\cleardoublepage
\begin{quote}
\itshape\Large
Is it at all common for sims to simulate other forms of simulation that pre-date the System? By that I mean things like, say, video games from back before the invention of the exocortex (ranging from old arcade games to those limited early ``VR'' games, headsets and all to those big clunky physical flight simulators) or, heck, even the experience of using the 'net back before upload.
\end{quote}

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\subsection*{What Gifts, Time Moves Forward, and Motes}
% Skunks — but consult with What Gifts first

\begin{description}
\item[What Gifts We Give We Give In Death]
There is quite a lot to be said about games within the System, but with regards to this question, there is something of a split when it comes to games of the past. This split boils down to the idea of realism. Those games that strove for realism were often ported into similar experiences sys-side. After all, if you are going to take a narrative walking game that took place either on a console or rig in non-immersive mode, it would make plenty of sense to simply set up a sim for mechanics. An example would be the delightfully quaint game of Everybody's Gone To The Rapture, wherein this twee British town in the 20th century is the origin of the slow ascension (or at least disappearance) of the human race. You walk around, following an orb of light, which provides audible and visible scenes for you to watch. I helped a games historian set this up along with aid from Serene.

The more abstract the game, however, the more likely it is to simply be ported along with an idea of its hardware into the System. For VR games, this may come with the concept of a headset, though really this is a prop that modifies the user's sensorium.

Truly ancient games from the earliest history of videogames are simply ported wholesale, complete with blowing out cartridges to make them load more readily.
\item[If I Walk Backward, Time Moves Forward]
For newer interactive art—and I know that you did not necessarily ask, but What Gifts's Rapture game reminded me—this has been blended quite thoroughly into interactive theatre. Perhaps Dear could explain the complex interactions with instance art as well, but from my perspective as one who works closely with interactive storytelling, the difference between one of our experiences and one of What Gifts's is negligible, except perhaps on attention paid to physical setting: we are less likely to work on sims as environments instead of focusing on the idea of a setting created by our very own hands.
\item[And We Are The Motes In The Stage Lights]
I am as much a fan of our sets as anyone. That is my role within the fifth stanza, after all! However, I would not so quickly dismiss instance art. They are three different names for the same idea: there is a story embedded in interactivity, and the only difference is the attention paid to various detail. What Gifts pays attention to mechanics and environment, we pay attention to story and sets, and Dear (and, to a lesser extent, Heat And Warmth) pays attention to the mechanics offered by the System!
\item[Time Moves Forward]
I mean, sure, kiddo, but that is because you have a terrible crush on Heat And Warmth, and ey is Dear's up-tree instance, and ey has a crush on Codrin. They were—and probably still are on the LVs—so sweet together! Cooking delicious food and chatting about flavors and scents and gustatory history.
\item[Motes]
I do not! Or\ldots well, perhaps I do, but that is beside the point! We are just nerds of a type, you know? And that type just happens to be lovely and you know it!
\item[What Gifts]
You are both intolerable nerds and I love you for that.
\end{description}
