Spiritual Teaching Through Games
Donation protected
First off thank you for sparing some of your valuable time. This is all about trying to bring the spiritual information and ideas that have opened my eyes so much to what may be a very spiritually isolated group of people: gamers. To think of this group of people as some kind of minority, though, would be an error in thinking. Allow me to expose you to a few statistics as of 2014.
U.S.
58% of Americans play video games
Average age of players: 30
62% of all gamers are adults
68% are above 18 and older
45% are female (up from 42% in 2012) and are usually over 18
Average of 2 gamers per household
51% of households own at least one console
Average age of purchaser: 35
77% of gamers play at least one hour a week
36% play games on their smart phone
Parents are involved in their kids’ game purchases 89% of the time
79 percent of parents place time limits on video game playing, compared with 78 percent who limit Internet usage and 72 percent who limit TV viewing
UK:
The average UK gamer is 35
Most are male
Plays for almost 3 hours a day
The average gamer fights with their partner over their gaming hobby twice a week, with some 15% of people saying they’ve broken up over the amount of time spent gaming.
The UK is just behind the U.S. in terms of iPad game purchases.
Other Countries
The world-wide video game industry grew 9% in 2013 and now exceeds $76 billion with projections it will reach over $86 billion by 2016.
The European market for games is almost $20 billion.
Japan and China lead the pack when it comes to iPhone/iPad games. Russia is also a major user, ranking #6 in the world.
The games industry in India grew 16% in 2012, to $227 million.
91% of all people on earth have a mobile phone
56% of people own a smart phone
50% of mobile phone users use mobile as their primary Internet source
80% of time on mobile is spent inside apps or games
Other Stats:
Consumers spent 20.77 billion dollars on video games, hardware and accessories in 2012. In 2014, this number is predicted to be $24 billion.
40% of game sales included digital content, subscriptions, apps and mobile games
120,000 people are employed in the video game industry across 34 states
43% of tablet owners spend more time with their tablets than their TVs or PCs, and 84% of tablet owners spend most of their time playing games on it.
Source: http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/2014-global-gaming-stats-whos-playing-what-and-why/
None of this is meant to be alarming.I used to be in this group, I bought many games and played for hours and hours. I was born in a Christian family and eventually became an Atheist. Although I had rejected the traditional Abrahamic notion of God, I still suspected some kind of continuation of the spirit after death. I had simply decided that I didn't have enough information to conclude anything. 'Coincidentally' I ended up reading the book "Destiny of Souls" by Michael Newton in the latter part of 2012, as well as his earlier book "Journey of Souls". After that I eventually discovered the work of David R. Hawkins and have read just about all of his books so far. I also found a series of books called "The Law of One" which taught me many valuable things. A little later came "Conversations With God" by Neale Donald Walsch, yet another iteration of the same universal truths. I've also read through most of the Text of "A Course in Miracles" and as of writing this am making my way through the workbook, after which I plan to read the Manual for Teachers. There have been other valuable books, such as Masaru Emotos "Hidden Messages in Water", but these have been my primary influences.
Shortly after my plummet into the world of the spiritual I discovered that I held no more interest in video games. I didn't have to put forth any effort into quitting or anything like that, I had even recently bought two new and highly anticipated games: GTA V and Battlefield 4. I played GTA maybe a few times before I stopped and never even got past the early stages. I had also played in the open beta for the Battlefield 4 multiplayer, but never even played the final game at all. I like to think that as I began to reawaken and my awareness expanded, some things of a lesser vibration simply began to fall away effortlessly.
You may or may not have been aware of the fact that despite its failure in the last century, virtual reality is about to make a very big comeback. What you see me holding in my hands on this pages's picture is an Oculus Rift Developer's Kit 2, and it is made by a company called Oculus that was purchased by Facebook last year for 2 billion dollars. This is no passing fad. After raising almost 2.5 million in crowdfunding on kickstarter to begin developing the head mounted display and demonstrating that modern technology has reached the point of effective implementation; other companies, large and small, have started developing their own competing hardware. Sony has project Morpheus, Valve and HTC partnered together to make the Vive, and a handful of smaller companies are making their own versions of the technology. The Vive was announced to be released by the end of 2015, and the Oculus Rift is slated for release in the first quarter of 2016.
The potential for losing one's self inside of a virtual world will increase immensely with the release of these headsets. Even now, prior to their release, there are games that seem were made in an attempt to replace one's "boring" life, with an exciting one inside a game. A genre of games called "open world" essentially allows players to roam around and "do" things for hours and hours in these virtual creations. There is a game company called CCP who has a game called 'EVE: Online.' It's an online open world space simulator, with economies, space ships players fly around and fight each other with, space stations, stars, planets and moons. I recently watched a video where a CCP executive stated that CCP's mission is "to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life." Add to that the fact that there are already people working on the creation of porn for virtual reality and the possible depths of spiritual disconnection become even greater.
Spiritually we know that the effect of the vast majority of video games is to lull people deeper into sleep. Past simple entertainment most games add very little to the life of the person playing in it. Within the gaming community there is a well known and often wholeheartedly embraced function of games; that they are a fun way of escaping reality, 'cause reality sucks and games are awesome. Of course the very heart of spirituality is returning to reality.
