Life Simulation NPC’s (Simulation Theory for Gamers)
The idea that we are living in a simulation is hardly a new idea in current times. The Matrix movie, Nick Bostrom’s simulation theory, Elon Musk and countless others who all think about the implications, the evidence and what it means for us. Most of those arguments rely on probability, physics and computer science. I wish to make my argument based on video games. That’s right, video games!
When one plays a video game in an immersive world especially in an online role playing game; There is your character, other players, the computer and what is commonly referred to as NPCs (Non-Playing Characters). These NPCs usually have minimal dialogue and oftentimes more than one NPC has the same basic quotes that they repeat pretty often when you force them to interact with your character. I have noticed, very unscientifically I may add, that I have come across people in everyday life that I would consider an NPC. Weird, detached behaviors and patterns in people that are present all around us in our daily lives.
Of course Psychologists will say; “this is just human nature, human behavior”. The intellectual will say that it is nonsense. The scientist will ask for the scientific method to prove my theory and so on and so forth. I am not here to prove my theory, I am writing this because even if it is not evidence that we are currently living in a simulation, then it is evidence that people need to be more individual in thinking and start to expand or rather evolve. The more I think about the current state of the world, the more I think of Plato’s “Allegory of the cave” because even when confronted with truth, it is usually too uncomfortable for the average person to handle and they dismiss it and want the old way even if it was false in nature to begin with.
I first noticed something odd when I was a teenager working in retail. The store would be dead quiet with no customers at all then a wave of customers would come in. This happened at random times but it did not fail. Where one customer would come in then the wave would follow. I thought this was because it was a mall and perhaps seeing someone in the store made the store more appealing on a psychological or subliminal level. So I dismissed the oddness that I found in it and moved on. Years later I worked in an apartment complex, in a leasing office that no passerby’s could see and the same thing happened all the time. Dead, slow and then all of a sudden 10 people at once wanting to see apartments. The waves were coming again. Almost like a computer was programmed to randomly send groups of NPCs in to fill my time as well as others.
The second thing I noticed was when I was working on a military base doing security. We had a speed bump right before the guard shack. When cars approached they went over this speed bump (admittedly annoying) and about 10 percent of the people would exaggerate their expression and reactions to said speed-bump and move their head side to side as if they were a bobblehead sitting on the dashboard of a Volkswagen beetle. It never failed, I felt like telling them “you are not original the last 30 people did the exact same thing!” but I held my tongue for both professional reasons and I did not want them to malfunction and catch on fire on my watch, where there would be a mess for me to clean up.
It was there at this same military base that I noticed another strange thing about people. About 40 percent of people that came on base said the same lines all the time; in the cold they said “stay warm” in the rain they said “stay dry” and a lot just said “stay safe”. I later went to a different state and a different military base where the same exact thing was going on and I noticed when I responded, these people really did not listen or pay attention to a word I said. And so, I experimented with someone who would say “stay warm” and I would respond with random and complete nonsense like “Have a good turkey leg” and their response was “Yeah you to” or “thanks”. I even told a coworker who was an enlisted Navy Sailor who had duties in security that day and they laughed and tried it out saying “Hey have a merry mountain hoedown” and the response was “you as well” we did this to 122 cars in a row with only 2–3 people noticing what we said. We were not speaking in a low volume or unclear for that matter either. So eventually it became a little game to pass the time, and we told some more people about the zombies that work on the base. This other guy we worked with who I will call Mark started to go real over the top and say things like “ Hey no homo, have a nice day” and “I am sorry to be rude but have a great day” people did not even notice anything that was said. In my coworkers minds these were just “dumb people” but in my mind these are NPCs who actually do not have a mind at all and run on a program to fill the small talk and the thousands of pointless interactions we have daily.
Nothing original comes out of these peoples mouths, No original thoughts, ideas, artistic expressions or anything else that is individual in nature. This happens in many different areas of our lives as well; just look at politics with supporters of any side repeating the same phrases, arguments and rebuttals as everyone else. They have no mind of their own for the most part. It is the hive mind but not the hive mind of an intelligent species but the hive mind of a non-player character in a simulation who is designed to fill your day and improve the quality and realness of the simulation. If you think I am crazy that is ok, as you yourself are most likely programmed to think so. In that way we can not discover the true nature of the simulation and the NPCs that infest it.
Stay Warm!
