Draqq_Zyxorian raises the question: Still, would you play a game that had outside effects, like being dumped into a water tank if you were defeated in a fighting game or slapped on the wrist with a ruler every time you did poorly in Brain Age? How far would you go? And which games would such an addition be cool?
Almost every comment stated no, the player was uninterested in experiencing pain (or yes, but without reason). I found my predecessors comments surprising, given the constant stretch for reality in gaming. Having real consequences for your actions within a game is not only a good idea, it is necessary to replicate the real world within the virtual.
Why we need pain (eventually) in gaming
It goes without question that people would love to have their own holodeck. As such, you need to be able to elicit a physical and tangible response from the virtual interface, good and bad. Without pain, you are simulating only the appearance of reality, instead of reality itself.
I am no masochist, but even if it felt real I would appreciate the added realism pain might bring to certain games, as long as the pain came with potentially equal rewards of pleasure. The player might have the option of adjusting the pain level, and turning it off. Take Unreal Tournament, for example; if every time you were hit with a flak cannon you felt a paintball-esque impact in the applicable are, I would gamble you would change your tactics pretty fast. Similarly, if you felt immense pleasure wash over you when you picked up a health pack, or a little high when picking up adrenaline, the game itself would fundamentally change. Game servers might be set for "pain" and "wimp."
Pain brings us a step closer to virtual reality, partially forgotten as the public became disenfranchised with the bulky helmets that had been a staple a decade ago. I agree that pain for the sake of pain is unwelcome in the gaming world. However, if it is relevant and adds to the experience in a positive manner, I say bring on the pain!
Afterthoughts on Virtual Reality
I am not sure when VR died. Maybe it was after Lawnmower Man 2, or maybe the Virtual Boy killed it; either way, the fervor of interest in VR that beset the 1990's has long been replaced with interest in personal gaming, evolving existing technology, and the pursuit of nanotechnologies. Certainly research persists, and technology from artificial limbs and robotics will inevitably be adapted to VR purposes, but the excitement of total immersion has certainly gone by the wayside. I hope someday interest will resurface. Perhaps an exciting discovery or new invention will be made that can be appropriated for VR. Until that time only hardcore geeks still work feverishly on VR in unlabeled laboratories at MIT and RPI, dreaming of the day the robots will insert us into the Matrix. Sigh.
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