(Editorial cartoon by Grahm Harrop. Appeared on the Vancouver Sun - February 15, 2001)
For a few years, I had a reputation as a "Mario Maniac"; no one else knew as much or played as much Mario games as I did. Therefore, I've seen both the fun and the ugly that comes from these games.
I've invested so much time and effort in these games, in the process sacrificing loads of (my parents') hard-earned money, eyesight, sleep, homework opportunities, and various other things. Not only that, but after a few years, I began to think..."Do I really want people to remember me as a Mario freak?" Well, it's a little late for that...
So, what made me invest so much time in it? Well, Game Boys aren't just a mess of wires and chips, they're portals into another world! Where else can one beat up turtles, fly into space, train electric mice to battle for you, run at supersonic speeds, and save the universe? After all, the life of a princess-saver is definetely more interesting than the life of a schoolboy. The virtual world can sometimes make the real world seem bland in comparison.
There's also a sense of achievement. Looking throughout the internet, people love to brag about their high scores or post videos showing how fast they can run through a level. Playing through Level One leads one to try to get to the last level. Playing through the last level leads one to try to collect all the secrets in all the levels. And so on. And games like Tetris are made so that you do a challenge over and over in an attempt to get a high score, one of the most addicting things ever.
Way back when in my pure "Mario freak" days, I didn't know when to stop. My parents have disconnected and hid my gaming systems three times (possibly more, I lost count). To be honest, though, I have to thank them for saving my sanity. I've always been prohibited to "weekend-only gaming". Gaming is fun, but when it consumes your life, it's too much.
I've been gaming a lot less lately. Not to say I've given it up entirely, but at the very least, I do know that achieving an amazing score on Dance Dance Revolution isn't worth giving up my real-life achievements, and that surprisingly, real life can actually be pretty amazing.
3 comments:
Hey Jedi,
From my perspective, I liked the whole "Mario Maniac" side of you. I agree with the point you made that after playing a video game where you're so important and life is so interesting, the real world does seem difficult to want to come back to. I know that if I go to a regular person and say that I just beat LoZ: OoT in under 20 hours they'll look at me and be thinking: "What? Gosh, stupid gamers..." But if I was to say that to another gamer (with some proof of course, because who could really beat OoT side quests and all in under min. 45 hours!) they'd be ecstatic.
I guess that it may not just be the games that are so addicting, but also the kinship that a gamer feels with other gamers. To be honest, if I didn't play games as frequently as I do, I would probably not be friends with all the people I am friends with today.
I like this post because it's from a REAL addicted gamer. Obviously, you still show the aftermath of your gaming habits (Mario & Yoshi). However, I feel it is true that when we finish a level, we want to go on to the next level and so on, collecting the games. Truly, I think we should have time away from gaming. Maybe we should consider alternate activities: units & sports of course. Yes, I agree, having a persona online is waaaaaaay better than one in real life. But with alternate activities, like social justice roles, eventually gaming can get boring. Nicepost!
I never knew that you were a real addicted gamer at times. I usually think that addicted gamers wouldn't do a lot of homework and play games as soon as you get home. That is known as one of the stereotypes of gamers in this generation. I think that most people in this generation are gamers since almost everyone has touched technology and have played games on the computer before. It is just how much or good you play. It is true that virtual things bring entertainment to a whole new level.
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