Science fictiongoes to unfathomable places. Theories once too wild become laws. Technology is now indiscernible from magic. Worlds exist on the head of a pin, near the edge of the universe, and in the space between spaces. The genre is a social commentary on how the world works as well. Making first contact with alien lifeforms, understanding their way of life, presents an intergalactic multiculturalism. Predatory creatures that pose a threat to Earth also show the lack of humanity and cooperation the planet needs. Science fiction gives a glimpse into the future, both dystopian and utopian.
Virtual reality is another subset of science fiction. Digital worlds convey the dangers and potential of a connected world. The online world is the playground of countless users, personalities, andinteractions with endless reach. Users sometimes forget there are people with complex lives behind keyboards they never see. Autonomy is protection, an outlet, an alibi, in the digital world. Communities and cabals thrive and conspire through the internet. A world where the virtual is reality can only magnify its consequences.
10Belle (2021)
Belleis a digital retelling of the fairy taleBeauty and the Beast. High school friends login to the virtual world of U. Players have avatars that take on their real-life attributes. The avatar Belle belongs to Suzu Naito, who becomes known for her singing. Her talented performances build confidence in Suzu. Another player is known as The Dragon for his incredible strength, but his reality makes him weak. U enables players to be their true and best selves.
9Digimon: The Movie (2000)
Digimon: The Movieis the virtual pet equivalent of Tamagotchi. Digimon are digital monsters that evolved from Earth’s communication networks. The simulated world is populated with cute creatures that are able toinhabit the real world. Players train their Digimon with their digivice to collect data for them to experience digivolution. A group of friends and their Digimon work together to defeat a virus Digimon from hacking the world’s computer systems.
8eXistenZ (1999)
eXistenZis a surreal body simulation. Through the use of bio-port technology, eXistenZ puts its users through a subconscious plane of existence that feels as if they never went to sleep.The game designeris protested by a group called Realists and hunted by assassins for her distortion of reality.
She and a focus group game tester do some quality assurance to “improve” the game. The game’s plot comes to an end, returning the players to consciousness, but the game bleeds over into reality. Everyone begins to question or mistake the real from the virtual.
7Ready Player One (2011)
Ready Player Onetakes place in the year 2045. Humanity has left the real world behind in favor oftheir virtual realityknown as OASIS (Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation). The game’s creator launches a posthumous contest to his players: whoever finds the golden Easter egg will own all of OASIS. The corporation Innovative Online Industries (IOI) seeks to control the game the world has used for escapism. One player overcomes the corporate greed and restores the real world in shambles with a noble digital detox.
Related:10 Video Games That Need Film Adaptations
6Spy Kids 3: Game Over (2003)
Spy Kids 3: Game Overfollows the Cortez family of secret agents through cyberspace. Brother Juni is forced out of retirement to save his sister Carmen from the Toymaker inside his VR video game,Game Over. Each level of the game poses different challenges and power-ups Juni must master to reach Carmen on Level 4. If Juni doesn’t beat the game, the Toymaker will take control of children’s minds.
Related:The Best TV Shows Based on Video Games, Ranked
5Summer Wars (2009)
Summer Warsinvolves mathematic prodigy Kenji Koiso, who is a moderator for the digital world OZ. Kenji receives and solves a code, unknowingly relinquishing power to the self-aware virtual intelligence called Love Machine. Players accounts and avatars become corrupted and stolen by Love Machine. When the computerjeopardizes their lives, Kenji and the players learn to beat Love Machine at its own game.
4The Matrix (1999)
The Matrixis a suspended reality in which humanity is controlled by artificial intelligence. A war between man and machine denied technology from using solar energy. The AI retaliated and enslaved humans in liquid-filled pods connected to a simulated reality. Humans are trapped inside their minds and harvested for their bioelectric energy.
3The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
The Thirteenth Floorshares a virtual reality of 1937 Los Angeles. The inventor is murdered, leaving the co-founder as the prime suspect. He enters the digital world to trace his friend’s death, only to find that some simulated humans have become sentient. He discovers that the 1990s Los Angeles that he knows as the real world is just another virtual reality where AI can assume power over the human body and consciousness.
2Tron (1982)
Trontakes place inside the tech company ENCOM mainframe computer system. Programmer and hacker Kevin Flynn plots to expose Vice President Ed Dillinger for taking credit for all of hisvideo game creations. His attempt puts him at the end of a security that uploads him into the computer’s Tron program. He competes in the neon-lit games he created to disarm the security measures and download evidence against the vice president.
1Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
Wreck-It Ralphis about the titular arcade game villain known for breaking things in his game. Ralph confesses to his fellow bad guys that he wants to be a good guy instead. He ventures into other video games, completing missions only main characters are supposed to accomplish. The change upsets his game’s programming and puts him at risk of being unplugged from Game Central Station.
