We’re all born into bodies that we did not choose for ourselves. I’ve been pondering this a lot recently– the idea that our ‘reality’ is constructed out of chaotic disorder and yet somehow we find a way to organize everything into neatly packaged boxes. It’s a human thing, to seek order. We want things to make sense.
Take the life simulator mobile game, Bitlife, as an example. With the premium God Mode setting, players can choose where they are born, how they look and what their talents are. It goes much beyond physical attributes too. Players can also alter personality traits that could have drastic effects on the kind of life they live.
Even without the God mode setting, expert players who have mastered the inner workings of the game can find patterns to get what they want. For instance, if you want to be a millionaire there are a handful of job occupations that will guarantee you a successful future full of millions while others will only get you so far. However, just like real life, these occupations aren’t always what they seem at first glance. I once became a billionaire while playing the game and it was all because my character had an OnlyFans account.
Doing good acts in the game earns players good karma which will come in handy in their next life. Expert players can use this to their advantage and gather up enough good karma to keep on succeeding in the game. Doing wrong naturally has the opposite effect, but the consequences are not always what you’d expect…
In this simulated reality, life can be unpredictable, but it can also be whatever you want it to be. If you want to live your life on the run from the law, you’re free to do so. If you want to become a mega superstar with hundreds of millions of followers on social media, then the sky's the limit. Everything is truly possible.
For me, everything is as I want it. I can be rich, powerful and successful and an all round perfect human being. It gives me pleasure knowing that I can always fast forward if things don’t go my way or just start another life with no strings attached. Every single choice doesn’t have to be a 5 year lesson in learning to become a better person. I can be callous and cold towards others and never have to deal with the consequences. I can also take my own life and respawn as a completely different individual as many times as I please.
Yet even with all this freedom, I still find myself leaning towards a more ‘ethical’ approach to life. Yes, there are times I play as a character who commits several murders and ends up in jail. It’s always entertaining to play as a criminal, but most of the time I strive to be the best that I can be in the game. The more I became aware of this, the more I began to question if there was something this game was trying to tell me about life.
Of course, everyone will have their own interpretations of what the purpose of Bitlife is. For most it’s simply an escape for entertainment purposes. Not everything has some meta meaning beyond surface level. But here at SENTI-ENT, we like to overanalyze things.
Bitlife to me is a reminder to live my best life, because unlike in the game, I cannot respawn. In Bitlife it’s oh so easy to maintain perfect relationships and treat everyone with kindness. With a push of a button I can spend time with every single person in my life. In real life, though the desire is there to be an active part of my loved ones’ lives, I have recently discovered that I have a dismissive attachment style and I am usually reluctant to initiate bonding time or anything of the sort.
In Bitlife I can have the perfect body without having to move a single muscle. At the push of a button I can go to the gym and sculpt the perfect body. Everytime I do so, my subconscious reminds me that I haven’t worked out or even left the house in weeks.
I’m reminded by every click of how I should be living my life. I’m reminded of how I should be more intentional with how I spend my time instead of wasting away online. It’s always a wonderful thing, having your personhood attacked subliminally by the entertainment you consume. I find that it always motivates me to be a better person. And while it is true that Bitlife allows you to get away with some heinous crimes, it can also inspire you to cherish the relationships you have in your life.
I often find myself bonding with my friends who play this game. The crazy things we do that we would never even attempt in real life always makes for a good laugh. We share tips and tricks on how to achieve the things we want. We make fun of each other when something goes terribly wrong. It’s all part of the gaming experience. In a way, Bitlife has become a self-care ritual as much as it is indulgent escapist entertainment.
We don’t always get to choose the kind of life we want in the real world, but Bitlife is a reminder that we can still imagine countless possibilities for ourselves.
Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and a comment if you liked or didn’t like this post or if there’s anything you’d like to add to the conversation. On another note, I recommend readers to check out this article from Psychology Today discussing the benefits of imaginative thinking. I thought it would be appropriate to include it here seeing as we’ve just discussed Bitlife and imagination. Happy reading!
Bitlife and other simulation games allow me to escape from the stress of my life. It's fun to do things you'd never do in real life. However, I like the sentiments of living our best lives. Sometimes it'd be nice to have a magical button which would fix my life but when I think of all the little moments along the way that I would have missed, that button doesn't seem so appealing anymore. " If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death.Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete."- Dr. Victor E. Frankl.
Yessss! I love this game!