As I said earlier, I am not trying to raise any alarms. Although it would be a lie to say I didn't feel the slightest twinge of concern while writing the last few sections [still have some work to do ;) ], fear of the potential effect of virtual reality on the populace is not what motivates me. Love and optimism motivate me. Although I would like to help people, my own spiritual development is my priority, and if this project that I am proposing doesn't come to fruition, very little will change regarding my will to grow and become aware.
I believe there is a tremendous opportunity to use the gaming and virtual reality platform in general to teach wisdom and spirituality. It is this opportunity that excites me! It is my wish to offer the people yet another way to find the Truth, as so many others have offered before me. Of course I wouldn't come outright and say, "Hey this game is about learning spiritual ideas! Come play!" That would more than likely turn most away! I wish to plant the seeds of interest, and intrigue those who may be ready to seek the truth.
I wish to make games that actually enrich the lives of people instead of just wasting away their time. I hope to help raise their consciousness through stories and experiences that offer more than revenge based morality and violence. I'd like to demonstrate the perfect logic of forgiveness and compassion through what you might call virtual parables. We send our children to schools which give information but teach no wisdom. Perhaps through games I can help to teach this wisdom that was never shared with them.
This is already quite long, so I'll try to wrap this up as quickly as I can. What is the money for? It is for starting a company that creates virtual content for the sole purpose of enriching the REAL lives of people who use it. Ideally the effect of these games would be to dissipate peoples desire to play video games at all and enjoy real life instead. Eventually the content could range from games to educational material to training simulations and beyond. Why this amount of money? I have decided that at least four full time developers would be adequate to start out, each with unique and diverse skill sets. The average starting salary for a game developer is about 40k. Each would be offered a salary of 35k and a commission on the sale of any content they work on. That would mean me and three other people. I work a full time job right now making a little over 36k per year, so I would leave and work on this new company full time. 140k would cover our salaries for one year after which time we would hopefully generate enough revenue to cover our operating costs and even hire new team mates. The remaining 15k would go toward computer hardware, software licenses, motion capture, rental space, and other operating costs. Why should you trust me with this honor? All I can really say is that I feel I am equipped to complete this unique task. I believe I can do it, the why is just details. You can choose to trust me, or not. Even if this project reaches its funding goals I cannot guarantee that what I have envisioned will come to pass. So I only ask that you listen to your heart. If you should feel the call to help me and donate, I thank you from the bottom of my own. If you feel that you would prefer not to donate then I thank you sincerely for taking a moment out of your day to consider my request. Fare well brothers and sisters.
U.S.
58% of Americans play video games
Average age of players: 30
62% of all gamers are adults
68% are above 18 and older
45% are female (up from 42% in 2012) and are usually over 18
Average of 2 gamers per household
51% of households own at least one console
Average age of purchaser: 35
77% of gamers play at least one hour a week
36% play games on their smart phone
Parents are involved in their kids’ game purchases 89% of the time
79 percent of parents place time limits on video game playing, compared with 78 percent who limit Internet usage and 72 percent who limit TV viewing
UK:
The average UK gamer is 35
Most are male
Plays for almost 3 hours a day
The average gamer fights with their partner over their gaming hobby twice a week, with some 15% of people saying they’ve broken up over the amount of time spent gaming.
The UK is just behind the U.S. in terms of iPad game purchases.
Other Countries
The world-wide video game industry grew 9% in 2013 and now exceeds $76 billion with projections it will reach over $86 billion by 2016.
The European market for games is almost $20 billion.
Japan and China lead the pack when it comes to iPhone/iPad games. Russia is also a major user, ranking #6 in the world.
The games industry in India grew 16% in 2012, to $227 million.
91% of all people on earth have a mobile phone
56% of people own a smart phone
50% of mobile phone users use mobile as their primary Internet source
80% of time on mobile is spent inside apps or games
Other Stats:
Consumers spent 20.77 billion dollars on video games, hardware and accessories in 2012. In 2014, this number is predicted to be $24 billion.
40% of game sales included digital content, subscriptions, apps and mobile games
120,000 people are employed in the video game industry across 34 states
43% of tablet owners spend more time with their tablets than their TVs or PCs, and 84% of tablet owners spend most of their time playing games on it.
Source: http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/2014-global-gaming-stats-whos-playing-what-and-why/
None of this is meant to be alarming.I used to be in this group, I bought many games and played for hours and hours. I was born in a Christian family and eventually became an Atheist. Although I had rejected the traditional Abrahamic notion of God, I still suspected some kind of continuation of the spirit after death. I had simply decided that I didn't have enough information to conclude anything. 'Coincidentally' I ended up reading the book "Destiny of Souls" by Michael Newton in the latter part of 2012, as well as his earlier book "Journey of Souls". After that I eventually discovered the work of David R. Hawkins and have read just about all of his books so far. I also found a series of books called "The Law of One" which taught me many valuable things. A little later came "Conversations With God" by Neale Donald Walsch, yet another iteration of the same universal truths. I've also read through most of the Text of "A Course in Miracles" and as of writing this am making my way through the workbook, after which I plan to read the Manual for Teachers. There have been other valuable books, such as Masaru Emotos "Hidden Messages in Water", but these have been my primary influences.
