Taking the Wii

This is an extremely tragic and sad post.

About 4/5 years ago, I was a 10-times F1 World Champion, on my Playstation.

I had a period where I LOVED playing driving games, all driving games. To the point where I could play them on the maximum difficulty settings and still win most games. Tragic I know.

I worked my way through all the teams, all the cars, adjusted the settings to make the game harder and harder and really enjoyed the thrill of winning and knowing that I had beaten the game. I would spend hours each day doing this. After all, once I had got the important life stuff out of the way, my time was my own.

Then I realised that I was pissing my life away.
I know I sound a tad judgemental of gaming fans, and if so, that's not my intention. This is a personal conclusion that I came to about what I was doing.

I decided that unless this was going to enter me into some prize-winning tournament or would kick-start a non-existent racing career (when let's face it, G-Forces would crush me like a bug on the first corner), then for all the hours that I spent playing this game, and all the trophies that I won, were worth nothing to my real life. It was giving me a distraction from my life that was passing by.

I love console games, and I get a huge thrill from playing them, especially with friends, but I know in my heart that it doesn't give you anything other than a shiny bauble to gaze into while your life is ticking away like a relentless clock. I read somewhere that the overall budget of the entertainment industry, TV, Film, Books, Magazines, Games, etc comes to more, far more than we humans spend on health care and medicine.
Isn't that strange? I mean, I can see that, but I think it's funny that we spend more on things to distract us from our lives than something to preserve them.

I wonder what it is about our brains that mean we have to be entertained or distracted all the time.

On a side note, you know how dogs and cats have favourite toys? Well have you ever seen pictures of Wolves, Wild Dogs, or Big Cats playing with favourite sticks or rocks in the wild?
Neither have I. I mean, I know that they play and have fun, but I think the toy thing is something we've given to our domesticated animals.
I think maybe Leopards don't need a furry Mouse, or a Wolf a squeaky ball. Their main focus is on what they need.

And I guess out pets now have the luxury of not having to hunt or forage for food anymore, or guard their family, so they have more time on their hands. Maybe more time for play? I don't know?

So do I need computer games? Certainly not. But I love them.
I was watching my friend's newborn daughter trying to comprehend what her mother was doing, dancing to her Wii, and it made me wonder about what type of games she will be playing in 30 years time. In my lifetime, we've gone from Pong to 3D Nintendo DS'ssss. And that's just in 30 years. My mind boggles at what toys she might have when she's an adult.

I'm not saying that games don't have a place in my life, but when I see friends complete games and then go back and play them again and again and again and again for weeks or months, to unlock achievements that give you NOTHING but pixels on a screen, I have to wonder whether we've just Monkeys pushing buttons to look at the pretty lights. At least lab monkeys get food for pressing the right buttons.

I remember when Facebook went down for a day and I had friends seriously freaking out because they had crops to harvest on Farmville. If we could have them controlling real tractors on real farms from their laptops, we'd be laughing.

Another friend walks her virtual dog more than her real life one. It even has the same name and is the same breed of dog. What's the point of that?

There are lots of ways to waste life, so I'm not just picking on games here, it's just that they seem the most obvious and yet pointless candidate. They're just fluff to entertain us. Even if we have "brilliant" lives with a loving family and a great job, why are we removing ourselves from that for hours each day?

I played Sims for one day, and the little bastard that I created had a better life than I did. In just ONE DAY of playing.

He woke up, had breakfast, had to take the puppy to the Vet's, chatted with a nice lady in the park, arranged a date, came home, made a sandwich, I thought "Hey, I'd like a sandwich. Where's my sandwich?" It's in the bloody kitchen you fool! Stop making virtual sandwiches and go and make a real one!!! And go outside!

Anyway, this rant has gone on for too long. Play games, they're great fun. but please also notice what's around you and appreciate who and what you have.

Rant over.