Unlike TV or movies, video games are interactive, which makes their vivid digital worlds all the more unforgettable. Many gamers know the feeling of never wanting to leave the world of their favourite game.
Now's the time to tap into that feeling. Imagine you're magically transported to a video game world of your choice, and that you have to spend a year there. Which game world would it be, and what would you do? What's your plan to survive, or even to thrive?
We're looking for lengthy submissions on this one - we want to hear all about the thoroughly worked-out routines and ambitious plans you daydreamed up after rolling credits on the game you can't get out of your head.
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Honestly, right now the videogame world which I would go and spend a year in would be Palpagos Island from Palworld! (ps read to the very end to see a picture of my real life Pal monster chilling playing the game with me)
A year is a long time, especially if you dont have lots to do, which I would have in abundance in Palworld!
Firstly the big beautiful lush open world to explore, climb, glide and fly all over the place would be an adventure an a half! When not adventuring building up the base of my dreams would be a blast, and something i end up spending way to much time doing in game so I imagine the same would happen in real life if I was to ever visit Palpagos island!
Now the big thing which would be part of my daily routine in Palpagos island would be searching for new pals to hunt, capture and befriend by exploring the various areas of the island. This is would be so exciting as you would literally be discovering new specials of Pals for the first time ever on you expedition across the island! What a BUZZ! (and also possibly quite scary lol, especially at night) Also mastering the various various weapons I could build and tools to make the job easier! With the added bonus is im a good Pal trainer or master or whatever they are calling it these days, pairing up with the Pals to unleash their powerful attacks on any Pals or Humans that get in our way!
I think one of the things id love the most would be building an army of pals to work away at my base. As in strategy games for example I always got a buzz out of building a big base or harvesting tons of materials etc so to do this IRL in Palworld would be so cool! Having a team of Pal's working in my Palworld version of a Gigafactory would be amazing, churning out any kind of weapons and raw materials to build whatever we needed to level up and take down the BIGGEST and Baddest Pal's to add them to our Army!
From a real life standpoint it would be like a current day detox, now I know there is some high tech gear in Palworld, but not the kind I use on a day to day basis.
Firstly the digital Detox, no social media other than my Paldeck would be a nice disconnect, no mobile phones and sleeping under the stars without the blue light from all our digital devices interrupting our sleep patters would be magic, not only due to seeing the beautiful sky at night minus all the light pollution!
Being out in nature everyday, eating good raw foods which we had caught or harvested of the land would do wonders for physical health eliminating processed foods which make their way into our diet in the West a lot unfortunately.
The social aspect of being out in the wild with a team of friends (im thinking multiplayer gameplay here) and all our awesome Pals (I imagine it being like being out in the wild with my buddies and my dog lol) would be so different from my everyday life and such an amazing chapter in to look back on in the story of Murray's life!
Anyways hopefully that gives you enough of an Idea as to why I think Palagos island would be a magical stay for a year! And here is me visiting Palagos Island with my real life wee Pal Amber!
Assuming I'm just another NPC, here's one that always has always allured me:
Mass Effect: Andromeda
(Primarily because I'd prefer to not be obliterated completely in ME 1, 2 and 3 lmao)
There's one thing that has always gotten me lying awake at night, staring at the dark roof, thinking this one thing.
"What is out there?"
Fortunately, this game helps me to answer that very question, in all the best ways!
The game is set in 2819, after a 600-year cyro journey upon the Ark Hyperion to a new cluster called the "Heleus" cluster. There's quite a bit of plot to the whole game, but to sum it up, there's an entire new cluster with now-new technology of all sorts. Just imagine being the first person to set foot (hand and eye) upon all of it!
I'm sure this will take up easily the majority of my year spent in a video game!
But this is only just the start! There's an entire new galaxy for me to explore!
I'd be going along and exploring each and every single hospitable planet, seeing every single sight that might pique my interest.. I mean, just look at these planets!
The one on the left is Aladeen, a desert planet with large rich mineral deposits. The one on the right is Kadara, a haven for criminals... and the middle one is the place I'd spend all my time upon... Havarl.
It's a beautiful place that the alien race Angara, consider to be their ancestral homeworld, and within all the old ruins, lies ancient histories just waiting to be unlocked. I'd love to spend all that time finding out more and more about the lives of those beyond our reach! The only problem is that everything there is genetically mutated and tends to try to kill you... so I wouldn't stick around too long without a tour guide.
