While thinking on this recently, I was struck by a sudden realization. While I often play games to temporarily escape from reality, designing them seems to have exactly the opposite effect.
Perhaps this is most obvious in the math and physics that are at the heart of games. A good portion of the time I’ve spent studying game design from a programming perspective has been devoted to figuring out how to move objects through virtual space so that they at least appear to be responding realistically to things like gravity and collisions.
Less obvious is the effect that making games has had on my aesthetic appreciation of the world around me. When trying to increase verisimilitude in games, it becomes increasingly important to pay closer attention to reality, and this can enhance enjoyment. For example, there’s just something about considering atmospheric scattering in a game that makes sunsets a bit more interesting. This is difficult to explain, and perhaps a bit corny, but no less true for it. Somehow, my passion for creating imaginary environments causes me to appreciate even more the beauty of the real world