Shortly after my plummet into the world of the spiritual I discovered that I held no more interest in video games. I didn't have to put forth any effort into quitting or anything like that, I had even recently bought two new and highly anticipated games: GTA V and Battlefield 4. I played GTA maybe a few times before I stopped and never even got past the early stages. I had also played in the open beta for the Battlefield 4 multiplayer, but never even played the final game at all. I like to think that as I began to reawaken and my awareness expanded, some things of a lesser vibration simply began to fall away effortlessly.
You may or may not have been aware of the fact that despite its failure in the last century, virtual reality is about to make a very big comeback. What you see me holding in my hands on this pages's picture is an Oculus Rift Developer's Kit 2, and it is made by a company called Oculus that was purchased by Facebook last year for 2 billion dollars. This is no passing fad. After raising almost 2.5 million in crowdfunding on kickstarter to begin developing the head mounted display and demonstrating that modern technology has reached the point of effective implementation; other companies, large and small, have started developing their own competing hardware. Sony has project Morpheus, Valve and HTC partnered together to make the Vive, and a handful of smaller companies are making their own versions of the technology. The Vive was announced to be released by the end of 2015, and the Oculus Rift is slated for release in the first quarter of 2016.
The potential for losing one's self inside of a virtual world will increase immensely with the release of these headsets. Even now, prior to their release, there are games that seem were made in an attempt to replace one's "boring" life, with an exciting one inside a game. A genre of games called "open world" essentially allows players to roam around and "do" things for hours and hours in these virtual creations. There is a game company called CCP who has a game called 'EVE: Online.' It's an online open world space simulator, with economies, space ships players fly around and fight each other with, space stations, stars, planets and moons. I recently watched a video where a CCP executive stated that CCP's mission is "to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life." Add to that the fact that there are already people working on the creation of porn for virtual reality and the possible depths of spiritual disconnection become even greater.
Spiritually we know that the effect of the vast majority of video games is to lull people deeper into sleep. Past simple entertainment most games add very little to the life of the person playing in it. Within the gaming community there is a well known and often wholeheartedly embraced function of games; that they are a fun way of escaping reality, 'cause reality sucks and games are awesome. Of course the very heart of spirituality is returning to reality.
As I said earlier, I am not trying to raise any alarms. Although it would be a lie to say I didn't feel the slightest twinge of concern while writing the last few sections [still have some work to do ;) ], fear of the potential effect of virtual reality on the populace is not what motivates me. Love and optimism motivate me. Although I would like to help people, my own spiritual development is my priority, and if this project that I am proposing doesn't come to fruition, very little will change regarding my will to grow and become aware.
I believe there is a tremendous opportunity to use the gaming and virtual reality platform in general to teach wisdom and spirituality. It is this opportunity that excites me! It is my wish to offer the people yet another way to find the Truth, as so many others have offered before me. Of course I wouldn't come outright and say, "Hey this game is about learning spiritual ideas! Come play!" That would more than likely turn most away! I wish to plant the seeds of interest, and intrigue those who may be ready to seek the truth.
I wish to make games that actually enrich the lives of people instead of just wasting away their time. I hope to help raise their consciousness through stories and experiences that offer more than revenge based morality and violence. I'd like to demonstrate the perfect logic of forgiveness and compassion through what you might call virtual parables. We send our children to schools which give information but teach no wisdom. Perhaps through games I can help to teach this wisdom that was never shared with them.
This is already quite long, so I'll try to wrap this up as quickly as I can. What is the money for? It is for starting a company that creates virtual content for the sole purpose of enriching the REAL lives of people who use it. Ideally the effect of these games would be to dissipate peoples desire to play video games at all and enjoy real life instead. Eventually the content could range from games to educational material to training simulations and beyond. Why this amount of money? I have decided that at least four full time developers would be adequate to start out, each with unique and diverse skill sets. The average starting salary for a game developer is about 40k. Each would be offered a salary of 35k and a commission on the sale of any content they work on. That would mean me and three other people. I work a full time job right now making a little over 36k per year, so I would leave and work on this new company full time. 140k would cover our salaries for one year after which time we would hopefully generate enough revenue to cover our operating costs and even hire new team mates. The remaining 15k would go toward computer hardware, software licenses, motion capture, rental space, and other operating costs. Why should you trust me with this honor? All I can really say is that I feel I am equipped to complete this unique task. I believe I can do it, the why is just details. You can choose to trust me, or not. Even if this project reaches its funding goals I cannot guarantee that what I have envisioned will come to pass. So I only ask that you listen to your heart. If you should feel the call to help me and donate, I thank you from the bottom of my own. If you feel that you would prefer not to donate then I thank you sincerely for taking a moment out of your day to consider my request. Fare well brothers and sisters.
Organizer
Morgan Hailstone
Organizer
Grand Haven, MI