Overly Positive

Now, before you ask, dear readers – yes, I used the title to shoehorn in a picture of Paris Hilton. See, this is why you should tell your friends about this blog and get them to read/subscribe. What other blog can somehow vaguely relate geek media to a pop socialite?

With E3 behind us, there have been a ton of newsbits coming out of the various game sources out there. Some of them have been exciting, others have been controversial, and yet others have been head-scratching. Perhaps the one consistent to the news, however, is unbridled fanboy fury and nerdrage to the maximium. I checked out this article on Destructoid that talked about fan reaction to the press conferences, and the comments within were expected, but still, there’s just a ton of angry gamers out there, aren’t there?

Syp over at Bio Break alluded to a sort of idealism in liking games and trailers and footage for what they are, though to be honest, I think it boils down to a fundamental question many angry gamers should be asking themselves. That question is, honestly “When Did Gaming Get So Serious?”

Some gamers these days attach themselves like a facehugger from Alien to very complx formulae for enjoying games. The graphics have to be just right, the company has to be just altruistic enough, the controls have to be picture perfect and respond correctly, and the gameplay has to take your hand and give them the experience of a lifetime from beginning to end. This is magnified tenfold in  MMOs, where class balance, number crunching, and whether or not your raid drops the right set of gear for you are hand in hand with actual enjoyment of the game.

I’m not necessarily saying something is wrong with this complexity, but I don’t see anything wrong with judging games worthy to play based on more simplistic criteria. Is the game fun? if the answer is yes, keep playing, if not, don’t play. Is the trailer or the preview something that does what trailers are supposed to do (which is “shock and awe”). If so, feel the excitement, and if not, shrug your shoulders, move on, and don’t worry about being disillusioned.

It’s possible that children who play video games have something to teach us grumpy old adults and teenagers. Kids play a game because they think it’s cool, because it’s fun to play, and because they consider gametime playtime, not work or a second job. If they don’t feel this when playing, they simply stop and move on to something else. Sometimes, I think us older folks get caught up in the minutiae of gaming, the nuts and bolts, when really, the reason why most of us play games (I hope) is because we’re having fun. Fun is such a subjective thing, certainly, but at its most basic level, it’s simply enjoying what you’re doing.

I don’t know about you guys, but I have a much easier time of things when I remember why I play games – to have fun, to relax, to take my mind off of things that I have to do that are more pressing and far more boring (like dishes, laundry, and work). If a game ever causes me to experience anything but these things I tend to put it down pretty quickly, whether that is a regular game, an MMO, or something else that is supposed to be giving me enjoyment. Anyone angry about the fact that their enjoyment of a game is somehow ruined because x, y, and z are not perfect, or that the developer seemed to have “betrayed” them, or that they lost 20 lives at something and want to punch their character through the screen needs to take a step back. They need to ask themselves if the thing that is supposed to be giving them amusement and enjoyment is not, and if it isn’t, they need to either take a break or try something else. In many cases, something simple doesn’t work, but when it comes to why we all game, it’s worth a try.