Sensational Senselessness

It seems there's some kind of bug going around.  A couple writers for Super Dope Gaming (i.e. this site) haven't posted their weekly feature, and I can tell you that's a first for the both of them.  I can only guess they are both sick, dead, or playing more videogames to review/discuss for this wonderful site.  Because, really, who wouldn't want to spend the time every week to talk about videogames?  Crazy people.  That's who.  As a side note, old people also fall under the definition of crazy.  Anyway, let's get to it, shall we?  The topic for this post may hit a nerve on some gamers out there, and I think it will, but there is also a part of me that hopes it does not.

If you've played videogames ever in your life, you have most likely thought to yourself, "wouldn't it be awesome if I could do this in real life?"  In videogames, you've got everything you could ever want: near infinite money, some super-human power (anything from the ability to take assloads of damage to actual, magical power), people who love you and, probably most importantly, a purpose.  What do you get out of real life?  You get debt, the fantastic ability to die from almost anything, a slim chance to find happiness in romantic love and you get to spend your life wondering what to do with it.  This sounds incredibly depressing.  But, let's face it, videogames are better than real life.  People always talk about immersion and how important it is to feel like you're a part of that gaming world.  Do they not realize that the more you're connected with one world, the less you are connected with another?  I've been playing videogames for as long as I can remember, and I can't help but wonder, "does the fact that I want to do nothing with my life, other than play videogames and relax, come from my knowledge that life will never be as amazing as an heroic adventure?"

 These kids have now become gaming bloggers.

Now, to be perfectly clear, I am a happy person.  I love my girlfriend, I love what I'm learning about in grad school (mostly), I have a family that loves me, I don't do drugs and I rarely drink -- apparently, I am a giant loser.  Nor am I trying to assign blame for anything I don't like in my life.  But the situation remains that I would rather watch "let's play" videos of Minecraft than work on a paper that is almost a year late.  Is it that my love of all things gaming overpowers my other loves or is it that videogames have made me apathetic?  Besides, in all fairness, if I were to assign blame, I would probably look to the internet in general for supplying me with so many things which are detrimental to my senses.  Once you've seen a horse have anal sex with a man, you can never go back.  But, the fact remains that I don't scour the intertubes in order to find time killers.  I come here.  Failing any recent updates, I go to other gaming blogs, and then I go to watch gaming videos.

In discussions with other gamers, I have found that a common theme occurs: the lack of a purpose.  This is not universal, of course, but common enough to be brought up.  Those of us who've countlessly saved the world don't have time for such trivial matters like studying or getting a job.  We need something bigger than (real) life.  I'm not sure, but I think my love of videogames has influenced my chosen field of study.  I study ancient myths about heroes and war, sensational tales that would seem impossible today.  What more could a gamer hope for in life?  We know gaming contributes to other factors in life.  Obesity, for instance.  I'm five feet, five inches, weigh between 130 and 140 pounds (I'm skinny; you can almost see my ribs), and I just ate three servings of pudding (about 900 calories), just to snack on something while watching games.

 There is nothing better than this combination.

So, why can't gaming contribute to apathy?  Not apathy for other people, but apathy towards the world as a whole.  I think we all want to be special.  We all want our lives to matter.  We all want to have what we do be important.  When I think about saving the world, overthrowing governments, being the best there is, I offer the question, "Can anything we do in reality be as important as what we do in gaming?"  Unfortunately, I am not able to answer that question.  Not for myself and definitely not for anyone else.  I do hope every gamer finds something they can be passionate about and pursue with as much vigor as when they pursue the next trophy.