RF Generation.  The Classic and Modern Gaming Databases.RF Generation.  The Classic and Modern Gaming Databases.

Posted on Sep 4th 2014 at 01:00:42 PM by (slackur)
Posted under If ignorance is bliss is it really ignorance at all, The correct way to play games, naive, innocence, ignorant, turtles

"Truth is not elusive.  We avoid it.  We do not desire honesty, as it makes us aware of our complicity.  Truth is a singular shining light that burns away our comfortable illusions.  Therefore, a child is not healthy to absorb the whole of any truth, and not one of us is yet fully grown."  - Nights In Forever

In those formative years just before high school, I had next-door neighbors with a son a few years my senior.  The only electronic entertainment in their home was a simple 13" color TV in his room with an NES and three or four games.  Normally he'd come over and enjoy our larger gaming library and bigger TV, but my own family strife meant every now and then we'd grab a few games and head to his house, sacrificing screen size and gaming access for peace and quiet.

One day after school, I stopped by his home and found an unusual sight; his mother and older sister were in his room, boxy grey controllers in hand, playing the original Super Mario Bros.  I'd known my friend for over a year and had no clue anyone else in his family played games; no one in mine ever did.  I was further surprised to realize that his mother was in world six; who went there when the warp pipes bypassed all of that?

My friend told me we'd have to game at my place, seeing as his mom and sis would likely be at this 'till past bedtime.  They took over the NES on occasion, and would exclusively play through Super Mario Bros. several times in a row, from the beginning until 8-4, and loop again. 



So many questions lingered in my young mind!
 
Me: Didn't they know about the warp pipes? 
He: Yes, of course, but they don't want to skip most of the game, they wanted to play it! 

Me: But, surely they don't know about Mario 3, right? 
He: Wait, is that the one about throwing food?  Because they didn't like that at all, totally different from the original.
Me: No, no, Super Mario 3.  It's like the best game ever.  So, so much more to it than the first Super Mario.  It makes the first one seem so simple!  They'd never go back! 
He: I actually bought it for mom for her birthday, and she played it a while, but she lost interest and went back to Super Mario Bros.

My middle-school mind was blown.  I just didn't get it.  They're doing it wrong!  If only they understood the complexity and depth of the clearly better, later, newer game!  Why are they fulfilled on this simplicity?  If only they could stop being so happy with what they have.  They need to be entertained like me!


Won't someone think of the baby Koopas?!

I brought it up in conversation with his mom and sister one day, and they confirmed what he said; they loved the original Super Mario Bros. and that was pretty much it.  They'd been playing it for several years and still loaded it up every few weeks.  And even after putting time into a few other titles, there was no desire to play much of anything else; always back to the occasional Super Mario Bros. marathon.

This enjoyment of simple pleasures, of finding annoyingly complete contentment with the familiar, grated against my character.  I was all about deepening the well; furthering my experiences, pushing limits and moving onward and upward.  That was life, surely.  How on earth would, could, someone decide to simply be fulfilled?

Thus came a gradual examination of the difference between a healthy innocence and an unhealthy ignorance.  Change came slowly, and my perception shifted as other examples came into focus from all sorts of experiences.  Here are three in shorthand:

1. For years I enjoyed cheap steak at family buffets, until I pursued a few tastes from dedicated steak houses.  Suddenly those cheap steaks, which were all I could afford, just didn't taste that enjoyable anymore.  And while I assumed the fact that my palate was stretched and refined meant I was better off, I was now grumpy and unsatisfied at having to settle for something I'd have very much enjoyed before 'deepening the well.' 

2. I spent a summer with a buddy who just acquired the new-on-the-block Sega CD.  He loved the thing; Sewer Shark and Night Trap were all he wanted to play.  During overnights, after he fell asleep, I'd stay up and log hours on Sol-Feace and Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective.

A few months later a different friend got the Turbo Duo, and I was blown away.  When I got one myself shortly thereafter, my Sega CD friend came over and saw the likes of Gate of Thunder, Ys Book I and II, Lords of Thunder, Loom, Cosmic Fantasy II, and especially Dracula X.  The poor kid's heart sank.  He became bitter towards me, and I didn't know why.  Then one day he picked up Sonic CD and came around in a perky mood, bragging how it was a system exclusive and much better than any Bonk game.  Thing is, he was completely satisfied with the Sega CD until that day he came over and played the Duo library.  Hate to say it, but I think he carried a bitter jealousy about it for years.


