Games and social lives - June 9, 2001 - Drew Cosner
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this column are those of the participants and the moderator, and do not neccessarily reflect those of the GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive material afoot. I swear, if somebody puts one more severed head in my bed while I'm sleeping... Don't say we didn't warn you.
Well, finals week is over, which is actually something of a mixed bag: I once again have time for luxuries like "sleep" and "hygiene", but I'm now away from college and back under the same roof as my parents. And we all know how much fun that is. Unfortunately, all of my plans for becoming a floating mass of sentience fell through, so I'm still bothered by these daily troubles. Guess I'll just have to spend one more weekend typing this column up with my hands like a sucker.
| I like 'em a lot |
|
Drew--
I like games a lot. I like them so much I started my own little organization
with regards to games. I'd tell you more, but the first rule is that I'm not
allowed to talk about it.
No, seriously. Games, and good RPGs in particular, provide me with two of the
most important factors in my life. The first is a deep sense of
motivation...I might not be able to save the world, dammit, but I can
certainly deal with my everyday problems a lot more easily after seeing a
typical RPG social blunder. Date with Barrett, anyone? The second is a
regularly available escape from the terrors of modern suburbia. As Chris said
yesterday, it's lots of fun doing lots of something that you love to do, but
it's even better when you realize you could be associating with a
ridiculously huge number of people in the world that you don't like very
much. Don't get me wrong, I'm not -that- antisocial...I just find it's much
easier to cope with a disagreeable video game than with a person!
--Almasy Marquis
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Yeah, for all of our discussions about the merits of games, and whether or not they could ever be considered "art", it all boils down to one thing: escapism. Life can suck. Games, if you buy the right ones, do not suck. The math is really pretty simple there.
Which actually brings me to one of my little theories: the more life is sucking at any given moment, the more you'll tend to remember a game played during that timespan fondly. Personally, life for me wasn't exactly roses and sunshine when FFVI and VII came out, and those are two of the games I remember most fondly to this day. Conversely, things were going well enough when FFVIII and Chrono Cross came out, and while I love those two games dearly, I don't get the same warm-and-fuzzy feeling I do when thinking about them as when reminiscing about FFVI and VII. Could be a load of crap, but hey; just a theory.
| Some of my best friends play games |
|
Drew,
I can't recall any instances in which specific console games (RPG or
otherwise) have had any lasting effect on my interpersonal
relationships, but I can certainly attest that video games as a whole
have done wonders for it. It would have seemed surprising to me, seven
or eight years ago, to think that my hobby might bring me friends,
romantic or otherwise--but then again, I was a kid back then and didn't
view the games the same way I do now.
Two of my best friends, ones I've known for well over two years, now, I
met through gaming. It was a PC game, sure enough--for the record,
Starcraft--but I'm sure you'll overlook that minor faux pas in the
greater interest of the subject at hand. My life has been changed
immeasurably by these two individuals (both of whom, my envious friends,
happen to be female) in ways that have been both game-related and
completely un-game-related. Things have grown from an initial casual
relationship based on a mutual interest in a certain game to a deeper
friendship based on a mutual interest in things far beyond the realm of
gaming.
So don't think there's no hope, folks--I had figured as much to begin
with, sure. I was one of those whiny little nerds you want to beat up
just because you can, but this lucky turn of events changed me for the
better. And don't think that because a relationship begins with games,
that it will always center around games. It will hopefully go much
deeper than that.
-Matt B
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Since there's not really much to add in response to this type of letter, I'll just spout of my own personal experiences as though they're somehow important enough for you to care. One of the few people who I hung out with as a kid that I'm still friends with to this day is a guy I grew up playing videogames with. He was the pal who always had the best NES collection. He was the guy who appreciated Zelda III as much as I did. He's the one who gets every system on the face of the planet now that even I can't afford to do so. And that's not to mention the fun I have when seeing the rest of the GIA staff each year at E3. So I guess games really can draw people together. So go games.
| Semi-beautiful |
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I have a "semi-beautiful" story to share.
