Comments on: Video Games Vs. Rewilding

By: carlysimon

carlysimon — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:19:31 +0000

Sometimes I think video games are not so much an escape of a world that seems unpleasant - but a way of meeting unmet psychological needs of accomplishment, self-worth and adventuring. Plus there’s some good problem solving skills required at least in those multiplayer versions. It’s also alot easier to feel brave at tackling something that is imaginary than tackling situations in our everyday existence.

By: StarvingWolf

StarvingWolf — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:49:45 +0000

Speaking of tears, I wept a little in joy over the bit where you broke the Diablo CD — the imagery there reminded me of breaking ones hands in order to escape prison manacles.

I tried the same tactic (breaking the CD, not my hands) on Neverwinter Nights a few years ago, only to find out to my horror, that after the latest patch, the game no longer required the CD to run. I almost cried then, too. It was like making a break for the sacrificial temple door, only to see it slowly shut just before you hit the daylight.

By: Urban Scout

Urban Scout — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:54:54 +0000

haha. Why, yes, you do find her again all grown up and she kicks fucking ass. I beat the game because of her. But that wasn’t really part of this story… She had way cooler bangs as an adult.

By: incendiary_dan

incendiary_dan — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:40:57 +0000

I might be remembering this wrong, but don’t you find Rydia alive again later, all grown up? Maybe it was a side-quest you didn’t have to do to beat the game?

By: Huby7

Huby7 — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 11:47:58 +0000

Finally, I can post here.

On the subject of video games. I use to play a lot of pinball and asteroids and Pac Man on Atari. That’s about as involved as I ever got into the gaming world…:-) But I’ve got a few friends that use to spend most of their waking hours playing games on their computer, one of them didn’t sleep for a couple days straight because they were so into it. Personally, I don’t know how they did it. I could never sit still for that long.

Great post, Scout. I can’t wait to here more.

Curt

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:11:15 +0000

Petey: - KQ6 was off the chain, much better than the one with that annoying owl. Cedric? Why do I remember this crap? & the Monkey Island series is, was, and shall forever be the bomb-de-bomb diggity.

Of the handful of games I had the patience to play I’d say Quest for Glory actually had a noticeable effect on me. SO YOU WANT TO BE A HERO?

I don’t know much about console games - never owned one. I could drink all the sodas in Chrono Trigger. Nobody else I knew could. & the musics great… many fond memories of rolling through retirement communities with the windows down and the Sephiroth Choir cranked up to maximum volume…

I think video games can and do inspire, frquently providing sparks to light the players sense of wonder and otherness, amplifying imaginations and excercising the mental muscles utilizied in problem solving. although I doubt I’ll ever sit down and play one again, I’m thankful for their brief yet colorful influence during my youth.

like you said, once you’re free — that shit don’t compare.

By: rix

rix — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 02:02:39 +0000

I think it’s awesome that Rydia’s story moved you so. I’ve never had that strong of an emotional attachment to a game character, but I’ve definitely felt it with TV and book characters. I cried like a baby at the appendices to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The appendices, for God’s sake!

I tried playing Civ a lot. I really loved the early on exploring. Trireme were awesome. But pretty soon after that the game would get boring to me. I like the fighting and strategy, I just didn’t want to have to compete so fiercely with another group that was obviously going to win out in the arms race that I didn’t even care about. Little did I know at the time that I just wanted to be an erratic retaliator.

I think I’m in the same boat as far as escapism is concerned. Now I want to actually escape. Let’s get the fuck out of here.

By: sassmouth

sassmouth — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 04:20:13 +0000

I always been into video games, but never been addicted thankfully. 3-4 years ago I modified an xbox giving me the ability to have almost unlimited games for free. I have literally thousands of games from the old systems: nintendo, genesis, SNES and arcade games. I still play them once in awhile. Last week I got close to winning Zelda, but got bored and quit. I’d rather spend my time reading or practicing skills.

By: DeAnna

DeAnna — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 02:27:48 +0000

Ooh, nice ending! While my addiction wasn’t games, I can totally relate to your story. I was in on the early years of online community, using Telnet to access local Bulletin Board Systems (my favorite, ironically, was called Virtual Reality). And while in some ways it was totally an escape from my lame 15-year old life, I also formed many of my radical views as a result of interactions with those virtual friends. Everyone from the local swinger’s group to the anarcho-punks had their own home-grown BBS in those days. I learned that there was a lot more to the world than I had considered. And I’ve had a similiar reaction to yours as an adult. I hang out with real live swinger’s and anarcho-punks now. My 15-year old self only dreamt about the life I get to live now.

ps, I had got fed up with the conversation over at you know where a while back, so I didn’t realize that it had been ended. I think that’s really lame, and I appreciate you sharing your story. I will try to separate the message from the messenger and refrain from throwing away all my books in retaliation for what seems to me like cult-ish close-mindedness on their part.