Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Cut me loose
I don't think I've ever actually been addicted to a video game before, but Animal Crossing is seriously pushing me into a place I am scared to enter. As I neared the house of no return - I assume it's of ill repute as well but of a different sort of ill repute than... you know - I saw the light inside and was drawn towards its warmth. "Come on Tom," it called. "You know you want to live in Pancacko forever. You know you want to collect all the furniture, don't you? One of us... One of us..." It was then, with that creepy chanting, that I realized what I was committing to. Yes, I could enter the house. I could harvest fruit and catch bugs for the rest of my life. But at what cost? I would be free to run around my town, but I would never be able to leave it. Was I will to make that sacrifice? To give up one life to rule another?
No way.
Animal Crossing is a good game. Heck, it may even be a great game. But it is just a game. Though one of my favorite things in video games is the feeling of accomplishment, the rewards in Animal Crossing cross a line. While Ratchet and Clank would present me with a new weapon, hours of gameplay in AC yields only new wallpaper. And that's if I'm lucky.
After spending hours upon hours earning bells and arranging the ultimate Feng Shui-ed house, I have to step back and look at what I've accomplished in the last month. It was a great experience, and I most likely will not give it up cold turkey (I know I would crack one restless night and never look back), but I am certainly going to cut down the hours I invest in it. Playing on the train or before class seems reasonable, but I shouldn't be playing at home. Or waking early to get in a little time before my alarm goes off. Or asking strange people on message boards to invite me to their town so I can fish in a different ocean. That is just too much.
You all should be thanking me for stepping away so gracefully. If I stayed with this only a little while longer, I fear I would turn into Gabe - only able to discuss one game that no one even cares about anymore. And with one more cheap shot at Penny Arcade, I am done.
No way.
Animal Crossing is a good game. Heck, it may even be a great game. But it is just a game. Though one of my favorite things in video games is the feeling of accomplishment, the rewards in Animal Crossing cross a line. While Ratchet and Clank would present me with a new weapon, hours of gameplay in AC yields only new wallpaper. And that's if I'm lucky.
After spending hours upon hours earning bells and arranging the ultimate Feng Shui-ed house, I have to step back and look at what I've accomplished in the last month. It was a great experience, and I most likely will not give it up cold turkey (I know I would crack one restless night and never look back), but I am certainly going to cut down the hours I invest in it. Playing on the train or before class seems reasonable, but I shouldn't be playing at home. Or waking early to get in a little time before my alarm goes off. Or asking strange people on message boards to invite me to their town so I can fish in a different ocean. That is just too much.
You all should be thanking me for stepping away so gracefully. If I stayed with this only a little while longer, I fear I would turn into Gabe - only able to discuss one game that no one even cares about anymore. And with one more cheap shot at Penny Arcade, I am done.
// posted by Tom @ 4:52 PM 
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