To set this up, I need to establish the fact that this occured around
February 1998. It was a time of civil war in the RPG community. Brother
fought against brother, father against son... for nearly six months,
Final Fantasy VII had been tearing our world in twain. I spent a
considerable chunk of my days going to RPG forums and trying to
convince the masses that FFVII was NOT Satan incarnate, and slaying
nay-sayers who refused to listen to reason. Well, somehow in my "other"
life, in the Real World, I found the love of a girl. And in a way, she
was a solace for me... I'm not kidding, I spent so much time online
arguing about FFVII in those days that it was actually nice to be
around someone who didn't have an opinion on it. Well, it inevitably
came to pass that she came into my home for the first time. As she made
her way around my apartment, looking at my various furnishings and
chotchkies [sp?], she came upon my videogame collection, stacked
haphazardly on and around my entertainment center. Suddenly her face
lit up and she said, "Hey, you have Final Fantasy III! I've played
this, I love this game!" I had no idea that she had even the slightest
interest in videogames, and for her to love one of my all time
favorites... well, I felt like I'd won the lottery or something. She
asked, "Can I play it?" I said, "Sure, but did you know there's a new
Final Fantasy game now?" "Oh, really?" "Yeah, wouldn't you rather play
that?" "OK." She played it for about 10 minutes and then... "Hey, I
don't really like this game. Can I play Final Fantasy III?" Now, I
wouldn't that say we then actually had "Our First Fight", but... well,
sort of. Let's just say I tried pretty hard to convince her to give
FFVII a chance, but she wasn't havin' it... so I let her play FFIII for
a while, and we never discussed Final Fantasy ever again. She kicked my
ass in Tekken 3 on more than one occasion, though. She dumped me later
that year, right around the time that MGS, Xenogears, and Zelda 64 were
released... I can't remember why. Something about me not paying enough
attention to her... something crazy like that.
Druff
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Here's a quick hint: ignoring girls is not a good way to attract them, or keep them around if you've already successfully attracted them. I may not be a ladies' man myself, but I figured I may as well point that out, if for nothing other than the sake of having a response to this letter.
| You called your girlfriend a whore? |
|
Just a random story - upon my girlfriend's first exposure to an RPG (a short
bit of FFVIII), her main comment was that the graphics were really good.
After a brief but tense internal struggle, I put love aside in favor of my
duty as a gamer and called her a graphics-whore.
-Toma Levine
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It's good to see people who know where their prerogatives are.
| Will WD ever reach 40? |
|
Drew,
I know this is off topic, but I've got to ask about it. In just the last
few days I've heard two disturbing rumors. The first, that IGN may be going
down in the near future. I like these guys. They may have problems here
and there, but in the long run they seem to get most things right, and they
cater to just about everybody. How do you think people are going to be
effected by this, if at all?
The second was far more disturbing to me, and that's that Working Designs
is in serious trouble. Now, I have some issues with these guys. I don't
like the "trademark" humor that they insert in their games, and the voices
in the games can be horrible. But, they try their damndest to get us good
games, and have the best packaging around. I was told that Arc the Lad is
going to be the last big push for them, and if that flops, that's it. Have
you heard anything here at all?
Flamerule-still playing Lunar2 as I write.
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IGN's main problem right now is that they're charging for what tons of other sites are still giving away for free; never a good business model. I've heard the rumors of financial instability myself, and frankly, I agree that it sucks. IGNCube is the best damned GameCube site out there, with a staff as dedicated and whorish as you can find. And most of the other sites, while some may need a little editing, as Chris pointed out, are genuinely fanatical about their field of coverage, which is nice to see.
As for Working Designs, they've always been a niche company; the question is whether the niche they appeal to is strong enough to support PS2 and GameCube development. That, my friends, is the question. Considering that the GameCube is supposedly much cheaper and easier to develop for, maybe that will actually start to pay off for Nintendo when smaller companies like WD hop on board. Who the hell knows.
| What the hell is going on here? #1 |
|
Dearest Drew,
It seems everywhere I turn, guys who love RPGs lament the fact that they
can't find an available girl who loves them too. Well, maybe this is just my
own personal experience, but it's just as hard for me as a female to find an
intelligent RPG-lover. In the rare instances that a guy knows about games,
his knowledge will be limited to "Tony Hawk Pro Skater" or the "All Your Base
Are Belong to Us" video. Could it be that RPG lovers are simply destined to
be alone? Is it a cruel joke from the stars? YOU decide.
Cordially,
Nistelle
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| What the hell is going on here? #2 |
You know what?
My boyfriend (if you could call him that) believes that FF: The Movie is a
remake of an earlier Final Fantasy. He doesn't know what SNES stands for,
or who Hironobu Sakaguchi is.
No one understands why I willingly blew $50+ dollars on the Chrono Cross
OST, or why my mp3 collection consists of Creid and Xenogears.
