everyone's a winner
It took me a while to get used to the fact that adults play video games. When I was a kid, adults never played video games, and I guess I assumed that my own habit would wear off eventually. It still hasn't. When I was young, the arcade was a dark place, tinged with danger, but highly addictive. I have a memory of paying someone to take my paper route for a night so I could take a "vacation" at the arcade. To this day, I don't understand why that upset my parents such that they banned me for the short time their weak will could withstand my bleating. Quickly, I was back at Jimmy's honing my skills at Hyper Olympics and Exciting Hour Wrestling.
I also have memories of fights and cigarette smoke - very exotic for a sheltered kid with little in the way of approach motivation.
I still play video games on an all too frequent basis. They worry me, at a sociological level, because the appeal is the ease with which one can transcend. My own addiction is to NBA basketball, and I have won a number of championships. My favourite part is the made up names of the players the computer puts in each season's rookie draft. One of my teams featured Idi Camby at shooting guard and Furious Patterson at center.
Championships are rare in real life, but much easier in video games. It feeds into this culture where everyone is a superstar, or at least wears t-shirts that say "Superstar" on them. But if we're satisfied with just the name, how much motivation is left for actual accomplishment? There was a time when entertainment meant coming together with others and interacting, but it's better for the economy if people live in separate units and purchase their entertainment "on demand". I'm in too good a mood today to work up the righteous anger this subject deserves, so I'll return to this some day when I'm feeling pissy.
p.s. many kudos to tim, the godfather of this blog, on post 100
I also have memories of fights and cigarette smoke - very exotic for a sheltered kid with little in the way of approach motivation.
I still play video games on an all too frequent basis. They worry me, at a sociological level, because the appeal is the ease with which one can transcend. My own addiction is to NBA basketball, and I have won a number of championships. My favourite part is the made up names of the players the computer puts in each season's rookie draft. One of my teams featured Idi Camby at shooting guard and Furious Patterson at center.
Championships are rare in real life, but much easier in video games. It feeds into this culture where everyone is a superstar, or at least wears t-shirts that say "Superstar" on them. But if we're satisfied with just the name, how much motivation is left for actual accomplishment? There was a time when entertainment meant coming together with others and interacting, but it's better for the economy if people live in separate units and purchase their entertainment "on demand". I'm in too good a mood today to work up the righteous anger this subject deserves, so I'll return to this some day when I'm feeling pissy.
p.s. many kudos to tim, the godfather of this blog, on post 100
posted by H. Now at 8:21 p.m.
8 Comments:
Thanks Geoff! I've never been a godfather before... perhaps I'll go rub someone out!
The points in this post are well taken, and if I weren't so tired, I'd work up some righteous anger too. Unfortunately, papers on theory building must be read instead. Bleah.
Aristotle said, "I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies, for the hardest victory is over self."
Personally I arrived @ work feeling grumpy this morning b/c while playing the game Imperialism my nation was invaded and a province was annexed. Damn! War games on Friday, anti-war rally on Sunday ....
But my original point was that perhaps the string of victories I normally achieve in conquering / changing the world on the computer shores up my motivation & sustains me in battling the somewhat less tractable Empires of the Real World.... Thus it is not reinforcing consumerist mediocrity, it's really a facilitator of subversive activism!
That's my story & I'm sticking to it....
It's entirely possible that computer victories could facilitate motivation. Another empirical question. But I worry a) that the time used in those pursuits could be used in others that might be more lasting, satisfying, and promoting of connection and b) that people who experience success in video games but fear the "real world" may become more dependent on the games if they feel it is the only hope they have for success.
I’ve been mulling over this post for awhile b/c it came in the midst of a 3-week period in which I have been utterly immersed in an adventure, role-playing game. I should probably add that not only do adults play computer games but for some of us (read me) we only discovered this form of entertainment as adults, specifically a few years ago in my mid-30’s when a friend slipped me a copy of Diablo. I’ve been enjoying this pastime ever since, although I feel a bit embarrassed about it and hide it as my dirty little secret. However, my recent gaming experience has been quite disturbing. The game I’m playing, which was supplied by the same friend who obviously has an inner need to be a crack dealer and has found that passing on video games is a socially acceptable manifestation of this need, has completely overtaken my life. Nothing else matters. Hours fly by, bodily needs such as eating and trips to the bathroom get put off to the last possible nanosecond before physical disaster strikes, almost all work responsibilities have been thrust aside (it’s a wonder I haven’t started canceling classes), personal phone calls go unreturned and so on. Now that probably isn’t so bad and could be interpreted as signs of a *really* good game. But what is disconcerting is that during this period my virtual life has started to feel a lot more interesting and stimulating than my real life. My game acquaintances are beginning to feel more real and likeable than the individuals in my actual life, my gaming conversations feel far more interesting, and I’ve come away from the game finding my real life dissatisfying in comparison. Moreover, I cannot stop playing. In fact, my only recourse has been to have DNA take the computer disk away and not give it to me not matter how much I beg, threaten or promise him sex. In short, I’m really discomfited by my response to this game and where it is going to lead. My real life is actually pretty decent, and so a game should not be triggering these types of feelings. Moreover, my friend ultimately had the same experience with this game and has now sworn off gaming altogether because of how this one specifically made him feel about his own life. The potential positive here is that we both could take this experience and use it as a catalyst for life change. The obvious negative is that we, and others, could retreat further into our new virtual lives, and the powerful feelings that the game evokes when I’m playing make this a very real possibility.
Hey....do you remember when I beat you at NHL 2005....if I remember correctly I had the keyboard and you had the gamepad....that must have been mortifying for you...I know that it was a great victory for me! Any victory would have been great, but the fact that I was also handicapped makes it that much sweeter.
For those who are unaware Geoff has always had a certain knack for video games and that has been, I admit, frustrating at times. So this post has given me a chance to tell the world...you are not a machine, you bleed like me and can be defeated!
This was your first victory since Atari Ice Hockey, 1981. Highlighting your few victories only draws more attention to your pathetic string of losses.
Well....I have come to grips with my video game shortfalls, clearly you haven't. And the fact that you lost to an individual, who you point out is so pathetic (and handicapped I will reiterate) must put you in one class lower. Besides, what have you done lately?You are only as good as your last game.
Also, I am finished quibbling with you in post format...you want a piece of me? Lets settle on the ice, EA style!
wifeofdna - my obsession like that was Civilization - it consumed way too much of my undergraduate time (even watching others play, not just playing myself).
lochalsh - I let you win.
Post a Comment
<< Home