



...I deserve to be shot for that comment...

 

[Sardukhar]

-bang-

 

[braindancer12]

Psi-ber psychosis



...I deserve to be shot for that comment...

damn right.....go to the knee and count to ten

 

[chriswebb2020.736]

damn right.....go to the knee and count to ten

no more knees!!!!

 

[wisdom000]

Won;t you take me to.... Stumpy Town.....

 

[prosociety]

Gaming addiction needs more research put into it to really understand what's going on for people, especially at this early stage of gaming. I offer counselling to people who use games to help deal with social anxiety which is often coinciding with depression. The way to look at it isn't that the games themselves are addictive (there's not really severe withdrawal, although it may disrupt sleep and result in feeling low for a few days) but that some people have a predisposition to use games as a form of self soothing. For many people that's totally harmless, but there may be some people who grow dependant on the plugged in feeling, and stimulation of the reward circuits.

By 2077 they will be a lot more known about this, and undoubtedly much more effective treatments than are available at this point in time for people who from their own perspective experience harmful effects from their behaviour.

But hey, we're looking to make this an entertaining game, and I think it could have a massive impact in the debate about gaming addiction. So here's a few ideas to work braindance addiction into the game.

1. Addiction to BD is possible, but it will depend on your characters predisposition (as in stats).
2. Excessive use of neural implants (i'm thinking the chips like "learn Rifle, or grooming etc" can also have side effects.
3. When your empathy drops to low, you'll go psycho depending on just how low it is and will run this risk of temporarily losing control of your character.
4. Treatments are available to bring people's empathy back up, but this is gradual effect and takes time. (at least 12-20 weeks of therapy and meds).
5. The prevailing technique of the day could be emotion-focused therapy (EFT, it's a real thing now, early days though)- using a process called systematic evocative unfolding to guide people to reconnect with their own emotions (which do to low empathy, they may have a great distance from). This treatment itself could be offered at a clinic, or could be simulated in a BD (but with risks).
6. Characters can relive/re-experience key life events as part of the fight against cyberpsychosis. (<--------opportunity of clever writers to hike up some trauma and drama).

Thoughts to start, will add more once I've checked through previous posts.