Rarely in today’s world do we have opportunities for introspection. The advent of the internet has only accelerated the pace of life. Elite Dangerous is a video game in which you take the role of a spaceship pilot in a futuristic Milky Way; it is also a game where you are doing mostly nothing. I think that everyone should play something like Elite Dangerous at least once. That is not to say that the cure for our societal malady lies in this one video game; one can hike in warmer climates, and read books at any time. Rather, I believe that the value of video games as a medium for introspection and meaningful experiences has been vastly overlooked by our society.
So, what should you know about Elite? The game is technologically impressive, complete with simulated economies, political systems, and a one-to-one scale simulation of our galaxy that, much like our own, has yet to be completely explored by its inhabitants. Elite Dangerous’s most defining feature is its enormous play area. Most of my time playing was spent traveling from spaceship refueling stations to other solar systems. Yet, as I became more familiar with Elite, the hours I spent traveling the quiet void confronted me with the silent terror of sheer empty space. I had felt that terror before whenever I gazed up at the stars, but I had never grasped the reality of space so acutely before Elite.
Existential terror is not the only surprise Elite has to offer. Too many times I was jolted out of a contemplative trance by a computerized voice telling me that I was dangerously low on oxygen; or that my ship temperature was too high. Sometimes my ship would even be suddenly and frighteningly halted by pirates, or even the Thargoid aliens which reside in the most remote corners of the galaxy. You are never completely safe from danger in Elite. The constant threat of danger and fairly complex ship controls force players to remain engaged with their surroundings. This clever design choice turns Elite into an exercise in mindfulness. That’s a great decision because the game’s environments are more than worth being mindful of. Elite features around 400 billion star systems, each with a visually spectacular environment. When I played, I paid attention to my virtual voyage as though it were a real one, and I felt more awed and refreshed as I passed each destination. With each upgrade to my ship’s fuel tank, I was able to explore increasingly remote and unexplored planets, gazing at new stars and unexplored planets all the while. By the end of my time with the game, I had achieved a true understanding of the previously inconceivable scale of the universe. Whenever I look up into the night sky now, I imagine my pilot flying through the millions of miles of empty space, and I am no longer left in quiet discontent. That is an acceptance I would be hard-pressed to find through any other medium.
Playing Elite is, in a sense, much like scaling mountains. It is grueling and intense, but when things become quiet and you are left with your thoughts, the world’s beauty shines through.
