Then out spoke brave Horatius, the Captain of the Gate: “To every man upon this earth, Death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better, than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, and the temple of his Gods!”
Horatius on the Bridge, from “Days Of Ancient Rome”, by Lord Macaulay
If you have ever wondered why some people love to play video games, the following part of a music video drives at least the emotional aspect home (jump 19 minutes into the video). It’s part of an hour long music video by EpicMusicVn called “The Best of Epic Music 2012 – 20 tracks – 1-hour Full Cinematic”. I stumbled upon it when I was looking for some background music while programming. Somehow this music is just right when you are digging through code.
Anyway, watch and enjoy (jump to 19 minutes, the “Sol Invictus” track).
Hmm, and yes, besides a lot of jumping, shooting and hacking, the way games can convey meaning (in the world of the game) and reward achievement is hard to beat. One reason why I think that Gamification — the use of game elements in everyday (work) life (totally different from computer games or even Serious Games) — has such a high potential. If done right that is.