Sorry, Sol-Feace.  You're good, but not this good.

3. When 5.1 Surround Sound prices went cheap around the mid- to late-nineties, I was hooked.  If I watched a movie in plain ol' stereo it just wasn't worth it.  It didn't matter if I was watching Jurassic Park or Looney Tunes, if I couldn't hear separate sound channels I didn't want to bother.

And then I met my Beloved.  A little interesting note about my favorite person; she's completely deaf in one ear, and has hearing loss in the other.  This lovely woman didn't even need both sides on a pair of headphones, much less another box under the TV separating sounds.  She could tell the extra fidelity on a nice mix, to be sure, but it wasn't something she was particularly worried about.


This is far less impressive when you're rockin' an exclusively mono input.
 
The corollary behind these nostalgic vignettes is how I came around to rethink my philosophy on pushing the envelope vs. being satisfied.  Oftentimes, exposure to something new, different, and arguably better is inevitable.  Yet like all unprompted thoughts, we may not control the origins but we certainly control the destination.

The older I get, and the more critical of consumerism culture I find myself, the more I realize I have no right to be indignant of other people's contentment.  I'm not necessarily helping someone by trying to 'improve' upon something of which they're already satisfied.  If my niece is happy with Candy Crush, maybe Diablo III will be that 'gateway' into gaming bliss, but I shouldn't be too disappointed if she just doesn't get into it, or 'worse,' doesn't really care.  If she's having fun and that's enough, I have no inherent sacred duty to 'set her straight' about what gaming should or shouldn't be. 


Alright, maybe there are wrong ways to play a game...

However...

There is an important counter-argument to have here, and more is at stake than the willingness to try new things, get out of one's shell, or take a chance on new things.  That's important, to be sure.  But of far greater importance is the intentional skill to let every loop remain fragile instead of closed.  There's a dark, even dangerous element to some people when their assumptions are stretched, the status quo challenged. 

It's how we end up with hundreds of developers having to call out the nonsense behaviors of some gamers,

http://kotaku.com/over-60...to-hateful-har-1629371868

or a critic of common gaming threads having to pack her family and leave her home because of hideous threats and insinuations.

http://boingboing.net/201...ats-drive-anna-sarke.html

It becomes clear that there are some forms of personal ignorance in gaming that need to be overcome.  The default should be common decency and respect for differing opinions, without the assumption that the other person is somehow less than yourself.  For heaven's sake, if a subject as benign as video games, a luxury entertainment, can elicit rape and death threats and force people from their homes, what hope do we have to discuss relevant matters such as politics, religion, and if my Beloved's favorite sci-fi cliche machine will be renewed?


Season 5 confirmed.  This is why I have two TVs downstairs. Another season of RPG grindin' while one screen over, Noah Wyle plays some ER Librarian.

It also needs to be said, repeated, and shouted from bullhorns, that there is no longer any excuse concerning naivety about gaming content, particularly when it comes to parenting.  In these days of supercomputer media access phones, I should not have had this real-world conversation;

I was at work and a kid (whom by appearances couldn't have been more than eight or nine) asked about Watch Dogs for the Wii U.  I said it wasn't out yet, and seeing his mom next to him, warned that it carried an M rating.  A familiar half-shrug I see from too many parents compelled me to continue, "and not just for violence, but, for example, a sex-trafficking ring complete with a scene of topless, 'broken' (as in their resistance) women nervously standing on a walkway, being auctioned off.  Meanwhile one in-game character tweets about purchasing several women because of how quickly he goes through them, and another buys a woman because she's an organ donor match.  On the way to the auction you pass through a hall where you can hear the women being 'sampled,' complete with sexual sounds, whimpering, and crying."

There was a quiet pause, and then her response.  "Is it bad?"


No ma'am, it's the cutest little display of slavery and dehumanization.  It's OK, he already played it his six-year-old friend's house.

Baby Koopa was also appropriately in shock.

This happens all too often, but that's another soap box.

There is a destructive ignorance born from either apathy or maliciousness.  But, there are also some forms of naivete that are healthy innocence.  And finally, there are some things we find contentment in that grant a satisfaction otherwise unattainable when we stretch beyond our means.  The first desperately needs to be overcome.  The latter two are worth defending.
 
And I'm truly sorry I ever thought my buddy's mom and sister were ignorant. They had it correct all along; in my own ignorance, it took me years to see the difference between the need to deepen the well, and realizing that when you have all the water you'll ever need, digging deeper only muddies what you have.

