On Gaming

I've never been a gamer.  Like, at all.  It's kind of embarrassing, what little I know about the gaming world.  "Mario vs. Donkey Kong" on Gameboy Advance held my attention for a good long while and then later I was obsessed with "Super Mario Sunshine" on Gamecube.  But that was about it.  I don't have anything against video games themselves; I just enjoyed watching movies more and making my own.  I think the best thing about video games is that you get to actually interact in the story.  That's pretty incredible, when you think about it.  I think they're a great way to just relax and have some fun.  However, I disagree with the idea of video games providing the player with a realistic sense of accomplishment.  Video games do give the player a sense of accomplishment, but in my mind it's not a realistic accomplishment.  So you can save Princess Peach from Bowser's castle...big deal.  Well, what if you did that AND collected all the coins? Now wouldn't that be a real accomplishment! Sure. 

Now how does that apply in real life? 

Don't get me wrong; as I said, video games are designed for fun.  For entertainment.  But they also give players unrealistic goals to achieve and because it's much easier to obtain these goals in video games than it is to obtain goals in real life, video games can become addicting in an unhealthy way.  Players may feel quite accomplished after six hours straight of gaming, but have they actually accomplished anything?  

On a somewhat different note, I enjoyed the documentary today.  I have HUGE respect for those game developers.  The amount of work they did, all of the things they risked, was incredible.  And it payed off in the end.  Video games are meant to be entertaining and they can be great fun.  But let's not go off on a deep end to argue that they're "good for you" because they give you a sense of accomplishment.  No, they're "good for you" simply because they're fun.  

Don't know if any of you gamers recognize this level, but it used to make me SO MAD. Couldn't believe it when I finally passed it.