Pet Peeved Turned Hobby
Over the years, I’ve had my video game prejudices. Granted I grew up playing the original three Mario games, and watching my mom play the very first Zelda, but for years, especially during high school, I hated them. For one thing, any time I was over a friend’s house, everyone would fight over who got to play Crash Bandicoot, or other such silliness, while I would’ve much rather done something as a group then waste time playing a game only a few could participate in at a time. Then I dated a full out video game addict, and I quickly came to despise everything about them.
Slowly I’ve been adapting to a world with video games. A year and a half ago, my boyfriend at the time got me into Final Fantasy XII, a game I could enjoy without doing very much. It was the perfect relaxation, especially during finals when I just wanted to turn my brain off more than anything else. During the break up with this guy, a friend of mine (my current boyfriend) got me into World of Warcraft, though we played on the free server, which I used to placate anyone who gave me The Look. The Look let’s you know that you have crossed the socially acceptable limit of nerdy gaming. I must say, though, that WoW was a lot of fun and opened my eyes to a whole new world of RPGs.
I’m now interested in a very old RPG called Legends of Kesmai. I play with my boyfriend, though, and I don’t think I would enjoy it very much on my own. But together, we fight monsters and gain experience, and it’s a great way to spend time together. I like the game because it’s very simple graphically, due to its age, and it’s not difficult to play with just enough skill involved to make it tricky. But what’s really great is that the sound effects, paired with the simple graphics, sends your imagination on a fantastic ride.
My major video game prejudice involves people becoming gamer zombies who don’t have a mind of their own, not to mention the fact that kids become fat and lazy when plunked in front of the game console. There is a game system that has completely changed my view, though – the Wii. I couldn’t understand the hype until I played Mario Kart with the wheel controllers. First of all, you’re physically involved in the game because you have to actually steer, something I find totally cool. Second, it involves many players and gets people interacting together.
Although as evidenced by this picture in which I’m attempting to stab Joey with a pen, the interaction can often turn to violence; or in this case, road rage.
Instead of encouraging zombie plague, the Wii gets the player involved. I have Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on Wii now, and my imagination gets to run wild around Hogwarts while I brandish my wand (wii-mote) in epic duels with Slytherins or while discovering secrets in the school’s many rooms.
Games also have a new way of bringing people together, especially recently, with games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band. When you have a group playing drums, guitar, bass, and someone on vocals, the score is dependent on everyone working together. I played this weekend with a group of people, and everyone got a chance to participate and everyone was having a great time. It’s a new generation of games, and I like satisfying my desire to play with a group of friends while provoking my imagination to get involved, rather than taking a backseat while my brain goes on autopilot. It does that often enough during the day at work – kidding!
Seriously, though, let’s go play some games!
Tags: Friends, Video Games
Rhiannimated Mind | Rhiannimated | 
22 June 2009 2:37 PM
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