Smiley


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Comments
 
Great, great piece, man.  This line is terrific:

"The older I get, and the more critical of consumerism culture I find myself, the more I realize I have no right to be indignant of other people's contentment."

As I find myself becoming more content with the games I have as opposed to constantly needing to upgrade to whatever is new, I find myself less bothered by the behaviors of the  casual gamer.  I know a few guys who have 360s or PS3s and all they do is buy Madden every year and that is all that they play.  It drove me crazy for many of the reasons you talked about but playing Madden made them happy.  Who am I to say that they are wrong?

Most of the time, these people are willing to try the things I recommend but I need to not get upset if it doesn't click with them the way it clicks for me.  Being content can be pretty awesome.

Thanks again for the piece, it is wonderful.
 
This really is an emotionally deep piece, and I thank you for taking the time to produce it.

I myself had a similar experience with a friend who only cared if something was new. I only care about gameplay and story in my games, but my friend invests everything into the graphics of his games.  For years I would be upset with this knowledge, as my opinion was all that mattered to me as a kid, but with age came experience. I know it isn't my place to judge, and everyone loves different things for different reasons. We are still friends, and even started gaming together again, with some mutually appreciated games like Borderlands, Gears of War, and Bioshock.
 
I've known my fair share of people like that throughout my life, from a hunter that worked on the line with me at Ford who considered gaming a waste of time (but who was ready to throw down and jam on Space Invaders for Atari VCS) to my own son, who is willing to try some games, but more than anything just wants to play the occasional Lego game, Minecraft, or Roblox.  My personal moment of clarity was at the tender age of 12, back in the far-off year of 1989, when I first met my best friend.  He was one of those kids who got money for good grades (...) and was smart, so suffice to say he had all the games, while I was the atypical Nintendo "fanboy," dedicated only because the NES (and later SNES) was the only console I owned.  I learned through my friend that platform loyalty was rubbish because in the end it came down to the games.  Why pick a side when we could all just have fun? 

That all being said, I've wanted to remain an optimist regarding gaming naivete in the general public, but I'm afraid it might be here to stay.  Like soccer hooligans (and mad sports fans in general), it just feels too good and right to claim loyalty to a single group or person.  Almost like we were born to do so, eh?

By the by, "Who Even Plays World Six?" may be one of the coolest blog titles I've even heard.  Just saying.
 
@bombatomba:http://www.rfgeneration.com/blogs/slackur/  Fixed! Cheesy

@Boshamp:@wildbil52:Thanks!  I enjoy being the guy my friends visit to see what's new, while at the same time we have friends that always load up their staple games (including Wheel of Fortune for NES, Spritual Warfare for NES, TMNT for NES, Terraria for 360, and Chrono Trigger for SNES.)
 
I couldn't agree more. I used to look down on the Bil's of the world and their NHL games, but if you watch a group of guys play them you can see the joy they experience first hand. And its impossible to argue that there is anything wrong with that.

Its been a really great experience at the store seeing some of the stuff people are truly passionate about.
 
  There's no nice way to ask this question, but what you are saying is that you grew up a snob?  You couldn't comprehend why others didn't see it your way or want what you saw as the best.  Although you may not have realized, it is possible that your attitude toward your friend with the Sega CD, after you showed off the Turbo Duo could have led to the bitterness.  Believe me, I was in his shoes many times.  And those shoes were usually Pro Wings.

  I was taught to appreciate what you have, since we didn't really have much growing up.  And I did appreciate what I had, considering that I was playing an Atari 7800 that I bought with months worth of allowance on an old B&W TV given to me by my step dad.  And this thing was atrocious - big metal shell with a handle on top.  I tried not to waste my time being jealous or envious when my friends' parents bought them fancier game consoles, but enjoyed playing the games when I was over.  When they were playing Excitebike and Zelda, I was kicking it with Crystal Castles and Dig Dug.  And I still love those games.
  Once I was old enough to get a job I was able to buy a NES and try out other consoles and games, but I still had to buy all of my own games, my color TV, even my car.  And for that reason, I learned how to really enjoy what games I was able to grab.

  Something I have learned over the years is that, no matter how you find your entertainment, aren't you still entertained?**  You are vested in something.  You are enjoying yourself.

"You should go.  It'll be fun."
"But I'm having fun right now, and I don't have to leave."
"But it will be MORE fun."

  I have yet to determine it there can actually be a gauge on your level of entertainment.  Sure the experience will be new, but MORE fun?  How do you measure that?