Now something that I noticed quite a bit whilst roaming around the massive markets (That 100% isn't just 3 vendors) of the Nexus is the complete lack of Remnant technology, or if it is being sold, it's at an exorbitant price. How I'd thrive? The answer is right there: Remnant tech baby! I'd be venturing and peering into every nook and cranny to see the fantastic technology left over from the ancient civilizations and claim it before everyone else does, as it appears that nobody else has done that from fear. But after the first vault was opened, everything became a lot safer. Literal goldmines just waiting to be tapped into to!
After bringing in massive hauls of Remnant technology, I'd find a nice small enormous lovely place on the Nexus to reside, and have my own apartment. (What a crazy idea, a home of my own?) From there, I'd enjoy the lovely pleasures of out-of-this-world experiences. Dishes and cuisine? Absolutely. Friendships from people of all walks of life? Even better. There's an entirely new world there, and the oyster has become even bigger!
And if that becomes too dangerous, I can always just sign up as part of the "Initiative" as they supply free housing, food and payment, and I don't ever see them do any work! Sounds like a steal!
It's straight freedom in an entirely new galaxy.... what more could anyone ever want?
I would be an alliance fleet commander for a year.
"Insert weird fantasy travel music"
I would be an Admiral Fleet Commander, My time would be spent making sure our alliance fleets were in top condition, we were stocked on ships, I would liaise with Industry heads, and my job would include making sure our recruitment quota was met so that our fleet could maintain it's numbers and active operations.
I would also personally lead our members in attack tactics against our enemies from stealth drops to full-on capital attacks. Guerilla warfare against smaller targets, taking down enemy infrastructure. I would also have to liaise with political staff in our alliance making sure our friends and allies made sure they filled their end of deals and agreements.
I of course would personally DED Concord sites, destroying the enemies of humanity and keeping our people and infrastructure safe.
So yeh, that is how I would spend my year in Eve Online as a top alliance fleet commander!
This may be a crazy answer, but I’d love to spend time in the game Subnautica, or Subnautica below zero. I wanna be able to push myself to see how long I could survive. Finding new alien species. Living off the land. Exploring the deep seas of an unknown alien world. I wanna stumble upon a giant terrifying sea creature who would love to eat me. I know I sound crazy, but that just seems so fun to me. I wanna be able to live on my own. Making friends with some of the weird creatures I meet along the way. Building myself a new life with my alien surroundings. dedicating myself to researching and finding out everything I could about these beings and recording hopefully for someone to find.
This was a hard choice. I’d honestly love to be in any survival game for a year. It honestly doesn’t matter if it’s a horror survival or a peaceful survival game. Just any game where I can start my life from scratch would be so cool to be in. To be the first to craft special gear and be the first to discover new things.
My game of choice to spend a year in would be Stardew Valley, I’d love to be the harlot of Pelican Town. Minecraft was a close second chance but I feel like Minecraft is inherently more dangerous unless you choose a “peaceful world” but then I think would still end up dying from fall damage before the year is up. I’d love to romance the love of my life Sam, the hopeless musician who doesn’t have much of a future job prospect, but then secretly romance Alex on the other side and get the best of both worlds of creativity and brawn.
I’d probably actually be a terrible farmer, but I’m a semi-decent fisher so I’d be able to fish my way into profitability. It’d also be pretty exciting to be able to help the junimos to help finish the town hall. As a city-raised person I’ve only been exposed to small-town festivals and events via television and films so it’d be awesome to see the magical luminous jellyfish dance, the flower dance, egg festival, night markets, etc… (too many to name them all tbh, but I’d love it).
