IRL Torn Experience

Edit: Tldr... I tend to ramble but the gist of the topic is

"Why is Torn is so appealing to us? Is it crime fantasy like GTA, is it real world experience? Is it the warring and gun game aspects? Or all of the above?"

What about Torn is attractive for you? Is it the gameplay? Is it the theme? The audience and community?

My question for y'all, what's your IRL Torn Experience?

Is it varied? Is it a once in a lifetime event? Is Torn simply a fantasy for you? Much like going to a movie to watch horror gore but in a game with crime and guns?

Did you watch too many old western Bonnie and Clyde movies? Do you watch true crime? What is it about Torn that makes it the go to game you keep opening up?

So full disclosure, I'm a 33yo Chicano Americano, born and raised in San Diego California USA. And recently we were talking about irl situations we have.

For example, I'm a married father of two (8yo and 2wk old) getting ready to move my family out to Texas. I have certifications as a Peer Support Specialist and as a Registered Behavior Technician. One day I'll explore a bachelor's in some sort of mental health area, sociology or behavioral psychology. Mental healthcare is a big area for me.

I've even written a small dissertation or manifesto or whatever you want to call it about life and mental health on my profile description. Read it if you want or if you can I wasn't kidding when I said it's small. It's small and in the clouds.

Now. 

We see everything out here in San Diego. From the rich and the famous to the down and out.

We got Barrio Logan, we got La Jolla. We got casinos all over the Rez. Correct me if I'm wrong but we got the lbtq capital of the world, Hillcrest (where if you get lucky you might just meet one of your favorite retired 🌽 ⭐ if they stuck around after the Great Florida Migration). We got LA and Orange County attractions such as Hollywood and Disneyland in our backyard as well as the ever famous Beverly Hills. We have beaches, forests, deserts. We have Marines, Navy, and Air Force stations at Camp Pendleton, San Clemente, Mira Mar, and Coronado
We got Wild West vibes, Gothic Victorian, steampunk, characters from every genre and vibe we got punks, hipsters, lumberjacks, metalheads, goths, emos, sportfans, bangers, chicanos, ect ect
There's southern vibes, there's New York vibes, there's little China little Italy litle everything. (Inhales) There's...... Straightedge people, families, single and ready to mingle, tourists, multi generationals, first generation, there's blacks whites Asians Hispanics and Latinos, islanders, natives, Middle Easterns of every cloth, Europeans, foreigners of every flavor. 

And of course... the behind the scenes irl grit and grime... Homelessness, drugs, violence, guns, knives, shivs, bar fights, and everything in between.

Did I mention we're a port city? So we also have resident citizens that are seals dolphins whales sharks seagull pelicans ect ect lolololol

So as far as I'm concerned, this is another gun game. We grew up with games like CoD and GTA. Except GTA was based out of reality like cities similar to LA and SD. 

GTA is a real felony crime that people actually do for a living out here. It's not as crazy as the games or Hollywood make it, just boosting cars to a certain point in value. 

Arson is also a major felony in the state of California. Yeah we don't mess with fire. Me and the wife have a joke about making pizza California style because we've accidentally forgotten it in the oven and it came out charred to a crisp. 

As a recovering alcoholic I've seen the destructive force of alcohol and everything that came with it. I've also grown up with Hollywood glamorizing crime and drugs and violence and seeing it play out like a movie in real life sometimes. 

Ever here the phrase "It seemed like something right out of a movie"? 

Yeah that happens real often in cities out here.

Sometimes it's magical.

Sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's like a nightmare you can't wake up from.

And in an age where we decide what reality we want to live in, keeping my mind busy helps me decompress from the daily naunces that life tries to stress me out with. It also helps liven the mood. Reality might be scary but it's always been that way. And not everyone who knows about it, lives it. 

Similar to ComicCon, Torn has its own convention, where people come together for friendly rivalry. 

And I think thats what attracts me. 

A meta world where instead of crime games like assassin's creed or Skyrim with its brotherhood and criminal activities, we have a modern take where we can compete and get our aggression out in healthy way without hurting each other's finances or health. 

Do I sometimes wish that I lived in the old Wild West California?

Hell yeah. Get off my horse and beat the shit out of someone for acting stupid and no one bat an eye. Instead they would say, "Yup, that fella there done did deserve it."

But would I really want to live in a place where crime was actually a lifestyle? Some wild West nightmare with sepsis, grizzly bears, and no toilet paper? Some cyberpunk distopia where arms and organ trafficking was a thing? 

Real life is scary enough thank you very much. And my life has seen its fair share. 

Which brings me back to my original question but rehashed...

What is it about crime that attracts us?

not reading all that AI shit

You’ve produced more slop than a dodgy curry.

-1 

edit: probably not AI, so I deleted my slop

wrong? complain here

Disappointing to see this dismissed as AI slop. It doesn’t read that way to me at all.

I don’t see Torn as living out a crime fantasy as much as I might have say, 5-10 years ago. These days it feels more like “Facebook with a more sophisticated poke button” as I heard it described once. I’m not sure whether that’s due to me aging, Torn itself changing, or some other factor. But crime games have always been a compelling genre no less.

