July 14, 2012

Confessions of an Ex-Gamer - 5 Thing I Sought in Video Games


I am an ex-gamer.

I quit playing video games for good just a few weeks ago.

For years I invested countless hours in little virtual worlds that left me with nothing to show for my effort. While many players give up gaming because of the time and money wasted on it, that is not what I'm focusing on. While virtual entertainment is a major time-sink, that is not my primary concern as I evaluate my old addiction. What interests me is discovering WHY games held me in their thrall for so long. What is it about them that sucked me in for hours a day, and years at a time?  Like any hobby or addiction, I was a user because of what I wanted to get out of it. In the end I identified 5 primary things I looked for in video games - which they ultimately failed to provide.

April 24, 2012

Desiderio Domini

It's said that in his twilight years
Saint Peter's eyes would fill with tears

There's a game I recall playing with rubber bands as a kid. It involved holding one end between your fingers, and giving the other end to a friend. We would then alternate taking steps backwards, flinching as the band stretched tighter and tighter. The thin strip of rubber would quiver under the pressure, until finally, it snapped.