Newbie

My wife is concerned that my Sims guy is probably dying (you may remember that when last seen, he was crying in pain because I didn’t know how to feed him). Thus far, I’ve avoided going back to “The Sims 2,” though, basically because I stink at it. It’s way too hard for me to grasp easily, and I’m not sure that I want to make the effort necessary to learn the game. I guess I don’t have to go back to it, except for the fact that I’ve committed myself to this project – exploring and learning about these games. So I feel like I’d be a failure if I just let it go.

“The Sims 2” has become the elephant in the room. And I’m sure enough trying to look the other way.

Certainly, the experience of not really getting the game reminds me of other times in my life when I haven’t understood something and felt embarrassed about it. (Hello there, Mr. Freud….)

I decide to confront my demons. But I’ll try to be smart about it. I’ve put it off until now, but I’m going to… play the game tutorial!

Today I try a game called “Darfur is Dying.” It’s one of the recent spate of so-called “activist games.” It’s essentially a role-playing game, in which you assume the role of a Darfurian who’s trying to collect water for his family without being captured by the roving Janjaweed gangs. “Darfur is Dying” is truly genius in the way that it combines game play with activism. For instance, when there is an impending Janjaweed attack in the game, the player can respond with a real-life action (like sending an email to a politician or starting a divestment movement). It’s totally cool and you can check it out here.

This game triggers a profound emotional response in me. I find myself actually holding my breath with anxiety as my little fellow is running through the desert, trying to avoid the bad guys. I desperately try to save him from being captured. I’ve never felt this intensity in any other games that involve battles, space wars and such. I’m amazed at the level of emotional engagement that this game creates. And of course, it does this not as entertainment, but to trigger people into action around a real-world crisis.

Games can be a very, very powerful force in the world… politically, educationally, in any number of ways. They can actually do a lot more than just pass the time and make a few smart guys unbelievably rich.

OK, so no more talk about rock bands and my childhood. For now….

I decide to go back to “Crazy Machines.” The first puzzle I try is called the Blinker Device. The idea is to arrange all the bits correctly so that the blinker lights up. At first, I find myself again in a complete state of confusion. I don’t see any obvious solution to this puzzle. After awhile, though, I feel that click in my head – suddenly, what had been invisible is right there before me! I excitedly move the gears and electrical things around the screen thinking that I’ve got it solved. The puzzle winds up looking like this –

I’ve highlighted the blinker with a red circle. You may notice that it’s not blinking. My click has betrayed me….

One thing that I find odd about “Crazy Machines” is the really sad music that plays in the background while you try to solve the puzzles. You can give it a listen right here.

It’s very pretty, but it also seems like sad stuff for a game, don’t you think? Of course, it does match my mood just now. I start to suspect that “Crazy Machines” has some kind of artificial intelligence that recognizes me as an aged (and lame…) game player. If I were younger (and therefore, less lame), the music would no doubt be upbeat and happy, maybe like ABBA or the Care Bears or something like that.

You know you’ve got problems when you think that a game is using music to persecute you….

I went to see Radiohead. They’re my favorite band and I’d never seen them in concert before, so I was really, really looking forward to it.

Once I got to the venue, though, I couldn’t help but notice that pretty much everyone there was 22 years old… or younger. (I did experience a brief sense of uplift when I saw another guy with some grey hair. Turned out he was an usher!!!) The concert itself was amazing and the music reached me deep inside as I’d hoped that it would. But what about this age thing?

If I feel old when I play video games, I felt like Methuselah at Radiohead.

At some point during the evening, I noticed a guy, about my age (and hallelujah to that!), who had his little boy with him. The kid couldn’t have been more than 9 or 10 – young for a grown-up type rock concert. The dad had the kid sit on his shoulders all night so he could see above the sea of 20-somethings in front of us. And that kid and that dad just had the best time. I remember them beaming during the entire show.

It all made me think back to when I was a boy.

I absolutely worshipped the Beatles! In fact, I insisted that we had to go to my grandmother’s house whenever they were on Ed Sullivan – we only had a stinking black and white TV, but Grandma, she had a color set!!! The Beatles were my make-believe friends and could do no wrong. They meant an awful lot to me.

And now I was watching this little boy apparently have the same kind of passion for his “Beatles,” and he was sharing it with his dad to boot. I envied that little boy. But I identified with that dad. And I was excited to think about that point in the not-too-distant future when I’d be taking my girls to their first concerts. (Radiohead? Maybe. But if it has to be Hilary Duff, then so be it….) How lucky I am to know that that experience is still out there.

So what does all of this have to do with learning to play video games? Well, maybe seeing that boy with his dad made me realize that there can be lots of different entry points when it comes to new experiences. And sometimes I don’t see the doors that are open because I’m too busy moaning and groaning about the ones that are closed. And maybe my sweet girls can teach me how to get better at video games….