So, well, I'm kinda lonely sometimes. Where's a guy gamer when you need one?
- WindSprite
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Considering all the guys lamenting the exact reverse, I found these two letters wonderfully ironic. And guys, don't even expect me to get their email addresses for you: the idea of keeping people apart makes me laugh like a British business executive.
| You might want to look into this |
|
Hey, I had a "true love" who loved FF6.
So much so that before she broke up with me, it was one of the two games
(along with Mario RPG) that she stole from me the last time she stopped by.
She was the only one with an RPG taste though, of my other girlfriends one
stole my GBC and a couple games, and another stole Mario Party 2, Mario Kart
and Mario Tennis.
Hmm... Maybe I should work on being a bit less naive and trusting... nah.
|
It sounds more like your "apartment" is an Electronics Boutique, and your "girlfriends" are actually just a bunch of shoplifters. For your own benefit, try this: look around; do you see games hung neatly on the walls from horizontal grooves? Does your "table" have a cash register and several gaming publications on it? If so, you may want to look into calling security after your next date.
| So ramotnic it makes me sick |
|
I've played video games all my life, and I have always enjoyed a stop into my
local EB store to pre-order some titles, see what they've got, you know the
usual... But little did I know that one fateful night 3+ years ago I would
meet my future husband. I was a wide-eyed customer, he was a part-time
employee, we met over the boxed set of Final Fantasy VII US Figures... The
rest is history....
Ogopogo
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That is so romantic. Romantic in a "it's nice to see gamers actually get married occasionally" kind of way. We members of the Die Alone Club resent that.
| What the hell? #3 |
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I always remember this first date I had with a guy, we
came back to my house and played a level or mario kart
(the one with the cows I think) with our FEET. It's
pretty easy with a N64 controller, but anyway, it's
one of my favorite video game memories. (I won by the
way!)
|
This is, what, the third female gamer to write in in a single day? Something's not right here. Something's not right at all.
| Some people just don't get it -- at first. |
|
A short but glorious tale of love and video games...
My girlfriend, Rachel, didn't understand gaming--perhaps that's being
euphemistic; it seemed more like she saw it as entirely pointless. As a
self-professed bookworm, she preferred more literary forms of art than
jamming on buttons to slay armies of pointless monsters. For quite a while,
my obsessive gaming--more or less nonstop since FFIV's US release--caused a
bit of tension in our relationship.
Eventually, though, she started to acclimate to the fact that my gaming
wouldn't go away no matter how many...distractions...she provided, and
resigned herself to the role of a spectator rather than an antagonist. And,
on the day Final Fantasy VIII came out, she was almost as excited as I was.
As the intro movie started up and Squall dueled with Seifer, she fell in
love. It wasn't long until she had her own PSX and copy of FFVIII.
Now, we've been together for around five years and (illegally) share a room
at
college, and have a somewhat ridiculous number of games between us. Her
gaming habits rival mine--I couldn't get near my PS2 during the few weeks it
took her to play Lunar 2. She's currently playing through the FFVI
rerelease, and is really looking forward to Final Fantasy Chronicles so she
can finally have an idea of what I've been babbling about all these years
without having to tempt my aging SNES.
Together, we spend many a happy hour gaming, one of us cuddled against the
other as they smite monsters in Phantasy Star Online.
Aww.
...A generic story, perhaps, but I'm allowed to brag. D'arr!
-Mylz
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Your tales of "true love" cannot affect me! Only with all 7 of the shattered pieces of the Crystal Rainbow in your possession can my defenses be averted! All of which are being watched carefully by my loyal henchmen! Yar!
| Tell it to the Dreamcast |
|
System Wars? All about the games? What? If that were true, the Dreamcast
would probably be kicking the living piss out of the PS2 right about now.
Andrew Alfonso, Editor
http://www.fighters.net
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Unfortunately, the Dreamcast was victim of having great games the average consumer just didn't care about. So once again it comes down to the games -- or in this case, the Dreamcast's lack of well-known franchises. (In general; I realize there was Sonic and NFL and whatnot.)
Closing comments:
You want topics? We got topics. What do you think of "Sutdeki Da Ne?" from what you've heard of it? Okay, that's a really simple and stupid topic, but crap happens. If you were so smart, you wouldn't even need me to specify a topic, now would you, you subnormal? At any rate, better mail me; I really think it's for the best.
-Drew Cosner, preaching to the diverted
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