While people are stuck in their homes due to the COVID-19 outbreak, feelings like anxiety and fear are haunting everyone during this self-isolation period. However, online gaming is coming to people’s rescue by becoming a way for them to socialize with each other.
But other than just competing in online games, video games are doing so much more for the masses.
Teachers are teaching geometry in the new virtual game Half-Life: Alyx. Friends are hosting a graduation ceremony in the online shooter game, Apex Legends. But what surprised me the most is that a couple held a virtual wedding ceremony in Nintendo’s new video game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
For those of you who are unaware, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a game where people meet each other and build anything they like, to create a community.
The couple, Nazmul Ahmed and Sharmin Asha are residents of New Jersey. They told CNN Business that they were supposed to get married in downtown Brooklyn on April 12. However, due to the increasing COVID-19 cases, they postponed their marriage to next year.
Ahmed, a 28-year-old engineer, wanted to surprise Asha. So, he planned a virtual wedding in Animal Crossing game with six of their friends as guests.
“I wanted to show her that even though we can’t physically celebrate with our friends and family, we still have a ton of love and support coming our way,” said Ahmed.
With a beach full of flowers and the couple’s initials on the sand, Ahmed organized a beautiful setting in the game. What’s even more interesting is that Ahmed’s clothes in the game were very much similar to the clothes he owns in real life.
For Ahmed and Asha, Animals Crossing: New Horizons became a way to socialize during the self-isolation. And they are not alone, as there are millions of people who turn to online gaming to feel something good in difficult times like this.
