Overwatch, Bioshock, and The Last of Us: Video Game Concepts in Our World

Overwatch: How Tracer Plays with Quantum Time

“Overwatch. Soldiers. Scientists. Adventurers. Oddities. Guardians who secured global peace for a generation. Under its steadfast protection, the world recovered. And today, though its watch has ended, its soaring ideals of freedom and equality will never be forgotten.” (Overwatch Trailer, 2014)

30 years in our future, humanity faced a powerful rebellion known as the Omnic Crisis. To combat this insurgence, the United Nations created an international task force to end the production and control of omnic soldiers. Champions of all kinds formed this peacekeeping group, utilizing advanced technology incomparably superior to ours today. Overwatch’s poster hero is Tracer; a time-jumping thrill seeker whose mere existence defies the laws of physics.

So, of course, we’re going to explain her powers using physics.

Before becoming an Overwatch hero, Tracer was an ambitious pilot chosen for an untested program that would assess an experimental teleporting aircraft known as Slipstream. Although this may sound fanciful, modern studies prove that similar modes of transport are possible. Quantum teleportation allows for quantum information of the molecular level to be transmitted from one location to another utilizing shared atom states (Riebe, 2004). Key researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have “teleported, or transferred, quantum information carried in light particles over 100 kilometers of optical fiber” (NIST, 2015). Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle explains that teleporting things above the molecular level (an entire aircraft and living human) is an impossible feat. To teleport, one needs to ascertain the momentum and energy of particles at the same time to recreate it; something that is almost impossible to perfectly measure. It is not a surprise that Tracer’s expedition is a failure.

The aircraft and its pilot disappeared. Months after being presumed dead, Tracer appeared once again, “but her ordeal had greatly changed her: her molecules had been desynchronized from the flow of time. Suffering from "chronal disassociation," she was a living ghost, disappearing for hours and days at a time. Even for the brief moments she was present, she was unable to maintain physical form” (Blizzard, Tracer).

During the test, the Slipstream failed to accurately target Tracers molecules in the direction or time planned for transport. Her atoms became scattered; lost, left behind, or transported with the Slipstream. Chronal dissociation suggests that the malfunction sent her molecules into a different time, but not another location. Her body phasing in and out of existence is due to her molecules being in the same area, but not in the same timeline. Her disappearance is due some of Tracer’s molecules phasing away into the timeline that the Slipstream intended.

Winston (a brilliant gorilla whose backstory presents a Gordian knot for another time) presented Tracer with her iconic chronal accelerator. The device likely stabilizes Tracer’s molecules, “anchoring her to the present,” and even allows for personal manipulation.

“Blink” – Tracer’s signature move – is an example of atom speed manipulation. Onlookers may suspect it to be teleportation, but it is actually a model of controlled speed acceleration (which explains why Tracer is unable to blink through walls). Einstein’s Postulates of Special Relativity explain how inertial frames of reference and time dilation impact how onlookers may visually process Tracer’s movements. The crux of the postulates explains how Tracer’s view of time runs slow compared to others as the speed of her molecules approach the speed of light. Bystanders who don’t move at light speed are unable to visually process her movements. A complaint against speed acceleration of this magnitude is that one requires an infinite amount of energy to maintain the speed. One could argue that Winston’s chronal accelerator provides some of that energy, but requires a “cool-down” before re-use.

There is also the argument that the human body cannot withstand such force…but this is Tracer we’re talking about so of course she can!

All in all, Tracer’s abilities are a conundrum that baffle physicists today. Recall, her ability to move backwards in time, is beyond any tests we have accomplished. However, we have 30 years until the Omnic Crisis – so we had better figure it out fast!

Bioshock: Plasmids and the Possibilities of Genetic Augmentation

In a parallel world, the progressive city of Rapture hides underwater. This utopia allows for limitless scientific explorations and inventions of man’s imagination with no repercussions. Bioshock tests the boundaries of stem cell potential using a fictional substance known as ADAM. ADAM can be “genetically manipulated to produce tissue and functions that would not normally be present in the human body.” (Bioshock, 2007). Because of ADAM’s ability to control potent stem cell differentiation, the possibilities genetic augmentation can achieve vastly expand. Jack, the sole-survivor of a plane crash, finds a way into the secret city of Rapture and utilizes plasmids, specialized injectable serums that contain predetermined ADAM stem cells, to make his way through. Two arguably plausible plasmids in our future are Enrage and Electrobolt.

Enrage allows one to secrete a red globule that causes a chosen target to become incredibly violent to any nearby bystanders. This modified ability exists in our world! Many insects have a similar genetic enhancement. Ants are just one example of a species which release alarm pheromones to frenzy nearby ants into an attack. Pheromones exist in humans, yet the extent of their role is often argued. Genetic enhancement of human ecto-hormones to mimic the chemical signals of insects is highly improbable but nonetheless an interesting theoretical manipulation to consider. It would take extreme alterations to endocrine regulations and sites of pheromone production, like apocrine glands, to create such an outcome. Yet, it should be noted that chemical mimicry does exists. The bolas spider is well known for luring its prey towards itself by imitating attractive sex hormones. And modern studies have tested pheromone replication to aggregate insects as a “potentially useful tool for the control of pest populations” (Blomquist, 2014). This may just be the first step in a lengthy process to create Enrage!

