Grand Theft Auto Is Warping My Mind

I've been playing Grand Theft Auto IV pretty-much non-stop since its release, taking breaks only to go to work, shower and spend some sexy alone time in my room. And while I haven't felt the urge to arm myself to the teeth and pop innocents in the streets of Boston, my perception of the world around me has shifted ever so slightly.

So it was with great surprise that I stumbled upon this Wired article detailing Susan Arendt's altered reality based on her exposure to the game.

I must admit, I'm a bit of a leadfoot by nature, but the flow of traffic on a highway is usually rapid enough to keep me content. That day, however, despite the reasonable pace being set by the cars around me, I quickly grew impatient with my perceived lack of progress. I looked for holes in the traffic that I could use to my advantage to make faster progress. As I approached a stop light at an empty intersection, the thought flashed through my mind that I should just drive right on through it. I didn't, of course, but the thought was there, just the same.

Insert female driver joke here.

Here's the thing: I don't drive. But after jacking hundreds of cars on the streets of Liberty City, I've felt the salivating desire to do so in Boston. Just yesterday I was walking back from the grocery store when a motorcycle cruised slowly by. Motorcycles in GTA are by far my favorite vehicle, and the hardest for me to find precisely when I want one. Seeing this Reality Bike I immediately thought, "Man, I gotta jack that shit, go off some killer jumps."

Of course I didn't (I am, after all, writing this from a computer outside of a prison) but, as Susan points on, the urge ... it's there. Am I crazy? Or have you had warped reality sensations like this, too? Can technology and video games truly alter your brain chemistry? Is this what those anti-violence advocates keep harping about?

[via Wired]