May 11, 2014 · 9:23 am

Berenstain Bears Inspired This Post

writing is one of my favourite hobbiesMama and Papa Bear inspired me to write this post.

See, when I was a kid, my dad read the Berenstain Bears to me before bedtime. I loved that series. Sometimes he would add funny words to the story to see if I was following along. I would always call him out on these added words, and we would laugh.

On occasion, after he had a long day, my dad would fall asleep while reading to me. My mom would check on us after my dad had already shut his eyes. “Shhh,” I’d tell her, “Don’t wake him. He’s sleeping.” Then I’d continue reading until we all had to go to bed.

Not too long after these bedtime stories, I decided to pen my own tale. I remember a book called “Colour Your World,” about a cat, inspired me to write. After scribbling the last word and showing my mom the triumphant masterpiece, I realized I had a lot more to learn about spelling.

Cue years of learning and writing. But most of that writing was dryer than 2 week old stale bread. Yes, it was fun to write at all, but I wanted to try different styles of writing and be more creative.

So I started this blog and decided to write with flavour. I wanted to leave behind the bland writing of my past, to experiment with words, and to make something that excited me.

Video games became my subject because I love to play them and know a little about them. So many of you love them as well, which meant I could talk to you on my blog.

But when it comes to hobbies, writing is near the top. Thanks Mom and Dad.

I wanted to reflect on why I write this blog. Why did l choose video games as a topic? What experiences in my life made me fall in love with writing and then start this blog? As I reflected, I recalled something beautiful about life that mirrors my favourite hobby. My life is a story with a history, a present and a future I look forward to writing.

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May 4, 2014 · 5:10 pm

“Play Your Age!”

One day, I might look like a wrinkled prune, but I will still feel young. I wont use expensive creams. No doctor will touch my face. Plastic surgery and cosmetic treatment aren’t options. Instead, video games will keep me feeling young. I’ll play to blow off steam. I’ll play to clear my mind of silly problems. I’ll play to enjoy life. And I believe playing will help me enjoy aging, even if I became a wrinkled prune.

Some of us may think playing is immature. Of course, as children we played for years of our life and learned a great deal about the world this way. Then we stopped. Perhaps we felt silly still playing as “mature grown ups”. Perhaps others laughed at us when they saw us. Or perhaps we stopped because society seemed to expect more of adults. But why can’t we continue to play as adults or even as seniors?

I don’t care if other people laugh; I will keep playing as an old, grey senior. Sure, I’ll help grandkids and family, if I have any. I’ll still volunteer, care for others and be responsible. I will also still make time for video games.

I’ll make time for video games because they help me keep a child-like joie de vivre, which I think is essential for getting through life. Video games combine fun and creativity with the playtime of my childhood years. Whenever I start a new game, I feel joy despite the world’s best efforts to sometimes bring me down. So the calendar may flip fast and wrinkles may crease my skin, but I will feel young forever.

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April 27, 2014 · 3:34 pm

Video Game Word Art

up to get an extra life.

jumped

I
I

slid

down to get a shiny coin.

 

I       shimmied      across               the              ledge as slow as a snail.
 
Then I sneaked

around

the bad guys.
 
My sword has a deadly

sharp point

and vanquished my enemies.
 
Game over.

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April 20, 2014 · 2:32 pm

You Deserve a Playday

video game holidayWe need a video game holiday all around the world.

The purpose – wait for it – is to play video games. Play with friends, strangers, online or offline or by yourself. Not everyone must play, but everyone who plays will have a positive impact on the world.

This day will make the world a better place. Playing games will unite people of different races, classes, genders and ages from all over the world. They’ll forget all their problems. The world will sweep up and throw out silly squabbles into the dustbin.

What concrete steps could we take? We could start a series of gaming contests with a huge jackpot for winners. Gamers could play for a charity, and the winner could donate their cash prize to their favourite charity. A tense enough contest with interesting gamers might also be fun to watch at home. It might be something like “Iron Chef” on the Food Network, except controllers would be flying everywhere instead of cabbage.

Even if people cannot compete in this contest, they could rediscover the joys of friendship. Playday will make that happen. Playing team games will act like a glue that binds people together.

For those not interested in team games, organizers will feature games that cater to everyone’s tastes in public meeting places. These meeting places would stock up on every genre. My hope is this will reel in a wide catch of people who previously dismissed or could not afford to play games. The meeting places would also allow people to play games for free. Of course, I have no idea how to carry out this free feat, but I can still dream big.

My realistic goal is to encourage people of all ages to try games. To attract a younger audience, organizers will likely hold the holiday during the summer. That way kids will have more free time to both think about and play games. Developers, or any volunteers, could also bring games to retirement homes.

