There are some simulations best left to the narrative.

In "Stories for Eye, Ear and Muscles" by Torben Grodal, he raises the question of whether video games should be observed as a narrative (like a story being told to an audience) or as a simulation (the act of simulating an experience). Granted, the temptation of calling call video games a simulation of real life would be understandable, but I personally have not made that comparison before unless the game was officially listed as a "simulator". Games series like Grand Tourismo and Ace Combat are viewed as simulators due to their ability to mimic, with super exact replication, the power of their vehicles, the different sounds that each one would make, and their faults and advantages (don't try to chase an F-22 with an A-10 "tank killer"). Even though a narrative mayor may not be present in these simulations, it's not the drawing factor that interests the audience, the realism of tearing around in a Dodge Viper or the imitation of the F-14 from topgun is the real reason for playing these games.

A narrative on the other hand puts you in the shoes of a character and sets you out upon a path so as to tell the story of the events that befall this particular character. I can see where the author of this article can believe that in this day and age, the sand box gameplay of games such as the Grand Theft Auto series can be viewed as slightly more simulator like than a traditional narrative. But to me, there seems to always be a set path to follow and a intriguing stroy to be told, regaurdless of how fat/skinny/buff you can make your avatar appear to be (see Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) And what's so realistic about shooting a bunch of random people just to get arrested, die, and end up outside the closest police station? If it were a actual simulation wouldn't it be necessary to punish the avatar and the player for the "crime" they commited. If you take for example one of the many drive-bys you can participate in, a simulation would show you that tension, the screams of your victims, the bits of grey matter splattering against your ride as you blow the head off some hapless rival gang member, an eyeball hanging from it's socket, teeth shattering, heads exploding, the whole nine yards! Just the mention of such an activity makes my stomach turn. That, in a sense, is a simulated narrative. The real life ability to feel as though you are directly linked to the person who pulls the trigger. The ability to know the difference between shooting actual people, and ragdolls that just flop over and dissappear. That in itself would construct a situation that I would not be eager to repeat or recreate or realise in any material form, not even on the fictional level at which it is being displayed. I would definatly consider my other options and weigh the consequences of my actions before I wanted to experience anything like that.