I know we’ve been a bit quiet for a few days, but behind the scenes there’s a whirlwind of activity.  You can look forward to a couple of new features here on the blog and perhaps over at GamerDad.com too.  Eyes peeled and all that.

Anyway, being so busy is actually what has led me to this post.  I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit it, but I sometimes put gaming too high on my task list.  How many of you can admit to the same?

I haven’t had time lately to play anything of any real substance.  I’m itching to get back to  Odin Sphere and I’ve had Mario Strikers Charged out from Gamefly for way too long.  But I also have bills to pay and thus I’ve been working my butt off for the past couple of weeks, 18 hour days and so on.  I’m thankful that I can work from home and be able to see my family instead of wasting hours in a commute, but this does mean that I don’t have that buffer, that period to collect my thoughts.

So imagine my delight when I found myself with half an hour or so of free time the other day, watching the kids while my wife ran an errand.  Reader Rabbit was holding Charlotte’s attention and Sam was off in his room, so it seemed like the right time to fire up some Super Stardust HD.  Pure, old-school, mindless action.  The first game ended quickly due to my rustiness (alright, I’m not exactly great at these games anyway), but then I was gliding along smoothly, racking up the bonus multiplier, getting into the zone.  I was dimly aware of Sam coming out of his room and wanting to use the computer, and Charlotte not wanting to stop playing her game, but I was just focusing on trying to beat my high score.

Until their bickering brought them in front of the TV screen, and I lost a life.

Now I’m not saying I exploded with rage, or let fly with obscenities, but I did snap at them, berating Sam for not just letting his sister use the computer, she’s the little kid, etc. etc.   While there was some merit to what I was saying, and I’ve certainly been tired and cranky for the last fortnight (which should go some way to explain the rambling nature of this article), let’s be honest – I snapped at them because of a videogame.  That’s not cool.

Am I alone here?  I don’t believe I am.  And it’s not just limited to parental responsibility – how many of you have called in sick to work or school because you were up way too late playing a game?  How many childhood memories involve getting “so mad at my mom because she turned off my game”?

I suppose the real question is whether it’s fair to single out games at all.  Surely my reaction could have been the same had I been interrupted whilst reading, or watching TV?  There are other activities just as engrossing as a game, surely?  I say no.  I say games are different, providing us with actual experiences rather than just passive entertainment.  I don’t think games are bad, but I do think they require different thinking and we shouldn’t just scoff whenever someone brings up gaming and causality.

Tags: Misc