If scientists could make you immortal but could only do it by transferring your consciousness into a single video game for ever, which game would you choose?

Factorio, because the factory must grow.

Plus multiplayer among like minded is fun.
This is the only acceptable answer never ending factory and now space

Definitely want to be in a large open world game like GTA or skyrim so you have room to explore for the rest of eternity. A mmorpg would be a grind like real life, so it would feel familiar, but at least you could have magic. I think the answer depends on if you're a NPC or the main character in the game.

I still would probably pick Minecraft and spend eternity building working computers in the world, so I could play other games as well.

Minecraft sounds like a good choice — although lonely
While I might make similar choices, it still sound like a horror story. My immortal soul stuck eternally among the empty make-believe-people of GTA or the solitary existence of Minecraft?
I might still prefer the peace of non-existance.
- At least you would have space to explore and options to build. Being stuck in any video game for eternity is going to be hell.

Stardew Valley would be a nice place to retire.

This is my answer too. Nice small town woth an actual home. Sign me up.

So, I'd need more details. How exactly would my consciousness exist within the game? Would the game be subject to be modded or updated in the future? Like, Skyrim with mods is a good option, but World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy 14 would allow me to continue being social with real humans, but those latter games are very subject to future change.

Back on the 1st question, there's a significant difference if my consciousness occupies a random NPC or I become the equivalent of a player character. Also important: what would happen to me if the game crashed or the computer/servers went down for whatever reason?

Dead or Alive Xtreme 3 Beach Volleyball.

Imagine living for all eternity with all that sand up your hoo hah.
- I could sell pearls as a side gig.

A couple follow-ups, are we limited by the rules of the game, or is it like we're actually living there? Like if I'm in gta v, do i get to pick up a pencil and write a book, is everything in the game at real-life fidelity, or am i stuck with the regular game inputs and graphics?

Am i able to add mods to the game? Can i add new mods after my first startup? I would assume there's a way to reset or restart the game in case of bugs and softlocks so maybe there's a hub i can use to do those kinds of things.

I think i might pick gmod + mods. That way i could build some interesting projects in sandbox, play games that people make for it, maybe even watch some YouTube early on before compatibility breaks. I'd also have a 1:1 scale model of the multiverse to explore.

Minecraft. But immortality in any case is kinda scary. SCP-7179

Good one! Thanks for sharing.
Creative expression aside, it is vital that we remember that we cannot predict how the human psyche will react to a pseudo-utopia, so this is at best speculation. Doesn't mean it is bad speculation!

You got me thinking about the next stage.

How long could one live in GTA, knowing that everyone else is an NPC, before they became a monster that could not be safely pulled back into reality?

Let's be honest, if we know we're in a world with little to no consequence, and all the people around us will just respawn every day with no memory of what happened, we're probably going to do some fucked up shit just because we wouldn't get a chance in the real world. Could one retain their humanity living as a god in a fake world?

Is this like Death Becomes Her immortality where your meat suit is not invincible and no longer self-healing? If I didn't have to worry about painful and horrible disfigurement, I'd probably choose Skyrim. If I have to be careful, then something real chill like Travel Town.

Harem Hotel, but only as the main character!

Elite Dangerous. Ultimate sandbox. If by living within the game I could have all the little extras that the developers never put in, I'd be set, and take off exploring.

It would definitely have to be a MMORPG of some sort. Your biggest problem in this system will invariably be loneliness, and interacting 24/7 with NPCs will quickly show their cracks. You need a way of continually interacting with large numbers of real people.

Meaning that you would be technically one of the NPCs.
Some long lived MMO like WoW/ESO would have plenty of room to explore in detail over centuries.

Minecraft. The world isn’t infinite, but it’s really damn big.

Sure but everything would be blocky and you would be stuck with villagers saying hmm all the time. Unless you decide to live alone with the lights always on so a creeper, enderman or zombie doesn't get you.

A lot of people are already living in: Leisure Suit Larry

Lee Carvallo's Putting Challenge, obviously

Pong. I just want to bounce.

Black Desert Online, as if real life wasn't pay-to-win enough

Maybe Pac-Man. Wandering around a maze eating all day isn’t that different from my current life.

Elder Scrolls Online

I wouldn’t do it. Consciousness is like the worst thing I’ve experienced ever.

Also, this prompt might be better suited for !asklemmy@lemmy.world

Thank you. Just posted there as well :)

Would Enter the Matrix be cheating? I could just plug in and go and do anything at that point.

r/outside

Why? Because I've now fooled you and don't have to be confined to a game cartridge. Muahahahaha.

(Side note: It's been a long time since I've been on reddit. I miss that community.)

Roller Coaster Tycoon. I want to stay on Mr. Bones Wild Ride. 💀

factorio!

No more worries about UPS. If your base grows too big and UPS drops, so will your brain's processing speed and you'll never notice a thing.
- hadn't even thought about that. Nice!