I hope everyone plays a video game on that day. There’s no reason to restrict video games to an exclusive elite. Everyone deserves to play games, to forget life’s petty problems and enjoy a hobby.

All of these people will be celebrating video games – some for the first time – on Playday. Some might begin to appreciate that games draw on both art and science. They might have questions about this entertainment. Those questions might lead to broader discussions about the role games play in our culture. Then Journey’s beautiful landscapes and poetic code might strike them as a work of art.

But you don’t have to play games. You still have free will. The police won’t knock on your door to make sure you’re playing. You won’t receive a fine for reading instead of recreating American Civil War battles on your computer. The thought police won’t track your thoughts either. You’re free to clear your mind or pursue other things on Playday.

I would think that playing free games is a good enticement. Maybe I’m wrong. However, I think you’ll come around eventually and pick up a controller. If you’ve never done that before, I’ll feel especially happy if you do it on Playday.

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April 13, 2014 · 9:57 am

Desperately Seeking Video Games

seeking video gamesI’m lying there in my bed as the fog of sleep is about to clear in my head. My dream of playing video games on an idyllic Saturday afternoon has just ended. It’s time to act. I want the dream to come true.

What do I see now? Golden sun rays stream through the window next to my bed and trigger my eyes to open. It’s a sign that I should get up and start my day. My eyes slowly open like a theatre curtain and promptly shutter because of the light’s stinging harshness. I force them open again and sit there in my bed trying to come to my senses. I feel slightly inebriated with fatigue from a long night but sober up in a couple of seconds.

Now, I’m all bright-eyed, sleep refreshed and ready for the rigours of the day. Nothing can stand in my way as I spring out of bed and land on my feet. The calendar is empty. It’s go time!

I gallop out of my bedroom but stop mid stride as I notice something. I’m overwhelmed by a wave of choices that float in my head. But I artfully dodge that indecisive danger and resolve to play games that afternoon. After all, I have absolutely no plans for the day to thwart my gaming dreams.

So, I walk toward my desk, turn on my PC, and get ready to dive into some great games. I pick up the controller and another thought pops into my head. My beard is a little itchy. Maybe I could use a shave.

The mirror never lies. It looks like I have a lumberjack’s beard. Scratch that. I look like a lumberjack who’s been sleeping in the wilderness for a month with nothing but his axe and the clothes on his back. In other words, I look a little rough around the edges. Also, the urban lumberjack look doesn’t suit me.

So it’s time to practice all that boring hygiene stuff. Give me about half an hour… Ok, now I’m back to my regularly scheduled programming.

Wait! I need to refuel with some good food to get me through the day. Contrary to what you might have thought, Mountain Dew is not the fuel that I’m talking about.

I better make some steel cut oatmeal for breakfast. Of course, you’ve got to top it off with some fresh fruit and stuff. All right, now I’m fully charged and ready to spend some energy on games.

Hmmm my fridge is empty though. So I run over to the store to stock up on groceries. It sounds like a simple task. But there wasn’t a cloud in the endless blue sky and the sun was still shining. How can I be expected to ignore that?

I think to myself, “I’d better go for a bike ride and make the most of this day.”

So forty-five minutes later, dripping with sweat, I get back home in one piece. A quick wash up and I’m ready this time. But I should munch on this delicious sandwich and soup that I made.

Alright already, I’m rested and full of energy, as well as good food. It seems like playing video games will happen in the immediate future.

Then my computer starts to taunt me. “Come on, write a blog post or two. Write another short story. Or do both!”

After couple hours of writing, I’m exhausted. I slowly turn towards the clock and realize it’s late. It’s 6 p.m. The phone rings. It’s my friends. They want to go out for dinner to a new pizza place and got tickets to a show no one thought we’d get. This is too good to turn down.

About 6 hours later, I get home and get ready for bed. I figured I could squeeze in an hour or so of a good game. But my bed, and the book on the nightstand, are beckoning me to come closer. I fold. Then I plop myself into bed. I instinctively reach for Don Quixote and read until my eyelids can no longer resist the concrete weights pushing them down.

Just before I doze off, I try to plan what I’ll do on Sunday. Well, chances are I’ll wake up with book on my head and end up looking for my twisted glasses on the floor. After getting myself cleaned up, I have some volunteer work to do, among other things.

I guess I’ll get a chance next Saturday.

***

Do you ever have enough time to play video games? If so, how do you make time for them? If not, what’s keeping you from living out your dream of playing more video games? What will you do to make your dream come true?

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April 6, 2014 · 6:18 pm

A Utopia with Video Games

I awoke one morning to the sight of blue light bathing my bedroom.

“Huh, that’s odd,” I thought, “Usually the sun’s golden rays light everything up.”

