Nostalgia for the Future

Remember when Pac-Man was new? It was so bright and so beautiful. Who can forget the cacophony of whining children as they begged mom for just one more quarter. I will always cherish the slick feel of a pizza grease covered joystick.
Well, the Man is back and he roams the streets of Manhattan. Oh, how I have been waiting for these days. The idea of digital games overlapping the real world is so fascinating. What will happen when a million people are playing hundreds of different games simultaneously?

People need a certain level of comfort in their day. That comfort is found in our understanding of the actions made by everyone else. When a man walks down the street talking into a mobile phone, we take it in stride. When that same man is mumbling incoherently and waving his arms, we cross the street. The layered-reality of future interactive games will add new challenges to our lives. Potentially frustrating social interactions will occur when individuals meet but observe different realities.

Man, that’s so cool.