5 Video Games That Influenced Real Life Decision Making

With the right attitude, you can get a lot out of a game. Then again, as with anything, you can get plenty of bad things out of a game, too - if you choose to approach it the wrong way. For all the talk of how video games are responsible for supermarket shootings and middle school middle fingers, then, the simple fact remains: the vast majority of gamers are docile creatures who enjoy the experience of solving puzzles in vast, expansive virtual worlds - worlds that no other medium can offer. Quite often such worlds can leave one looking at things differently in the world they inhabit outside of a game, too. Any gamer who tells you otherwise is lying - either out of ignorance, or perhaps through some misplaced embarrassment over the effect that art is having on them. Well, I'm willing to stand up and offer 5 games that influenced real life decision making for me, personally. Read on if you're interested, and join me by planting your own flag in the comments section at the end...

5. Say No To Drink Driving - Grand Theft Auto III

Let me preface this by saying that I am not better than you. I am not holier than thou. I'm basically just a guy who sits around with his dog playing video games and writing stuff. But one thing I'm proud to say I've never done is drink and drive. Like, not at all. It's always been either one or the other - either take the keys or take the booze when walking out the door, but never both together. The reason? The drunk driving escapades of my youth, all taking place within the relative safety of Liberty City as realized on the PS2, thanks to Grand Theft Auto III. Hanging out at a friend's house and having a few drinks, I decided to fire up that game and cause a little mayhem. For you young'uns out there, now overrun with fully-realized gaming cities that are completely alive, understand that GTA III was life-changing. We'd never seen anything like it and it defined our high school years. This was right around the time I'd gotten my license, so I was feeling pretty good about myself. Once Liberty City loaded, I ran to the first van I could find and stole it, prepared to go on a virtual joy ride. One major problem: I literally couldn't operate the vehicle. I was swerving all over, running over pedestrians and crashing into medians. I flipped the van and ended up in a river. I tried again and it looked largely the same, though I believe the second attempt saw me jump out of a car by accident as I drove off a bridge. No matter: you get the idea. My real-life drunk was too much to handle a video game car, and my first thought was: "If this is as hard as it is, how hard would it be to really drive like this?" It was one of the best lessons I've ever learned, and I learned it in a game that most of the media has spent a decade condemning at every turn.