I looked out the window and saw the sun was a brilliant blue. My eyes widened and my brain froze in disbelief for a minute. Then I did a double take and looked out the window so fast that my neck nearly snapped.

It got weirder. The sky was yellow. The grass was a fiery red and the ocean was green.

“What the…” I muttered as I rubbed my eyes.

I thought of a couple of reasons why I saw the world that way. Maybe I had overdosed on Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, and now I saw the world through a neon lens. Or I might have had too much to drink the night before. Nah, neither hypothesis was correct.

I shrugged off the world’s appearance and checked out my WordPress Reader. There were new posts from all my favourite video game blogs. Time for some good reading.

I scanned the editorials, expecting to find the usual topics, but everything was upside down. Nothing was the same. Video games had changed the world – for the better.

Critics now praised video games for promoting peace in the world. There were even articles on how the U.N. used games to entice countries to lay down their arms. Also, games, among other factors, helped end hunger, poverty, disease and brought all humanity together in love. So, naturally, all the old arguments against playing video games were swept up and thrown into the trash.

It was a utopia – a perfect world – with video games . It seemed like it was only going to get better, yet it all seemed a little too perfect.

Alas, it was not be! My gut feeling was right. I woke up in my bed, the sun was still bright yellow and video games had not helped make the world a perfect place. Not yet anyway…

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March 30, 2014 · 12:13 pm

The Most Powerful Button Ever

The screen’s glow keeps me warm on a freezing winter’s night. Then space marines, plumbers, flying turtles and giant mushrooms pop out of the screen. Sometimes I’m a giant who takes great strides o’er this fungi in the digital world.

I’m the world’s hero and the music is my anthem. Sometimes I make mistakes and have to re-do things, but I always save the world in the end.

And all I did was tap a power button.

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March 23, 2014 · 6:55 pm

How to Become a Zombie

how to become a video game zombieYou don’t need a zombie to bite you. You don’t need an environmental disaster to transform you into one of the undead. There’s also no mystery about how to transform from a human to a zombie. In fact, millions of people can transform into zombies from the comfort of their living room. This practical guide allows you to play all the video games you want and still become one of the undead. You’ll crave brains in no time!

* Note: this process is expensive and can take weeks to finish.

How to Become a Zombie in 7 Easy Steps

1. First, find a desolate basement devoid of any light. A nice bunker is ideal. If you can’t find a decent abode, nail wood over the windows.

2. Ensure you have no contact with the outside world or friends and family. Contact with these people is healthy, and this behaviour is very un-zombie-like.

3. Ensure there are no food sources nearby. So empty your fridge and focus on the task at hand. Then, as a reward for your hard work, you can eat some hands as a zombie.

4. Ensure you have a comfy couch. Ideally, you want to know the couch better and can’t stand to be away from it.

5. Ensure you have all the latest video game consoles and a high-end PC. Plug all of them in front of the couch and place the handhelds next to you. You’ll want huge TVs. The TVs should make your local movie theater seem like a fossil from prehistoric times.

6. Now play video games almost non-stop for one week.

7. Your skin will slowly turn green. Most of what little brains you had will shrivel. You will start to drool puddles of saliva on yourself, but you’re not salivating because of normal hunger. Your hunger for human food – plant or animal – will dissipate. Instead, an insatiable appetite for brains will overpower all other urges.

Congrats! You’re now a zombie.

Please note: I cannot guarantee you will become a zombie.

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March 16, 2014 · 11:33 pm

Smell a New Video Game

new video game smellI hold what looks like a shiny, exotic idol in my hand. It induces awe and wonder from me as I gaze upon it.

After courage courses through my veins and my hands stop shaking, I rip the wrapping off. The box lets out a squeak as it rubs against the plastic. But it doesn’t last long. In a few seconds, the plastic is in the trash and the box lies in wait.

I open the box without a second thought, and a factory fresh smell overwhelms me. It reminds me of the carnival, candy apples, and the fun I’ll soon have.

I slide the disc into the tray, escape from everyday life and travel to new and unfamiliar lands. The discovery of these new lands satisfies my digital wanderlust.

But this wanderlust is not an out of control addiction. I don’t have all the money in the world to play all the latest games. Instead I sometimes play games and savour every moment I spend with them.

After savouring the best bits, I sometimes wash it down with some DLC. Alas, the smooth plastic wrap and new game smell are not on the DLC. But I still get a big scoop of joy at a decent price…

You know, life moves pretty fast. You need to stop once in a while, take a big whiff, and breathe in that new game smell. Otherwise the smell might pass you by.

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March 9, 2014 · 5:30 pm

Video Game Zeugmas

I beat the video game and the eggs.

I’ll play the game of life and the Xbox with the same winning attitude.

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