I fucking LOVED Grand Theft Auto 3 growing up. Shooting someone’s arm off and watching it squirt blood while they collapsed and died was just so cool. I could never do that to a person in real life, at least not before prepaying a couple years of therapy. And I think that’s what makes it so interesting: you can do things you’d never do (or maybe you would, who am I to say?) without all the consequences, both for perp and victim. 

Thinking of the other huge genre: fantasy/magic games. Drop any of us in a magical universe and we wouldn’t be able to cope with the first time someone turns us into a slug. Get turned back into a human and you’ll probably be a total basket case. But get polymorphed for a few minutes in game? Just as frustrating with none of the trauma.

Cool topic OP, hope to see some discussion around it. Good luck with your move and congrats on the new family member. Wishing you all good health and safe travels.

But really? Texas?

I don't like talking to people that much in person. Pretty antisocial. Torn is where I talk to other humans. (hopefully)

Congrats on leaving San Diego. Same here, but to Michigan not Texas. I've been I San Diego for like 12 years now and I think I've hated it for 10 of them, the first 2 years being the blissful ignorance stage.

Torn just scratches an itch other games don't. It's more of a social experiment than a game most days. That said if I ever get super busy and stop living such a sedentary lifestyle, my urge to pick up my phone and waste my time here does start to diminish.

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This isn’t some short article you were working on. This is just stream of thoughts and associations your mind is oozing and I’m really not interested in your thought process.

Stop hogging the joint dude...

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Torn is more than a game. I mean it is a game, and it should be something one enjoys, which I think a lot of people forget.

But for me, Torn is a weird one. I couldn't tell you why I came to enjoy Torn as I have little interest in the crime genre as a whole. But honestly, at the end of the day, it's an excuse to play as Lady White, which is admittedly is a persona that blurs a lot with my real personality. Akin to dialling me to 11 and replacing my feet with hooves. 

Then you've got the social aspect with fits me perfect. I'm a very social person, love conversing and hearing about people's lives but I keep few close friends. Torn allows me to do that in a way that I can't often in real life, except outside of concerts and festivals. I feel like I'm make some meaningful connections with people here, without the usual emotional baggage that comes from that. Yet it's still being a place where I've found people who I have let into my life outside of Torn.

Like I said, Torn is weird but hey, I'm weird.

Ngl

Some of these posts made me laugh and they weren't exactly the nice ones.

It's not the first time my literary works, thoughts, ramblings whatever you wanna call them to be considered AI. 

This one time, at band camp...

I had to write a letter for a friend who was appearing in court. I was supposed to go over certain aspects of their life that had been affected and the attorney decided to not use it because

inhales

Shit you not...

Exhale

They thought I was an AI writing it. I spent 2 hours writing this thing only to get dismissed as AI :')

Which to this day I don't whether to take as a compliment or not

Thanks for the well wishes.

At first I started grinding pickpocketing/shoplifting levels because that's basically the only good paying crime in most game that doesn't require me massacring whole towns to loot belonging.

I told myself, I wouldn't do burglary and or card skimming because that's straight up robbery.

HA! Nonono once I found out payouts, items, and merits, it was a sealed deal. Im a few crimes away from getting level 100 in all categories and now I'm late game thinking about what kind of character I want to build.

Once I hit level 100 for all crimes...

The hell am I going to use nerve for?

Body disposal rakes in good cash. Burglary rakes in good items. Pickpocketing is only fun to do on cops now. 

Ahh... What to do

Fair enough

I found myself love/hating San Diego.

I'm born and raised so it was a mix of always wanting to leave and never actually needing to leave.

This is essentially the only game I play. I've finally started to crack open and soften to the social aspect. 

Who would've thought...

Ok, I believe you 

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Coronado
We got Wild West vibes, Gothic Victorian, steampunk, characters from every genre and vibe we got punks, hipsters, lumberjacks, metalheads, goths, emos, sportfans, bangers, chicanos, ect ect
There's southern vibes, there's New York vibes, there's little China little Italy litle everything. (Inhales) There's...... Straightedge people, families, single and ready to mingle, tourists, multi generationals, first generation, there's blacks whites Asians Hispanics and Latinos, islanders, natives, Middle Easterns of every cloth, Europeans, foreigners of every flavor. 

Whatever wrote that is possessed, bring an exorcist. 

I wrote my hoodrat friends personal statement for her once in the Navy because she was getting railroaded for some bullshit. 

Sounded nothing like her, used words she didn't even know how to pronounce let alone the definition. But it was the truth regardless of the language and the CO didn't even question who wrote it. 

It turned from her getting an NJP into the Captain telling her to turn around and look at her chain of command that has failed her every step of the way and then proceeded to eviscerate them all for like 20 minutes. Nothing happened to her, she came out happy as a clam but seeing the look on the uppers faces when they walked out was priceless.

This was before AI was a thing really, so it's not exactly related lol but your example reminded me of this story.

Honestly I think you hit something I never considered on the head.

Am I reverting to a younger me fantasizing and living out a military mercenary persona in this game?

I mean San Diego is a big in its military presence. And when I was 18 almost went into the Marines if it wasn't for some really bad reckless decisions I made.

Now I'm where you're at a bit.

Establishing connections with my faction and the Torn community in general...  The world is a weird place, and Torn even more so

Yes but by what? 👀 

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