  Yes, I completely agree that newer gamers have become extreme in their attitudes about what is meant as a form of enjoyment, but it think that is something that is happening across the board.  "This new Twinkie tastes like s*&t!"  "This pizza is too f&$#ing small!"  This is society.  And pampering, inattentive, & ignorant parents are most likely to blame. 
  If they would teach just two things to their kids:
  #1. You can't always get what you want.
  #2. The world isn't fair and doesn't owe you anything.

Well written article, by the way.


**Except reality shows.  Those are not acceptable forms because they dumb people down.

 
People are passionate about their hobbies, and I don't look for that to ever change. It's ok to be critical of a game, or a system, or a genre. It's just not ok to take that out on someone who doesn't share your views.

I grew up a lot like what Techie described. If you wanted something, you went out and made it happen, or you didn't get it. I never had experiences with jealousy with gaming, as a kid it was something that always brought us together. I had a friend that just had a SMS when everyone else had an NES. You know what? I loved going over to his house to see all the games that I couldn't play anywhere else. Heck, I even still love Crabby despite his unfortunate outlook on Super Metroid.

Let's all just be nerdy and have a good time.
 
@Techie413:Well, I was around 11 or 12 at the time of the NES neighbor story, so I'd like to assume immaturity was to blame, though that's not really an excuse (and I've known kids that age who are far less a jerk than I likely was.) 

As for my Sega CD friend, he was kind of a difficult guy at times (again, I probably was too.)  He was very, very proud of his Sega CD, and (as I remember it, anyway) he was very offended that I chose a Turbo Duo instead of his preference.  He eventually came over to see (and talk down) my preference, and wound up being impressed... and a bit angry.  It was the anger that I didn't really understand for a long time.  I don't recall flaunting the Duo, but I know he had a penchant for jealousy.  Then again, with kids as well as adults, we often say things that have an impact we never realize.

Appreciating what we had growing up was a tough lesson.  I spent most of my childhood in Mississippi, in a family with constant money troubles.  I have a few great memories of wonderful surprises (the Turbo Duo for Christmas is perhaps the best) but many more memories of tough times that eventually lead to periods I had to leave.  My dad was about as anti-materialist as an American can be, but bouts of severe depression, combined with other mental health issues in the family (and a few physical ones as well) combined with poverty all lead to a lot of time spent outside the home.  After the middle school years, I began realizing that an attitude of 'hey, let me show you something better' wasn't an altruistic kindness on my part; more of the snobbishness you are referencing.  As I began living more and more at friends' houses due to situations in my own home, I had to cultivate a new appreciation for whatever I did have, and be thankful for it.  My parents rarely bought games for me (one of the reasons the Duo was such a surprise) so 99% of the games I've owned were bought by my own means, and the vast majority had/has to wait for a deep discount.  My folks, in total, bought me two Nintendo games; starting with those, after two years of buying, selling, and trading, I had a collection of fourteen games I traded to Funcoland for my Super Nintendo.  The pride from that accomplishment is something I'll never forget; it also made the next year of only Super Mario World and F-Zero two games I played inside and out!

I've had my entire game collection stolen two different times, and let me tell ya, when you go from a library of games back down to scrounging to buy one or two every now and then, you play those things to death no matter how crummy they play!

I couldn't agree more about raising kids nowadays too.  If they're old enough to ask for something, they're old enough to do work around the house to earn money for it.  And if it's beautiful weather outside, it doesn't matter if they just got a new game; they know they're going to get booted outside 'till it's too dark to play.  As for a lack of fairness and entitlement, having a special-needs brother is helping to teach them as much as I ever could. Smiley

Didn't mean for that to spill out all self-defense-like.  Just kind of reflective thought.
You are right, though; whether or not I mean too, I can come across as a snobbish jerk. Tongue



 
Yup, kids can be assholes and I have stories. 
  I had a friend that was so used to getting his way that, after he started a pillow fight when I spent the night at his house, he would send me home when I hit him too hard.  This happened multiple times and his mom would make him call and apologize. 
  During my most prominent gaming years in school, someone that I (for some reason) thought of as my best friend wouldn't let me play his new game systems.  His parents bought him just about anything that he asked for, and when he got a Sega CD he didn't want me to play it.  This was also true for his Sega Game Gear, Atari Lynx and others.  Even though I was exposed to them back in the early 90's, it wasn't until I grabbed my own over the last few years that I finally got play them.  He and I did get along fine when it came to SNES and Genesis, but looking back he was a major dick.

