Remember as a kid, when you get into something, you really get submerged into the thing that captures your imagination? In first grade, Natalie's dad always popped into the classrooms and handed out drawings he would make of our favorite characters. I absolutely LOVED the Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, and Precious Moments drawings he would hand out for me to color. One of my favorite past times was drawing Bomberman and Mega Man characters, that you can combine any machine with the word "man" and have a badass character to show off to your classmates (Blenderman, anyone?). The fond memories of video games and characters are many, but that just isn't the way it is anymore. Is it because I'm older now and my imagination just doesn't get captured the way it used to?
Or it can also be because it's been harder to play a good game. Video games are mainstream now and you can liken the industry to the movie industry. Many times I find myself playing a game that feels unfinished, a game of bare bones rushed out for the sake of churning out the cheese. And it's a sad fact that by nature of the MMO, there are always going to be people who have more time to play the game and get a whole hell of a lot better than you, and there are always going to be hackers. To top it off, let's add in another factor: real life. I played, loved, and was obsessed with World of Warcraft at one point. I mapped out what steps I needed to take to get the next upgraded armor when I should be taking notes in class. I spent hours just leveling my skills by making stupid bandages, and auctioning them off to make a piddle of money. I went through as many start-out lowbie grayed-out missions to up my reputation with the other races. Now, I avoid it like the plague because I know I can get sucked back in. "Oh, just play for a couple hours or so," you say. "You are a comedian," I retort.
The lesson learned here: what's more important to me is striving for a balance in my life. Thank you, Blizzard.
As a gamer, I know I've become pretty cynical. Despite this, I miss playing a good game with people who play it the way it was meant to be played. In my late high school and on to early college years, I discovered a love for Counter-Strike. The team-coordination and competition attracted me very much. Also the adrenaline rush of being the last surviving one on the team, knowing that just you and only you can turn the game around gave me such a head rush.
You are the last man standing, running low on ammo and needing to make the most out of it. You pop some guy around a corner, and of course two more rushes towards you. You pull the trigger and hear the dreaded click! Magazine is empty. They're closing in on you and a small voice in the back of your head wonders why you're still alive. There is no room for thoughts like that, so you quickly shut it up, quick-switch to your knife and he's down! You quickly switch back to your dead M16, drop the gun, pick up the weapon your just-downed enemy has while running a smooth circle around the last enemy. You are both spraying bullets now. You feel that time has suddenly slowed down, as if you can see each bullet going off. Suddenly, the instinct that connects the crosshair to your eyes and your mouse becomes keen, and you follow the motion and move the crosshair to the enemy's head. He's down. "Counter-Terrorists wins" a voice announces. You look down at your life and you are so in the red.That is what kept me going back for more.
Then one day I find myself playing in a clan, practicing tactics and strategies. It's unlike playing in LAN cafe, or hopping online for a quick game because those are never strategic; you are thrown into a team, but how many times do you and your teammates actually play as a team? Rare, few, and far in between. But getting together as a clan, practicing with other clans, this was a whole new ballgame. I wasn't running wild on my own anymore, this required discipline and self-control. There was an order to this, it was fun. So this is how the game was meant to be played. I felt like I was put into a whole new world, a clean world, one without hackers and cheaters. And then I started playing in an amateur league, playing with like-minded people it felt like. Throw in a facilitated competitive events, then that is real exciting.
I miss those days. I hate that there will always be hackers, cheaters, and people who spend so much time playing the game that they figure out all the bugs, glitches, nooks and crannies that they might as well be cheating. This is why I hesitate to re-up my XBL account and purchase the Stimulus Package, why I am very skeptical of purchasing titles nowadays -- the large sum of money just isn't worth it, more times than not.
If people can get together once a week for a D&D game, a MTG tourny, or a book reading club, then surely a clan can come together and game it up, at the very least for a night of just fun. Raihn and I have been throwing the idea of opening a LAN center in town one day. That is a whole other topic for another day. We will see.
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