Play Money's Final Stretch

I've completed Play Money, and I'm actually kind of sad about that. I really enjoyed this book as I felt I could connect to it in various ways. An interesting thing that Dibbell noted near the end of his book was "what's the ending of a game than a different sort of death?" (287). Oddly, I feel this way when completing a book I really get into (mostly fiction novels where you really come to care for the characters). When I know I'm coming to the end, I'll budget myself some time where I can read the final pages alone, and then I'll sit and reflect on it, skimming through the pages, and wondering what it all meant. It's odd that these various "fake" sources can bring about new methods of thinking and knowledge. That's why I found it interesting when Dibbell later said that "But here I am, a writer again, and not a merchant of make-believe" (292). In a way, I feel that his two professions are not all that different. In the game, he is dealing in the virtual trade of imaginary objects. In writing, he is dealing with the transfer of abstract thoughts and ideas from one person to another. And so, here's a neat little analogy for you: Game:Computer::Writing:Book (book used loosely here, standing in for all methods of writing). Writing is, of course, what makes up the book; however, it is not the book. The book holds the information, much like a computer, and it is the writing itself which gives way to other concepts, ideas, worlds even, much like the game. People like Dibbell and myself just can't seem to get into the tangible items with the same vigor as we do with things that, to some people, just "don't matter".

"It was not simply a diversion from the path of life; it was the path itself, for a time, and just as fraught with existential care as that path ever is" (289). Again, Dibbell directly reflects my feelings with reading. Although fiction reading can be viewed as "escapism", it also allows for one to examine him or herself as well as the people and world around him or her. Games are strikingly similar, and I feel that people should not be so quick to cast them away.