Where's that TV show, "Kids Do the Most Asinine Things"?
 
@Techie413:It's on every night in most homes. Usually on minutes after "Parents Do the Most Selfish Things." Tongue
 
What are you thoughts about Miyamoto's recent comments that the attitude of causal players not being interested in advancing their gaming experience is "pathetic"?

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2014/08/shigeru_miyamoto_confidently_outlines_nintendos_move_from_casual_to_core
 
Great conversation here all. I grew up in a very small mill town and basically some of my friends had the 2600 or NES, and that's about all. There were no console wars, bitterness, or jealously among any of us. Hell, I didn't play a Genesis for the first time until about 18 years ago (when I found a tub of old games my brother-in-law owned at my girlfriend [now wife's] house). I guess I was lucky in that way and in that my video gaming experiences were always communal; I really miss that..... I didn't have as many games as some friends and actually remember taking my $5 chore allowance and the additional $5 I got for cleaning my grandparent's house to Roses department store every other weekend to pay on my video game layaways (yes, I used layaway to buy games). I never really had any feelings of jealously toward friends and we always swapped and shared games with each other back then without issue. One of my friend's dads owned a VHS/game rental store and he had everything!....well, maybe I was a wee bit jealous of that (what kid wouldn't be), but they were always kind in letting me borrow games for weeks before even putting them on the shelves. Looking back, though I couldn't afford a lot, I had a great video game upbringing and am very appreciative of that and all who shared it with me.

It's odd, but as a primarily retro collector, I get a lot of flack from friends and sometimes store employees for not playing new games. Some even get the impression that I'm "snobbish" for not playing them. I guess I can understand that there is probably a faction of elitist hipsters out there wallowing in their collections of retro nirvana, but I really don't have time for all the work that goes into that. In fact, I love seeing and hearing about new games that come out, since I will eventually make my way to playing them as long as I'm breathing. Sure, I love retro games because they are nostalgic to me and for the most part affordable. I feel that with retro games I can buy a higher quantity of games/systems as opposed to buying new games. Plus, I'm sort of recreating the childhood I could never afford.

As others have said, people love what they love. It's what makes us all different and unique. It's hilarious that my brother (who is 25) has extremely different gaming habits than me, but we enjoying playing together. Sure, he gets the best of me in CoD, but the old man still has something for him and his friends when we hook up the SNES I got him two Christmas's ago and throw on the NBA Jam. Smiley
 
When did it become a trend to attach snarky captions to pics around here?

ANYway: this is a pretty solid example of "live and learn." You saw others enjoying the hobby in a way that you found alien at first, which really blew your mind. You were exposed to a new way of thinking, and of course it was a bit traumatic at first blow. But gradually, as you matured, you somewhat comprehended their way of thinking, you came to realize that it's not so big a deal as you conflated it to be in your mind. Their viewpoint didn't cause the end of the world; on the contrary, it enhanced it a bit, and likely changed your own personal world-- of thought, and attitude-- for the better... as it should be. If only more people were like that about the really important things, the world would be a much better place. Sadly, some people never "grow up," as it were.

Yes, I am capable of being serious from time to time. Like I said: live and learn.

BTW if you're looking for an image of a more happy-go-lucky terrapin, might I recommend:

http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/wonderful-photos-210.jpg?w=500

@wildbil52: I've never had a problem with people having different tastes and attitudes when it comes to games. Well, except for Pokemon of course; those people are in urgent need of professional help. Wink I have a friend who pretty much just plays 360 games based on his favorite movies and TV shows, including Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and even CSI. Both the regular and Lego games. He tried one of the Battlefield titles for a while, but it just wasn't his jam. While I find his limited scope a bit odd, I personally have no problem with it; in fact, I have his wish list on hand just in case I bump into something he's looking for while on my thrift runs. Lord knows he's picked up a bunch of stuff on my behalf in his yard-sale crawls, so I'm only too happy to return the favor if I can. I've also invited him to borrow anything from my 360 library that he might want to give a go. Truly, that's what friends are for...

As for the whole factionalism (is that even a proper word?) thing: I personally never experienced it myself... mainly 'cuz everyone in high school owned a NES. So I never really got to experience the silliness of people arrogantly expounding the advantages of the Sega Genesis while calling the Ninty fanboys a buncha lame-asses. The Original-Star-Trek-versus-Next-Generation arguments, however, would almost come to blows...

