Discussion Question #1

Evaluate whether the videogame has had a positive or  negative effect on Nick's life.

The videogame has a had a negative on Nick by pushing him away from his family and friends.
Erebos is a video game that was given to Nick under secretive circumstances. He is not allowed to speak about it, or look into it in any way. As he begins to play, the game seems to suck him in. It pulls him away, little by little, using tactics to make it so Nick doesn't realize what is happening. As he gets farther into the game, he pulls away more from reality. He neglects his parents, schoolwork, and friends to play the game. Nick, at one point, considers what is happening to him. "With every day that passes my reality loses more of its value. It's loud, disordered, unpredictable, and arduous....it causes pain, strikes you down with disease... I withdraw my consent from reality. I deny it my assistance." (152) Nick has pulled away from reality. He has decided that at this moment in his life, the game is more important. Real life has pain and suffering, and within the game, he is powerful, and he is excited. He makes the decision that he will no longer give himself to his life outside of the game, therefore dedicating himself to Erebos.
The video game has had this negative effect because it is pushing him to neglect his relationships with the real people in his life. It pushed him to believe that a computer game is more important than his reality. He is pulled into a world of fakeness, and accepts it over what is real. A takeaway message would be that family and friends and the relationships you have with people are more important than any other material possession.