When chasing a ghost goes beyond the virtual world

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IBZ6L20VT

IBZ6L20VT

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DD84UK
Here, in these seasonal's forums from GTPlanet, we are very used to follow the ghost of the best players of the world. Some anonymous people that are just faster than us and we use them as a goal, like if we were rabbits chasing a carrot suspended over the end of a stick in front of us.

But, what happen if this ghost goes beyond being faster in a videogame?

A good friend of mine sent me this story about chasing ghosts...

1560300102.jpg


In this story, chasing a ghost reached a new level, isn't it?

I thought it would be interesting to share it with you, as we leave ghosts behind in our replays, and we don't notice that it is like leaving a part of us, a part of our time, effort, passion. Pretty thought-provoking.

Cheers guys, and sorry if I turned too metaphysical here...
 
IBZ6L20VT
Here, in these seasonal's forums from GTPlanet, we are very used to follow the ghost of the best players of the world. Some anonymous people that are just faster than us and we use them as a goal, like if we were rabbits chasing a carrot suspended over the end of a stick in front of us.

But, what happen if this ghost goes beyond being faster in a videogame?

A good friend of mine sent me this story about chasing ghosts...

1560300102.jpg


In this story, chasing a ghost reached a new level, isn't it?

I thought it would be interesting to share it with you, as we leave ghosts behind in our replays, and we don't notice that it is like leaving a part of us, a part of our time, effort, passion. Pretty thought-provoking.

Cheers guys, and sorry if I turned too metaphysical here...
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So people are now having feelings for their virtual ghosts? What's the world coming to. Great Story though
 
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Great story, thanks for posting!!

:)👍

I wish I had my copy of GT4 and the profile I used back then, it would be interesting to see how I compete against myself from almost a decade a go.
 
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ODB
I wish I had my copy of GT4 and the profile I used back then, it would be interesting to see how I compete against myself from almost a decade a go.
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That would be awesome!
 
IBZ6L20VT
That would be awesome!
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Would be really epic!! And hell, I should ask my friend whom I sold my PS2 years a go does he still have it :dopey: It's a slim possibility but I have to ask him whem I'm dealing with him next time 💡
 
jimipitbull
Awesome article, would certainly bring back fond memories of someone you had lost.
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Heh, as I'm feeling bit gloomy today, feels like the guy who I was back in the days of GT4 doesn't even exist anymore... So that's what working life does to you, so kids, what ever you do, stay away from work :D :lol: :lol:
 
JASON_ROCKS1998
So people are now having feelings for their virtual ghosts? What's the world coming to. Great Story though
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No, not their ghosts but the ghost of their dad who died when they were very young.

As for your question, is it really bad to become attached to a virtual ghost when for centuries people have became attached to fictional ghosts? The virtual one is actually existing on a hard drive, the fictional ones are wishful thinking of people in mourning of a loved one, causing proactive minds to find small things to link with a sign from beyond.
 
I never got rid of my PS2 and GT4; in fact have a new PS2 and a brand new copy of GT4 stashed away in a time capsule. Who knows my grandchildren one day will get into the spirit of the game.. . . .

Interesting story . . especially for gamers. 👍
 
photonrider
I never got rid of my PS2 and GT4; in fact have a new PS2 and a brand new copy of GT4 stashed away in a time capsule. Who knows my grandchildren one day will get into the spirit of the game...
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You must store a tv set of our era also, because if not, you will have nothing to connect to that precious, brand new console.
 
IBZ6L20VT
You must store a tv set of our era also, because if not, you will have nothing to connect to that precious, brand new console.
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I'm hoping that by then technology will have advanced to the point that with sufficient digital translation (a.k.a. 'adapters') the display they will be using would be holographic. :)
 
I love this story, and it really hit home.

Many years back, I had kind of lost touch with a group of my high school friends. Some of them I wasn't too sore about, but a couple of the guys were still really great to me, but the logistics of moving to the other side of the city, and pretty much shunning the other members of our group made it nearly impossible for us to get together.

I met up with him a few years later, and found that he had gone through some incredibly rough times, but was coming back, had started training to be a fighter, and was loving life again.

We exchanged some very genuine pleasantries, and departed - and never spoke again. It was about 5 months later, late, late at night, that I got the call that he had accidentally killed himself with a mixture of prescription meds and sleep aids.

My strongest memory of him was that we would sit for hours in front of GT3, tandem drifting every car we could possibly drift. Hours upon hours. About a week after his memorial party, I was sitting in my living room, when I noticed my dusty PS2 had a memory card in it, and I remembered that we used to save our best replays.

Lo and behold, I had two replays saved of our drifting action. Red and blue S15 Silvias on Deep Forest, and white and black Supras on Trial Mountain. From time to time I plug it back in just to watch and cry into a glass of whiskey.

When I made it to GT Academy national semis this past July, I immediately thought of how proud he would have been. On top of that, the day we raced each other in the studio was his birthday, and the sole win I had was an S15 (our favorite drift car) in the rain (we're from Oregon). That was all for Cody.

Thank you again for sharing. I've seen this story before, but I love being reminded of the good times I had with Cody.
 
Thank you @IBZ6L20VT for sharing this. It is a very touching story. It rings true for me because I have lost my dad too. There are only a few good memories unfortunately, but his birthday was Dec.25th so every year I light a candle and try and hold onto the good memories.

You are also right on about the lines we leave in the game as well as life. Every word we speak, every word we type, every person we have met and helped or shunned leaves a part of us behind. In my faith we don't really do birthdays but honor their life after their death and that is what the candle is for. What will people remember about you when you are gone?

I started Gran Turismo with GT1 and it saved my life. I still have my original Playstation, GT1, Gameshark, Dex Drive and it's all backed up on a DVD. I still have my PS2, GT2-4, 4 memory cards and all of that is backed up as well. With a PS2 slim it comes with a S Video connector so I can still play my original PS2 on my TV, but it is about 5 years old and only gets used for Netflix, an occasion movie and Gran Turismo. The graphics on a flat screen TV with the PS2 are kind of grainy but it is still great fun to play GT2 and GT3.
 
I've thought about the very same scenario the past year.

I nearly died back last January, out of the blue, no warnings.

Well, I did 'pass over' as it were, but they managed to 'resucitate me' after a 'clot' caused a cardiac arrest and I was gone for a few minutes.

Makes you get your house in order because who knows what's round the corner.

I'd like to think that my kids would try to look through all my old stuff, replays, consoles, hard drives etc and maybe play them a bit as well.
 
That's a great story. Brought a tear to my eye. Glad you have that memory to hold.
 
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