With all this said, I’d probably get sick of fish very quickly, so catch me selling all my fish real quick and then just being at the pub getting a meal every night instead and not going to Joja Mart 👀
I got really into designing my city back in Cities Skylines 1. Every subway line with its own branding, tons of lore and narrative to the city, every district its unique aesthetic and history, etc. So I would have to go for my city of Westfield from Cities Skylines because it would be amazing to actually live in such a city and experience first-hand all the nuances and headcanon I came up with that can't really be represented in-game. In terms of what I would do, well I made sure my city is at least somewhat fun to live in, with plenty of see and do. From various monuments and parks, to recreation areas and entertainment venues, it has it all, so I definitely wouldn't be bored as I designed it so my citizens wouldn't be bored either. Well I'm not much of a party person so I wouldn't spend much time in the entertainment district of North Market or the casino district of Silverton, but there's plenty of other things to do. I think my favourite would just be to get into a train, tram, or metro service and just go from one end of the city to the next, each day exploring new parts of the city like never before.
If given the chance to spend a year in a video game world, I would choose the dark and mystical realm of "Elden Ring." This world, with its gothic landscapes and enigmatic allure, offers an intoxicating mix of danger and discovery.
Surviving in the Lands Between would be no small feat. I would dedicate myself to mastering combat, learning from the various demigods and creatures. Experimenting with different weapons, I'd find my style, whether it be swift katana strikes or the weighty blows of a greatsword.
Exploration would be key. Each area is steeped in secrets. I’d brave forgotten dungeons, seek hidden treasures, and unravel the intricate lore woven into this world.
Forming alliances would be crucial for survival. Navigating the complex web of relationships among the Tarnished, demigods, and other enigmatic characters would be as vital as any battle skill.
Embracing the journey's challenges, I’d transform from a mere Tarnished to a warrior of renown, facing trials that test both body and spirit. And...
I suddenly woke up. It was Sunday morning, and the sunlight was streaming through my window. There was no Lands Between, no sword in hand, just the familiar comfort of my room. And then it hit me – it was time to sell my turnips to Timmy and Tommy at Nook's Cranny!
As obvious and boring as it may sound... Stardew. I'm a keen amateur gardener and transformed one end of our garden last year into a cosy cottage garden area. I also used to fish a heck of a lot with my dad back when I was a kid so being able to garden/farm all day and fishing in a sleepy village sounds absolutely ideal to me. Forget doing it for just a year, take my house, take my job I'm moving to the valley!
My parents garden a lot and my grandparents did back when they were still with us so as much as I don't play Stardew these days the idea of living in that kind of world whilst being in a game doesn't seem too far fetched or too unobtainable for the real world either.
So that's my boring, logical answer.
For fantasy worlds, Monster Hunter World. Dinosaurs and the like were (and to an extent still are) an obsession for me. I wouldn't want to hunt (unless it really came down to life or death) but I'd want to thrive as a researcher. Think Sarah Harding in Jurassic Park: The Lost World, monitoring, observing and just witnessing the monsters living - I guess this is also a by-product of watching a lot of Attenborough growing up!
The biomes of that game are gorgeous (and also dangerous) but I like to forage IRL so being outdoors foraging and scoping out dino like beasts while dicey sounds pretty exciting to me. I'd build tree top observation decks, fashion camouflage out of the plants, heck, maybe even tame some of the monsters too - not in like a "Welcome to Sturassic Park, spared no expense" kind of way. More in like a taming them for farming or something, definitely NOT the capitalist route of a theme park and merch.... and a movie franchise.... what was I saying?
I love Star Trek so would love to spend a year in the world of Star Trek Online. I would get a little survey ship and explore new worlds (hopefully I would find the peaceful ones).
Would love to visit the locations we know from the series and meet the legendary crew of the Enterprise.
I'm not keen on trying Klingon dishes, I don't like if my food is still moving, but I would definitely take on the challenge of having a pint of Romulan ale (for those of you not familiar with Star Trek, it's the strongest beverage you can get in the universe so it's pretty much banned everywhere apart from Romulan territory) :D
A year is a pretty long time to play any one game, let alone live in its world. For me, the Baldur's Gate world of Dungeons & Dragons would be my destination, though perhaps not in the local vicinity of the game's story. Spending a year with a parasite stuck in my brain doesn't sound ideal.
No, my year would be spent far away from the city, dungeon diving and adventuring to my heart's content. Anyone who has played D&D on tabletop has imagined themselves as their character, and getting to live that out for real would be a dream.
The game world has more depth than almost any game I can think of. I would make the most of exploring the magic system and staying away from mundane weapons. Why stab your enemies when you could launch fireballs at them, then reanimate the corps as your personal servant? The fun never stops.