All right, I can only take so much of this "serious business" stuff; time to get frivolous and snarky on the discussion boards. But before I do:

@Crabmaster2000: If that's his attitude towards causal players, I'd hate to see what his thoughts are on effectal players... Wink

Ah, good, I'm back to the old me again.


'Late
 
I remember being a Super Nintendo kid and making friends with other SNES kids and the Genesis kids. My grade school was almost the poorest school in the city, so we made friends who had games that we didn't and thought were good. I didn't know anybody with anything Turbo related, but that ship had mostly sailed by the mid-90s anyway. I don't remember any or many playground arguments about whether Nintendo or Sega was better, we were all gamers who didn't get many games in a year, so we'd talk and get together to ask our parents for different games so we'd all have something unique to offer when we would hang out. Borrowing and trading games was popular, and I'm sure many a library (including my own) ended up with various permanent trades over the years. I have some random empty boxes that I'm sure are a result of these trades back in the day.

I didn't meet my best gaming friend until after I had a PS1, and he had some good SNES games that I didn't like Illusion of Gaia, FFII, and Mystical Ninja. He ended up being my N64 go to friend since he ended up with both Zeldas, Smash Bros, Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon, and some others. Those Genesis friends are why I have good memories of Streets of Rage, General Chaos, Ecco the Dolphin, the Sonics, and Golden Axe among others.
 
@Crabmaster2000:Good question.
Here are the quotes from the article;

"[These are] the sort of people who, for example, might want to watch a movie. They might want to go to Disneyland. Their attitude is, 'okay, I am the customer. You are supposed to entertain me.' It's kind of a passive attitude they're taking, and to me it's kind of a pathetic thing. They do not know how interesting it is if you move one step further and try to challenge yourself [with more advanced games]."

"In the days of DS and Wii, Nintendo tried its best to expand the gaming population. Fortunately, because of the spread of smart devices, people take games for granted now. It's a good thing for us, because we do not have to worry about making games something that are relevant to general people's daily lives."

I could be completely wrong here, but I think Miyamoto's first quote is not so much about people being satisfied with a single game or genre as much as he's commenting on folks who are less interested in gameplay and more into passive experiences as a whole.  In other words, if your game is not something I can easily sit, watch, and get something out of with minimal effort on my part, I'm bored and moving on.  For as much critique as Nintendo gets for their 'simple' games, there is far more content and mastery to even Wii Sports than there is many mobile and tablet games.  Which brings us to his second quote, which is where I believe he was saying the development of games for those platforms isn't all negative, and has in fact helped legitimize gaming to the public as a whole, much like the Wii and DS.  I know the translator and article author seemed to try turning these quotes into painting a different picture, but I feel this is closer to what he was saying, as seems to me more consistent with his previous comments.


@Zagnorch:Oh Zag, I've been attaching snarky comments to pics since the Internet was a series of BBSs. Wink  In a bit of irony, (as folks who have read many of my previous articles/rants can attest) I generally avoid adding pics to my writing, and I agreed to add them on the front-page rotation write-ups for flavor and consistency.  If I gotta use 'em, might as well make it fun.  I did notice your turtle pics from elsewhere, and while I felt the ones I used fit the comments best, that one you have is a beaut. Cheesy

And I agree, gaming is one of the windows I've used for personal growth and (I hope!) maturity.  Hey, I even pick up the occasional Madden or FIFA, despite having no personal interest, just so the sports fans that drop by can have fun and show me the ropes.  My Beloved and our boys are big NBA fans, and I enjoy watching them probably more than playing.


 
Excellent article, and one that I can relate to.  It helps me come to terms with the fact that my wife things Sonic the Hedgehog, with it's simple D-pad and one button controls, is "too hard", but she'll spend hours playing a Harvest Moon game with semi-complex mechanics and asset management.  Everyone has their tastes and preferences when it comes to gaming, and entertainment in general.  Who am I to tell them that they're wrong for liking a game genre I have no interest in?

Also, I have to compliment your pairing of the picture of Hugh Laurie with this bit:
"No ma'am, it's the cutest little display of slavery and dehumanization.  It's OK, he already played it his six-year-old friend's house."

I read it and heard the "House voice" in my head the whole time.  Mission accomplished.
 
@MetalFRO: Success! Wink
House is one of the few TV shows my Beloved and I like to watch together. Despite our common interests, it seems we rarely enjoy the same TV shows, but House is one of them.


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