Electrobolt is another plasmid with a real-life counterpart. As its name entails, this plasmid gives one the ability to shoot a bolt of electricity at a target. In-game, ADAM theoretically gives one special STEM cells with the capacity to generate an electricity-producing organ and a system adapted to handle the current, similar to electric eels. The electric eel has three pairs of abdominal organs made up of stacked lines of electrolytes (Lavan, 2008). This creates ion flow and generates a powerful electrical potential difference, thereby allowing bioelectrogenesis. Humans are electrogenic, our bodies run on electrical action potentials caused by channels and pumps which maintain our homeostatic potential difference. Replicating an organ or implantable device that allows us the same electrical production and control electric eels have requires technology beyond our ability today.

Bioshock’s plasmids may appear as impossibilities but humans have progressed further than any of our ancestors could have imagined. People have invented injectable immunizations to viruses that once plagued us, designed 3-D printed organs for transplants, and created prosthetics that give people the ability to once again walk, hear, or see. The prospects of genetic engineering have barely reached their potential, the future of genetic enhancement will surely be exciting.

The Last of Us: A Probable Apocalypse?

Joel and Ellie are two survivors of an apocalypse that has enveloped over half the world. America has become completely overridden with a parasitic fungus that can overtake the minds of its chosen targets. Apocalypses have become a fantasy of choice for survival games; but this one may not be as far-fetched as its zombie counterparts.

Cordyceps are the fungi that have consumed the ecosphere in The Last of Us. They happen to also be a real genus of fungi known in nature to affect the insect world. Cordyceps attack living hosts and invade their bodies through a lengthy process of replacing the insects tissue with the fungi’s mycelium. Certain species can physically control the behavior of a host. An example of this is Ophiocordyceps unilateralis. This species invades the bodies of ants and manipulates their movements. It forces the ant to move to warm, wet climates to maximize the fungi’s ability to spread plentifully (Zombie Ants, 2010.) When playing The Last of Us, one will notice the number of spores increases in these spots as well. Open areas are also less affected with spores compared to denser spots.

There are four stages as the fungi consumes its host (Last of Us, 2013). At the 1st stage an Infected is known as a Runner. During this time the fungus has entered one’s system but does not fully control its host. There is still a sense of humanity in Runners as the parasite begins overtaking the hosts’ brain. The main symptoms are behavioral changes, notably hostility, and skin deterioration due to bodily fungal spread.

The 2nd stage, Stalkers, are classified by the excessive growth of fungus covering their heads. By this point the fungus has overtaken most the brain causing Stalkers to partially lose sight due to corruption of the visual cortex. Stalkers run by basic instinct and parasitic commands using a pseudo-form of echolocation.

Clickers are the 3rd stage, marked by their complete fungal-coated appearance and their mastery of echolocation. Echolocation in the blind is not unheard of. A 2011 study successfully tested how a small portion of blind people are “adept at echolocating silent objects simply by producing mouth clicks and listening to the returning echoes” by recording brain activity in response to the returned output (Thaler, n.d.). Although completely blind, Clickers are one of the more dangerous Infected.

Lastly, the 4th stage of Infected, are Bloaters. At this time, the host is covered in a thick protective layering of fungi. In an aggressive state, Bloaters can eject copious amounts of mycotoxin, a deadly poison produced in real world fungi. When a Bloaters body is no longer able to function, the cordyceps naturally force their host to await death in a prime spot for dispersal.

One may wonder if a real-world epidemic of this nature is biologically possible. Although the extent of the stages may be fanatical, human infection is not improbable. A mutant variant of this fungi with an effect on humans could very well exist! And widespread epidemics, such as HIV, have tested mankind before. Global spread of such a fungal parasite is ominously simple. Be aware and be prepared!

Works Cited

Blizzard. (2016). Overwatch [Windows]. Hangzhou, China: NetEase. Irvine, CA: Blizzard. Tokyo, Japan: Square Enix.

Blizzard. (n.d.). Tracer - Overwatch. March 8, 2017. https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/heroes/tracer/

Naughty Dog. (2013). Last of Us. [Playstation 3]. Tokyo, Japan: Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Blomquist, G. J. & Prestwich, G. D. (2014). Pheromone Biochemistry [Google Books]. Academic Press. ISBN 1483219372, 9781483219370

Lavan, D. A., & Xu, J (2008, November). Designing artificial cells to harness the biological ion concentration gradient. March 8, 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2767210/

N, a. (2010, August 17). 'Zombie ants' controlled by parasitic fungus for 48m years. March 7, 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2010/aug/18/zombie-carpenter-ant-fungus

NIST. Physicists break distance record for quantum teleportation. (2015, September 22). March 8, 2017. https://phys.org/news/2015-09-physicists-distance-quantum-teleportation.html

Riebe, M. "Deterministic Quantum Teleportation with Atoms." Nature News. Nature Publishing Group, 17 June 2004. Web. 8 Mar. 2017.

Thaler, L., Arnott, S. R., & Goodale, M. A. (n.d.). Neural Correlates of Natural Human Echolocation in Early and Late Blind Echolocation Experts. March 8, 2017. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0020162

2K Games. (2007). Bioshock [Playstation 3]. New York City, New York: Take-Two Interactive. Tokyo, Japan: D3 Publisher.