Now, if you were to ask me which video game I would force my greatest enemy to spend a year in... the easy winner would be Lethal Company. Developed by only one person, this game is taking the horror genre by storm. Forced to delve into abandoned facilities looking for scrap, the horrors within would send anyone mad in short order. The Coilheads are a particular favorite monster of mine, reminiscent of the weeping angels from the Dr Who TV series. A year here would be true purgatory.
inline: Persona 5 Royal Steam header with all the characters posing.
Persona 5 Royal
Persona 5 Royal isn't very far removed from our own world. This is, in part, why I chose it. Nothing quite compares to the nuance of real life, with realistic ups and downs.
Sure, it comes with the stress of attending school or going to work, but there is one distinct upside: there's a group of people out there giving those deserving their comeuppance and changing their guilty hearts. Despite being a type of vigilantism, it's enacted in a way that's mostly just rather than pummeling the oppressed working class (I love Batman, but let's not pretend it's anything else).
I'm under no illusion that I probably wouldn't be one of the Phantom Thieves if I existed in this world. In fact, I've already aged out, considering it's mostly school children. But knowing that there's some light in an otherwise very realistic dark world would bring me some solace.
For me, I would love to say Pokemon... ignoring all of the dangerous god-like creatures and the evil teams trying to manipulate their power to reshape or destroy the world, it just seems like a fun place to live in. I'll just have to hope that the year I spend there will be a year where no villainous teams act out their plans!
There's so much freedom and easy ways to explore the Pokemon world, having your own highly intelligent companions with magical powers at your side. My favourite thing about watching the Pokemon anime/movies are the little background scenes of people and Pokemon just going about their day together, Pokemon helping people with everyday tasks and just co-existing peacefully. It's not all about the battles and contests... although those could be fun to compete in and test your skills, for me it's more about the fantastical and vibrant environments and the variety of Pokemon out there that I could potentially befriend.
It would come as no surprise to anyone.. EVE ONLINE!
I love EVE - if I could transport myself there for even one day, I would - just to be in that world.
I love the beauty that EVE provides. I've always looked up to the sky and wondered what it would be like to be in space - I don't know whether I will ever get the opportunity to do so in my lifetime, - I live in hope that space travel for the common people will be a thing - however it is not just about space travel. It is about the feeling of living amongst the stars. I would love to do that - like a nomad, moving from system to system.
As for what I would do - I would 100% go out hunting for PVP, and shooting down ships and looting them - because we will all have clones! - it sounds epic! :)
Emergency Response: Liberty County (Roblox). Basically an open world, set in a city. Super fun, tons of stuff to do and never really truly gets boring.
That's not an easy question to answer. But then, is there ever an easy question? For sure, this one is another that cannot have, at least for me, a single answer.
I was quick to rule out video game worlds like Death Straning or Warframe, too dark, the Mirror's Edge are a bit too... dystophic, but then...
A Galaxy Far Far Away could count?
Let's be honest, which Star Wars fan wouldn't want to live in the Galaxy far far away? I would probably be a trader who doesn't disdain some... tax-less business, if you get what I mean. This way I could see the galaxy far and wide, from the glamour of the Core, through the Mid Rim and all the way out to the lawless Outer Rim. The era? Fair question as the Galaxy had many important eras: either the classic Age of Rebellion (EPIV-EPVI) or the Old Republic era (SW: TOR).
What about Tyria? Where gods and dragons hunts, the ruins of great kingdoms raise from the sea and humanity is trying to carve its space amidst threats bigger than many would think of looms in the shadows. Tyria, from the games Guild Wars 2, is a variegated continent, with areas going from temperated (Kryta and Ascalon), to the deepest deserts (Elona), to Jungles (the Maguuma Jungle) and huge mountain ranges (the Shiverpeaks) with plenty to see and experience. In a classic anime trope, I'd love to be my main character, a Mesmer and jeweler/cook. In her lore, her main base of operations is Lion's Arch, the most important port and trading hub of the whole continent. From there, she visits other cities, go on quests and, in the downtime, she learn new recipes and craft jewelery to sell in the busy streets of Lion's Arch.
I was on the fence in regard to include the galaxy of Mass Effect and the world of Horizon Zero Dawn... but in the end, I decided to go with something that wasn't connected to our world by any means.
